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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
12
RNYING MA PA
LINDSAY JONES
SCHOOL
EDITOR IN CHIEF

SOUL

eorel_fm 3/2/05 8:36 AM Page iv
Encyclopedia of Religion, Second Edition
Lindsay Jones, Editor in Chief
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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.
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eorel_fm 3/2/05 8:36 AM Page v
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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viii
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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x
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 t w e l v e
h e t r u e i m
t
T H E a
T g
R Ue
E I M A G E
Many religious traditions cherish images surrounded by narra-
tives that tell of the image’s origins and its long history as an
object of devotion in court and ecclesia. Often these images are acheiropoetic, that is,
not made by human hands. Their origins are divine. Fashioned by angels or deities,
these images descend from heaven and are found by the faithful. They are enshrined
and typically prove their peculiar merit by moving, speaking, bleeding, weeping, or
performing miracles. In Thai Buddhism, for instance, the Sinhala Buddha floated on
a plank when the ship carrying it from Sri Lanka to Thailand was
wrecked in a gale. Copies were made of the image and envious
rulers were inspired to acquire the original. The statue boasts a
long history of migration through theft and conquest. There are
different stories about its origin. One says that the image was
created by twenty arhats (enlightened followers of the Buddha)
in order to show the king of Sri Lanka what the Buddha looked
like. The likeness proved so authentic that the king spent a week
paying homage to the figure and then asked that a replica be
made. The resulting sculpture miraculously took on the visual
qualities of the Buddha and commanded veneration. Another
version states that a dragon turned himself into an apparition
of the Buddha to serve as a model for fashioning an authentic
likeness. In both accounts the image’s production involved a
supernatural intervention that served to authorize it and ensure
its power to convert the unbelieving. Not surprisingly, these
narratives are closely associated with the political identities and
ambitions of monasteries, courts, and kings, as well as the spread
of Buddhism in new lands or its renewal in Buddhist regions.

The search for the true image is a quest in religious tradi-
tions for which cult imagery serves as a means of authorizing sect
and court, for focusing and authenticating the power of images
to heal, and for devotional practices that center around the cha-
(a) Michael Ostendorfer, Pilgrimage to the New Church at Regensburg,
1519, woodcut. [©Foto Marburg/Art Resource, N.Y.]
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THE TRUE IMAGE
risma of the cult figure. True images are
a kind of evidence for the devout, proof
of the authenticity of the image’s power,
and vindication of those who claim it as
their own.
Christianity is deeply invested in the
practice of the true image. In the eighth
and ninth centuries the Eastern Chris-
tian world was wracked by violent dis-
agreement over the propriety of images.
Successive Eastern emperors forbade the
use of icons while many monasteries
insisted on their importance. During
this time it became common to claim
that the image of the Mother and Child
had been painted by Saint Luke. The
story, which predated the Iconoclastic
Controversy, but certainly anticipated
anxieties about the status and authority
of images in Christianity, strengthened
the position of those who argued for
icons. The icon associated with this
tradition, which first appeared around
600 ce in Rome, showed the Theoto-
kos, or Mother of God, holding the
Christ child in one arm and pointing to
him with the other. During the Renais-
sance in Europe, artists produced many
examples of the motif, in part because
it underwrote their vocation, but no
less because the subject enjoyed great
popular enthusiasm, sometimes ecstatic.
In 1519, the German city of Regensburg
was suddenly visited by thousands of pilgrims seeking
(b) ABOVE. Jan Gossaert, Saint Luke Painting the Virgin,
healing and blessing from an image of the Madonna and
1520, oil on panel. [Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien oder
Child, which was associated with the miraculous healing
KHM, Wien] (c) OPPOSITE. Mandylion of Edessa with Scenes
of a local man who had been injured during the demoli-
of the Legend of King Abgar, unknown artist, eighteenth
tion of a Jewish synagogue. Michael Ostendorfer captured
century, egg tempera and resin glazes on panel. [The Royal
the frenzied tone of the pilgrims in a contemporary print
Collection ©2004, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II]
(a). Although medieval artists had depicted Luke paint-
ing the Virgin and Child since the twelfth century, none
matched the theatrical spectacle of Jan Gossaert’s portrayal
of the scene (b). The Madonna and Child hover before
the artist in a cloud as the artist’s hand is guided by an
angel. Luke’s Gospel appears as a bound volume in the
lectern he uses as a drawing table, deftly equating book
and image as authorized versions of one another.

The intervention of the angel recalls the legend of the
origin of the mandylion (c), the cloth on which Christ’s
image miraculously appeared when, according to one ver-
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THE TRUE IMAGE
sion, an artist attempted to paint his portrait from life at
the behest of the king of Edessa. When the artist failed
to capture a likeness, angels completed the portrait, thus
ensuring its authenticity. Another version states that
Christ himself made the image by placing the cloth on
his face. Related versions of the story tell of Veronica,
a woman who met Christ on his path to Calvary and
offered him a cloth to wipe his bloody, soiled face. The
result was an image that became especially important
among European Christians in the thirteenth century
when a papal indulgence was promised to those who
uttered a prayer in the presence of a Veronica (a corrup-
tion of vera icon, or “true image”) in Rome. Veronica’s
Veil multiplied as mementos for pilgrims and as works of
fine art by artists during the Baroque period, who seized
on the illusionistic possibilities of painting an image of an
image of an image (d and e).
(d) TOP. Francisco de Zurbarán, The Holy Face (Veil of Veronica),
1630s, oil on canvas. [©Art Resource, N.Y.] (e) RIGHT. Philippe
de Champaigne, La Sainte Face, seventeenth century. [Courtesy of
the Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museums, Brighton and Hore]
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THE TRUE IMAGE

One of the most striking features of the “true image”
(f ) The Shroud of Turin, housed at the Cathedral of Turin in
is its capacity for replication and the power of copies (of
Italy. [©Gaudenti Sergio/Corbis KIPA]
copies of copies) to retain the vitality of the distant, even
lost original. In the visual piety of the true image, there
is no limit to multiplication. Every copy retains the aura
and authenticity of the original. The image of the Virgin
and Child appears no less than four times in the print
by Ostendorfer (a): in the foreground as a sculpture,
on the banner waving from the steeple of the church,
from a standard fluttering above the crowd on the left of
the print, and on the altar inside the church, glimpsed
through the open door. Moreover, the image appeared
yet again on well over 100,000 clay and silver badges
that were produced and avidly acquired by pilgrims to
Regensburg during 1520 alone. Images of the Veronica
and mandylion were commonly copied and revered across
Europe and wherever Catholic missionaries took the faith
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The pattern
is recognizable in many kinds of images in Christian
practice. The Shroud of Turin (f ) remains a powerful
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image to this day. Another persistent
example is the image of the Virgin of
Guadalupe (g), whose origins are like-
wise miraculous. Images made without
human hands may be endlessly copied
because the original is devoid of human
fabrication. Copies refer to it as faith-
ful relays perhaps because no human is thought to have
(g) Imagen de la Virgen Maria, Madre de Dios de Guadalupe, an
invented the concept of the image. Seeing the image or
engraving by Miguel Sánchez depicting an image of Our Lady of
a copy of the image connects the devout viewer to the
Guadalupe on the cloak of Juan Diego, 1648. [Courtesy of the John
original person—the Virgin or Jesus—with a reliability
Carter Brown Library at Brown University]
and a directness that match the viewer’s devotion to the
person who can satisfy his longing. Acheiropoetic images
are representations whose power consists in their promise
to destroy the image as artifice and replace it with the very
thing to which the image refers. This power of the portrait
image is discernible in pre-Christian visual practices that
may have informed the earliest conceptions of the Chris-
tian icon.
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The cult of the saints today remains grounded in the
visual piety of selecting an “official” image of the person
whom supporters wish to see beatified and then canon-
ized by the church. Supporters of the cause of Mother
Teresa have already proffered such an image (h). Since
it is based on photographs of the historical person, the
image can lay claim to literal accuracy. But the idea of the
“true image” does not require the empirical verity of the
photograph. Nor is it an idea observed only by Orthodox
and Roman Catholic Christians. Warner Sallman, the
Protestant painter of the twentieth century’s most widely
disseminated picture of Jesus (i), stated that this image
came to him in a dream or vision, which he quickly
(h) ABOVE. Members of the Sisters of Charity display an image
of Mother Teresa in support of her canonization, 2003. [AP/Wide
World Photos] (i) RIGHT. Warner Sallman, Head of Christ, oil on
canvas. [©Warner Press, Inc., Anderson, Indiana. Image may not be
reproduced without written permission from Warner Press]
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THE TRUE IMAGE
transcribed and later painted in a way that suggests the
vignette lighting and head-and-shoulders format of por-
trait photography. And the evocative work of artist Daniel
Goldstein (j) recalls the mummified figures of Egyptians
and the Shroud of Turin (f ). Whether fine art or popular
devotional imagery, the power of images to endow repli-
cas, even mass-produced replicas, with the presence of the
original makes seeing the “true image” a compelling part
of religious practice. The search for the original happens
by means of the copy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Belting, Hans. Likeness and Presence: A History of the Image Before
the Era of Art. Translated by Edmund Jephcott. Chicago,
1994.
Freedberg, David. The Power of Images: Studies in the History and
Theory of Response. Chicago, 1989.
Kuryluk, Ewa. Veronica and Her Cloth: History, Symbolism, and
Structure of a “True” Image. Cambridge, Mass., 1991.
MacGregor, Neil, with Erika Langmuir. Seeing Salvation: Images of
Christ in Art. New Haven, 2000.
Swearer, Donald K. Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image
Consecration in Thailand. Princeton, 2004.
Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja. The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the
Cult of Amulets: A Study in Charisma, Hagiography, Sectarian-
ism, and Millennial Buddhism
. Cambridge, U.K., 1984.
David Morgan ()
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Q–R
C O N T I N U E D
RNYING MA PA (NYINGMAPA) SCHOOL. The expression “Rnying ma
(Nyingma) pa school” may be used to refer to the Rnying ma (Nyingma) pa order of Ti-
betan Buddhism, as well as to the broad range of lineages claiming to derive their authori-
ty from the early transmission of Buddhism in Tibet during the seventh through ninth
centuries. A common mytho-historical view of the origins of their tradition, as well as
adherence to similar doctrinal and ritual foundations, serve to distinguish the Rnying ma
pa from the other major trends in Tibetan Buddhism. At the same time, elements of Rny-
ing ma pa ritual and contemplative practice play a role, sometimes an important one,
within the non-Rnying ma pa orders.
The Rnying ma pa stand in a distinctive relationship to all other traditions of Tibetan
religion. As their name, which literally means the “ancients,” suggests, the school main-
tains that it uniquely represents the ancient Buddhism of Tibet, introduced during the
reigns of the great kings of Tibet’s imperial age. Fundamental to the distinctions inform-
ing Tibetan views of religious adherence is a broad division between the “ancient transla-
tion tradition” (snga ’gyur rnying ma) and the “new mantra traditions” (gsang sngags gsar
ma
), where mantra refers to Buddhist esotericism, or Tantrism, as it is called in the West,
in general. The former includes all of those lines of teaching that eventually came to be
grouped together under the rubric Rnying ma pa. Their identity, however, was formed
only after the tenth century, when the proponents of the newly introduced esoteric sys-
tems began to attack the older traditions as corrupt, or as outright Tibetan fabrications.
In response, the adherents of the earlier traditions argued that their esoteric teachings and
practices were derived from the texts and instructions transmitted during the time of the
Tibetan monarchs of the seventh through ninth centuries, Khri Srong lde btsan (Trisong
detsen, r. 755–c. 797) above all. The post tenth-century Rnying ma pa came to hold that
the Buddhist cultural heroes of that age—in particular, the Indian masters Padmasamb-
hava and Vimalamitra and the Tibetan translator Vairocana, but many others as well—
had introduced a purer, more refined and elevated form of esotericism than that which
C LOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT CORNER. QurDa¯n written in Nashki script. [The Art Archive/Private
Collection/Eileen Tweedy]
; Pre-Toltec Quetzalcoatl in the form of the morning star.
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. [©Werner Forman/Art Resource, N.Y.];
Etruscan bronze capitoline she-wolf, c. fifth century BCE, with twins added later by Antonio
Pollaiuolo. Musei Capitolini, Rome. [©Timothy McCarthy/Art Resource, N.Y.]; Cathedral of
Saint Basil in Moscow. [©Corbis]; Fifteenth-century illustration by Marco dell’Avogadro of
Ruth at work during the harvest, from the Bible of Borso d’Este. Biblioteca Estense, Modena.
[©Scala/Art Resource, N.Y.] .
7867

7868
RNYING MA PA (NYINGMAPA) SCHOOL
characterized the teaching transmitted in Tibet from the late-
(rgyal ba dgongs brgyud); the “symbolic lineage of the aware-
tenth century on. During this period in which a distinctive
ness-holders” (rig ’dzin brda brgyud); and the “aural lineage
Rnying ma pa identity took form, the lineages involved were
of human individuals” (gang zag snyan brgyud). The first of
often familial lines of lay priests, not monks, and it is impos-
the “three lineages” is related to the primordial origination
sible to think of them as yet forming a cohesive order. In later
and disclosure, in the domain of the Buddha’s enlighten-
times, the Rnying ma pa tended to rely on the renewed reve-
ment, of the doctrine, especially that of the Great Perfection.
lation of texts and teachings that were held to be spiritual
The third concerns the successive transmission of that doc-
“treasures” (gter ma) inspired by, but not derived in a direct
trine through a line of human individuals, related each to the
line from, the traditions of the early masters. The prolifera-
next as master to disciple, and always thought to be place-
tion of large numbers of new gter ma lineages further under-
able, datable persons, though the specifics may be sometimes
cut the unity of the Rnying ma pa.
debated. The second lineage explains the beginnings of the
transmission in the human world, the stages whereby a doc-
In contradistinction to the organized Bon religion, the
trine belonging to the timeless inexpressible realm of awak-
Rnying ma pa identify themselves as purely Buddhist, where-
ening came to be expressed in time.
as, over and against the other Tibetan Buddhist schools and
in harmony with the Bon, they insist upon the value of an
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. Although a clear Rnying ma pa
autochthonous Tibetan religious tradition, expressed and ex-
identity was formed only in reaction to the criticisms of early
alted within a unique and continuing revelation of the Bud-
Tibetan Tantrism that became current from the late tenth
dha’s doctrine in Tibet in the form of “treasures” (gter). The
century on, certain of the characteristic features of later Rny-
following features of Rnying ma pa Buddhism are particular-
ing ma pa teaching are already evident in documents from
ly noteworthy: The primordial Buddha Samantabhadra
Dunhuang dating to the ninth to tenth centuries, as well as
(Tib., Kun tu bzang po [Küntuzangpo], the “Omnibenefi-
in the works of relatively early writers such as Bsnubs chen
cent”), iconographically most often depicted as a naked Bud-
Sangs rgyas ye shes (Nupchen Sangye Yeshe, late ninth to
dha of celestial blue-color in embrace with his consort, is re-
early tenth centuries). These works make it clear that two of
garded as the supreme embodiment of buddhahood (shared
the key elements of the Rnying ma pa ritual and contempla-
with Bon). The highest expression of and vehicle for attain-
tive tradition were already emerging: the Maha¯yoga (Great
ing that Buddha’s enlightenment (which is equivalent to the
Yoga) system of Tantric ritual, and the Rdzogs chen (Great
enlightenment of all buddhas) is the teaching of the “Great
Perfection) approach to meditation, emphasizing abstract
Perfection” (Rdzogs chen [Dzogchen], also shared with
contemplation. By the eleventh century some adherents of
Bon). The paradigmatic exponent of this teaching, and in-
the old lineages began to defend their tradition against its de-
deed of all matters bearing on the spiritual and temporal
tractors and at the same time to elaborate its doctrine and
well-being of the Tibetan people, is the immortal Guru Pad-
codify its ritual. The prolific scholar and translator Rong
masambhava, the apotheosis of the Indian Tantric master re-
zom Chos kyi bzang po (Rongzom Chözang) and the ritual
membered for playing a leading role in Tibet’s conversion
masters of the Zur lineage exemplify these trends.
to Buddhism during the eighth century, and who is always
In 1159 the monastery of Kah: thog was founded in far
present to intercede on behalf of his devotees. Moreover, the
Eastern Tibet by Dam pa Bde gshegs (Dampa Deshek,
teachings of the latter are continually renewed in forms suit-
1122–1192). This soon emerged as an important center of
able to the devotee’s time, place, and circumstances, the
scholarship, where a distinctively Rnying ma pa exegetical
agents for such renewal being “discoverers of spiritual trea-
tradition based on the system of nine progressive vehicles
sure” (gter ston/ bton), thought to be embodiments of, or re-
(theg pa rim pa dgu) was elaborated. The influence of Kah:
gents acting on behalf of, Padmasambhava.
thog was widely felt throughout southeastern Tibet, pene-
While the Rnying ma pa adhere, as do other Tibetan
trating even neighboring areas in Yunnan. During the same
Buddhists, to Tantric forms of ritual and contemplative
period, Rnying ma pa traditions were reinvigorated by the
practice, their Tantric canon is altogether distinctive, incor-
discoveries of treasure-doctrines (gter chos). Some of the fore-
porating a great quantity of literature whose “authenticity”
most promulgators of the newly revealed teachings included
is challenged by some adherents of the other Tibetan Bud-
Nyang ral Nyi ma ’od zer (Nyangrel Nyima Özer, 1124–
dhist schools, as is the authenticity of their special teaching
1192) and Guru Chos dbang (Guru Chöwang, 1212–1270),
of the Great Perfection. Hence, from relatively early times,
and, sometime later, the discoverer of the so-called Tibetan
their unique standpoint created for the Rnying ma pa a re-
Book of the Dead, Karma gling pa (Karma Lingpa, fourteenth
markable justificatory problem, which has generated an elab-
century), as well as Rig ’dzin Rgod ldem can (Rikdzin
orate apologetical literature, much of which is historical in
Gödemcen, 1337–1408), whose Northern Treasure (Byang
character.
gter) spread throughout the Tibetan world.
In their thinking about the history of their own tradi-
The contemplative teachings of the Great Perfection,
tion, the Rnying ma pa have come to identify three phases
too, were greatly refined, syncretically absorbing and reinter-
in the lineage through which their special doctrines have
preting elements of the new Tantric traditions. The Seminal
been transmitted: the “lineage of the conquerors’ intention”
Essence (Snying thig) system, in particular, which placed
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RNYING MA PA (NYINGMAPA) SCHOOL
7869
great emphasis on visionary experience, developed through
his incarnation, was a particularly prominent exponent of the
a series of revelations spanning some two centuries and came
nonpartisan perspective and encouraged one of his most tal-
to be regarded as the culminating synthesis of Rnying ma pa
ented disciples, Mi pham rgya mtsho (Mipham Gyatso,
teaching. Klong chen pa Rab ’byams pa (Longcen Rabjampa,
1846–1912) to extend the insights of characteristically Rny-
1308–1363), a poet and philosopher of unusual depth and
ing ma pa teaching to the interpretation of Buddhist doctrine
refinement, codified the textual corpus of the Seminal Es-
generally. The copious commentarial writings of Mi pham
sence in four parts (snying thig ya bzhi), and in his own ex-
on all aspects of Buddhist thought and practice have enjoyed
pansive writings—the Mdzod bdun (Seven treasuries), Ngal
considerable prestige and are regarded as second only to the
gso skor gsum (Trilogy of rest), and Mun sel skor gsum (Trilogy
writings of Klong chen Rab ’byams pa as definitive expres-
removing darkness), among others—he set forth an encyclo-
sions of Rnying ma pa thought. During the twentieth centu-
pedic summation of the entire Buddhist path, which has re-
ry the leading exponents of the Rnying ma pa order have
mained the definitive Rnying ma pa doctrinal formulation.
mostly represented Mi pham’s outlook, though some dis-
He was later believed to have been reborn as Padma gling
senters have criticized him for laying too much stress on the
pa (Pema Lingpa, 1450–1521), a treasure-discoverer whose
cataphatic doctrines of buddha-nature and pure awareness,
revelations played a special role in the emergence of the Hi-
and so perhaps compromising the radical emptiness associat-
malayan kingdom of Bhutan.
ed with Madhyamaka thought.
During the seventeenth century, a period of intensive
Following the exile of large numbers of Tibetans in
civil war and sectarian conflict, the Rnying ma pa were fortu-
1959, a number of leading Rnying ma pa teachers became
nate to find a patron in the person of the fifth Dalai Lama
established in South Asia and began to attract Western stu-
(1617–1682), himself a revealer of treasures. With the en-
dents. Two heads of the order, Bdud ’joms Rin po che ’Jigs
couragement of the “Great Fifth,” a renewed monastic move-
bral ye shes rdo rje (Dudjom Rinpoche, 1904–1987) and Dil
ment emerged among the Rnying ma pa, which had formerly
mgo Mkhyen brtse Rin po che (Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche,
been situated primarily in lay lineages, local temples, and in-
1910–1991), particularly inspired the spread of Rnying ma
dividual adepts. Six preeminent monastic centers eventually
pa instruction in the West.
came to be recognized: Rdo rje brag (representing the North-
CHARACTERISTIC DOCTRINES. The Rnying ma pa adhere to
ern Treasure tradition) and Smin grol gling in Central Tibet;
the same canon of Kanjur and Tanjur as do other Tibetan
and Kah: thog, Dpal yul, Rdzogs chen and, somewhat later,
Buddhists, but they supplement these with uniquely Rnying
Zhe chen, all in far Eastern Tibet. Smin grol gling, in partic-
ma pa textual collections to which they accord a similar ca-
ular, enjoyed very close ties with the fifth Dalai Lama, so that
nonical status. Foremost in this regard is the Rnying ma rgyud
its hierarchs were recognized as the official heads of Rnying
’bum (Collection of the ancient Tantras), which exists in
ma pa order. The writings of its two great luminaries, the
many differing versions, but is always held to represent the
brothers Gter bdag gling pa (Terdak Lingpa, 1646–1714)
body of Tantras translated into Tibetan prior to the tenth
and Lo chen Dharma´sr¯ı (1654–1717), offer a uniquely in-
century. The Tantric rites of the Rnying ma pa, those for
fluential synthesis of Rnying ma pa ritual traditions. Their
which a continuous lineage extending back to the imperial
efforts, however, were impeded by the 1717 invasion of Cen-
period is claimed, are gathered in the Rnying ma bka’ ma
tral Tibet by the Dzungar Mongols, which was accompanied
(Oral tradition of the ancients). Though each particular lin-
by grievous sectarian persecution. Rnying ma pa establish-
eage among the Rnying ma pa adheres to its own favored
ments and adherents were among the Dzungar’s victims, and
treasure-doctrines, during the nineteenth century a master of
Dharma´sr¯ı and many other leading teachers perished in the
the universalist movement, ’Jam mgon Kong sprul Blo gros
onslaught. Smin grol gling was later revived by the efforts of
mtha’ yas (Jamgön Kongtrül, 1813–1899), assembled a
Gter bdag gling pa’s daughter, Mi ’gyur dpal sgron (Mingyur
grand anthology of treasure-texts in over sixty large volumes,
Paldrön, 1699–1769), whose career marks the beginning of
which has been widely promulgated since.
a notable succession of female teachers.
The Rnying ma pa teaching is generally organized ac-
Rnying ma pa resurgence in Central Tibet continued
cording to the progression of nine sequential vehicles (theg
with the revelation by ’Jigs med gling pa (Jikme Lingpa,
pa rim pa dgu): those of (1) ´sra¯vakas, (2) pratyekabuddhas,
1730–1798) of a new cycle of treasures, the Seminal Essence
and (3) bodhisattvas, which are the three “causal vehicles”
of the Great Expanse (Klong chen snying thig), inspired in
(rgyu’i theg pa); followed by (4) Kriya¯ Tantra, (5) Carya¯ Tan-
part by the writings of Klong chen Rab ’byams pa. These
tra, and (6) Yoga Tantra, which are the three outer vehicles
teachings enjoyed a remarkable success and were soon stud-
among the “fruitional vehicles” of mantra (’bras bu’i theg pa
ied and practiced throughout Tibet. They remain perhaps
sngags phyi pa); and culminating with (7) Maha¯yoga, (8) An-
the most widely practiced Rnying ma pa Tantric ritual sys-
uyoga, and (9) Atiyoga, which are the inner mantras (sngags
tem at the present time. His successors came to play a notable
nang pa). Atiyoga is also called Rdzogs chen, the Great Per-
role in the eclectic or universalist movement (ris med) in
fection. The first six vehicles are shared with the other tradi-
nineteenth-century Khams. ’Jam dbyangs Mkhyen brtse’i
tions of Tibetan Buddhism and so require no special treat-
dbang po (Jamyang Khyentse, 1820–1892), thought to be
ment here. The last three, though finding parallels in the
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7870
RNYING MA PA (NYINGMAPA) SCHOOL
Tantric teachings of the “new” schools, are, in their precise
phenomena—ground, path, and result—is the indivisi-
formulation, distinctively Rnying ma pa.
ble union of primordial purity and spontaneous pres-
ence. . . .So it is that the objects adhered to in the
Maha¯yoga (“Great Yoga”) emphasizes the creative visu-
su¯tras and in the inner and outer mantras, up to and in-
alization of the divine man:d:ala and the elaborate rites, in-
cluding Anuyoga, are all merely tenets grasped by the
cluding collective feast assemblies (tshogs ’khor; Skt.
intellect. For this reason, [the Great Perfection] clearly
gan:acakra) and ritual dance-drama (’cham), that are associat-
teaches the particular ways whereby one falls into the
ed with it. The feast assembly, in particular, plays an impor-
error of not seeing the original abiding nature of reality
tant role in Rnying ma pa ritual life, and in most communi-
just as it is. The pristine cognition of the Great Perfec-
ties, whether monastic or lay, assemblies are held on the
tion transcends the eight aggregates of consciousness,
tenth day of the lunar month, consecrated to the guru (i.e.,
including thought and speech, cause and result. It is
that great freedom from elaboration, in which all mind
Padmasambhava), and on the twenty-fifth, consecrated to
and mental events attain to peace in the expanse of real-
the D:a¯kin¯ı (Tib., Mkha’ ’gro ma), the goddess embodying
ity. Because the naturally emergent reality of awareness,
enlightenment. As a subject of study and reflection, the focal
free from activity, the natural disposition of the great
point of the Maha¯yoga is the Guhyagarbha Tantra, which has
transcendence of intellect, itself abides in its self-
generated an enormous commentarial literature.
possession and is otherwise uncontrived, the appearance
of its expressive power as ephemeral taint passes away,
Anuyoga (“Subsequent Yoga”) is explained generally as
naturally dissolving into the natural expanse. For these
emphasizing the internal manipulation of the energies (rlung;
reasons, this way is particularly superior to all of the
Skt., va¯yu) and seminal essences (thig le; Skt., bindu) that
lower philosophical and spiritual systems.
flow through the channels (rtsa; Skt., na¯d:¯ı) of the subtle
The adepts who have mastered this path, realizing its highest
body. However, it is at the same time a complete system,
goals in the progressive disclosure of visions emerging from
which in its most elaborate forms embraces the entire teach-
the revelation of the innermost nature of mind, are believed
ing of the nine vehicles. In this respect, it is primarily associ-
to transcend the boundaries of ordinary human mortality,
ated with a vast Tantric compendium, the Mdo dgongs pa ’dus
and so pass away by vanishing into light in the attainment
pa (The su¯tra that gathers the [Buddha’s] intentions), said
of a rainbow body (’ja’ lus).
to have been translated into Tibetan from the Burushaski
language during the tenth century. It is possible that this
SEE ALSO Buddhism, article on Buddhism in Tibet; Bud-
work reflects developments in the S´aiva traditions of Kash-
dhism, Schools of, article on Tibetan and Mongolian Bud-
mir during the period of its composition.
dhism.
The highest pinnacle among the nine vehicles is the Ati-
B
yoga (“Highest Yoga”), or Rdzogs chen (Great Perfection).
IBLIOGRAPHY
Achard, Jean-Luc. L’essence perlée du secret: Recherches philologiques
Kong sprul explains it as follows:
et historiques sur l’origine de la Grande Perfection dans la tradi-
“Great Perfection” is derived from the term maha¯-
tion rNying ma pa. Turnhout, Belgium, 1999. On the devel-
sandhi: it is “great concentration,” [maha¯sama¯dhi], or
opment of the Great Perfection during the early second mil-
“great absorption” [maha¯dhya¯na]. It therefore has the
lennium.
significance of “unsurpassed pristine cognition,” in
Blezer, Henk. Kar gliæ z´i khro: A Tantric Buddhist Concept. Lei-
which all the phenomena of sam:sa¯ra and nirva¯n:a natu-
den, 1997. Study of the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
rally arise in the expanse of the unique abiding nature
Boord, Martin J. The Cult of the Deity Vajrak¯ıla. Tring, U.K.,
of reality, surpassing the intellectualized doctrinal sys-
1993. On the “vajra-spike,” a principle divinity of the Rny-
tems of the eight lower vehicles. . . .The Great Perfec-
ing ma pa tradition.
tion has three classes according to their relative degrees
Cuevas, Bryan J. The Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the
of profundity whereby the naturally emergent pristine
Dead. New York, 2003. On the spread and reception in
cognition itself functions as the path. Among them, the
Tibet of the famous book.
exoteric Mental Class [sems sde] is liberated from the ex-
treme of renunciation, for one has realized that all phe-
Dudjom Rinpoche, Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje. The Nyingma School of
nomena have transcended causal and conditional effort
Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History. Translated
and attainment in the play of mind-as-such
by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein. 2 vols. Boston,
alone. . . .The esoteric Spatial Class [klong sde], free
1991. Compendium of Rnying ma pa historical and doctri-
from activity, is liberated from the extreme of antidotes,
nal traditions.
for one has realized that, because all phenomenal mani-
Ehrhard, Franz-Karl. “Flügelschäge des Garud:a”: Literar- und id-
festations neither arrive in nor depart from the space of
eengeschichtliche Bemerkungen zu einer Liedersammlung des
Omnibeneficent Mother [Kun tu bzang mo], there is
rDzogs chen. Stuttgart, Germany, 1990. Study and transla-
no getting away from the expanse of the naturally pres-
tion of a popular Great Perfection manual by Zhabs dkar, a
ent three bodies [sku gsum; Skt., trika¯ya]. . . .The se-
major nineteenth-century master.
cret and profound esoteric Instructional Class [man
Germano, David. “Architecture and Absence in the Secret Tantric
ngag sde] is free from the extremes of both renunciation
History of rDzogs Chen.” Journal of the International Associa-
and antidote, for one has realized that particularly char-
tion for Buddhist Studies 17, no. 2 (1994): 203–335. On the
acterized mode of being wherein the significance of all
evolution of the Great Perfection systems of teaching.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

ROHDE, ERWIN
7871
Guenther, Herbert V. Kindly Bent to Ease Us: From the Trilogy of
tion (1900), prepared by Fritz Scholl, contains as an appen-
Finding Comfort and Ease. 3 vols. Emeryville, Calif., 1975–
dix an address given by Rohde in 1875, in which he suggests
1976. Translation of Klong chen pa’s Trilogy of Rest.
the desirability of further study of the book’s tentative thesis:
Gyatso, Janet. Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of
that the animal fables and many other tales from India and
a Tibetan Visionary. Princeton, 1998. Study of ’Jigs med
other parts of Asia originated in Greece and, much later,
gling pa’s autobiographies, and of the Rnying ma pa tradi-
found their way back to the West, where speculations about
tion of “treasures.”
their Asian origin began. A third edition of this work was
Kapstein, Matthew T. The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism: Con-
published in 1914, prepared by Wilhelm Schmidt, and a
version, Contestation, and Memory. New York, 2000. In-
fourth was released in 1961, reflecting an ongoing interest
cludes studies of some key Rnying ma pa myths.
in the study.
Kapstein, Matthew T. “The Strange Death of Pema the Demon-
Tamer.” In The Presence of Light: Divine Radiance and Reli-
Rohde’s name, however, is associated primarily with
gious Experience, edited by Matthew T. Kapstein. Chicago,
Psyche, Seelencult und Unsterblichkeitsglaube der Griechen
2004. On the “rainbow body.”
(1890–1894). In 1897 the author completed his prepara-
Karmay, Samten Gyaltsen. The Great Perfection: A Philosophical
tions for the second edition of this work, which went
and Meditative Teaching of Tibetan Buddhism. Leiden and
through several later editions and was translated into English
New York, 1988. Provides the early documents of the Great
as Psyche: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality among
Perfection as known from Dunhuang.
the Greeks (1925). The author stresses that the cult of the
Karmay, Samten Gyaltsen. Secret Visions of the Fifth Dalai Lama:
souls, discussed in part 1 of the book, is a notion clearly dis-
The Gold Manuscript in the Fournier Collection. London,
tinct from and to some extent in contrast with belief in im-
1988. The revealed treasures of the fifth Dalai Lama.
mortality, to which the second part is devoted. The most suc-
Kohn, Richard. Lord of the Dance: The Mani Rimdu Festival in
cinct formulation of this distinction is found in chapter 8:
Nepal and Tibet. Albany, N.Y., 2001. Detailed documenta-
“The continued life of the soul, such as was implied in and
tion of a major Rnying ma pa ritual dance-drama.
guaranteed by the cult of souls, was entirely bound up with
the remembrance of the survivors upon earth, and upon the
Padmakara Translation Committee. The Words of My Perfect
Teacher. San Francisco, 1994; 2d ed., Boston, 1998. Lucid
care, the cult, which they might offer to the soul of their de-
translation of the most widely studied introductory manual
parted ancestors.” Belief in the immortality of the soul, in
of Rnying ma pa practice.
contrast, sees the soul as “in its essential nature like God,”
Pettit, John. Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty: Illuminating the View
a notion in radical conflict with “the first principle of the
of Dzogehen, the Great Perfection. Boston, 1999. On Mi
Greek people,” namely that of an absolute gulf between hu-
pham’s approach to Madhyamaka philosophy.
manity and divinity (pp. 253–254).
Ricard, Matthieu, et al., trans. The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiog-
Tracing the belief in the divinity and immortality of the
raphy of a Tibetan Yogin. Albany, N.Y., 1994. Memoirs of
soul back to its Thracian context, Rohde elaborates his thesis
a leading nineteenth-century Rnying ma pa master.
of the formative impact on Greek life and thought of, on the
Thondup Rinpoche, Tulku. Hidden Teachings of Tibet: An Expla-
one hand, the religion of paramount gods of the Homeric
nation of the Terma Tradition of the Nyingma School of Bud-
poems and, on the other hand, the worship of Dionysos, a
dhism, edited by Harold Talbott. London, 1986. A Rnying
Thracian deity whose cult was “thoroughly orgiastic in na-
ma pa view of the “treasure” traditions.
ture.” These two forces explain the two opposing features of
Williams, Paul. The Reflexive Nature of Awareness: A Tibetan Mad-
the Greeks, an “extravagance of emotion combined with a
hyamaka Defence. Surrey, U.K., 1998. Focuses on Mi pham’s
fast-bound and regulated equilibrium.” (p. 255). His de-
reflections on reflexivity.
scription of “the awe-inspiring darkness of the night, the
MATTHEW T. KAPSTEIN (2005)
music of the Phrygian flute . . . , the vertiginous whirl of
the dance,” which could lead people to a state of possessed-
ness, conveys vividly his own vision of the cult. “Hellenized
ROBERTSON SMITH, WILLIAM SEE SMITH,
and humanized,” the Thracian Dionysos found his place be-
W. ROBERTSON
side the other Olympian gods, and continued to inspire, not
least in the field of the arts: “the drama, that supreme
achievement of Greek poetry, arose out of the choruses of
ROHDE, ERWIN (1845–1898) was German philolo-
the Dionysiac festival” (p. 285).
gist. Rohde served as professor of classical philology at several
Much of Rohde’s language has been adopted by later re-
universities; appointed to a chair at Kiel in 1872, he moved
searchers. At the scholarly level, his thesis of the Dionysian
to Jena four years later and to Tübingen in 1878, followed
origin of the Greek belief in immortality is now widely re-
by a very short stay in Leipzig in 1886, from where he went
jected, following the criticism of, among others, Martin P.
to Heidelberg.
Nilsson, and his interpretation of psuche was largely aban-
Rohde’s major study on the Greek novel, Der griechische
doned after Walter F. Otto’s study of 1923. But whatever
Roman und seine Vorläufer, appeared in 1876. Its second edi-
criticisms have been raised, there is still widespread agree-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

7872
RÓHEIM, GÉZA
ment that Rohde’s Psyche is one of the most significant books
books and papers having their primary focus on religion,
in the field because of its remarkable erudition, the clarity
magic, and folklore.
of its methodology, and the tremendous impact it has had
in circles beyond those professionally engaged in the study
In 1925 Róheim published Australian Totemism, a large
of the classical Greek world. The work is in its own right a
volume that scoured the ethnographic literature on Austra-
“classical” expression of the belief in “the imperishable spirit
lian Aborigines for evidence to support and extend Freud’s
of Hellas.”
primal horde theory of the origins of religion and morality,
put forward in Totem and Taboo (1913). Like Freud, Ró-
B
heim understood Australian Aborigines to be “stone age sav-
IBLIOGRAPHY
In addition to works cited in the text of the article, Rohde’s Kleine
ages” and thus a suitable testing ground for an evolutionist
Schriften, 2 vols. (Tübingen, 1901), bears mention. Bio-
explanation of totemism as the primal religious form. Hence
graphical resources on Rohde include Otto Crusius’s Ein bio-
Australian Totemism followed Freud’s lead in being a form
graphischer Versuch (Tübingen, 1902) and Friedrich Nietz-
of psychohistory, taking the vast array of Aboriginal myths,
sche’s posthumously published Friedrich Nietzsches
rituals, and related phenomena to be so many complex sym-
Briefwechsel mit Erwin Rohde, edited by Elizabeth Forster-
bolic transformations that, through analysis, could be used
Nietzsche and Fritz Scholl (Leipzig, 1923).
to reconstruct the prehistoric transition from nature to cul-
New Sources
ture. It fundamentally confirmed Freud’s idea that totemism,
Cancik, Hubert. “Erwin Rohde—ein Philologe der Bismarckzeit.”
as the primal religion, took a properly human form through
In Semper Apertus, Sechshundert Jahre Ruprecht-Karl-
the projection of “the father” into totemic species but also
Universität Heidelberg, edited by Wilhelm Doerr, vol. 2,
suggested that it had a prior, protohuman form that re-
pp. 436–505. Berlin, 1985.
lied on the projection of maternal symbolism into the envi-
Hofmiller, Josef. “Nietzsche und Rohde.” In Versuche. Munich,
ronment.
1909.
Seillière, Ernest. Nietzsches Waffenbruder Erwin Rohde. Berlin,
Róheim’s appreciation of “primitive” life and religion
1911.
altered somewhat as a result of his fieldwork experiences. Be-
Vogt-Spira, Gregor. “Erwin Rohdes Psyche: eine verpaßte Chance
tween 1932 and the end of his life he produced a number
der Altertumswissenschaften?” In Mehr Dionysos als Apoll.
of works that were ethnographically rich and theoretically in-
Antiklassizistische Antike-Rezeption um 1900, edited by
novative. In particular he began to pay less attention to
Achim Aurnhammer and Thomas Pittrof, pp. 159–180.
Freud’s primal horde story and more openly interrogated its
Frankfurt am Main, 2002.
assumption that phylogenetic memory underlay the symbol-
WILLEM A. BIJLEFELD (1987)
ic resolution of the Oedipus complex. While he never gave
Revised Bibliography
up his interest in psychohistory, Róheim devoted much of
his attention to functionalist explanations, formulating what
he called “the ontogenetic interpretation of culture.” He ar-
RÓHEIM, GÉZA.
gued that human societies differed culturally to the extent
Géza Róheim (1891–1953) was
that they had evolved different “type traumata” giving rise
born in Budapest and died in New York City. He immigrat-
to peculiarly distinctive adult character types (later known
ed to the United States from Hungary in 1938. Of Jewish
as “modal personalities”), together with systemically repro-
descent, he was the only child of prosperous bourgeois par-
ents. At an early age he developed an abiding interest in folk-
duced forms of defense mechanism and sublimation.
lore, and he later chose to study ethnology in Leipzig and
Whereas this theory was an account of culture in gener-
Berlin. It was during his time in Germany that he discovered
al, a specific interpretation of religion lay within its ambit.
the works of Sigmund Freud and his followers, which he em-
The totemic gods of Aboriginal Australia, for example, were
braced with great enthusiasm. Róheim is mainly remem-
said to have their origins in the demonic projections that
bered as a pioneer of psychoanalytic anthropology.
arise in children as a result of anxieties prompted by the pri-
In 1915 and 1916 Róheim was analyzed by his compa-
mal scene, demons being “bad” parents projected into the
triot and a member of Freud’s inner circle, Sándor Ferenczi.
environment in the name of ego integrity. But these very de-
With his wife Ilonka Róheim, he undertook fieldwork in var-
mons are the basis of totemic religion, in the sense that they
ious locations around the world between 1928 and 1931, in-
are transformed into authentic gods (totemic heroes) in the
cluding Somaliland, Normanby Island (now part of Papua
passage into adult life. Initiation into the male cult reverses
New Guinea), and Arizona. However, Róheim’s most signif-
the earlier trends of ego protection and fosters development
icant ethnographic work was done with Arrernte, Luritja,
of the superego. Concomitantly the demons that once gave
and Pitjantjatjara Aborigines in central Australia, where he
rise to anxiety are transmuted, introjected, and dutifully re-
stayed for nine months in 1929. Róheim was the first proper-
vered as ancestral protectors of the law. Róheim believed that
ly psychoanalytically trained ethnographer and the first an-
the religious emblems of this law (sacred objects representing
thropologist to apply rigorous Freudian methods in his re-
the ancestors) took symbolic forms organically related to the
search and writing. He was a prolific writer, with his many
demonic projections of childhood.
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ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FIRST EDITION]
7873
Róheim never wavered in his allegiance to Freud and
The main post-fieldwork update of Róheim’s original views
rarely explicitly challenged any of the fundamentals of the
on Australian totemism.
primal horde theory of religious origins. Even as he rejected
Róheim, Géza. The Gates of the Dream. New York, 1952. Consid-
the Freudian idea of a “group mind,” his originality lay more
ers the role of dreaming and regression in connection with
in the manner in which he extended the insights of Totem
animism, shamanism, folklore, and mythology.
and Taboo and brought new emphases to bear on its scope.
Róheim, Géza. The Panic of the Gods and Other Essays. Edited by
Like Freud, Róheim believed that religion had its origins in
Werner Muensterberger. New York, 1972. A collection of
ancestor worship and that the psychoanalytic problem of
papers from the Psychoanalytic Quarterly on religion. Also in-
“the father” was central to the symbolic creation of deities.
cludes an introductory essay by the editor reappraising Ró-
Also like Freud, he understood the deification of ancestors
heim’s theory of the origins of religion.
to be symptomatic of the very process of cultural transmis-
Róheim, Géza. Children of the Desert, vol. 1: The Western Tribes
sion itself. But unlike Freud, Róheim maintained an abiding
of Central Australia. Edited by Werner Muensterberger. New
interest in pre-oedipal development and hence with the
York, 1974. First part of a major ethnographic manuscript
problem of “the mother.” His genius lay in giving due atten-
prepared before Róheim’s death. Carries an introductory
tion to feminine principles in the origin and function of reli-
essay by the editor on Róheim’s pioneering fieldwork.
gion and wedding this broader psychoanalytic program to an
Róheim, Géza. Children of the Desert, vol. 2: Myths and Dreams
up-to-date anthropological methodology based on fieldwork
of the Aborigines of Central Australia. Edited by John Morton
and cultural relativism. Freud never directly encountered
and Werner Muensterberger. Sydney, Australia, 1988. Sec-
“primitive religion,” but Róheim witnessed it in the flesh.
ond part of a major ethnographic manuscript prepared
This may be one reason why Róheim was not, like his mas-
before Róheim’s death. Carries an introductory essay by
John Morton on Róheim’s contribution to Australian
ter, quick to patronize “the primitive” or dismiss religion per
ethnography.
se as a neurotic illusion.
Voigt, Vilmos, ed. “Psychoanalytic Studies in Honor of Géza Ró-
SEE ALSO Australian Indigenous Religions; Psychology, arti-
heim.” Acta Ethnographica Hungarica 38, nos. 1–3 (1993):
cle on Psychotherapy and Religion; Totemism.
1–67. A collection of essays in English and French about or
inspired by Róheim’s work.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
JOHN MORTON (2005)
Dadoun, Roger. Géza Róheim et l’essor de l’anthropologie psychana-
lytique. Paris, 1972. A non-Hungarian book exclusively
about Róheim’s life and work.
ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FIRST EDI-
Róheim, Géza. Australian Totemism: A Psycho-Analytic Study in
Anthropology. London, 1925. Róheim’s first major anthropo-
TION]. The first question in defining the scope of Roman
logical study. An encyclopedic account of the Australian eth-
Catholicism has to do with the term itself. There are Catho-
nographic literature confirming Freud’s psychohistory of the
lics who object to the adjective Roman because the communi-
primal horde. Also develops a sequence of phases in Aborigi-
ty encompassed by the designation “Roman Catholicism” in-
nal religious development.
cludes those who do not regard themselves as Roman. These
Róheim, Géza. Animism, Magic, and the Divine King. London,
are the so-called Uniate Catholics, the name given to former
1930. A psychoanalytic meditation on anthropological ques-
Eastern Christian or Orthodox churches that have been re-
tions originally framed by Edward Burnett Tylor and James
ceived under the jurisdiction of the church of Rome and re-
Frazer.
tain their own ritual, practice, and canon law. They are the
Róheim, Géza. “Psycho-Analysis of Primitive Cultural Types.” In-
Melchite Catholics, the Maronites, the Ruthenians, the
ternational Journal of Psycho-Analysis 13, nos. 1–2 (1932): 1–
Copts, and the Malabars, among which there are six liturgi-
224. Róheim’s main published field report covering his find-
cal rites: Chaldean, Syrian, Maronite, Coptic, Armenian, and
ings from Australia, Normanby Island, and Somaliland. In-
Byzantine.
cludes a chapter on totemic ritual in central Australia.
Róheim, Géza. The Riddle of the Sphinx; or, Human Origins.
There are, on the other hand, Christians who consider
Translated by R. Money-Kyrle. London, 1934; reprint, New
themselves Catholic but who do not accept the primatial au-
York, 1974. Róheim’s first major post-fieldwork book. Dis-
thority of the bishop of Rome. This group insists that the
cusses the idea of “the primal religion” in relation to central
churches in communion with the see of Rome should call
Australian totemism and interprets the material in terms of
themselves Roman Catholic to distinguish them from those
“the ontogenetic interpretation of culture.” Reprint includes
Catholic churches (Anglican, Orthodox, Oriental, and some
an introductory essay, “Róheim and the Beginnings of Psy-
Protestant) not in communion with Rome. For some Protes-
choanalytic Anthropology,” by Werner Muensterberger and
tants in this group, the Roman Catholic church did not
Christopher Nichols.
begin as a church until the time of the Reformation. Indeed,
Róheim, Géza. The Origin and Function of Culture. New York,
in their eyes, Roman Catholicism is no less a denomination
1943. The most succinct summation of Róheim’s mature
than Presbyterianism or Methodism, for example.
theoretical position.
Róheim, Géza. The Eternal Ones of the Dream: A Psychoanalytic In-
Protestantism is usually defined negatively, as the form
terpretation of Australian Myth and Ritual. New York, 1945.
of Western Christianity that rejects obedience to the Roman
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

7874
ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FIRST EDITION]
papacy. But this definition encounters the same difficulty de-
munal dimension of salvation and of every religious relation-
scribed above. There are also non-Roman Christians who re-
ship with God, because God has created us a people, because
ject the papacy but who consider themselves Catholic rather
we have fallen as a people, because we have been redeemed
than Protestant. For that reason alone it would be inadequate
as a people, and because we are destined for eternal glory as
to define Catholicism by its adherence to papal authority.
a people.
Roman Catholicism refers both to a church (or, more
The very word catholic means “universal.” What is most
accurately, a college of churches that together constitute the
directly opposed to Catholicism, therefore, is not Protestant-
universal Catholic church) and to a tradition. If one under-
ism (which, in any case, has many Catholic elements within
stands the body of Christ as the whole collectivity of Chris-
it) but sectarianism, the movement within Christianity that
tian churches, then the Roman Catholic church is a church
holds that the church is a community of true believers, a pre-
within the universal church. And if one understands Chris-
cinct of righteousness within and over against the unre-
tian tradition to embrace the full range and pluralism of doc-
deemed world of sin, pronouncing judgment upon it and
trinal, liturgical, theological, canonical, and spiritual tradi-
calling it to repentance but never entering into dialogue with
tions, then the Roman Catholic tradition is a tradition
it, much less collaboration on matters of common social, po-
within the one Christian tradition. For Roman Catholicism,
litical, or religious concern. For the sectarian, dialogue and
however, the Catholic church and the Catholic tradition are
collaboration are invitations to compromise.
normative for other Christian churches and traditions (as ex-
The contrast between Catholicism and sectarianism is
pressed in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, no.
nowhere more sharply defined than in their respective ap-
14, issued by the Second Vatican Council).
proaches to the so-called social question. Catholic social doc-
As a church, Roman Catholicism exists at both the local
trine acknowledges the presence and power of sin in the
level and the universal level. In the canon law of the Roman
world, but insists that grace is stronger. Catholic social doc-
Catholic church, the term “local church” (more often ren-
trine underlines the doctrines of creation, providence, the in-
dered as “particular church”) applies primarily to a diocese
carnation, redemption, and sanctification through the Holy
and secondarily to a parish. The term “local church” has a
Spirit. Christians are called to collaborate with God in
wider meaning in Catholic theology than in canon law. It
Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring the
may apply to provinces (regional clusters of dioceses within
entire fallen and redeemed world to the perfection of the
a country) and to national churches (all the dioceses within
kingdom of God, “a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness
a country), as well as to parishes and individual dioceses. A
and grace, of justice, love and peace” (Vatican Council II,
diocese is a local church constituted by a union, or college,
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,
of other local churches known as parishes. Each diocese is
no. 39).
presided over by a bishop, and each parish by a pastor. The
HISTORY. What are the origins of Roman Catholicism?
universal Roman Catholic church, on the other hand, is con-
What events and personalities have shaped it? How is it pres-
stituted by a union, or college, of all the local Catholic
ently being transformed?
churches throughout the world. There are more than one-
Peter and the Petrine ministry. If one insists that
half billion Catholics worldwide, by far the largest body of
Roman Catholicism is not a denomination within Christian-
Christians. Apart from other important doctrinal, liturgical,
ity but is its original expression, one faces at the outset the
theological, canonical, and spiritual links, what holds these
historical fact that the earliest community of disciples gath-
various churches and individual members in solidarity is the
ered in Jerusalem and therefore was Palestinian rather than
bond each has with the diocese of Rome and with its bishop,
Roman. Indeed, the see, or diocese, of Rome did not exist
the pope.
at the very beginning, nor did the Roman primacy.
As a tradition Roman Catholicism is marked by several
If, on the other hand, one holds that the adjective
different doctrinal and theological emphases. These are its
Roman obscures rather than defines the reality of Catholi-
radically positive estimation of the created order, because ev-
cism, Catholicism does begin at the beginning, that is, with
erything comes from the hand of God, is providentially sus-
Jesus’ gathering of his disciples and with his eventual com-
tained by God, and is continually transformed and elevated
missioning, probably following the resurrection, of Peter to
by God’s active presence within it; its concern for history,
be the chief shepherd and foundation of the church. There-
because God acts within history and is continually revealed
fore, it is not the Roman primacy that gives Catholicism its
through it; its respect for rationality, because faith must be
distinctive identity within the community of Christian
consonant with reason and reason itself, fallen and re-
churches but the Petrine primacy.
deemed, is a gift of God; its stress on mediation, because
God, who is at once the First Cause and totally spiritual, can
Peter is listed first among the Twelve (Mk. 3:16–19, Mt.
have an effect on us only by working through secondary
10:1–4, Lk. 6:12–16) and is frequently their spokesman
causes and material instruments, for example, the humanity
(Mk. 8:29, Mt. 18:21, Lk. 12:41, Jn. 6:67–69); he is the first
of Jesus Christ, the church, the sacraments, the things of the
apostolic witness of the risen Christ (1 Cor. 15:5, Lk. 24:34);
earth, other people; and, finally, its affirmation of the com-
he is prominent in the original Jerusalem community and is
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ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FIRST EDITION]
7875
well known to many other churches (Acts 1:15–26, 2:14–40,
In the controversy with Gnosticism, defenders of ortho-
3:1–26, 4:8, 5:1–11, 5:29, 8:18–25, 9:32–43, 10:5, 12:17,
doxy appealed to the faith of sees (local churches) founded
1 Pt. 2:11, 5:13). Peter’s activities after the council of Jerusa-
by the apostles, and especially to the faith of the Roman
lem are not reported, but there is increasing agreement that
church, which was so clearly associated with Peter and Paul.
he did go to Rome and was martyred there. Whether he actu-
During the first five centuries, the church of Rome gradually
ally served the church of Rome as bishop cannot be known
assumed preeminence among all the churches. It intervened
with certainty from the evidence at hand.
in the life of distant churches, took sides in theological con-
troversies, was consulted by other bishops on doctrinal and
For the Catholic tradition, the classic primacy texts are
moral questions, and sent delegates to distant councils. The
Matthew 16:13–19, Luke 22:31–32, and John 21:15–19.
see of Rome came to be regarded as a kind of final court of
The fact that Jesus’ naming of Peter as the Rock occurs in
appeal as well as a focus of unity for the worldwide commu-
different contexts in these three gospels does raise a question
nion of churches. The correlation between Peter and the
about the original setting of the incident. Did it occur before
bishop of Rome became fully explicit during the pontificate
the resurrection, or was it a postresurrection event, subse-
of Leo I (440–461), who claimed that Peter continued to
quently “retrojected” into the accounts of Jesus’ earthly min-
speak to the whole church through the bishop of Rome.
istry? In any case, the conferral of the power of the keys clear-
ly suggests an imposing measure of authority, given the
Constantine and Constantinian Catholicism. One of
symbolism of the keys as instruments for opening and shut-
the major events during this early period was the conversion
ting the gates of the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand,
of the Roman emperor Constantine I (306–337) in the year
special authority over others is not clearly attested, and in-
312. Constantine subsequently pursued a vigorous campaign
deed Peter is presented in the Acts of the Apostles as consulting
against pagan practices and lavished money and monuments
with the other apostles and even being sent by them (8:14),
upon the church. Roman law was modified to reflect Chris-
and he and John act almost as a team (3:1–11, 4:1–22, 8:14).
tian values more faithfully, and the clergy were accorded
privileged status. For some, the conversion of Constantine
But there seems to be a trajectory of images relating to
provided the church with extraordinary opportunities for
Peter and his ministry that sets him apart within the original
proclaiming the gospel to all nations and for bringing neces-
company of disciples and explains his ascendancy and that
sary order into the church’s doctrinal and liturgical life. It
of his successors throughout the early history of the church.
also allowed the church to be less defensive about pagan cul-
He is portrayed as the fisherman (Lk. 5:10, Jn. 21:1–14), as
ture and to learn from it and be enriched by it. For others,
the shepherd of the sheep of Christ (Jn. 21:15–17), as an
however, the event marked a dangerous turning point in the
elder who addresses other elders (1 Pt. 5:1), as proclaimer of
history of the church. For the first time, the church enjoyed
faith in Jesus, the Son of God (Mt. 16:16–17), as receiver
a favored place in society. Christian commitment would no
of a special revelation (Acts 1:9–16), as one who can correct
others for doctrinal misunderstanding (2 Pt. 3:15–16), and
longer be tested by persecution, much less by death. The
as the rock on which the church is to be built (Mt. 16:18).
community of disciples was on the verge of being swallowed
up by the secular, and therefore anti-Christian, values of the
The question to be posed on the basis of recent investi-
state and the society, which now embraced the church. In-
gations of the New Testament is therefore whether the subse-
deed, there is no word of greater opprobrium laid upon
quent, postbiblical development of the Petrine office is con-
Catholic Christians by sectarian Christians than “Constan-
sistent with the thrust of the New Testament. The Catholic
tinian.”
church says “Yes.” Some other Christian churches are begin-
Monasticism. The first protest against Constantinian-
ning to say “Perhaps.”
ism, however, came not from sectarians but from Catholic
The biblical images concerning Peter continued in the
monks. The new monastic movement had an almost imme-
life of the early church and were enriched by additional ones:
diate impact upon the church. Bishops were recruited from
missionary preacher, great visionary, destroyer of heretics, re-
among those with some monastic training. For example,
ceiver of the new law, gatekeeper of heaven, helmsman of the
Athanasius (d. 373) was a disciple of Antony of Egypt
ship of the church, co-teacher and co-martyr with Paul. By
(d. 355), generally regarded as the founder of monasticism.
the latter half of the second century, the church had accom-
One historian has argued that the strong missionary impetus,
modated itself to the culture of the Greco-Roman world,
the remarkable development of pastoral care, the effort to
particularly the organizational and administrative patterns
christianize the Roman state, and above all the theological
that prevailed in areas of its missionary activity. Accordingly,
work of the great councils of the fourth and fifth centuries
the church adopted the organizational grid of the Roman
would have been inconceivable without monasticism. On
empire: localities, dioceses, provinces. It also identified its
the other hand, when monks were appointed bishops they
own center with that of the empire, Rome. Moreover, there
tended to bring with them some of their monastic mores,
was attached to this city the tradition that Peter had founded
particularly celibacy and a certain reserve toward ordinary
the church there and that he and Paul were martyred and
human experiences. As a result, there developed a separation
buried there.
between pastoral leaders and the laity, based not only upon
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ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FIRST EDITION]
the exercise of power and jurisdiction but also upon a diversi-
Structure and law. By the beginning of the fifth centu-
ty in spiritualities.
ry, German tribes began migrating through Europe without
Imported into the West from the East, monasticism
effective control. This movement has been called, somewhat
reached its high point in the middle of the sixth century with
inaccurately, the barbarian invasions. It was to last some six
the founding of Monte Cassino by Benedict of Nursia
hundred years and was to change the institutional character
(d. 547). Monks were directly involved in the missionary ex-
of Catholicism from a largely Greco-Roman religion to a
pansion of the church in Ireland, Scotland, Gaul, and En-
broader European religion. The strongly militaristic and feu-
gland between the fifth and the seventh century. This mis-
dal character of Germanic culture influenced Catholic devo-
sionary enterprise was so successful that, in the eighth
tion, spirituality, and organizational structure. Christ was
century, English missionaries had a prominent role in evan-
portrayed as the most powerful of kings. The place of wor-
gelizing the more pagan parts of Europe.
ship was described as God’s fortress. Monks were perceived
as warriors of Christ. The profession of faith was understood
In spite of its simple purposes of work and prayer, West-
as an oath of fidelity to a kind of feudal lord. Church office
ern monasticism would serve as the principal carrier of West-
became more political than pastoral. Eventually a dispute
ern civilization during the Middle Ages. No other movement
arose about the appointment of such officers. Should they
or institution had such social or intellectual influence. With
be appointed by the church or by the state? This led to the
the restoration of some political stability to Europe by the
so-called investiture struggle, which was resolved in favor of
middle of the eleventh century, monks tended to withdraw
the church through the leadership of Gregory VII (d. 1085).
from temporal and ecclesiastical affairs to return to their
monasteries, and a renewal of monasticism followed. The
When, at the beginning of the eighth century, the East-
foundings of the Franciscans, Dominicans, Cistercians, and
ern emperor proved incapable of aiding the papacy against
Jesuits were among the major effects of this renewal, as were
the Lombards in northern Italy, the pope turned for help to
the rich theological and spiritual writings that emerged from
the Franks. This new alliance led eventually to the creation
these communities by, for example, Thomas Aquinas
of the Holy Roman Empire, climaxed in 800 with the
(d. 1274) and Bonaventure (d. 1274).
crowning of Charlemagne (d. 814). The line between church
Doctrinal controversies. At the heart of the Catholic
and state, already blurred by Constantine’s Edict of Milan
faith, as at the heart of every orthodox expression of Chris-
some five hundred years earlier, was now practically erased.
tian faith, is Jesus Christ. In the fourth and fifth centuries
When the Carolingian empire collapsed, however, the papa-
there was a preoccupation with dogmatic controversies about
cy was left at the mercy of an essentially corrupt Roman no-
the relationship between the one God, the creator of all
bility. The tenth and part of the eleventh centuries were its
things, and Jesus Christ, the Son of God and redeemer of
dark ages. Only with the reform of Gregory VII was the pa-
humankind, and then about the relationship of the Holy
pacy’s luster restored. Gregory attacked three major abuses:
Spirit to both. Arianism (Christ was only a creature, greater
simony (the selling of spiritual goods), the alienation of
than humans but less than God) was opposed by the Council
church property (allowing it to pass from ecclesiastical hands
of Nicaea (325); Apollinarianism (Christ had no human
to private hands), and lay investiture (granting the power of
soul), by the First Council of Constantinople (381); Nestori-
church appointment to secular authorities). Papal prestige
anism (the man Jesus was separate from the divine Word, or
was even more firmly enhanced during the pontificate of In-
Logos; the two were not united in one person), by the Coun-
nocent III (1198–1216), who fully exploited the Gregorian
cil of Ephesus (431); and monophysitism (Christ’s human
teaching that the pope has supreme, even absolute, power
nature was completely absorbed by the one divine person),
over the whole church.
by the Council of Chalcedon (451). Jesus is at once divine
Canon law was codified to support the new network of
and human. The divine and the human are united in one
papal authority. The church became increasingly legalistic in
person, “without confusion or change, without division or
its theology, moral life, and administration of the sacra-
separation” (the definition of the Council of Chalcedon).
ments, especially marriage, which was regarded more as a
This stress on theological and doctrinal balance has been an
contract than as a covenant based on mutual love. By the
abiding feature of the Catholic tradition.
middle of the thirteenth century the classical papal-
The same balance was preserved in the great Western
hierarchical concept of the church had been securely estab-
debate about nature and grace. Pelagianism had argued that
lished. Newly elected popes were crowned like emperors, a
salvation is achieved through human effort alone. Augustine
practice observed for centuries until suddenly discontinued
of Hippo (d. 430) insisted on the priority of grace, without
by John Paul I (d. 1978). Emphasis on the juridical aspects
prejudice to human responsibility. Indeed, the church would
of the church did not subside until the Second Vatican
later condemn quietism, Pelagianism’s opposite, in the con-
Council (1962–1965), which declared that the church is first
stitution Caelestis pastor of Innocent XI (d. 1689). Moral ef-
and foremost the people of God and a mystery (i. e., a reality
fort is essential to the spiritual life, although such effort is al-
imbued with the hidden presence of God) before it is a hier-
ways prompted and sustained by grace. Grace, in turn, builds
archical institution. Indeed, that principle must be kept firm-
on nature, as the Scholastics would put it.
ly in mind, lest this historical overview be read only from the
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7877
top down. The story of the Catholic church always remains
The Council of Trent and post-Tridentine Catholi-
the story of Catholic people.
cism. The Catholic response was belated but vigorous.
Divisions in the church. Through a series of unfortu-
Known as the Counter-Reformation, it began at the Council
nate and complicated political and diplomatic maneuvers,
of Trent (1545–1563) and was conducted especially under
the historical bond between the church of Rome and the
the leadership of Paul III (1534–1549). The council, which
church of Constantinople came apart. In 1054 the patriarch
was perhaps the single most important factor in the shaping
of Constantinople, Michael Cerularios (d. 1058), was ex-
of Catholicism from the time of the Reformation until the
communicated by papal legates, but it was the Fourth Cru-
Second Vatican Council, a period of some four centuries, ar-
sade (1202–1204) and the sack of Constantinople by West-
ticulated Catholic doctrine on nature and grace, following
ern knights that dealt the crucial blow to East-West unity.
a middle course concerning doctrines of salvation between
Pelagianism, which emphasizes human effort, and Protes-
By the beginning of the fourteenth century, other events
tantism, which emphasizes God’s initiative. The council also
had introduced a period of further disintegration, reaching
defined the seven sacraments, created the Index of Forbidden
a climax in the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth cen-
Books, and established seminaries for the education and for-
tury. First, there was the confrontation between Boniface
mation of future priests. At the heart of the Catholic Count-
VIII (d. 1303) and Philip the Fair (d. 1314) over the latter’s
er-Reformation was the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the strong-
power to tax the church. The pope issued two bulls asserting
est single force in helping the church regain its lost initiative
his own final authority: Clericis laicos (1296) and Unam sanc-
on the missionary, educational, and pastoral fronts.
tam (1302), the latter having been described as the most
theocratic doctrine ever formulated. But Philip arrested Bon-
By and large, the post-Tridentine Catholic church con-
iface, and the pope died a prisoner.
tinued to emphasize those doctrines, devotions, and institu-
tions that were most vehemently attacked by the Protestants:
Then there was the proliferation of financial abuses dur-
veneration of the saints, Marian piety, eucharistic adoration,
ing the subsequent “Babylonian Captivity” of the papacy at
the authority of the hierarchy, and the essential role of priests
Avignon, France (1309–1378). There followed a rise in na-
in the sacramental life of the church. Other important ele-
tionalism and anticlericalism in reaction to papal taxes.
ments received less emphasis, perhaps because they were per-
Theological challenges mounted against the recent canonical
ceived as part of the Protestant agenda: the centrality of
justifications of papal power, especially in the advocacy by
Christ in theology and spirituality, the communal nature of
Marsilius of Padua (d. 1343) of a conciliar rather than a mo-
the Eucharist, and the responsibility of the laity in the life
narchical concept of the church. The Western schism of
and mission of the church.
1378–1417—not to be confused with the East-West schism
involving Rome and Constantinople—saw at one point
With the Reformation, Catholic missionary activity was
three different claimants to the papal throne. Finally, the
reduced in those countries where Protestant churches began
Council of Constance (1414) turned to the principle of con-
to flourish, but Catholicism was carried abroad by Spain and
ciliarism (i. e., a general council of the church, not the pope,
Portugal, who ruled the seas. New gains were sought to offset
is the highest ecclesiastical authority) and brought the schism
losses in Europe. Dominicans, Franciscans, and the newly
to an end. The three claimants were set aside (one was de-
formed Jesuits brought the Catholic faith to India, China,
posed, a second resigned, and a third eventually died), and
Japan, Africa, and the Americas. The Congregation for the
Martin V (d. 1431) was elected on Saint Martin’s Day, 11
Propagation of the Faith was founded in 1622 to supervise
November 1417.
these new missionary enterprises.
There were, of course, more immediate causes of the
By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Catho-
Reformation: the corruption of the Renaissance papacy of
lic church faced yet another challenge from within: Jansen-
the fifteenth century; the divorce of piety from theology, and
ism, a movement in France that drew much of its inspiration
of theology from its biblical and patristic roots; the debilitat-
from Augustine. Augustine had always stressed the priority
ing effects of the Western schism; the rise of the national
of grace over nature, but Jansenism seemed to take his em-
state; the too-close connection between Western Catholicism
phasis many steps further, portraying nature as totally cor-
and Western civilization; and the vision, experiences, and
rupt and promoting a theory of predestination. From such
personalities of Luther (d. 1546), Zwingli (d. 1531), and
principles there emerged a form of Catholic life that was ex-
Calvin (d. 1564).
ceedingly rigorous and even puritanical. When Rome moved
The Reformation itself took different forms: on the
against Jansenism, many in the French church saw Rome’s
right, it retained essential Catholic doctrine but changed cer-
action as a threat to the independence of French Catholi-
tain canonical and structural forms (Lutheranism and Angli-
cism. Gallicanism thus emerged as an essentially nationalistic
canism); on the left, it repudiated much Catholic doctrine
rather than theological movement, asserting that a general
and sacramental life (Zwinglianism and the Anabaptist
council, not the pope, has supreme authority in the church.
movement); nearer to the center, it modified both Catholic
Consequently, all papal decrees would be subject to the con-
doctrine and practice but retained much of the old (Cal-
sent of the entire church, as represented in a general council.
vinism).
Gallicanism was condemned by the First Vatican Council
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ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FIRST EDITION]
(1869–1870), which declared that infallible teachings of the
than in Pius’s Syllabus of Errors (1864), which proclaimed
pope are irreformable, that is, not subject to the consent of
that the pope “cannot and should not be reconciled
any higher ecclesiastical body or authority.
and come to terms with progress, liberalism, and modern
civilization.”
The Enlightenment. One cannot easily underestimate
the impact of the Enlightenment on modern Catholicism,
Although Pius IX successfully persuaded the First Vati-
although it influenced Protestantism sooner and much more
can Council to define papal primacy and papal infallibility,
profoundly. Characterized by a supreme confidence in the
he lost the Papal States (September 1870) and with them his
power of reason, an optimistic view of human nature, and
remaining political power. Not until the Lateran Treaty of
an almost inordinate reverence for freedom, the Enlighten-
1929 (renegotiated in 1983) were the pope’s temporal rights
ment exhibited a correspondingly hostile attitude toward the
to the Vatican territory acknowledged.
supernatural, the notion of revelation, and authority of every
Catholic social doctrine. The nineteenth century also
kind, except that of reason itself. The Enlightenment affect-
witnessed the rapid development of industrialism, and with
ed Catholicism primarily in the Catholic states of Germany,
it a host of new social problems, not least of which was the
where it stimulated advances in historical and exegetical
worsening condition of workers. Marxism stepped into the
methods, improvements in the education of the clergy, the
gap. The workers found themselves alienated not only from
struggle against superstition, liturgical and catechetical re-
the fruits of their labor but from their Catholic heritage as
form, and the promotion of popular education. However,
well. The Catholic church responded, albeit belatedly, in
much Catholic theology before the Second Vatican Council
1891 with Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum novarum, which de-
remained largely untouched by the Enlightenment.
fended the right of workers to unionize and to enjoy humane
The French Revolution. If the Enlightenment marked
working conditions and a just wage.
the beginning of the end of unhistorical, classicist Catholic
Catholic social doctrine was further refined by Pius XI
theology, the French Revolution (1789) marked the defini-
(d. 1939) in his Quadragesimo anno (1931); by Pius XII
tive end of medieval Catholicism. The feudal, hierarchical
(d. 1958) in his various Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost
society that had been so much a part of medieval Catholicism
messages; by John XXIII (d. 1963), in his Mater et magistra
disappeared, but the French Revolution had other effects as
(1961) and Pacem in terris (1963); by the Second Vatican
well. It was so extreme that it provoked counterreaction
Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Mod-
among some European intellectuals, who returned with new
ern World, known also as Gaudium et spes (1965); by Paul
enthusiasm to the basic principles of Catholicism (see “Ro-
VI (d. 1978), in his Populorum progressio (1967) and Octage-
manticism,” below). The Revolution also destroyed Galli-
sima adveniens (1971); by the Iustitia in mundo (1971) of the
canism by uprooting the clerical system upon which it had
Third International Synod of Bishops; and by John Paul II’s
been based. The clergy were compelled to look to Rome and
Redemptor ho-minis (1979) and Laborem exercens (1981).
the papacy for support and direction. Finally, the French
The twin pillars of Catholic social doctrine, as articulated in
Revolution gave the Catholic church the “grace of destitu-
these documents, are the infinite dignity of each and every
tion.” It no longer had much to lose, and so it was free once
human person, and the responsibilities all persons, agencies,
again to pursue the mission for which it was originally
and nations have to the common good.
founded.
Modernism. Just as the Catholic church could not ig-
Romanticism. In France and Germany the French Rev-
nore various social, economic, and political developments
olution generated an opposite phenomenon, romanticism,
initiated in the nineteenth century, neither could it ignore
which extolled Catholicism as the mother of art and the
corresponding intellectual developments. As these develop-
guardian of patriotism. Thousands who had been alienated
ments began to make some impact on Catholic scholars,
from the Catholic church returned. With the notable excep-
there emerged a new ecclesiastical phenomenon known as
tion of Cardinal John Henry Newman (d. 1890), theology
modernism. Modernism was not a single movement but a
at this time was restorative rather than progressive. What was
complex of movements. It assumed many different forms,
restored, however, was not the witness and wisdom of sacred
some orthodox and some unorthodox. But distinctions were
scripture and the ancient Christian writers but the literal
rarely made, and the term modernist was usually employed
content of a renewed scholastic philosophy and theology.
in early-twentieth-century discussions as one of opprobrium.
There developed in France a rigid traditionalism, character-
ized by integralism and fideism, which was distrustful of all
Modernists were those who refused to adopt a safely
rational speculation and critical thinking in theology. The
conservative standpoint on all debatable matters pertaining
practitioners of such theology looked “beyond the moun-
to doctrine and theology. Modernism was condemned by
tains,” the Alps, to Rome for papal direction (thus, the move-
Pius X (d. 1914) through the Holy Office decree Lamentabili
ment’s name, ultramontanism). The popes of this day, Greg-
(1907) and the encyclical Pascendi (1907). Much of pre-
ory XVI (d. 1846) and Pius IX (d. 1878), set themselves
Vatican II twentieth-century Catholic theology was written
stubbornly against the winds of change and modernity. No-
under the shadow of modernism. Deviations from the main
where was their defiant attitude more sharply formulated
lines of neoscholastic theology during this period were re-
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7879
garded as reductively modernist. Theologians, pastors, and
ceremonially took possession of the Lateran Basilica in
others were required to swear to an antimodernist oath.
Rome, he reminded the congregation, which included cardi-
nals, archbishops, bishops, and assorted ecclesiastical digni-
Some of the positions once denounced as modernist,
taries, that he was not a prince surrounded by the outward
however, were later reflected in the teachings of Vatican II
signs of power but “a priest, a father, a shepherd.” He visited
and even in certain decrees of the Curia Romana, for exam-
the sick in the Roman hospitals, the elderly in old-age
ple, regarding the historical truth of sacred scripture and the
homes, the convicts at Regina Coeli prison.
development of dogma. The modernists had argued that
dogmatic truths, as well as truths contained in sacred scrip-
John XXIII first announced his council on January 25,
ture, are not absolute and unchanging but are affected by his-
1959 and officially convoked it on December 25, 1961. In
torical conditions and circumstances. Official Catholic
his address at the council’s solemn opening on October 11,
teaching at first condemned this view but gradually accom-
1962, he revealed again his spirit of fundamental hope. He
modated itself to it, particularly in the Congregation for the
complained openly about some of his closest advisers, who
Doctrine of the Faith’s Mysterium ecclesiae (1973), which
“though burning with zeal, are not endowed with much
noted that “even though the truths which the Church in-
sense of discretion or measure. In these modern times they
tends to teach through her dogmatic formulas are distinct
can see nothing but prevarication and ruin.” He called them
from the changeable conceptions of a given epoch and can
“prophets of gloom, who are always forecasting disaster, as
be expressed without them, nevertheless it can sometimes
though the end of the world were at hand.” He believed in-
happen that these truths may be enunciated by the Sacred
stead that “Divine Providence is leading us to a new order
Magisterium in terms that bear traces of such conceptions.”
of human relations.” He had not called the council to pre-
serve doctrine. “The substance of the ancient doctrine . . .
Between the World Wars (1918–1939). The period
is one thing, and the way in which it is presented is another.”
before Vatican II was not without its progressive movements
This was not the time for negativism. The most effective way
(otherwise Vatican II itself would be inexplicable). The litur-
for the church to combat error would be by “demonstrating
gical movement bridged the gap between altar and congrega-
the validity of her teaching rather than by condemnations.”
tion by emphasizing the nature of worship and by stressing
The purpose of the council, therefore, would be the promo-
the Thomistic principle that sacraments are signs of grace as
tion of “concord, just peace and the brotherly unity of all.”
well as causes of grace. As signs, sacraments must be under-
standable, in terms of both language and ritual. The biblical
Although John XXIII died between the first two sessions
movement carried forward the work of critical interpretation
of the council, his successor, Paul VI, carried his program to
without provoking additional papal condemnations. But
fulfillment:
Catholic biblical scholars labored under a cloud until Pius
1. Vatican II taught that the church is the people of God,
XII issued the so-called Magna Carta of Catholic biblical
a community of disciples. The hierarchy is part of the
scholarship, Divino afflante Spiritu (1943). The social action
people of God, not separate from it. Authority is for ser-
movement continued to apply the teachings of the social en-
vice, not for domination. Bishops are not merely the
cyclicals, particularly in support of the labor union move-
delegates of the pope, and laity are not merely instru-
ment. The lay apostolate movement under Pius XI and Pius
ments of their bishops. (See the Dogmatic Constitution
XII sought to involve larger numbers of laity in the work of
on the Church.)
the church (a movement also known as Catholic Action).
2. The church must read the signs of the times and inter-
The ecumenical movement had a more difficult path, given
pret them in the light of the gospel. The church is part
the negative tone of Pius XI’s encyclical Mortalium animos
of the world, and its mission is to serve the whole
(1927), but pioneers like Yves Congar were preparing the
human family in order to make the history of the
way for Vatican II. Meanwhile, the missionary movement,
human race more human. (See the Pastoral Constitu-
which had experienced a major revival in the nineteenth cen-
tion on the Church in the Modern World.)
tury, with as many as 8 million converts, was increasingly lib-
erated from undue colonial and European influence. Both
3. Christian unity requires renewal and reform. Both sides
Pius XI and Pius XII stressed the importance of establishing
were to blame for the divisions of the Reformation;
native clergies and native hierarchies in mission lands.
therefore both sides have to be open to change. The
body of Christ embraces more than Catholics (Roman
Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council.
or otherwise). (See the Decree on Ecumenism.)
No other persons or events have had so profound an impact
on modern Catholicism as John XXIII and the Second Vati-
4. The word of God is communicated through sacred
can Council he convoked. When elected in 1958, John in-
scripture, sacred tradition, and the teaching authority of
sisted that his was “a very humble office of shepherd” and
the church, all linked together and guided by the Holy
that he intended to pattern his ministry after that of Joseph
Spirit. The sacred realities are always open in principle
in the Old Testament story, who greeted the brothers who
to a growth in understanding. (See the Dogmatic Con-
had sold him into slavery with the compassionate and forgiv-
stitution on Divine Revelation.)
ing words, “I am Joseph, your brother.” When the new pope
5. The church proclaims the gospel not only in word but
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also in sacrament. Since the whole people of God must
that there is a ground of all being which is being itself. With
actively participate in this worship, the signs, that is,
Thomas Aquinas, Catholicism affirms that all reality is root-
language and rituals, must be intelligible. (See the Con-
ed in the creative, loving power of that which is most real
stitution on the Sacred Liturgy.)
(ens realissimum). Catholicism answers the question of mean-
ing in terms of the reality of God. In brief, Catholicism is
6. No one is to be forced in any way to embrace the Chris-
a religious perspective, and not simply a philosophical or an-
tian or the Catholic faith. This principle is rooted in
thropological one.
human dignity and the freedom of the act of faith. (See
the Declaration on Religious Freedom.)
But Catholicism is not some undifferentiated religious
view. Catholicism’s view of and commitment to God is radi-
7. God speaks also through other religions. The church
cally shaped by its view of and commitment to Jesus Christ.
should engage in dialogue and other collaborative ef-
For the Christian, the ultimate dimension of human experi-
forts with them. The Jews have a special relationship to
ence is a triune God: a God who creates and sustains, a God
the church. They cannot be blamed as a people for the
who draws near to and identifies with the human historical
death of Jesus. (See the Declaration on the Relationship
condition, and a God who empowers people to live accord-
of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.)
ing to the vocation to which they have been called. More spe-
After four sessions the Second Vatican Council adjourned in
cifically, the God of Christians is the God of Jesus Christ.
December 1965. The story of Catholicism since the coun-
But just as Jesus Christ gives access to God, so, for the
cil—through the pontificates of Paul VI (1963–1978), John
Catholic, the church gives access to Jesus Christ. However,
Paul I (1978), and John Paul II (1978–)—has been shaped
the church itself is composed of many churches, as noted
largely, if not entirely, by the church’s efforts to come to
above. The church universal is the communion of local
terms with the various challenges and opportunities which
churches, and the body of Christ is composed of denomina-
that council presented: specifically, how can the church re-
tions (for want of a better term). Thus the noun “church”
main faithful to its distinctively Catholic heritage even as it
is always modified: the Catholic church, the Methodist
continues to affirm and assimilate such modern values as
church, the Orthodox church, the Lutheran church, and so
ecumenism, pluralism, and secularity?
forth. Moreover, even those modifiers can themselves be
CATHOLIC VISION AND CATHOLIC VALUES. Catholicism is
modified: the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Luther-
not an isolated reality. The word Catholic is not only a noun
an Church of America, the American Lutheran Church, and
but also an adjective. As an adjective, it modifies the noun
so forth.
Christian. The word Christian, too, is both a noun and an
There are many churches, but one body of Christ.
adjective. As an adjective, it modifies religious. The word reli-
Within the community of churches, however, there is one
gious also functions as an adjective and a noun. As an adjec-
church that alone embodies and manifests all the institution-
tive, it modifies the word human. Thus the Catholic church
al elements necessary for the integrity of the whole body. In
is a community of persons (the fundamentally human foun-
Catholic doctrine and theology, that one church is the Cath-
dation of Catholic identity) who believe in and are commit-
olic church. As ecumenical as the Second Vatican Council
ted to the reality of God and who shape their lives according
certainly was, it did not retreat from this fundamental Cath-
to that belief and in fidelity to that commitment (the religious
olic conviction:
component of Catholicism). The church’s belief in and com-
mitment to the reality of God is focused in its fundamental
They are fully incorporated into the society of the
attitude toward Jesus Christ (the Christian core). For Catho-
Church who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept her
lics, as for every Christian, the old order has passed away, and
entire system and all the means of salvation given to
her, and through union with her visible structure are
they are a “new creation” in Christ, for God has “reconciled
joined to Christ, who rules her through the Supreme
us to himself through Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17, 5:19). “Catho-
Pontiff and the Bishops. This joining is effected by the
lic,” therefore, is a qualification of “Christian,” of “religious,”
bonds of professed faith, of the sacraments, of ecclesias-
and of the human. To be Catholic is to be a kind of human
tical government, and of communion. (Dogmatic Con-
being, a kind of religious person, and a kind of Christian.
stitution on the Church, no. 14)
To be Catholic is, before all else, to be human. Catholi-
Since Vatican II, however, much has happened to suggest
cism is an understanding and affirmation of human existence
that the traditional lines of distinction have been blurred. It
before it is a corporate conviction about the pope, or the
is more evident now that, in spite of the distinctiveness of
seven sacraments, or even about Jesus Christ. But Catholi-
the Catholic claims for the papal office, Catholic identity is
cism is also more than a corporate understanding and affir-
rooted in much broader and richer theological values. Specif-
mation of what it means to be human. Catholicism answers
ically, there is a configuration of characteristics within Ca-
the question of meaning in terms of ultimacy. With Dietrich
tholicism that is not duplicated anywhere else in the commu-
Bonhoeffer (d. 1945), Catholicism confirms that there is
nity of Christian churches. This configuration of
more to life than meets the eye, that there is “a beyond in
characteristics is expressed in Catholicism’s systematic theol-
our midst.” With Paul Tillich (d. 1975), Catholicism affirms
ogy; its body of doctrines; its liturgical life, especially its Eu-
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charist; its variety of spiritualities; its religious congregations
Leo XIII in 1891 to John Paul II a century later, is as charac-
and lay apostolates; its official teachings on justice, peace,
teristic of Catholic Christianity as any element can be. In vir-
and human rights; its exercise of collegiality; and, to be sure,
tue of the sacramental principle, Catholics affirm that God
its Petrine ministry.
is indeed present to all human life and to history. To be in-
volved in the transformation of the world is to be collabora-
Roman Catholicism is distinguished from other Chris-
tively involved in God’s own revolutionary and transforming
tian traditions and churches in its understanding of, commit-
activity.
ment to, and exercise of the principles of sacramentality, me-
diation, and communion. Differences between Catholic and
For the Catholic, the world is essentially good, though
non-Catholic (especially Protestant) approaches become
fallen, because it comes from the creative hand of God. And
clearer when measured according to these three principles.
for the Catholic, the world, although fallen, is redeemable
because of the redemptive work of God in Jesus Christ. And
Sacramentality. In its classical (Augustinian) meaning,
for the Catholic, the world, although fractured and frag-
a sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible grace. Paul VI pro-
mented, is capable of ultimate unity because of the abiding
vided a more contemporary definition: “a reality imbued
presence of the Holy Spirit, who is the “first fruits” of the
with the hidden presence of God.” A sacramental perspective
final kingdom of God.
is one that “sees” the divine in the human, the infinite in the
finite, the spiritual in the material, the transcendent in the
Mediation. A kind of corollary of the principle of sacra-
immanent, the eternal in the historical. Over against this sac-
mentality is the principle of mediation. A sacrament not only
ramental vision is the view, strengthened by memories of past
signifies; it also causes what it signifies. Indeed, as the Coun-
excesses in the sacramental vision, that God is so “totally
cil of Trent officially taught, sacraments cause grace precisely
other” that the divine reality can never be identified with the
insofar as they signify it. If the church, therefore, is not a
human, the transcendent with the immanent, the eternal
credible sign of God’s and Christ’s presence in the world, if
with the historical, and so forth. The abiding Protestant fear
the church is not obviously the “temple of the Holy Spirit,”
is that Catholics take the sacramental principle to a point just
it cannot achieve its missionary purposes. It “causes” grace
short of, if not fully immersed in, idolatry.
(i. e., effectively moves the world toward its final destiny in
the kingdom of God) to the extent that it signifies the reality
The Catholic sacramental vision “sees” God in and
toward which it presumes to direct the world.
through all things: other people, communities, movements,
events, places, objects, the world at large, the whole cosmos.
On the other hand, sacraments are not only signs of
The visible, the tangible, the finite, the historical—all these
faith, as Protestants affirmed at the time of the Reformation.
are actual or potential carriers of the divine presence. Indeed,
For the Catholic, God is not only present in the sacramental
for the Catholic, it is only in and through these material real-
action; God actually achieves something in and through that
ities that we can even encounter the invisible God. The great
action. Thus, created realities not only contain, reflect, or
sacrament of our encounter with God, and of God’s encoun-
embody the presence of God, they also make that presence
ter with us, is Jesus Christ. The church, in turn, is the key
effective for those who avail themselves of these realities. En-
sacrament of our encounter with Christ, and of Christ with
counter with God does not occur solely in the inwardness
us; and the sacraments, in turn, are the signs and instruments
of conscience or in the inner recesses of consciousness. Ca-
by which that ecclesial encounter with Christ is expressed,
tholicism holds, on the contrary, that the encounter with
celebrated, and made effective for the glory of God and the
God is a mediated experience, rooted in the historical and
salvation of men and women.
affirmed as real by the critical judgment that God is truly
present and active here or there, in this event or that, in this
The Catholic, therefore, insists that grace (the divine
person or that, in this object or that.
presence) actually enters into and transforms nature (human
life in its fullest context). The dichotomy between nature and
Again, the Protestant raises a word of caution. Just as
grace is eliminated. Human existence is already graced exis-
the principle of sacramentality edges close to the brink of
tence. There is no merely natural end of human existence,
idolatry, so the principle of mediation moves one along the
with a supernatural end imposed from above. Human exis-
path toward magic. Just as there has been evidence of idolatry
tence in its natural, historical condition is radically oriented
in some Roman Catholic piety, so there has been evidence
toward God. The history of the world is, at the same time,
of a magical view of the divine-human encounter in certain
the history of salvation.
forms of Catholic devotional life. Some Catholics have as-
sumed that if a certain practice were performed a given num-
This means, for the Catholic, that authentic human
ber of times in an unbroken sequence, their salvation would
progress and the struggle for justice, peace, freedom, human
be guaranteed. A magical worldview, of course, is not a solely
rights, and so forth, is part of the movement of and toward
Catholic problem, but it is an inherent risk in Catholicism’s
the kingdom of God (Vatican Council II, Pastoral Constitu-
constant stress on the principle of mediation.
tion on the Church in the Modern World, no. 39). The
Catholic, unlike Luther, espouses no doctrine of the two
Catholicism’s commitment to the principle of media-
kingdoms. The vast body of Catholic social doctrine, from
tion is evident, for example, in the importance it has always
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placed on the ordained ministry of the priest. God’s dealings
lead to idolatry, and mediation to magic, the principle of
with us are not arbitrary or haphazard. God is present to all
communion can lead to a collectivism that suppresses indi-
and works on behalf of all, but there are also moments and
viduality, and an authoritarianism that suppresses freedom
actions wherein God’s presence is specially focused. The
of thought.
function of the priest, as mediator, is not to limit the encoun-
But stress on the individual also has its inherent weak-
ter between God and the human person but to focus it more
ness, just as there are inherent weaknesses in the historic
clearly for the sake of the person, and ultimately for the com-
Protestant insistences on the otherness of God (over against
munity at large.
the Catholic sacramental principle) and on the immediacy
The principle of mediation also explains Catholicism’s
of the divine-human encounter (over against the Catholic
historic emphasis on the place of Mary, the mother of Jesus
principle of mediation). Some important Protestant theolo-
Christ. The Catholic accepts the role of Mary in salvation
gians like Paul Tillich and Langdon Gilkey have come to ac-
on the same ground that the Catholic accepts the role of
knowledge these inherent problems in Protestantism and the
Jesus Christ. God is present in, and redemptively works
corresponding truth of the Catholic sacramental vision. Ac-
through, the humanity of Jesus. This is the principle of me-
cording to Gilkey, the Catholic principle of symbol or sacra-
diation in its classic expression. The Catholic understands
mentality “may provide the best entrance into a new synthe-
that the invisible, spiritual God is present and available to
sis of the Christian tradition with the vitalities as well as the
us through the visible and the material, and that these are
relativities of contemporary existence” (Gilkey, 1975,
made holy by reason of that divine presence. The Catholic,
p. 22).
therefore, readily engages in the veneration (not worship) of
Mary, not because Catholicism perceives Mary as some kind
THEOLOGY AND DOCTRINE. The principles of sacramentali-
of goddess or supercreature or rival of the Lord himself, but
ty, mediation, and communion frame Catholic thinking and
because she is a symbol or image of God. It is the God who
teaching about every significant theological question. The
is present in her and who fills her whole being that the Cath-
following is not an exhaustive list, and some overlapping
olic grasps in the act of venerating yet another “sacrament”
with the above discussion is inevitable.
of the divine.
Revelation and faith. Catholics share with other Chris-
Communion. Finally, Catholicism affirms the princi-
tians the conviction that God has somehow communicated
ple of communion: the human way to God, and God’s way
with humankind in the history of Israel; supremely in Jesus
to humankind, is not only a mediated but a communal way.
Christ, the Son of God; then through the apostles and evan-
Even when the divine-human encounter is most personal
gelists; and, in a different way, through nature, human
and individual, it is still communal, in that the encounter is
events, and personal relationships. Some Roman Catholics
made possible by the mediation of a community of faith.
have tended to restrict revelation to the teachings of the
Thus there is not simply an individual personal relationship
church, just as some Protestants have tended to limit revela-
with God or Jesus Christ that is established and sustained by
tion to the Bible. But fundamentally, all Christians, conser-
meditative reflection on sacred scripture, for the Bible itself
vative and liberal alike, are united in the belief that Jesus
is the church’s book and the testimony of the church’s origi-
Christ, as both person and event, provides the fullest disclo-
nal faith. There is no relationship with God, however in-
sure of God. Christian faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ
tense, profound, or unique, that dispenses entirely with the
as the Lord and Savior of the world and as the great sacra-
communal context of every relationship with God.
ment of God’s presence among us.
And this is why, for Catholicism, the mystery of the
Roman Catholics, however, have always been insistent
church has always had so significant a place in its theology,
that such faith is reasonable, not arbitrary or blind. The First
doctrine, pastoral practice, moral vision, and devotion. Cath-
Vatican Council (1869–1870) taught that faith is “conso-
olics have always emphasized the place of the church as the
nant with reason.” Roman Catholics, therefore, exclude fide-
sacrament of Christ, which mediates salvation through sacra-
ism, on the one hand, and rationalism, on the other. Faith
ments, ministries, and other institutional elements and
is neither beyond intellectual support nor fully open to intel-
forms, and as the communion of saints and the people of
lectual scrutiny. It is neither rational nor irrational. It is rea-
God. It is here, at the point of Catholicism’s understanding
sonable. That is, we can identify solid motives for believing,
of itself as church, that one comes to the heart of the distinc-
and we can show that one need not surrender intellectual in-
tively Catholic understanding and practice of Christian faith.
tegrity in order to be a Christian.
For here, in Catholic ecclesiology, one finds the convergence
The most celebrated Roman Catholic exponent and
of those three principles that have always been so characteris-
practitioner of this view has been Thomas Aquinas. For cen-
tic of Catholicism: sacramentality, mediation, and com-
turies Thomism and Catholicism have been identified in
munion.
many minds. Accordingly, some Protestants have thought
The Protestant again raises a word of caution. If one em-
that Catholics are too analytical and too rational about their
phasizes too much the principle of communion, do we not
faith. And some Catholics have assumed that the “truth” of
endanger the freedom of individuals? If sacramentality can
Roman Catholic claims is so demonstrably clear that any
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open-minded person would have to accept them once he or
nous colors, several examples to the contrary notwithstand-
she examined the “evidence.”
ing. Humankind is redeemable because men and women are
radically good.
While Roman Catholic apologetics has moved away
from its earlier rational, almost rationalistic, orientation, it
Nature and grace. The question of grace raises one of
remains committed to the notion that Christian faith does
the sharpest issues that have historically divided Protestant
have a “content,” that it is, for example, more than the per-
from Roman Catholic. How is humankind justified and
sonal acceptance of Jesus Christ or a feeling of absolute de-
eventually saved? By our own efforts? By God’s alone? Or by
pendence upon God.
a combination of both? Appearances to the contrary, Roman
Creation and original sin. Roman Catholics adhere to
Catholics have never endorsed the view that people are saved
the ancient Christian creeds, which professed their belief in
by their own power. That position, known as Pelagianism,
one God, the Almighty Creator, who made the heavens and
has been condemned consistently by the councils of the
the earth, and all things visible and invisible. And they ad-
church, especially by Trent, and by Augustine in particular.
here as well to the later councils of the church, which added
Catholics, however, regard the second view as equally objec-
that God freely created the world from nothing at the begin-
tionable, namely, that human beings contribute nothing at
ning of time in order to share his own goodness, to manifest
all to salvation, because it is so totally the work of God. Such
his own glory, and to sanctify humankind. Jesus Christ is not
a belief, Catholics have always argued, undermines human
only the head of the whole human race but also is himself
freedom and human responsibility and encourages a passive,
the summit of all creation. He is the Second Adam through
quietist approach to the Christian life. We are saved neither
whom all else came into being (Col. 1:15). Because of their
by faith alone nor by works alone, but by a living faith that
understanding of creation, Roman Catholics have always had
overflows in works befitting a “new creature” in Christ (Gal.
an essentially positive attitude toward the world.
6:15).
But the specific origins of men and women have posed
To be in the state of grace means to be open to the pres-
a more thorny problem. The councils of the church (specifi-
ence of God, and of the Holy Spirit in particular. This in-
cally Lateran IV in 1215 and Vatican I in 1869–1870) had
dwelling of the Spirit really transforms us. Our sins are not
taught that all people owe their existence to the creative ac-
merely “covered over.” They are obliterated by an act of di-
tion of God. Although humankind was specially favored by
vine forgiveness and generosity, on the sole condition that
God in the beginning, we sinned and thereby suffered both
we are truly sorry for having offended God in the first place.
physical and spiritual losses (Council of Trent, 1545–1563).
The graced person is still liable to sin, of course, and so in
But how exactly did this original sin occur, and who “com-
this sense he or she may be said to be both just and sinful
mitted” it? Present Catholic scholarship, both biblical and
(simul iustus et peccator). But that gives a different meaning
theological, argues that there is no necessary connection be-
to the expression than some of the reformers assigned it.
tween monogenism (the theory that the whole human race
They would have been less prepared than Catholics to stress
sprang from one set of parents) and the integrity of Catholic
the internal transformation by grace.
doctrine. What is clearly maintained is that humankind
Jesus Christ and redemption. Roman Catholics share
comes from the creative hand of God. This creative action,
with other Christians the central conviction of Christian
however, could have been an evolutionary process just as
faith that Jesus of Nazareth is the Lord of history (Phil. 2:5–
likely as a one-time event. And so, too, the entrance of
11), that he was crucified for our sins, was raised from the
human sin could have been evolutionary in character. Some
dead on the third day, was exalted as Lord of all, is present
would argue, therefore, that sin gradually spread through the
to history now in and through the church.
human race until it became truly universal in the sin that was
the rejection of Christ. But there are problems with this view,
Jesus Christ is both human and divine in nature, yet one
and many Catholic theologians continue to insist that the
person. “Born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4), he is like us in all
original sin be traced to a primal fault that immediately af-
things save sin (Heb. 4:15). At the same time, he is of the
fected the entire race.
very being of God, Son of the Father, the light of God in
the world. He is, in the words of the Second Vatican Coun-
Nonetheless, original sin has a meaning that goes be-
cil, “the key, the focal point, and the goal of all human histo-
yond the personal decisions of Adam and Eve. It is the state
ry” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern
in which all people are born precisely because they are mem-
World, no. 10).
bers of the human race. As such, we are situated in a sinful
history that affects our capacity to love God above all and
While Roman Catholic piety has often emphasized the
to become the kind of people God destined us to be. What
divinity of Christ at the expense of the humanity (“God”
is important to remember, Catholics insist, is that we came
died on the cross; “God” dwells in the tabernacle, etc.),
forth from the hand of God essentially good, not essentially
Roman Catholics have sometimes suspected some Protes-
evil. Sin has rendered our condition ambiguous, at best and
tants of reversing the emphasis in favor of Jesus’ humanity.
at worst. Unlike some Protestants, Roman Catholics have
Whatever the exaggerations on either side of the Reforma-
been less inclined to paint the human scene in dark and omi-
tion divide, official Roman Catholic doctrine has always
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maintained a balance, without confusion, between the
tery and doctrine of the Trinity is the beginning, the end,
human and divine natures.
and the center of all Christian and, therefore, all Catholic
theology.
Roman Catholics believe, of course, in the centrality
and absolute necessity of Jesus Christ for personal salvation
Mary. Whatever the popular exaggerations in the past,
and the salvation of all the world, but they do not believe
Roman Catholic doctrine does not say that Mary is coequal
that one must be an explicit Christian, confessing the lord-
with Christ. However, she is the mother of Jesus, and her
ship of Jesus, before one can be saved. People of good will
motherhood is what roots Christ in our humanity. Indeed,
who lead exemplary lives are just as likely to enter the heav-
Mary’s name was involved in the earliest christological con-
enly banquet as professed Christians. Catholics have called
troversies. If Jesus was not divine, then of course it would
this “baptism by desire.” Conversely, Roman Catholics also
have been wrong to call her the Mother of God. But the
acknowledge that professed Christians can be damned, their
Council of Ephesus condemned the Nestorians in 431, and
fervent appeal to the lordship of Jesus notwithstanding. “Not
Mary was proclaimed theotokos (Mother of God)—which ef-
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the king-
fectively meant that Jesus was proclaimed as true God as well
dom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who
as true man.
is in heaven” (Mt. 7:21).
Controversy has continued to surround Mary, especially
Neither do Roman Catholics readily identify with the
since the middle of the nineteenth century: first in 1854 with
evangelical Protestant stress on the propitiatory nature of the
the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Concep-
crucifixion of Jesus, even though this view has durable roots
tion (that she was conceived without original sin), then in
in history, particularly in the writings of Anselm of Canter-
1950 with the dogma of the Assumption (that she was taken
bury (d. 1109). Jesus did not die in order to pay off a debt
up bodily into heaven after her death). Mary has also been
coldly demanded by his Father. He was executed because his
called the Mediatrix of all graces (i. e., by the will of Christ,
person and his message were threatening to the political and
all the grace he earned for us is channeled through her), co-
religious establishments of his day. By accepting death, he
Redemptrix (i. e., she shares somehow in the redemptive
demonstrated that love and freedom are more powerful than
work of her Son, without prejudice to the supreme saving
apathy and fear. The crucifixion was the will of God in the
power of his own death and resurrection), and Mother of the
sense that God wills the personal fulfillment of every man
church (i. e., she has a certain priority in the church, as chief
and woman, and specifically God willed that Jesus should
among the saints, and is the prototype of the church, a sign
confront and challenge the network of sin in human society
of the church’s call to obedience and fidelity to God’s word).
even though such a confrontation and challenge would sure-
Controversy has been rekindled, too, in the matter of the
ly polarize all the forces of sin against him.
Virgin Birth (i. e., Mary conceived Jesus by the power of the
In any case, for Catholics the redemption was accom-
Holy Spirit alone, without benefit of a human partner),
plished by the whole paschal mystery, that is, Christ’s passing
while reports of Marian appearances in Guadalupe (1531),
over to his Father through a life of suffering servanthood, his
Lourdes (1858), and Fatima (1917) have generated both
obedient death on the cross, and his resurrection, ascension,
skepticism and fervor.
and exaltation at the right hand of God. The redemptive act
Devotion to Mary is a characteristically Catholic phe-
is not limited to the crucifixion alone.
nomenon in that it expresses the three fundamental princi-
Holy Spirit and Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God’s self-
ples of Catholic theology and practice:
communication as love and as the power of healing, reconcil-
1. The principle of sacramentality, which affirms that the
iation, and new life. The divinity of the Holy Spirit was de-
invisible and spiritual God is present through the visible
fined by the First Council of Constantinople in 381. The
and the material, and that these are in turn made holy
Spirit has the same divine essence as the Father and the Son
by that presence. This includes Mary, in whom God is
and yet is distinct from them both. Within the Trinity, the
very specially present.
Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son. Despite the
2. The principle of mediation, which affirms that grace is
bitter East-West dispute on this point, the Council of Ferra-
a mediated reality, first through Christ and secondarily
ra-Florence (1438–1440) did allow for the preposition
through the church and other human instruments, in-
“through” as a legitimate alternative to the preferred con-
cluding Mary.
junction “and.” The God who created us, who sustains us,
who will judge us, and who will give us eternal life is not a
3. The principle of communion, which affirms that the
God infinitely removed from us (i. e., God the Father). On
saving encounter with God occurs not only personally
the contrary, God is a God of absolute proximity: a God who
and individually but also corporately and ecclesially. To
is communicated truly in the flesh, in history, within the
be in the church, that is, to be in communion with other
human family (i. e., God the Son), and a God who is present
Christians, is to be in and with Christ. Mary is the pre-
in the spiritual depths of human existence as well as in the
eminent member of this communion of saints. Our
core of unfolding human history, as the source of enlighten-
unity with her is an expression of our unity in and with
ment and community (i. e., God the Holy Spirit). The mys-
Christ.
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Church, kingdom of God, and sacraments. For the
ments can be validly celebrated only by certain authorized
Catholic, the church is the whole body, or congregation, of
ministers (bishops in the case of holy orders; bishops and del-
persons who are called by God the Father to acknowledge
egated priests in the case of confirmation; priests in the case
the lordship of Jesus, the Son, in word, in sacrament, in wit-
of the Eucharist, the anointing of the sick, and penance;
ness, and in service, and, through the power of the Holy
priests and deacons in the case of the sacrament of marriage,
Spirit, to collaborate with Jesus’ historic mission for the sake
which the couple themselves administer to each other; and
of the kingdom of God. The mission of the church, as also
a priest or deacon in the case of baptism, although in princi-
Jesus’ mission, is focused on the kingdom of God. By king-
ple anyone can administer baptism.
dom of God is meant the redemptive presence of God actual-
Catholic morality. For Catholicism, morality is a mat-
ized through the power of God’s reconciling Spirit. Literally,
ter of thinking and acting in accordance with the person and
the kingdom of God is the reign, or rule, of God. The king-
the community one has become in Christ. It is therefore a
dom happens whenever and wherever the will of God is ful-
matter not only of obeying the rules but also of being faithful
filled, for God rules where God’s will is at work. And since
to the spirit as well as to the letter of the gospel. Since human
God’s will is applicable to the cosmos, to nature, to objects,
agents are free to accept or reject Christ and his gospel, Ca-
to history, to institutions, to groups as well as overarching
tholicism contends with the reality of sin. But the church’s
as the claims and scope of the divine will itself.
moral vision and its approach to the moral demands of
The mission of the church is unintelligible apart from
Christian life are qualified always by its confidence in the
the kingdom of God. The church is called, first, to proclaim
power of grace and by its readiness to expect and understand
in word and in sacrament the definitive arrival of the king-
the weaknesses and failures rooted in original sin. And so Ca-
dom of God in Jesus of Nazareth; second, to offer itself as
tholicism is a moral universe of laws but also dispensations,
a test case or sign of its own proclamation, that is, to be a
of rules but also exceptions, of respect for authority but also
people transformed by the Holy Spirit into a community of
freedom of conscience, of high ideals but also minimal re-
faith, hope, love, freedom, and truthfulness; and third, to en-
quirements, of penalties but also indulgences, of censures
able and facilitate the coming of the reign of God through
and excommunications but also absolution and recon-
service within the community of faith and in the world at
ciliation.
large.
Catholic morality, therefore, is characterized by a both/
For the Catholic, the church does God’s work because
and rather than an either/or approach. It is not nature or
God is present and at work within it. To speak of the church
grace, but graced nature; not reason or faith, but reason illu-
as the presence and instrument of God is to speak of it sacra-
mined by faith; not law or gospel, but law inspired by the
mentally. Just as Christ is the sacrament of God, so the
gospel; not scripture or tradition, but normative tradition
church is the sacrament of Christ. Because the church is a
within scripture; not faith or works, but faith issuing in
sacrament, it acts sacramentally. In the course of its history,
works and works as expressions of faith; not authority or free-
the Catholic church has identified seven specific acts as sacra-
dom, but authority in the service of freedom; not the past
ments in the strictest sense of the term: baptism, confirma-
versus the present, but the present in continuity with the past;
tion, and Eucharist (which together constitute the rite of
not stability or change, but change in fidelity to stable princi-
Christian initiation), and marriage, holy orders, reconcilia-
ple, and principle fashioned and refined in response to
tion (or penance), and the anointing of the sick. The sacra-
change; not unity or diversity, but unity in diversity, and di-
ments, individually and collectively, are signs of faith, causes
versity that prevents uniformity, the antithesis of unity.
of grace, acts of worship, and signs and instruments of the
This both/and approach to morality also explains the so-
unity of the church and of Christ’s presence in the world.
called seamless-garment approach of U. S. Catholic bishops
to contemporary issues such as nuclear warfare, capital pun-
The relationship between sign and cause, however, has
ishment, aid to the handicapped, abortion, human rights,
provoked the most serious sacramental controversy, particu-
and the like. And the Catholic church’s beliefs about the uni-
larly at the time of the Reformation. The Council of Trent
versality of grace and the capacity of all persons, Catholic or
rejected two extreme notions of causality: the one that re-
not, to come to an understanding of the law of God written
duced sacraments to magical actions, and the other that
in every human heart (Rom. 2:15) explains its conviction that
robbed sacraments of their inner spiritual reality and efficacy.
Catholic moral teachings about such matters as nuclear war-
The sacraments cause grace, not because of the faith of the
fare and abortion are also universally applicable, and not re-
recipient but because of the working of God within the sacra-
stricted to Catholics alone.
ments themselves (ex opere operato). On the other hand, God
does not force the human will. Faithfully reflecting the teach-
The last things. Catholic teaching and belief about life
ing of Thomas Aquinas, the Council of Trent recognized
after death applies to individuals, the church, and the human
that the recipient must have the right disposition if the sacra-
community as a whole. Everyone and everything is destined
ment is to be spiritually fruitful: interior conversion, faith,
for the kingdom of God, but there is no guarantee of univer-
and devotion. Finally, the validity of a sacrament does not
sal salvation. The separation of the sheep and the goats (Mt.
depend on the holiness of the minister, although some sacra-
25) will occur at both the general judgment (i. e., at the end
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7886
ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FIRST EDITION]
of human history) and at the particular judgment (i. e., at
Therefore, there is “neither appeal nor recourse against a de-
the end of each individual’s life). Some will join God forever
cision or decree of the Roman Pontiff” (canon 333, no. 3).
in heaven; some may be separated eternally from God in hell;
The only way a pope can lose such authority is through death
others may find themselves in a state of merely natural happi-
or resignation.
ness in limbo; and others will suffer in purgatory some tem-
porary “punishment” still required of sins that have already
Just as the universal church is composed of an interna-
been forgiven. Such “punishments” can be partially or fully
tional college of local churches, so the universality of the
remitted through the application of indulgences.
church is expressed through the collegial relationship of the
bishops, one to another. The bishop of Rome serves as the
Each individual is destined for the beatific vision (heav-
head and center of this collegial network. Even the Code of
en, eternal life) and the resurrection of the body. Purgatory
Canon Law of the Roman Catholic church acknowledges
is an intermediate state between heaven and hell, reserved for
that the church is not a strict monarchy, for the college of
those who, at the moment of death, are not yet ready to see
bishops, which always includes the pope, “is also the subject
God “face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12). Catholic tradition holds
of supreme and full power over the universal Church” (canon
that it is possible for the living (the church militant) spiritu-
336), a power that it exercises solemnly in an ecumenical
ally to aid “the souls in purgatory” (the church suffering). All
council. Bishops also participate in the governance of the
members of the church, living and dead, are bound together
church through synods. A synod of bishops is a group of
as a communion of saints. Just as the prayers of the living
bishops who have been chosen from the different regions of
may benefit those in purgatory, so the prayers of the saints
the world to discuss matters of general interest to the church
in heaven (the church triumphant) may benefit those on
and to make recommendations for pastoral action. Since the
earth who make intercession to them.
Second Vatican Council, international synods of bishops
have met in Rome every two, and then every three, years. An
Although the church has defined that certain persons
extraordinary synod of bishops was called by John Paul II in
are in heaven (canonized saints), it has never defined that
1985.
anyone is actually in hell. Thus, a Catholic is required to be-
lieve in hell as a real possibility for those who utterly reject
The college of cardinals constitutes a special college of
the grace of God, but the Catholic is not required to believe
bishops within the larger episcopal college. There were lay
that anyone has actually been consigned to hell. The destiny
cardinals until 1918, when the Code of Canon Law specified
of the unbaptized infant or young child, on the other hand,
that all cardinals must be priests. Pope John XXIII decreed
has, since the Middle Ages, been linked with a state called
in 1962 that all cardinals must be bishops. The responsibility
limbo, a condition of “natural happiness,” where the individ-
of the college of cardinals is to provide for the election of a
ual is free of punishment but deprived of the vision of God.
new pope and to advise the pope when and if he seeks its
However, belief in limbo and teaching about limbo has de-
counsel on matters pertaining to the governance of the uni-
clined as the hope of universal salvation has gradually in-
versal church. In its present form, the college of cardinals
creased since the Second Vatican Council.
dates from the twelfth century. Earlier the title had been be-
POLITY. According to its own official teachings, the Roman
stowed on deacons and priests of the leading churches of
Catholic church is neither a monarchy nor an oligarchy nor
Rome and on bishops of neighboring dioceses. The title was
a democracy. Its governance is of a unique kind because the
limited, however, to members of the college in 1567. The
church has a “unique essence” (Rahner and Ratzinger, The
number of cardinals was set at seventy in 1586 by Sixtus V,
Episcopate and the Primacy, 1962, p. 33). The universal
and that limit remained in force until the pontificate of John
church is a college of local churches. The supreme jurisdic-
XXIII, who gradually increased it. Paul VI limited the num-
tional power of this universal church is vested at one and the
ber of cardinals eligible to vote in papal elections to 120.
same time in the pope and in an ecumenical council, over
The Curia Romana is the administrative arm of the pa-
which the pope presides and of which he too is a member.
pacy. It consists of the Secretariat of State, the Council for
Indeed, the universal church is itself a kind of ecumenical
the Public Affairs of the Church, and various congregations,
council convoked by some human agent (today the pope, in
tribunals, and other institutions, whose structure and com-
the past popes and emperors alike). The papacy is the highest
petency are defined in special law. There are ten congrega-
pastoral office in the Roman Catholic church because of the
tions (Doctrine of the Faith, Oriental Churches, Bishops,
pope’s status as bishop of the diocese of Rome. As such, he
Discipline of the Sacraments, Divine Worship, Causes of
is head of the college of bishops, and is called the Vicar of
Saints, Clergy, Religious and Secular Institutes, Catholic Ed-
Christ (more accurately, the Vicar of Peter) and pastor of the
ucation, and the Evangelization of Peoples, or Propagation
universal church on earth.
of the Faith); three tribunals (Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary,
According to the legal tradition of the Roman Catholic
Apostolic Signatura, and the Sacred Roman Rota); three sec-
church, however, the church seems closer to an absolute
retariats (one for Christian Unity, one for Non-Christians,
monarchy. The Code of Canon Law accords the pope “su-
and one for Non-Believers); and a complex of commissions,
preme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power in the
councils, and offices, which administer church affairs at the
Church, which he can always freely exercise” (canon 331).
central executive level (e.g., Theological Commission, Coun-
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ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FIRST EDITION]
7887
cil of the Laity, and Central Statistics Office). The terms ap-
Ignatius of Antioch and Clement of Alexandria, Athanasius
ostolic see or holy see apply not only to the pope but also to
and Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nazianzus and Augustine
the Secretariat of State, the Council for the Public Affairs of
of Hippo, Anselm of Canterbury and Bernard of Clairvaux,
the Church, and other institutions of the Curia.
Abelard and Hugh of Saint Victor, Thomas Aquinas and
Bonaventure, Roberto Bellarmino and Johann Adam Mö-
The Code of Canon Law also stipulates that the pope
hler, Karl Rahner and Charles Journet, as well as John and
“possesses the innate and independent right to nominate,
Luke, Peter and Paul. Nor are there spiritualities that Cathol-
send, transfer and recall his own legates to particular church-
icism excludes. It is open to The Cloud of Unknowing and
es in various nations or regions, to states and to public au-
the Introduction to the Devout Life, to the way of Francis of
thorities; the norms of international law are to be observed
Assisi and that of Antony of Egypt, to Ignatius Loyola and
concerning the sending and the recalling of legates appointed
John of the Cross, to Abbott Marmion and Thomas Merton,
to states” (canon 362). These legates are usually called nun-
to Catherine of Siena and Dorothy Day, to Teresa of Ávila
cios and have ambassadorial rank. Those without full ambas-
and Mother Teresa.
sadorial rank are called apostolic delegates.
Catholicism is not just a collection of beliefs and prac-
The polity of the Roman Catholic church is not limited
tices but a community of persons. Catholicism is, and has
to the organizational structure and operation of its Rome
been, composed of martyrs and ascetics, pilgrims and war-
base. In Eastern-rite churches that are in union with the
riors, mystics and theologians, artists and humanists, activists
Holy See, there are patriarchs and patriarchates that have
and outsiders, pastors and saints. Catholicism is in Dante Al-
“existed in the Church from the earliest times and [were] rec-
ighieri, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Blaise Pascal, Erasmus,
ognized by the first ecumenical synods” (Vatican Council II,
Joan of Arc, Julian of Norwich, Thomas More, Thérèse of
Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches, no. 7). A patriarch is
Lisieux, and many others. “The splendour of saints, the glory
a bishop who has jurisdiction over all bishops, clergy, and
of cathedrals, the courage of reformers, the strangeness of
people of his own territory or rite. “The Patriarchs with their
myth and marvel, the soaring ecstasies of mystics and the sor-
synods constitute the superior authority for all affairs of the
rows of the poor—all these are the home of the Catholic en-
patriarchate, including the right to establish new eparchies
terprise” (Haughton, 1979, p. 249).
[dioceses] and to nominate bishops of their rite within the
territorial bounds of the patriarchate, without prejudice to
SEE ALSO Apostles; Atonement; Baptism; Biblical Literature,
the inalienable right of the Roman Pontiff to intervene in in-
article on New Testament; Basilica, Cathedral, and Church;
dividual cases” (no. 9).
Canon; Christian Ethics; Christianity; Christian Liturgical
Year; Church, article on Church Polity; Cistercians; Con-
At the diocesan level there are bishops, auxiliary bish-
stantinianism; Councils, article on Christian Councils;
ops, vicars general, chancellors, marriage courts, diocesan
Creeds, article on Christian Creeds; Cult of Saints; Death;
pastoral councils, and the like. At the parish level there are
Dominicans; Eucharist; Evil; Fall, The; Franciscans; Galli-
pastors, associate pastors, pastoral ministers, extraordinary
canism; Grace; Heresy, article on Christian Concepts; Hu-
ministers of the Eucharist, parish councils, and the like. The
manism; Iconography, article on Christian Iconography; In-
Second Vatican Council substantially expanded the partici-
carnation; Jesuits; Jesus; Kingdom of God; Mary; Merit,
pation of the laity in the governance of the church, particu-
article on Christian Concepts; Ministry; Missions, article on
larly through its teaching that the church is the people of
Christian Missions; Modernism, article on Christian Mod-
God (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, nos. 30–33).
ernism; Monasticism, article on Christian Monasticism;
Music, article on Religious Music in the West; Papacy;
SPIRITUALITY AND ETHOS. As the name itself suggests, Ca-
Peter the Apostle; Pilgrimage, articles on Roman Catholic
tholicism is characterized by a radical openness to all truth
Pilgrimage in Europe and Roman Catholic Pilgrimage in
and to every authentic human and spiritual value. One finds
the New World; Priesthood, article on Christian Priesthood;
in it, in varying degrees, all the theological, doctrinal, spiritu-
Redemption; Reformation; Religious Communities, article
al, liturgical, canonical, structural, and social diversity and
on Christian Religious Orders; Sacrament, article on Chris-
richness that are constitutive of Christianity as a whole. Ca-
tian Sacraments; Schism, article on Christian Schism; Scho-
tholicism is the very antithesis of a sect, and it is not inextri-
lasticism; Sin and Guilt; Trent, Council of; Trinity; Ultra-
cably linked with the culture of a particular nation or region
montanism; Vatican Councils, article on Vatican II;
of the world. It is in principle as Asian as it is European, as
Worship and Devotional Life, article on Christian Worship.
Slavic as it is Latin, as Mexican as it is Nigerian, as Irish as
it is Polish.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adam, Karl. Das Wesen des Katholizismus. Tübingen, 1924. Trans-
There is no list of Catholic fathers or mothers that does
lated by Justin McCann as The Spirit of Catholicism (New
not include the great figures of the period before as well as
York, 1954). Translated into many languages, including
after the division of East and West and the divisions within
Chinese and Japanese, this work represents the best of pre-
the West. Gregory of Nyssa is as much a Catholic father as
Vatican II Catholic theology, formulated in reaction to a pre-
is Augustine or Thomas Aquinas. Nor are there schools of
vailing neoscholasticism that tended to reduce Catholicism
theology that Catholicism excludes. Catholicism embraces
to a system of doctrines and laws. On the other hand, the text
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7888
ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
does reflect the exegetical, ecumenical, and ecclesiological
Catholic studies at the turn of the twenty-first century: be-
limitations of its time.
fore nominally indicating a church or adjectivally describing
Cunningham, Lawrence S. The Catholic Heritage. New York,
a belief, Roman Catholicism denotes action. It is what peo-
1983. Conveys the heart of Catholicism through certain
ple do with spiritual sensibilities redolent of the Christian
ideal types, for example, martyrs, mystics, and humanists, in-
God and tutored in traditions of Roman Catholic memory.
cluding “outsiders” like James Joyce and Simone Weil.
Terrence Tilley’s 2000 study of Roman Catholicism as a reli-
Delaney, John, ed. Why Catholic? Garden City, N. Y., 1979. A
gious tradition is representative, illustrating Roman Catholi-
collection of essays by various American Catholic figures on
cism as the act of handing something on (traditio) as much
their understanding of the meaning of Catholicism and on
as the things (tradita) passed down.
their own personal appropriation of that meaning. Contribu-
tors include Andrew Greeley, Abigail McCarthy, and Arch-
This focus on human action belies the oversimplified
bishop Fulton Sheen.
image of Roman Catholicism as a hierarchical, authoritarian
Gilkey, Langdon. Catholicism Confronts Modernity: A Protestant
church of immutable beliefs and acquiescent believers. It re-
View. New York, 1975. Chapter 1, “The Nature of the Cri-
veals a much more complex phenomenon: a church hierar-
sis,” is particularly useful because it identifies what the author
chical in form, yet materially diverse in its religious actions
regards as the essentially positive characteristics of Catholi-
and insights. Roman Catholics variably control and contest
cism: sacramentality, rationality, tradition, and peoplehood.
the practice of their religious sensibilities; practices formed
Happel, Stephen, and David Tracy. A Catholic Vision. Philadel-
as much by aesthetic sensibilities as by dogmatic pronounce-
phia, 1984. The approach is historical and the thesis is that
ment. What emerges from this scholarship is a Christianity
Catholicism emerges progressively and processively as it en-
not reckoned by a plurality, but expressive of a surprising
counters new forms of life that it constantly attempts to un-
pluralism. Sociologists of religion such as Kevin Christiano
derstand and transform. Jointly authored, the book may lack
strike a common note: “many people—not excluding Catho-
the necessary clarity and coherence that a less sophisticated
lics themselves—think that the Catholic Church is unitary
inquirer would require.
in addition to universal, monolithic as well as monumental,
Haughton, Rosemary. The Catholic Thing. Springfield, Ill., 1979.
and immutable as much as it is inimitable. Nothing could
An original approach that portrays Catholicism as a reality
be farther [sic] from the truth (2002).”
shaped by an enduring conflict between what the author calls
“Mother Church” (the more traditional, institutional side)
Attending to what Roman Catholics do, contemporary
and “Sophia” (the more unpredictable, communal side). In
research mines the everyday world of time and space. Uncov-
this regard, the book is similar to Cunningham’s (above).
ered in such work are previously unrecognized changes in
Hellwig, Monika K. Understanding Catholicism. New York, 1981.
Roman Catholicism over time, as well as locally distinct reli-
Covers some of the doctrinal and theological territory treated
gious practices shaped by the geographic and social spaces
in my more comprehensive Catholicism (below), but without
within which Roman Catholics find themselves. Eamon
so much attention to historical and documentary detail.
Duffy’s 1992 work The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional
Lubac, Henri de. Catholicisme. Paris, 1938. Translated by Lance-
Religion in England c.1400–c.1580 illustrates this trend.
lot C. Sheppard as Catholicism: A Study of the Corporate Des-
Duffy scrutinizes daily life in late medieval England and dis-
tiny of Mankind (New York, 1958). As its English subtitle
covers lay Roman Catholic religious practices that are sur-
suggests, the book underlines the essentially social nature of
prisingly vibrant and changing. Overturning the standard
Catholicism—in its creeds and doctrines, in its sacramental
view of the period, Duffy unearths a popular religiosity that
life, and in its vision of history. It draws heavily on patristic
seems scarcely moribund or decadent enough to seed an En-
and medieval sources, excerpts of which are provided in an
glish Reformation.
appendix.
McBrien, Richard P. Catholicism. Rev. ed. 2 vols. in 1. Minneapo-
Other historical investigations apply this method to
lis, 1981. The most comprehensive, up-to-date exposition of
spaces beyond the Eurocentric limits of earlier Roman Cath-
Catholic history, theology, and doctrine available. Its main
olic scholarship. Gauvin Bailey (1999), for example, analyzes
lines are reflected in this article.
art on the Jesuit missions in Asia and South America from
Rahner, Karl, and Joseph Ratzinger. Episkopat und Primat. Frei-
the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries.
burg im Bresgau, 1962. Translated by Kenneth Barker and
others as The Episcopate and the Primacy (New York, 1962).
Kathleen Myers and Amanda Powell (1999) edit and
An important corrective to exaggerated notions of papal au-
translate the seventeenth-century journal of Mexican nun
thority, and at the same time a significant contribution to the
Madre María de San Jose. Austen Ivereigh (2000) edits essays
literature on the meaning of collegiality. Its ideas, written be-
on Roman Catholic religious politics in nineteenth-century
fore Vatican II, were essentially adopted by the council.
Central and South America. These and more examinations
outside Europe further disclose the variable impact of time
RICHARD P. MCBRIEN (1987)
and space on lived Roman Catholicism.
Regard for historicity and contextuality also marks pres-
ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FURTHER CON-
ent Roman Catholic theology. Ethnically and regionally fo-
SIDERATIONS] A significant theme recurs in Roman
cused theologies have proliferated, drawing on Roman Cath-
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ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
7889
olic behaviors and convictions particular to nearly every
Bryk observes another irony in the operation of Roman
region of the world. There are African and Asian Catholic
Catholic high schools. Teachers and students still grant the
theologies, European-American, Hispanic-American, and
(typically lay) Roman Catholic school principal a greater de-
African American Catholic theologies, as well as theologies
gree of power and deference than is generally given principals
differentiating many national cultures of Central and South
in public schools. But today, this vestige of religious order,
America. Robert Schreiter summarizes this development in
authoritarian empowerment, is used as much for encourag-
his 1985 book Constructing Local Theologies: “there is now
ing parental involvement and local, decentralized school con-
a realization that all theologies have contexts, interests, rela-
trol as for maintaining discipline. From an international per-
tionships of power, special concerns—and to pretend that
spective, Grace (2003) explains how schools employ this
this is not the case is to be blind.”
power in relation to church authority, from those that are
Allied to this fascination with action in time and space
largely compliant (e.g., in Australia and Ireland), through
is scholarly concentration on Roman Catholic group activity.
moderately challenging (e.g., in England, Scotland, and the
Between the microscopic level of personal religious practice
United States), to boldly resistive (e.g., in Brazil, Chile, and
and the macroscopic level of hierarchical church authority
South Africa).
lies a “mesoscopic” layer of group and organizational action.
Research on women religious orders and Catholic
From parish ladies’ guilds and food-drive committees,
schools parallels the new scholarly concentration on the par-
through regional ethnic associations and right-to-life groups,
ish, the place where the micro-, meso-, and macroscopic le-
across diocesan social justice offices and marriage preparation
vels of religious life intersect for most Roman Catholics. An-
conferences, to national lay organizations and Marian devo-
drew Greeley captures this reality when he writes that “it is
tion assemblies, Roman Catholicism is replete with mesos-
the parish where people do their living and dying, their lov-
copic religious action. In his historical-analytical investiga-
ing and their quarreling, their doubting and their believing,
tion of this fact, Ad Leys (1995) observes both the practical
their mourning and their rejoicing, their worrying and their
ubiquity of Roman Catholic group life and the theoretical
praying” (1990). James Davidson, et al., communicate the
expression it is given in the social-moral principle of subsid-
point statistically: 78 percent of parish-affiliated Roman
iarity.
Catholics in the United States consider parishes “very impor-
Recent explorations attend to important, but previously
tant” organizations, as do 50 percent of those no longer affili-
unexamined, groups and organizations. Especially poignant
ated with a parish (1997).
are studies of women’s religious orders, the unheralded cre-
While a Roman Catholic’s sacramental life cycle surely
ators of vast school, orphanage, poorhouse, hospital, and so-
accounts for much of this affiliation, Mark Kowalewski’s re-
cial service networks around the world since the early nine-
search offers an additional reason. As a member of a church
teenth century. Like the African American Oblate Sisters of
with largely distant, ostensibly unchanging authority, a lay
Providence described by Diane Batts Morrow (2002), many
Roman Catholic’s typical contact with approachable and
of these heroic women’s groups struggled against not only
flexible religious leadership is the parish priest. When such
social discrimination, but also the disregard of their own
person-to-person leadership is effective, Roman Catholics re-
church leadership. To this day, a push-pull relationship with
ceive help not only in managing their sacramental lives
church authority persists for some women’s religious orders.
through the upheavals of contemporary economic, familial,
Characteristic of Roman Catholicism, two national organiza-
and cultural existence, but also in coping with these hard re-
tions of women religious, representing contrasting responses
alities on a day-to-day basis. Parish priests, says Kowalewski,
to this relationship, evolved in the United States after the
are “not simply bearers of the official directives of the organi-
Second Vatican Council (1961–1965): the Leadership Con-
zation, they also exercise their ministry in the context of indi-
ference of Women Religious and the Council of Major Supe-
vidual pastoral experience—an experience which often calls
riors of Women Religious.
for compromise and negotiation” (1993).
Heightened strain on the quality and funding of public
As they do with school principals, Roman Catholics fre-
schools at the end of the twentieth century has called atten-
quently defer to their parish priests. The common result is
tion to another previously neglected mesoscopic organiza-
a parish milieu mirroring the priest’s style of response toward
tion: the Catholic school. Though many schools have closed
church authority. Today, Roman Catholics worldwide pop-
and enrollment has declined over the past twenty-five years,
ularly categorize parishes as conservative, liberal, or radical.
the remaining 120,000 Roman Catholic elementary and sec-
ondary schools and their fifty million students around the
In the United States, however, the prerogatives granted
world still play a vital role in many societies. Analysts Antho-
to parish priests have come under intense scrutiny, ever since
ny Bryk, et al. (1993) and Gerald Grace (2002) are particu-
numerous disclosures of clerical sexual abuse of children oc-
larly fascinated with the loose federation, relative autonomy,
curred in the 1980s and subsequent decades. This priest-
and commitment to inner-city, non-Catholic children that
pedophilia tragedy has been compounded immeasurably by
is emblematic of many Roman Catholic schools—
the delinquency of church authority. Schooled in habits of
organizations ironically nested within their church’s central-
hierarchical, authoritarian arrogance, few bishops initially
ized, authoritarian structure.
felt compelled to respond compassionately to the victims of
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ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
past abuse or to safeguard potential future victims. Instead,
Ozanam’s St. Vincent de Paul societies on the right and Féli-
their first instincts were to protect predator priests, by reas-
cité Lamennais’ L’Avenir republicanism on the left. Similar-
signing them to other parishes without notice or simply by
ly, some radical-right Catholics support communitarian ex-
denying that the abuse ever took place. Not surprisingly, lay
periments inspired by the earlier Jesuit reductions in
Roman Catholics have reacted by creating multiple protest
Paraguay, while other radical-left Catholics embrace Philippe
groups. The Voice of the Faithful collaborates with bishops
Buchez’s Christian socialism.
on church reform, while the Survivors’ Network of those
Frank recognition of Roman Catholic pluralism, past
Abused by Priests (SNAP) is less inclined to participate in
and present, invites assessment of how this compound Chris-
such collaboration.
tian religiosity sustains itself over time. Drawing on the
These examples display the plural, mesoscopic ways in
thought of Félix Guattari, Renée de la Torre offers a “trans-
which Roman Catholics practice and perceive their everyday
versalized institution” model. In such institutions, multiple
religiosity, and how they relate this religiosity to the power
horizontal axes of popular practice intersect a single vertical
and instruction issued from hierarchical church authority.
axis of hierarchical authority. As in Roman Catholicism, this
Scholars regularly model this relationship on a conservative,
vertical axis of objective law meets multiple, horizontal
liberal, and radical scale. Mary Jo Weaver and Scott Appleby
“group aspirations and strategies which cross it from differ-
(1995) add further complexities to this scale. At each point,
ent points—within and without, above and below.” As these
a Roman Catholic congregation may articulate comparative-
lateral activities crisscross the axis of the hierarchical authori-
ly “right” and “left” orientations, approaches that are often
ty, “spaces of conflict that traverse and penetrate the institu-
additionally nuanced by a group’s unique regional history.
tion” are produced (2002).
This complex combination affects the many Roman
In transversalized institutions, therefore, vertical and
Catholic groups in the Americas that are devoted to improv-
horizontal axes operate in tensive, but mutually beneficial,
ing society. Responding to prevailing public policies, as well
ways. This model suggests that Roman Catholicism persists
as to church authority, groups on the conservative-right,
in its formal religious structure and dizzying array of material
such as Catholics United for the Faith, exist alongside those
religiosity by “the continuance, rather than the dissolution,
on the conservative-left, such as the North American neo-
of contradictions” (2002). For de la Torre, Roman Catholi-
conservative movement. Simultaneously, liberal-right groups
cism not only is, but also must be, a site of religious contesta-
like the St. Egidio communities work differently from liber-
tion.
al-left organizations such as the social-justice lobby, Net-
work. Added to this mix are radical-right groups, such as
The functionality of this control-contest interaction can
those sustaining Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker legacy, and
be further elucidated using Paul Connerton’s (1989) and
radical-left groups, such as those inspired by the earlier Latin
Ann Swidler’s (2001) investigations of social memory. With
American comunidades eclesiales de base movement.
its protracted and geographically diffuse history, Roman Ca-
tholicism possesses more religious memory than it can ex-
Some Roman Catholics deride this variety as the unde-
press at any given time. By selecting and communicating a
sirable byproduct of “cafeteria Catholics”—people who se-
manageable portion of this memory, church authorities per-
lect only those items in Roman Catholicism they like and
form an important control function for a Roman Catholic’s
pass over items they dislike. If this phenomenon did not
religious identity.
exist, critics argue, Roman Catholic thought and action
would more uniformly replicate the instruction of hierarchi-
But Roman Catholic lay people contribute to corporate
cal church authority. But as Dean Hoge points out, “Cathol-
identity formation as well. They also select and communicate
icism includes an amazing collection of teachings, symbols,
religious memory, primarily to meet the practical challenges
rituals, devotions, and practices, which has grown up over
of day-to-day economic, familial, and cultural life. Church
the centuries.” Accordingly, it is not transparently obvious
authority tutors most, but not all, of this lay religious memo-
to Roman Catholics which elements are core and which are
ry. Some religious memories may include personally and lo-
peripheral. “Catholics today are faced with the question,”
cally cherished practices and perceptions that were never
says Hoge, “of sorting out core and periphery in their rich,
known, long forgotten, or once silenced by church authority.
many-stranded tradition.” Hence, “everyone is, to some de-
Other memories may recall searing family crises resolved by
gree, a cafeteria Catholic” (2002).
untutored, customized religious insights unavailable or even
contrary to the letter of formal church teaching.
This is not a new phenomenon. Thomas Bokenkotter
(1998), Marvin Krier Mich (1998), Paul Misner (1991), and
Sometimes, the institutionally unknown, novel, and
others map an analogous range of Roman Catholic disposi-
contested religious memories alive in 98 percent of the
tions dating as far back as the French Revolution. Eigh-
Roman Catholic population rejuvenate the 2 percent of
teenth- and early nineteenth- century conservative Catholics
Catholics who exercise church authority. Though such
include the autocratic caudillos in South America on the right
memories may first appear divisive to church leaders, often
and German romantic traditionalists like Adam Müller on
their long-term effect is to lessen, if not prevent, arthritis in
the left. Liberal Catholics can be found supporting Frédéric
the vertical axis.
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ROMAN CATHOLICISM [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
7891
Thomas Reese’s (1989, 1992, 1996) in-depth research
from priestly ordination and are largely prevented from hold-
on the structures and processes of Roman Catholic church
ing positions of decision-making power in parishes and dio-
authority indicates that religious ressourcement may also orig-
ceses.
inate within the vertical axis itself. Reese tracks the often co-
The glue Dillon finds securing women—whether con-
vert interplay of control and contest among popes, cardinals,
servative, liberal, or radical—to Roman Catholicism is the
and bishops. Though infrequent, inside reform may some-
rich melange of symbols, stories, devotions, and rituals they
times be overt, as in Pope John XXIII’s 1959 call for an ecu-
claim as their own. When linked to memory, says Dillon in
menical council.
a 1998 book, these traditions remind most women that
Michael McCallion and David Maines (1999) explore
“their genealogy is entwined with a historically continuous
intra-institutional transformation in Roman Catholicism by
church rather than a history of sectlike divisions. There is a
taking up sociological “frame analysis” and social movement
disposition therefore to stay, rather than to leave, and to
research. In particular, they look at change in religious litur-
work towards transformation from within the tradition.”
gy. Since the Second Vatican Council, a class of professional
Dillon’s observation touches on a growing theme in
liturgists has appeared; these practitioners are committed to
contemporary Roman Catholic research: the centrality of
a relatively egalitarian “People of God” theology inspired by
aesthetic resources for the understanding and exercise of
conciliar documents. Through variously inserting this ideo-
Roman Catholic religiosity. Important to this renewed theo-
logical “frame” into patterns of worship, these “oppositional
logical interest in beauty has been the English translations
insiders” press against the formally asymmetric relationship
of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s five-volume theological aesthet-
between priest and people.
ics, The Glory of the Lord. Critical too has been increased
The seemingly impressive power of adaptation detailed
theological focus on culture. Works such as Roberto S.
in these examinations has not sheltered Roman Catholicism
Goizueta’s Caminemos Con Jesús: Toward a Hispanic/Latino
from defection of worshippers, however. Statistical surveys
Theology of Accompaniment (1995) show how attention to
in Europe and the Americas demonstrate that Mass atten-
aesthetics discloses heretofore hidden theological resources in
dance has not noticeably rebounded from the precipitous de-
the cultural practices of the Roman Catholic laity.
cline during the 1960s and 1970s. More Roman Catholics
Greeley points this out in terms of narrative when he
have converted to evangelical forms of Protestant Christiani-
insists that “religion is story before it is anything else and
ty. Fewer young people get married in the Roman Catholic
after it is everything else” (2000). Writtings such as John
Church, and an even smaller number become priests or
Shea’s popular Stories of Faith (1980) have highlighted the
nuns. The large population of divorced Roman Catholics
role narrative plays in Roman Catholic religiosity.
typically leaves the church, alienated by what they perceive
to be an arcane, duplicitous annulment process.
Greeley signals another topic of current exploration
when he observes that “religious sensibility is passed on by
Disaffection with church authority also registers high in
storytellers, most of whom are not aware that they are telling
survey research. As more and more people around the world
stories because their narratives reside more in who they are
expect and demand operational transparency from the insti-
and what they do than in what they say” (2000). Several
tutions that affect their lives, the procedures of the Roman
Roman Catholic investigations today probe the transmission
Catholic hierarchy remain shrouded in secrecy. At a time
of religiosity through such aesthetic embodiment, correcting
when official church teaching encourages democratic forms
for an earlier overemphasis on religious faith as a predomi-
of participation and oversight in worldwide political and cul-
nantly cognitive matter. Characteristically, Aidan Nichols
tural institutions, no formal structure allows lay people to
comments that “nothing is in the intellect that is not first in
check and balance the hierarchical, authoritarian power of
the senses” (1996).
their leadership. Coincidentally, these same church leaders
use secular rational-legal systems to protect their own cler-
Interest in aesthetics and bodily senses has likewise cre-
gy—and themselves—from civil lawsuits.
ated interest in the role of affectivity in the play of Roman
Catholic Christianity. Important advances have been made,
Despite all this, most Roman Catholics stay in their
for example, in understanding how affections influence the
church. Michele Dillon (1999) cites this seeming anomaly
moral life, as William C. Spohn explains in Go and Do Like-
in her discussion of women. As profound as the work of
wise: Jesus and Ethics (2000). This focus has also added novel
women’s religious orders has been, nothing matches the con-
twists to the much-explored field of Roman Catholic sacra-
tribution women have made to the practical, day-to-day sur-
mentality. In Extravagant Affections: A Feminist Sacramental
vival of Roman Catholic Christianity. From quietly praying
Theology (1998), Susan Ross creatively enjoins these dynam-
with newborns and herding families to Mass, through orga-
ics, inviting one to consider the sacramentality of such ac-
nizing liturgies and planning parish fund-raisers, from hand-
tions as giving birth, cooking meals, mediating conflicts, and
ing out food baskets and editing church bulletins, to launder-
tending to the sick.
ing altar linens and making coffee after Mass, women
perform most of the practices which preserve everyday, local
With this attention to Roman Catholicism as action,
Roman Catholicism. Yet women continue to be excluded
this overview of Roman Catholic studies returns to where it
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

7892
ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
began. The focus on action in Roman Catholic research has
Mich, Marvin L. Krier. Catholic Social Teaching and Movements.
lead scholars in many fresh directions, only a few of which
Mystic, Conn., 1998.
have been outlined here. The overall effect of this quarter
Misner, Paul. Social Catholicism in Europe: From the Onset of In-
century of research has been to heighten appreciation for the
dustrialization to the First World War. New York, 1991.
rich complexity of Roman Catholicism. As its population
Morris, Charles. American Catholic: The Saints and Sinners Who
center continues to shift from the Northern to the Southern
Built America’s Most Powerful Church. New York, 1997.
Hemisphere, away from the comforts of middle-class exis-
Morrow, Diane Batts. Persons of Color and Religion at the Same
tence to the soul-testing conditions of hunger and disease,
Time: The Oblate Sisters of Providence, 1828–1860. Chapel
the challenges confronting this multifaceted religious com-
Hill, N.C., 2002.
munity will continue to be great indeed.
Myers, Kathleen A., and Amanda Powell, eds. and trans. A Wild
Country Out in the Garden: The Spiritual Journals of a Colo-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Nichols, Aidan. Epiphany: A Theological Introduction to Catholi-
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cism. Collegeville, Minn., 1996.
Bokenkotter, Thomas. Church and Revolution: Catholics in the
Struggle for Democracy. New York, 1998.
Reese, Thomas J. Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure of the
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Reese, Thomas J. A Flock of Shepherds: The National Conference
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Connerton, Paul. How Societies Remember. Cambridge, U.K.,
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1989.
ology. New York, 1998.
Davidson, James D., Andrea S. Williams, Richard A. Lamanna,
Schreiter, Robert J. Constructing Local Theologies. Maryknoll,
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N.Y., 2000.
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Studies in Nineteenth Century Europe and Latin America.
This entry consists of the following articles:
London, 2000.
THE EARLY PERIOD
Kowalewski, Mark R. “Firmness and Accommodation: Impres-
THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
sion Management in Institutional Roman Catholicism.” So-
ciology of Religion
54 (1993): 207–217.
ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
Leys, Ad. Ecclesiological Impacts of the Principle of Subsidiarity.
Kampen, Netherlands, 1995.
HISTORY OF SCHOLARSHIP. Although Roman religious insti-
McCallion, Michael J., and David R. Maines. “The Liturgical So-
tutions had been studied earlier (by, for example, Barnabé
cial Movement in the Vatican II Catholic Church.” Research
Brissonius, 1583), the differentiation between Greek and
in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change 21 (1999):
Roman religion within antique “heathendom” or “polythe-
125–149.
ism” was the work of nineteenth-century scholars. Concen-
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
7893
trating on literary sources and on origins as described by an-
tiquity (Augustine, Servius) only. Although the calendar, in-
cient historiographers and critically reviewed by
cluding information on many temple foundation days, is
contemporary historians, the studies by J. A. Hartung
known from a wall painting from shortly before the Julian
(1836), Rudolph H. Klausen (1839), and J. A. Ambrosch
calendar reform in 45 BCE, an extended epigraphical culture
(1839) marked the beginning of a scientific reconstruction
did not begin until the reign of Augustus (r. 27 BCE–14 CE).
of the religion of the city of Rome (and, marginally, of the
Temple structures and fragments of architectural decor have
religions of Italy). Under the impact of the extensive collec-
been excavated, but the archaeological record of altars, re-
tion of inscriptions and the systematization of Roman law
liefs, and statues is entirely dominated by the imperial re-
and the Roman “constitution” assembled by Theodor
building of Rome. However, a unique coinage features indi-
Mommsen (1817–1903), German scholars, especially Georg
vidual religious motifs from the late second century BCE
Wissowa (1859–1931), reconstructed authentic Roman reli-
onward.
gion as a body of sacral law and conservative ritualism in-
Major advances have been made in locating, document-
formed by legal conceptions of deities. The Roman calendar,
ing, and interpreting new archaeological and epigraphic
projected into the regal period as a document of early system-
sources outside Rome. Major findings of votive objects at
atization, and the lost “books of the priests” (libri sacerdo-
different sites in Italy allow the reconstruction of the produc-
tum), transmitted in occasional antiquarian quotations only,
tion, usage, local variations, and overarching trends, and help
formed the basis of the reconstruction.
put the Roman material (mostly recovered from the Tiber)
Wissowa’s handbook (1902/1912), with its detailed ac-
into context. Local archaeological research in the Roman col-
count of deities, temples, and rituals, dominated factual re-
onies and a new edition and commentary on republican laws
search in the twentieth century. Less successful were the
and statues (Crawford, 1996) have clarified the processes of
more experiential or expressive interpretations of Roman rit-
expansion and Romanization. In addition, new archaeologi-
uals (e.g., Fowler, 1899 and 1911) and the attempts of Her-
cal methods used at excavations at Osteria dell’Osa (Bietti
mann Usener’s school and James George Frazer to elucidate
Sestieri, 1992) and other sites have added to the collections
these rituals by ethnographic comparison, opening classical
of funerary ware and provided insights into the formation
material to late-nineteenth-century evolutionary schemes
and changes of early Italian pre-urban societies.
(late resonances in Bailey [1932] and Wagenvoort [1947]).
A history of Roman religion is impossible for any period
Drawing on comparative linguistics and mythology, Georges
before the fifth century BCE, even though the archaeological
Dumézil interpreted Roman deities within an Indo-
record attests important religious sites and enables a recon-
European framework of three basic “functions” (sovereignty,
struction of the history of the early Forum Romanum (an
warfare, and agriculture). Dumézil’s impact remained limit-
unhesitatingly optimistic stance is taken by Carandini,
ed, but his attention to a mythology present in the guise of
1997). Structurally, Rome has to be seen as a Latin city
Roman historiography re-enlarged the objects of studies.
under Etruscan domination, increasingly establishing direct
commercial and cultural relationships with (Italian) Greek
The quest for origins and “Wesen” (spiritiual substance)
and Punic cities.
led to a neglect of the interaction with Hellenic culture (an
ROMAN AND ITALIAN RELIGION. “Roman religion” is an an-
important exception was Altheim, 1930), visible already in
alytical concept that is used to describe religious phenomena
the archaeology of early Rome (Foro Boario), and with Ital-
in the ancient city of Rome and to relate the growing variety
ian religions that were increasingly subjected to Roman dom-
of cults to the political and social structure of the city. Al-
ination and increasingly present in Rome. Thus the reinter-
though Rome gradually became the dominant power in Italy
pretation of public Roman religion within the framework of
during the third century
a more skeptical and more sociological image of the history
BCE, as well as the capital of an em-
pire during the second century
of Roman political institutions (see Beard et al., 1998) must
BCE, its religious institutions
and their administrative scope only occasionally extended be-
be supplemented by intensified research in Italian imagery
yond the city and its nearby surroundings (ager Romanus).
and architecture (e.g., Wiseman, 1995, 2000; Coarelli,
Nothing is known about the religious structure of the early
1987), as well as a new look at late republican literature (e.g.,
Roman colonies in Italy. The establishment of towering
Feeney, 1998; Barchiesi, Rüpke, and Stevens, 2004) and
Capitolia (replicas of the threefold temple on the Roman
extra-urban inscriptions.
Capitoline hill, dedicated to Jupiter [Iuppiter], Juno [Iuno],
SOURCES. Any attempt at a historical reconstruction of re-
and Minerva) had no structural necessity, but represented in-
publican Roman religion has to rely on a critical reading of
frequent individual efforts to acquire prestige and demon-
early Augustan historiography (late first century BCE). With
strate loyalty. Intense contacts led to manifold processes of
a few exceptions (e.g., Plautus’s comedies from the early sec-
exchange, the direction of which could hardly be ascertained.
ond century BCE, Cato the Elder, some inscriptions), con-
From the second century BCE onward, intense urbanization
temporary literary evidence is lacking before the intensively
led municipal elites to the reception of Roman models of ad-
documented first century. The most important antiquarian
ministration and representation. The most visible effect of
source, Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE), is mostly
this process was the parallel Hellenization of the cities and
known through quotations from imperial times and late an-
townships.
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7894
ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
The resulting similarities were due to competition
in complete rhythm with the disfavor or favor evinced by the
among the cities, as well as adaptation from the cultural cen-
gods. A revealing example is furnished in the Romans’ des-
ters, including Rome, Athens, and Alexandria. The resulting
peration following the sack of Rome by the Gauls (in 390
Mediterranean koiné remains an object for further research.
BCE by Varronian chronology, but probably, according to a
The process itself intensified in imperial times. The religious
Polybian synchronism, to be dated to 387/6). Overwhelmed,
profile of Pompeii during the first centuries BCE and CE is
they were nearly resolved to abandon the ruins of their city,
neither Oscan nor Roman, but rather a local variant of Medi-
at the instigation of their tribunes, in order to emigrate to
terranean polis religion. The pantheon of the Umbrian town
Veii. It was then that M. Furius Camillus, the predestined
of Iguvium contained a grouping of three gods parallel to the
leader (dux fatalis) and dictator who conquered Veii in 396,
Roman Capitoline triad: Iou, Mart, and Vofiono, all bearing
and now the restorer of the situation in Rome, lit upon the
the common epithet Grabovio (its meaning is obscure). This
decisive argument that inspired the mood reversal of the as-
similarity between the two pantheons is all the more appar-
sembly: to abandon Rome, many times endowed with heav-
ent since Vofiono is the exact linguistic equivalent of
enly blessings since its origins, would be to commit sacrilege.
Quirinus, even to its adjectival form -no-, derived from a
In the course of his address, Camillus called to mind this per-
nominal root. Yet the tabulae Iguvinae, the Iguvine tablets
manent lesson for the benefit of his listeners: “Consider the
from the second and first centuries BCE, are not an indepen-
events of these last years, whether successes or reversals. You
dent attestation of an Indo-European structure, but rather
will find that everything succeeded when we followed the
the religious product of a city with confederate status from
gods, and everything failed when we scorned them” (Livy,
the first half of the third century BCE onward. That is not
5.51.4).
to deny the importance of local and translocal cultures inde-
pendent of or even superior or opposed to Rome (e.g., the
Ideas as religio were not reflected upon before the very
religious conceptions and symbols of the Etruscan elites and
end of the Republic. It was under the influence of Greek phi-
the Greeks of Magna Graecia, located to the south of the
losophy that some Roman authors (usually at the end of their
Volturno River). The Roman solar calendar did not even re-
political career) started to systematically reflect upon their
place middle Italian and Etruscan lunisolar calendars until
own religious tradition in order to clarify concepts. Cicero
the first century
is the foremost exponent, realizing in his books On the Na-
BCE. And yet the Iguvine documents in
Oscan language use Latin letters in their later section, and
ture of the Gods, On Divination, and On Fate a multivolume
they attest an interest in documenting rituals that cannot be
theological project. However, his reflections on religion did
separated from the cultural developments of the whole pen-
not arrive at a unified concept: religio was a feeling of obliga-
insula, subjected to Roman rule.
tion; pietas (piety), a corresponding attitude; and sacra (ritu-
als) and caerimonia (forms of veneration), were the way to
Basic concepts. The idea of obligation lies at the very
put religio and pietas into practice.
root of the Romans’ attitude toward the gods, and it is ex-
pressed in the word religio. If the modern languages of the
Because a general concept of religion as a system of ac-
Western world (both Romance and Germanic) have failed
tions and ideas was lacking, no corresponding concept of “sa-
to translate this word and have settled on a simple copy
cred law” could exist. There were rules to be followed in mat-
thereof (religion, religione), the reason lies in the fact that this
ters of divine property, divination, and priests, but they did
idiom is untranslatable. Indeed, in the ancient world there
not add up to a ius sacrum, a phrase that did not exist in an-
was no Greek equivalent. All the expressions that one can
tiquity. And even these rules were flexible, matters of debate,
bring to mind by analogy—sebas (respect for the gods),
traditions frequently fixed only under the impact of the en-
proskunesis (adoration), eulabeia (reverential fear), threskeia
counter with Greek critical thought. The term Roman reli-
(cult)—fall far short of filling the semantic range of religio.
gion, therefore, encompasses what belongs to our modern
Careful examination shows that the Latins, who were not
concept of religion.
concerned with philological rigor, connected religio more
Early Iron Age Latium. It is not before the beginning
with the verb religare (to tie), alluding to the bonds between
of the first millennium BCE (between the end of the Bronze
gods and humans, than with the verb relegere (to take up
Age and the beginning of the Iron Age) that it becomes possi-
again with care). Such as it is, religio expresses a fundamental
ble to identify traits of a Latin material culture attesting to
preoccupation manifested in two complementary ways: the
an ethnogenesis in the plain south of the lower course of the
care taken to avoid divine wrath, and the desire to win the
Tiber, a territory that was bordered on the northwest by
benevolence and favor of the gods. It was the Romans’ inner
the Tiber and the hills north of it, and on the northeast by
conviction that without the accord of the gods they could
the (later) Sabine mountainous area. On the east this area
not succeed in their endeavors. This explains the solemn dec-
was bound by the Alban chain from the mountains of Pa-
laration of Cicero (106–43 BCE) proclaiming the Roman
lombara, Tivoli (Tibur), Palestrina (Praeneste), and Cori
people to be “the most religious in the world” (De natura de-
(Cora) as far as Terracina (Anxur) and Circeo (Circei), and
orum 2.3).
to the west was the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Small settle-
This preoccupation is evident throughout the history of
ments formed in this area within a population that was melt-
Livy (59 BCE–17 CE). Roman accomplishments rise and fall
ed together from (probably) local people and immigrants
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
7895
from the north and northeast. Scholars know nothing of
building project of the Capitoline temple of Jupiter Optimus
their religion apart from the tombs attesting inhumation, as
Maximus (Jove [Iove] the Best and Greatest), Juno, and Mi-
well as cremation. At Rome traces of earlier presences of hu-
nerva, dateable to the latter part of the sixth century. By its
mans have been found, but continuous settlements on places
sheer size the temple competes with the largest Greek sanctu-
like the Palatine started around the tenth century. From
aries, and the grouping of deities suggests that that was in-
around 830 BCE onward, smaller settlements took shape at
tended. The investment in the quality of the terracotta statu-
privileged places of the plain, a proto-urban phase.
ary (Varro in Pliny the Elder, Historia naturalis 35.157)
It is possible to give some detail of the conditions of life
points to the same intention. The actual size of the late-sixth-
in these population centers. They drew their sustenance
century city remains debated, but even as a larger city with
mainly from animal husbandry and from the exploitation of
international contacts, as shown by the treaty with Carthage,
natural resources (salt, fruit, and game). Their inhabitants
Rome was but one of the Latium townships. The conquests
progressively took up agriculture in pace with the clearing
attributed to regal Rome in the Roman annalistic tradition
of the woods and the draining of the marshes, at the same
were made up from a painful series of conflicts that ended
time making pottery and iron tools. Their language belonged
with the Latin wars in 340 to 338 BCE. The Latin league was
to the Indo-European family. The first document in the
dissolved and the Latins were incorporated into the Roman
Latin language may be an inscription on a golden brooch
community.
from Praeneste, dated to the end of the seventh century:
Parallel to the central investment of resources, the luxu-
“manios med fhefhaked numasioi” (in classical Latin: “Mani-
ry of individual tombs—unlike in Etruscan centers—
us me fecit Numerio” [“Manius made me for Numerius”]).
receded. Yet it would be erroneous to assume a highly cen-
However, the authenticity of this inscription is doubtful.
tralized state. During republican times, even warfare was an
The placing and the contents of tombs attest to growing
enterprise frequently organized on a gentilician basis, as the
social differentiation and the formation of gentilician groups;
institutions of the fetiales (legates that established the in-
urns in the form of oblong huts are characteristic. At Osteria
volvement or disinvolvement of the community as a whole
dell’Osa of the ninth century, cremation served as a social
into predatory conflicts) and the lapis Satricanus demon-
marker that separated outstanding male warriors—
strate. This dedicatory inscription from around 500 BCE,
recognizable by miniature weapons—from the rest of the
found at Satricum (northeast of Antium), accompanied a
population.
dedication to the warrior god Mars by followers (sodales) of
a certain Poplios Valesius.
Social differentiation was certainly furthered by the
presence of Greeks in Italy from 770 BCE onward who could
Religion of the early period. Our image of the early
serve as traders and agents in long-distance contacts with the
period is far drier than the colorful narratives of late republi-
southern and eastern part of the Mediterranean. The Orien-
can and Augustan times, transmitted especially by the histo-
talizing period (c. 730–630 BCE) is present in the form of lux-
rians Livy and Dionys of Halikarnassos. The earliest phase
ury tombs, princely burials with highly valuable and presti-
was organized narratively in the form of a diptych: the “prov-
gious objects in sites around Rome (Praeneste, Ficana, Castel
idential” passage from the “savage” state to the “civilized”
di Decima [= Politorium?]), though not in Rome itself. So-
state. The narrative by Cicero follows this form (De republica
cial power offered the possibility of acquiring wealth and
2.4). He first evokes the divine origin of the twins Romulus
long-distance contacts; such contacts and goods served to
and Remus, born of the god Mars and the Vestal Virgin Rhea
further prestige.
Silvia. Romulus and Remus were left exposed on the banks
of the Tiber by their granduncle Amulius, king of Alba
Early Rome. The urbanization of Rome could be in-
Longa, but were then miraculously saved by the intervention
ferred from the paving of the Forum and the removal of pre-
of a nursing wolf. The author draws a contrast between the
ceding huts around 650 BCE to form a central and common
pastoral phase, which saw the assertion of the authority of
space soon to be enlarged and surrounded by a growing
Romulus (the elimination of Remus is passed over in si-
number of stone buildings from 600 onward. A site adjacent
lence), and the civilizing phase of the city’s founder.
to the Comitium paved with black stones (lapis niger) proba-
bly marked an open sanctuary to the god Vulcan. Another
Within the succession of seven kings, Romulus, the
building that at least later on served as a cultic center, the
founder, and Numa, the second king, shared in the establish-
Regia (king’s palace), was built during the sixth century. It
ment of important institutions like central cults and priest-
should be noted that Greek influence is visible in the ar-
hoods. Yet the picture of the net of traditions is complex:
rangement of the central “political” space, as it is in archaeo-
Numa is said to be a pupil of the southern Italian philoso-
logical details. The archaeological remnants of the earliest
pher Pythagoras; King Tullius was killed in his attempts to
temples of the Forum Boarium (San Omobono), the cattle
manipulate flashes in secret rites.
market on the border of the Tiber, are decorations by Greek
As stated above, the archaeological record of temples re-
artisans.
mains meager. Nevertheless the statues of the temples of San
The most impressive testimony to early Rome’s relation
Omobono belie later reconstructions of pure origins. A re-
to the Mediterranean world dominated by the Greeks is the
mark by Varro (Antiquitates rerum divinarum frg. 18, Car-
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
dauns, quoted by Augustine, De civitate Dei 4.31) deserves
dence is lacking and the possibility of archaizing construc-
attention: “For more than 170 years, the Romans worshiped
tions of rituals cannot be ruled out. The latter is illustrated
their gods without statues. If this custom had prevailed, the
by the ritual of the declaration of war that is described by
gods would be honored in a purer fashion.” This reference
Livy (1.32) and was performed by Octavianus before the war
to a lost state of purity (castitas) is an indirect criticism of the
against Cleopatra and Antonius. The antiquarian account
Hellenic anthropomorphism that attributed human passions
supposes a fetial priest throwing a spear across the border of
and vices to the gods, as in Homer’s Iliad or in Hesiod’s
the hostile territory. The spear is made of cornel wood har-
Theogony.
dened by fire, without an iron point. This account forms the
backdrop of the same rite being performed by Octavian in
Rituals can be hypothetically reconstructed only on the
32
basis of much larger attestations that try to account for social
BCE in the city of Rome (Dio, Roman history 50.4.4–5),
allegedly on “hostile” territory ritually set apart for that pur-
changes and external influences. Despite the probable short
pose (Servius, Ad Aeneidum 9.52). The new ritual made the
presence of Etruscan rule in the sixth century, symbols of
observers forget that they were witnessing the opening of a
power and some public rituals seem to have been heavily in-
major civil war, turning a ritual gesture, earlier attested
fluenced by Etruscan models, perhaps indicating “self-
for the general leading his army, into an archaized priestly
Etruscanization” rather than conscious implantation by
activity: the late use of iron was part of Roman historical
Etruscan tyrants. Etruscan influence is evident in the central
knowledge.
position of the monthly festival of the full moon, the ides
(eidus), dedicated to Jupiter (Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.15.14–
The Lupercalia, celebrated on February 15, delimited
16). Etruscan influence is also probable for the processional
the very cradle of the city. On that date “the old Palatine
ritual and the chariot races of such old games as the Equirria.
stronghold ringed by a human flock” (Varro, De lingua La-
Chariots had been aristocratic prestige objects since the
tina) was purified by naked Luperci (a variety of wolf-men,
Orientalizing period, and they were no longer in use in mid-
dressed in loincloths), who, armed with whips, would flog
dle Italian warfare by the end of the sixth century BCE.
the public. Everything about this ceremony—the “savage”
Religion and topography. Late republican tradition
rite (see Cicero, Pro Caelio 26) and the territorial circum-
and religious practice included festivals related to topograph-
scription—demonstrates its extreme archaism.
ical situations that might date back to regal or early republi-
The feast of Septimontium on December 11 designated,
can times. The topographical grid that corresponds to the
as its name suggested, a more extended territory. It involved
feast of the Septimontium, celebrated on December 11, re-
no one except the inhabitants of the montes (mountains).
flects already an extended township. The three knolls of the
These seven mountains (which are not to be confused with
Palatine region (Palatium, Cermalus, Velia) are joined with
the seven hills of the future Rome) are the following: the
the three knolls of the Esquiline group (Fagutal, Oppius,
knolls of the Palatium, the Germalus, the Velia (which to-
Cispius), along with the Subura (the Caelius was added later
gether would make up the Palatine), the Fagutal, the Oppius,
to this list of seven names). These are the stages of the proces-
the Cespius (which three would be absorbed by the Esqui-
sion that the abridger Sextus Pompeius Festus outlines for
line), and the Caelius (Sextus Pompeius Festus, while still as-
this feast, but in a different order, probably in line with the
serting the number of seven montes, adds the Subura to this
liturgical itinerary. The list is borrowed, as is known, from
list). This amounted, then, to an intermediary stage between
the scholar M. Verrius Flaccus: Palatium, Velia, Fagutal,
the primitive nucleus and the organized city. One will note
Subura, Cermalus, Oppius, Caelius, Cispius.
the use of the word mons to designate these knolls, as op-
At a later stage of topographical development the city
posed to collis, which would be reserved for referring to the
was divided into four regions: Palatina, Esquilina, Suburana,
northern hills.
and Collina, the last comprising the Quirinal and the Vimi-
The feast of the Argei, which required two separate ritu-
nal. Surrounding walls were constructed. Tradition attri-
als at two different times (on March 16 and 17, and on May
butes these initiatives to the next-to-last king, Servius Tulli-
14), marks the last stage. It involved a procession in March
us. Recent archaeological discoveries have verified a notable
in which mannequins made of rushes (Ovid, Fasti 5.621)
territorial extension of the city during the sixth century. As
were carried to the twenty-seven chapels prepared for this
for the ramparts, if the date of the wall made by Servius in
purpose. On May 14 they were taken out of the chapels and
opus quadratum should be advanced to the fourth century,
cast into the Tiber from the top of a bridge, the Pons Sublici-
after the burning of Rome by the Gauls, the existence of
us, in the presence of the pontiff and the Vestal Virgins.
walls in the sixth century is nonetheless established by the
There are different opinions on the meaning of the ceremo-
vestiges of an agger found on the Quirinal. The discovery at
ny. Wissowa saw in it a ritual of substitution taking the place
Lavinium of a rampart in opus quadratum dating from the
of human sacrifices. (A note by Varro, De lingua Latina 7.44,
sixth century leads, analogously to the Roman situation, to
specifies that these mannequins were human in shape.) How-
the same conclusion.
ever, Kurt Latte prefers to compare these mannequins of
A comparison of different cults gives profile to the de-
rushes to oscilla (figurines or small masks that were hung
velopment—again hypothetically, for contemporary evi-
from trees), which absorbed the impurities that were to be
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
7897
purged from the city. The itinerary of the procession shows
bution of the sanctuaries. Vesta, the goddess of the public
that it corresponds to the final stage of the city’s develop-
hearth, could only be situated at the heart of the city within
ment, the Rome of the quattuor regiones (four regions). Varro
the pomerium, whereas a new arrival, such as Juno Regina,
outlined the procession as follows: it proceeded through the
originating in Veii, was received, as an outsider, in a temple
heights of the Caelius, the Esquiline, the Viminal, the Quiri-
built on the Aventine (in 392 BCE).
nal, and the Palatine, and encircled the Forum—henceforth
Early festivals and priests. The calendar of festivals re-
located in the heart of the city.
flected and conventionalized temporal rhythms. The prepa-
An important line, at least legitimated by religious argu-
ration for warfare finds ritual reflection in some festivals and
ments in later times, was the pomerium, separating the area
in the ritual activities of the priesthood of the Salii in the
of domi (at home, at peace) and militiae (the area of warfare
month of March, the opening month of the year. Mars is the
and the unlimited power of the war leader). What was this
god presiding over warfare; the Salians performed dances
pomerium? According to Varro (De lingua Latina 5.143), it
clad in archaic warrior dress and cared for archaically formed
was a circle within the surrounding wall marked by stones
shields in the shape of an eight. Agricultural and pastoral fes-
and describing the limit inside of which urban auspices had
tivals could be found in the month of April, the Parilia with
to be taken. Rome included sectors outside the pomerial
their lustration of cattle being probably the oldest one (April
zone that were still part of the city: the Aventine Hill, which
21). Fordicidia, the killing of pregnant cows (April 15); the
had been outside the city of the four regions (its incorpora-
Cerialia (April 19), named after the goddess of cereals; the
tion into the city was attributed by tradition sometimes to
Vinalia, a wine festival (April 23); and the Robigalia, featur-
Romulus and sometimes to Ancus Marcius), remained out-
ing the sacrifice of a dog to further the growing of the grain
side the pomerial zone until the time of Claudius (first centu-
(April 25), might denote old rituals, too. Series of festivals
ry CE), even though it was surrounded by what was called
in August and December, addressed to gods related to the
“Servius’s wall.”
securing of the harvest and abundance, might have produced
other foci of communal and urban ritualizing of the econom-
The same extrapomerial status held true for the Field of
ic activities of farmsteads. The subordination of the festival
Mars, which owed its name to the military exercises that were
listed to the monthly—originally empirical, later fictitious—
conducted on its esplanade. Yet here there occurs a further
lunar phases of the developed calendar warns of the assump-
practice that lies at the root of Roman law. On this emplace-
tion of complex festival cycles, too easily postulated by schol-
ment there was an altar consecrated to Mars from time im-
ars like Dumézil. The same warning holds true for the postu-
memorial. It is mentioned by the “royal” law of Numa in re-
lation of complex cycles of initiation rites (Torelli, 1984).
lation to the distribution of the spolia opima (spoils taken
Sociologically, Rome was not a tribal society, but a precari-
from an enemy’s general slain by one’s own army command-
ous public of gentilician leaders and their followers and an
er) and was completed later by the erection of a temple in
increasingly incoherent urban population. What looks like
138 BCE. The assemblies of military centuries (comitia cen-
initiatory phenomena are rites reserved mostly for young
turiata) were also held there. In addition, every five years the
aristocrats organized as representative priesthoods.
purification of the people (lustrum) was celebrated on the
Field of Mars by the sacrifice of the suovetaurilia, the set of
The concept of priesthood, however, is far from clear
three victims—boar, ram, and bull—that had been paraded
for the early period. At least from the late fourth century BCE
beforehand around the assembly of citizens. The presence of
onward, the public priesthoods underwent a process of poli-
the old Mars outside the pomerium (similarly, another tem-
ticization, adapting these lifelong roles and the modes of ac-
ple of Mars, constructed in 338 BCE to the south of Rome
cession to the model of annual magistracies. The preceding
outside the Porta Capena, was also outside the pomerial
phase might have been one of a sacralization of ousted politi-
zone) was in strict conformity with the distinction estab-
cal positions that once combined political and religious au-
lished between the imperium domi, the jurisdiction of civil
thority. Such an interpretation is particularly plausible for
power circumscribed by the pomerial zone, and the imperi-
the figures of the rex and the regina sacrorum (king and queen
um militiae that could not show itself except outside this
of the rites), who took care of important routine rites in the
zone. This is why it was necessary to take other auspices
course of the month and year, but did not have any signifi-
when one wanted to go from one zone to another. If one
cant political or even religious competence in historical
failed to do so, every official act was nullified. This misfor-
times. The Regia on the Forum Romanum formed one of
tune befell the father of the Gracchi, T. Sempronius Grac-
the centers of their cult activities; it must have been part of
chus, during his presidency of the comitia centuriata. While
a complex that embraced the atrium and aedes Vestae as well.
going back and forth between the Senate and the Field of
Here, the Vestal Virgins, six in number, resided and per-
Mars, he forgot to take the military auspices again; as a result,
formed. Under the direction of a virgo maxima, their essen-
the election of consuls that took place in the midst of the as-
tial mission was to maintain the public hearth in the aedes
semblies when he returned was rejected by the Senate (see
Vestae. Their service lasted thirty years and enjoyed great
Cicero, De divinatione 1.33 and 2.11). The delimitation of
prestige (Cicero, Pro Fonteio 48). Their liturgical importance
Roman sacral space by the pomerial line explains the distri-
is confirmed by two significant points. Once a year, they
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
would make their way to the king in order to ask him: “Are
Feriae Latinae (Latin holidays) were celebrated at the summit
you vigilant, king? Be vigilant!” On another solemn occasion,
of the Alban Hills in honor of Jupiter Latiaris. In earlier
the virgo maxima mounted the Capitolium in the company
times, the Latins had been granted an equal share of the sacri-
of the pontifex maximus (Horace, Carmina 3.30.8).
fice, which consisted of a white bull (this detail, coming from
Arnobius in Adversus nationes 2.68, would show that the or-
Drawing on the legendary figure of the seer Attus Navi-
dinary rule, which provided a castrated victim for Jupiter,
us, it might be asked whether a slow integration of charis-
did not apply here). Once the consecrated entrails (exta) were
matic religious figures into an organized public college of au-
offered to the god, all in attendance would share the meat,
gurs would also be a possible line of development. In either
thus demonstrating their bonds of community. After the de-
case, the shift from regal to consular rule, from kingdom to
struction of Alba Longa, Rome quite naturally picked up the
Republic, would have been of the utmost importance.
thread of this tradition by incorporating the Feriae Latinae
Private worship is attested by votives from early on;
as a movable feast into its liturgical calendar. Still, the atti-
Lavinium features dedications from the seventh century BCE.
tude of the Romans was selective: even though they trans-
Like several larger sanctuaries in the surroundings, it might
ferred the entire Alban population to Rome itself, they kept
have drawn clients from the city. Migrant artisans offered
the Alban celebrations in their usual locations. They simply
their services at the sanctuaries on a temporal basis; mass pro-
built a temple to Jupiter Latiaris where previously there was
duction, not individual expression, forms the economic basis
only a lucus, a sacred grove. During the historical epoch, the
of this form of material documentation of piety, even in
Roman consuls, accompanied by representatives of the state,
lower social strata.
would make their way to the federal sanctuary shortly after
The regional context. Latium Vetus, or Latium Antiqu-
assuming their responsibilities and would preside there over
um, was augmented later on by the Latium Adiectum, or La-
the ceremonies. The Feriae Latinae had come under Roman
tium Novum (New Latium), formed by the territories won
control.
from the Volsci, the Aequi, the Hernici, and the Aurunci by
The conduct of the Romans was very different with re-
conquests or federations (see Pliny the Elder, Historia natur-
gard to the federal cult of Diana. Tradition places this cult
alis 3.68–70). Traditionally, the Latins are called populi La-
at Aricia near Lake Nemi, which is known as the speculum
tini (Latin peoples) or by the collective noun nomen Latinum
Dianae, “mirror of Diana” (Servius, Ad Aeneidem 7.515). An
(Latin nation). In the historical epoch, older structures, in-
archaic rite determined that the priest of Diana’s sacred
cluding those around the sanctuary of Jupiter Latiaris on
grove, called the rex nemorensis, could hold office there until
Mons Albanus and those surrounding the sanctuary of Diana
he was killed by his successor in single combat (the point of
Aricina located in “the sacred grove” of Aricia (Nemus
departure of J. G. Frazer’s Golden Bough). During the histori-
Dianae), were preserved by religious federations based on
cal period, this odd priesthood attracted only fugitive slaves.
common cults.
The federal altar had been consecrated to Diana by the Latin
dictator Egerius Laevius, a native of Tusculum. Tusculum
Another federal cult would play an important role in
was the center of a federation of Latin towns, established per-
history because it held privileged ties with the Romans. This
haps after the disappearance of Alba Longa. When the cult
cult was centered at Lavinium, which Varro (De lingua La-
came under Roman authority, it was transferred into the city
tina 5.144) identifies as the religious metropolis of Rome:
on the extrapomerial hill of the Aventine. It had nothing
“Lavinium:. . .ibi di Penates nostri” (“Lavinium:. . . there
there at first except an altar, then a temple that Varro ac-
are our household gods”). Excavations have uncovered the
knowledges as having federal status: commune Latinorum
site, which includes a necropolis dating back to the tenth
templum. Yet this status was only one of appearance, since
century BCE. There are also ruins of ramparts dating from the
no assembly of Latin cities is recorded as ever having oc-
sixth century, the vestiges of a house of worship flanked by
curred on the Aventine during the Roman period, any more
thirteen altars, and a mausoleum (it could be a heroion in
than at Aricia. Another point is significant: the anniversary
memory of Aeneas) that houses an archaic tomb from the
of the temple fell on the ides of August and bore the name
seventh century BCE. Thousands of votives attest the appeal
Dies Servorum (slaves’ day). Whatever interpretation one
of a healing sanctuary for several centuries. In the imperial
gives to this designation, the fact remains that the cult of
period, the religious existence of the city was preserved in the
Diana was not of concern either on the Aventine or in Aricia.
form of a symbolic community, whose offices were assigned
This time Rome had reduced a federal cult to a suitable level.
like priesthoods to members of the Roman equestrian class.
In contrast with Jupiter Latiaris, Diana, whose name is a se-
The integration of federal cults into Roman dominance
mantic homologue of Jupiter (since both names were formed
could follow different routes. The Romans’ capacity for ad-
from the root *diu; she signified nocturnal light, just as he
aptation to different circumstances is evident here in an espe-
signified the light of day), was doomed to fade gradually
cially remarkable way, as illustrated by the following three
away. Identified with Artemis, she would be invoked in Hor-
cases.
ace’s Carmen saeculare as the sister of Apollo.
One of the most ancient federal cults presupposes the
The relations that Rome held with Lavinium were very
original preeminence of the ancient city of Alba Longa: the
different. In the Roman mind, Lavinium had the same reso-
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
7899
nance as the Alban Hills, judging from the discourse that
of the supreme god: Iuppiter (*Iou-pater, with *Iou- deriving
Livy attributes to the dictator Camillus. Camillus did not
from *dyeu-) and Zeus (*dyeus) both go back to the same
hesitate to put these two high places on the same level: “Our
Indo-European root. It also follows that the Latins represent-
ancestors entrusted to us the celebration of religious ceremo-
ed the divinity as an individual and personal being. This lin-
nies on Mount Alban and in Lavinium.” In reality, the latter
guistic fact at once discredits the “animist” or pre-animist
ranked higher than the former. Varro (De lingua Latina
notion that would postulate a pre-deist phase in Rome which
5.144) specifies it as the source of Roman lineage and the
would have preceded the advent of the personal divinity.
cradle of the Roman penates. Lavinium benefited from a con-
And yet, compared to the gods of Homer’s Greek pan-
tinual deference on the part of the Romans after the treaty
theon, the Roman gods lack in personality. They lack the
that tradition traced back to the time of T. Tatius (Livy,
embellishments of a mythology that is more or less abundant
1.14.2). This deference was evident in the ritual processions
with picturesque variations. They were mainly defined by
of higher magistrates to the penates and to Vesta as they en-
their specific competence, far from any tie with the human
tered their office and as they left it. The deference was like-
condition. Wissowa (1912) observed that there was no mar-
wise evident in the annual pilgrimages by the pontiffs and
riage or union between gods and goddesses at Rome. This
the consuls to the sanctuary of Aeneas Indiges, which Ascani-
fact is particularly verified by the existence of many divinized
us is reputed to have built for his divinized father. If one con-
abstractions, such as Fides, the goddess of good faith, who
siders that Lavinium was also the cradle of the religion of
received each year the common homage of three major
Venus, who was understood according to Trojan legend to
priests. They would come in an open chariot to her chapel
be the Aeneadum genetrix (“mother of the descendants of Ae-
to ask her to preserve harmonious relations within the city.
neas”), one can imagine that this exceptional site exerted in
Also, Ceres, the etymology of whose name places her in
every way a great attraction for the Romans.
charge of growth (especially of grains), appears as the back-
ground to the feast of the Cerialia, which was celebrated an-
Archaeology has recently made an important contribu-
nually on April 19. These, then, are not minor divinities, nor
tion concerning the territory of Lavinium by bringing to
is Consus, the god of grain storage (condere, “to store”), who
light, among other things, a heroion (temple) from the fourth
was celebrated at the time of the Consualia on August 21,
century BCE, constructed upon an archaic tomb (which its
as well as at the time of the Opiconsiva on August 25, when
discoverer, Paolo Sommella, identifies as the mausoleum of
he was in association with Ops, the goddess who watched
Aeneas) and a set of thirteen altars, of which twelve were in
over abundance. As for Janus (Ianus), god of beginnings and
use in the middle of the fourth century. They may have
of passages, and Vesta, the goddess of the sacred fire, their
served a new Latin federation presided over by Rome. In-
importance in the Roman liturgy was such, as reported by
deed, Rome did not stop at destroying the Latin confedera-
Cicero (De natura deorum 2.67), that the former shared in
tion in 338 BCE, but also reinforced the privileges of Lavini-
the beginning of every religious ceremony, while the latter
um. For Lavinium, as Livy points out (8.11.15), had added
was invoked at the end.
to its titles the merit of loyalty by refusing to join the Latin
Did this tendency toward divinized abstraction lend it-
revolt. It brought even more renown upon itself as a pilgrim-
self to excesses? One readily cites the example of the minor
age center. Thus Rome’s attitude toward federal cults was de-
specialist gods that assisted Ceres in her functions, according
finitively shown under three very different aspects: some-
to Fabius Pictor (quoted by Servius Danielis, Ad Georgica
times Rome assumed them (Alba Longa), sometimes Rome
1.21): Vervactor (for the plowing of fallow land), Reparator
restricted them (Aricia), and sometimes Rome exalted them
(for the renewal of cultivation), Imporcitor (for marking out
(Lavinium).
the furrows), Insitor (for sowing), Obarator (for plowing the
Conceptions of the divine. The Latin word designat-
surface), Occator (for harrowing), Sarritor (for weeding),
ing divinity has an Indo-European origin. Deus, which pho-
Subruncinator (for hoeing), Messor (for harvesting), Con-
netically comes from the ancient deivos (just as dea comes
vector (for carting the harvest), Conditor (for storage), and
from deiva), means “heavenly being.” In line with this ety-
Promitor (for distribution). Another group of minor divini-
mology, deus and dea represent for the Latins powers in rela-
ties gave Augustine of Hippo occasion for sarcastic com-
tion to the luminous sky (divum), in opposition to humans
ments in detailing its list. This group included lesser divine
(homo), who are bound to the earth (humus), homo itself
entities who were regarded as aiding the husband on his wed-
being a derivative of an Indo-European word meaning
ding night: Virginensis (to loosen the belt of the young vir-
“earth.” One immediate consequence of this is the fact that
gin), Subigus (to subdue her), and Prema (to embrace her).
the Latin noun is distinguished from its Greek homologue
“And what is the goddess Pertunda [from pertundere, “to
theos, which takes its meaning from a different etymology:
penetrate”] doing here? Let her blush, let her flee! Let her
theos probably is connected with the prototype *thesos, which
leave the husband something to do! It is really a disgrace that
refers to the sphere of the sacred (Émile Benveniste), though
someone else besides himself is fulfilling the duty that this
no one has been able to specify the limits of its meaning. We
goddess’s name embodies” (De civitate dei 6.9.264–265).
note, however, that this difference of vocabulary between the
What can be said about all this? Whatever the merit of
Latin and the Greek in naming the divinity fades at the level
these lists of specialized divinities (the first one, transmitted
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
by Servius, is guaranteed by the quality of the source: Fabius
in the form of address when pruning a lucus, where he does
Pictor, the author of books on pontifical law, contemporary
not know the protective divinity, envisions the two possibili-
with Cato the Elder), one can observe that they name only
ties: he thus invokes either a god or a goddess.
secondary entities that are served by no particular priest
The same prudence is evident in the precautionary for-
(even though the Roman institution recognized the flamines
mula inserted by the pontiffs, cited by Servius (Ad Aeneidem
minores, the “lesser priests”). Nor did they appear in the litur-
2.351): “Et pontifices ita precabantur: Iupiter Optime Max-
gical calendar. Moreover, these entities moved in the wake
ime, sive quo alio nomine te appellari volueris” (“And the
of top-level divinities. This trait is expressly brought out by
pontiffs uttered this prayer: Jupiter, Best and Greatest, or
the list of lesser specialists who gravitate toward Ceres: the
whatever be the name by which you choose to be called”).
flamen (priest) of this goddess invokes them when he offers,
This formula is all the more instructive in that it provides
during the Cerialia, the sacrifice to Tellus (earth) and to
for the case in which Jupiter, while well identified by his
Ceres. Everything indicates that the same applies to the list
Capitoline titles, might by chance desire some other name.
drawn up by Augustine: all those names fit easily within the
circle of Juno Pronuba, protector of marriages. They demon-
Since a Roman divinity is essentially defined by its ac-
strate the analytic abilities of pontifical experts and their con-
tion, even a single manifestation of this action suffices for the
cern for accompanying each phase of an activity with a reli-
existence of the divinity to be acknowledged. Such would be
gious factor. Finally, this tendency to divine miniaturization
an exceptional, but significant, case. In vain a voice once
corresponds to a kind of luxuriant manifestation of the incli-
called out on the Via Nova in the silence of the night to an-
nation of Roman pontiffs toward abstract analysis. At the
nounce the approach of the Gauls. The Romans later re-
same time it should not be forgotten that the Romans started
proached themselves for their culpable negligence and erect-
to put their religion into writing from the third century BCE
ed a sanctuary to the voice under the name of Aius Locutius
onward. It is difficult to ascertain which degree of systemati-
(“he who talks, he who tells”; Livy, 5.32.6; 50.5; 52.11).
zation had been reached before the writing process began.
Similarly, a fanum (shrine) was constructed outside of the
Porta Capena to the god Rediculus. This was because Hanni-
These divine abstractions exist in both masculine and
bal in his march on Rome had retreated, overcome by appari-
feminine forms, without any interference between the two.
tions, from that place.
The apparent exceptions are only illusory. Thus it is that
Faunus has no feminine counterpart. (His name’s meaning
Changes in hierarchy. As noted above, the Capitoline
is uncertain; it has sometimes been compared by the ancients
triad of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva dominated the republi-
with fari, “to talk,” as in Varro, De lingua Latina 7.36, and
can self-image of the city’s pantheon. Wissowa (1912) point-
sometimes with favere, “to be favorable,” as in Servius Dan-
ed to the importance in Roman religion of another configu-
ielis, Ad Georgica 1.10; this god had been assimilated to the
ration, the triad of Jupiter-Mars-Quirinus, which appears at
Greek Pan, as is confirmed by the location of his temple,
the point of convergence of several factors and proceeds from
erected in 194
the ancient priestly hierarchy as transmitted by Festus, who
BCE on the Isle of the Tiber, in the extra-
pomerial zone.) Indeed, Fauna seems to be an artificial con-
set down the following hierarchy: the king, the flamen Dialis,
struction of syncretic casuistry that attempted to associate
the flamen Martialis, the flamen Quirinalis, and the pontifex
her with Faunus as either wife or sister or daughter (Wis-
maximus. Framed by the king and the grand pontiff, the
sowa, 1912). Her name was later confused with Fatua and
three major flamines (the flamines maiores) bring into relief
with Bona Dea (an appellation also used in turn by Damia,
the gods to which they are respectively attached: Jupiter,
a goddess originating in Tarentum).
Mars, and Quirinus. Their close union is emphasized by the
ritual in which, once a year, they would go together to the
The same holds true for Pales, the goddess whose feast,
chapel of Fides, to venerate the goddess of good faith.
the Parilia, occurred on April 21, the anniversary of the foun-
dation of Rome. (In contrast, two Pales appear on the date
The same triad is manifest in the interior arrangement
of July 7 on the pre-Julian calendar of the town of Antium.
of the Regia, which under the Republic became the official
Nothing prevents us from considering these as two goddesses
seat of the pontifical college. Indeed, this building housed
liable for distinct tasks, the protection of different categories
three different cults in addition to the cults of Janus and
of animals: small and large livestock.) The god Pales, men-
Juno, who were honored respectively as ushers of the year
tioned by Varro (quoted by Servius, Ad Georgica 3.1), be-
and of the month: the routine cult of Jupiter, associated with
longs to the Etruscan pantheon and has no liturgical place
all the nundinae (market days); that of Mars, in the sacrarium
in Rome.
Martis; and, in another room, the cult of Ops Consiva
(abundance personified) in conjunction with Consus, the
How then is one to understand the expression “sive deus
god of the storage (condere) of grains. This last goddess be-
sive dea” (“whether god or goddess”), which is found in
longs to the group of agrarian divinities headed by Quirinus
many prayers? It does not reflect uncertainty about the gen-
(whose flamen could act in related cults, too: thus, in Ovid’s
der of a possibly epicene divinity but rather uncertainty
Fasti 4.910 we learn that the flamen Quirinalis officiated in
about the identity of the divinity that one is addressing. In
the ceremonies of Robigus, or Robigo, the divinity invoked
Cato’s example the peasant, careful not to make a mistake
against mildew in grains). These deities are involved in what
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
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has been described as a group of festivals accentuating the
Given this background, the establishment of the Capi-
rhythm of agrarian activities in the city of Rome.
toline triad by dedicating a temple to Jupiter, Juno, and Mi-
The same triad of Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus is found
nerva at the end of the sixth century BCE was no revolution.
after Janus, the god of passage, and before the divinities in-
The project being associated with an unclear form of tempo-
voked by reason of particular circumstances in the old hymn
rary Etruscan dominance toward the end of the sixth century
of the devotio (Livy, 8.9.6) that a Roman general uttered in
(tradition named three kings who were of Etruscan origin:
order to consecrate himself, at the same time as the enemy
Tarquin the Elder, Servius Tullius, and Tarquin the Proud)
army, to the di manes. The triad also appears in the regula-
transformed the masculine triad into a new triad in which
tions provided by the ancient royal law of Numa Pompilius
Jupiter’s masculine associates were replaced by two goddess-
for the distribution of the spolia opima. The first of these
es. That these goddesses were none other than Juno and Mi-
spoils were offered to Jupiter Feretrius, the second to Mars,
nerva can be explained not only by the fact that their Etrus-
the third to Janus Quirinus (Plutarch, Life of Marcellus 8.5;
can homologues, Uni and Mernva, held respectable places
Servius, Ad Aeneidum 6.859). The ternary scheme is clearly
in their pantheon, but by reference to important Greek cultic
supported by the document, despite some difficulties of in-
centers as well. Schilling offered an even larger sociological
terpretation. The meaning of Feretrius (derived from ferire,
interpretation. Juno, the patroness of iuniores (especially of
“to smite,” or from ferre, “to carry”) is not certain. As for the
youth available for battle), succeeded Mars, the god of war;
expression Ianus Quirinus, Robert Schilling has offered the
Minerva, the protector of artisans and crafts, succeeded
explanation that the presence of Janus comes from his role
Quirinus, the god overseeing economic activity. The key-
as the initiator of the peacemaking function of Quirinus in
stone of the triad remained immovable, even though Jupiter
opposition to the fury of Mars Gradivus. The tertiary scheme
took on the traits of Tinia, as illustrated by the Etruscan art-
appears finally in the threefold patronage of the college of
ist Vulca of Veii, who produced the cult statue.
Salian priests (“who are under the protection of Jupiter, Mars
Tradition associated the temple built on the Capitoline
and Quirinus”; Servius, Ad Aeneidum 8.663).
Hill in honor of the new triad of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva
This archaic triad had been interpreted by Dumézil as
with the transition from the royal to the republican period.
corresponding, in an Indo-European world, to three diversi-
According to tradition, the construction of the Capitoline
fied functions. Jupiter embodies sovereignty in its magical
temple was begun under the Tarquins, while the dedication
and juridical aspects, which in Vedic India belong respective-
was performed by the consul M. Horatius Pulvillus in the
ly to Varun:a and Mithra; Mars embodies power (his physical
first year of the Republic (509 BCE, a constructed synchro-
and military attributes are similar to Indra in India);
nism).
Quirinus (*Couirio-no, the god of the community of citizens
Yet, it has to be stressed again: the political change from
in time of peace) is connected with fruitfulness and with
lifelong monarchs to an annual consul (the collegiality of two
prosperity in its pastoral and agrarian forms. This triad
consuls might be a later development) did not provoke any
would show the survival of the characteristic tripartite ideol-
religious upheaval. The Capitoline triad was not called into
ogy of the Indo-European world, which considered the hier-
question, in spite of its strong Etruscan connotation. Instead,
archical structuring of these three complementary functions
Jupiter more and more dominated the representation of the
to be indispensable for the prosperity of society. Despite a
res publica, the “common affair,” of the family leaders. If
later evolution that would progressively fossilize their offices
there was a conscious demythologization of the Roman pan-
as the pantheon was opened to new gods, the three major
theon, it was, as Carl Koch has demonstrated, focused on the
flamines would remain the unimpeachable witnesses of this
figure of this god. None of the competing aristocrats could
Indo-European heritage in Rome. However, such an inter-
claim descent from this god (and hence superiority); even
pretation is highly problematical with regard to the postula-
references to divine offspring—although present in nearby
tion of a historical Indo-European society that would be at-
sanctuaries—were removed from Roman cults. At the end
tested in but a few words and conceptual configurations. For
of the Republic, it was the second-rank families that claimed
Rome, it supposes a hierarchical structuring of the pantheon,
divine ancestors, as they were not able to claim a sufficient
which is visible only in an antiquarian attempt at systemati-
number of consular forefathers, Caesar and the gens Iulia of-
zation (the Augustan scholar Verrius Flaccus as quoted by
fering a splendid example. The attempt of Scipio Africanus
Festus). The dedication of the calends to Juno and the ides
to associate himself with Jupiter by frequent presence and
to Jupiter, and the acting of the rex and regina sacrorum as
prayer in his temple was highly suspicious.
priests to these two, suggest an early importance of Juno. The
pantheon of Roman gods was never fully hierarchized, but
The title of king was maintained on the religious level.
is characterized by different, incoherent, and very partial in-
On that account, the official designation from then on was
ternal configurations. When the Romans presented for the
rex sacrorum or rex sacrificulus—in other words, a king limit-
first time several gods and goddesses in the necessarily hierar-
ed to his liturgical functions but stripped of his political priv-
chical order of a banquet within the ritual of lectisternium
ileges. This point of prudence is explained by observing the
(see below), they fall back on undeniably Greek principles
care that the Romans took to avoid irritating their gods with
of grouping.
untimely interventions in the realm of the sacred.
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7902
ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
Mythology. Throughout its history, Rome was a city
This rivalry between the two classes explains diverse cult
on the margin of Greek culture. Influence was both indirect
initiatives that are nonetheless not necessarily mutually ex-
and direct. It was indirectly influenced by the Etruscans, to
clusive. In the critical phases of the city’s history, they were
the extent that Etruscan culture, its script as well as its mate-
able to coexist in a way that was satisfactory to both parties.
rial culture and pantheon, was itself Hellenized. It was direct-
A particularly convincing example comes to us from the be-
ly influence by the nearness of Magna Graecia. All the parties
ginning of the fifth century, when one individual strove to
involved took it for granted that, within a horizon of benevo-
balance the two tendencies. It was the time when, according
lent ethnography, deities of the other culture could be inter-
to Livy (2.18.3), “a coalition of thirty tribes” was formed
preted as the deities known to one’s own society. Interpretatio
against Rome. The situation induced the Romans to name
graeca or romana was practiced by travelers, diplomats, and
a dictator, Aulus Postumius, who was vested with full pow-
ethnographers, and put to use by artisans and storytellers.
ers, in place of the two consuls.
Thus, the large body of Greek mythology and imagery (itself
already enriched by even more ancient Middle Eastern tradi-
Aulus Postumius had two problems to resolve: stabiliz-
tions) was available and attractive for middle Italian, Etrus-
ing the food supply, which had been disrupted by war, and
can, and Roman reception and consumption.
confronting the enemy in decisive combat. He successfully
accomplished his twofold mission. The victory he won over
A Greek ceramic fragment, showing Hephaistos, under
the Latins (in 499 BCE) near Lake Regillus is celebrated in
the earliest layer of the Volcanal, the sanctuary for the Italian
the annals. This battle entered a critical phase when the in-
god Vulcan, offers an early example for equations. The sanc-
fantry failed to hold its ground. On that account, the dictator
tuary at San Omobono featured a statue group of Athena and
decided to send in the Roman cavalry and, at the same time,
Herakles (Minerva and Hercules), thus attesting the presence
made a vow to build a temple dedicated to Castor. He thus
of whole narratives; the grouping would probably show the
combined, according to Livy’s expression, “human and di-
story of the apotheosis of the hero-god. The archaic sanctu-
vine” means. He did so because this god, of Greek origin,
ary of Anna Perenna, a new year and fluvial deity venerated
was the patron of horsemen. Before going into the campaign,
on the shore of the Tiber to the north of the city, contained
the dictator took another step toward easing the difficulties
a tile decoration of the Greek fluvial deity Achelous. If a con-
surrounding the food supply: he made a vow to build a tem-
tinuity of the cult at that place (down to late antiquity) is
ple to the Roman triad of Ceres-Liber-Libera, the names of
admitted, the seemingly abstract and popular (rather than
which barely disguised the Greek divinities Demeter-
public) deity Anna Perenna was inserted into narrative pat-
Dionysos-Kore.
terns from Greek mythology. Instead of remaining an ab-
stract concept of “creative” force (creare), Ceres was more or
The victory enabled Castor to become a Roman god and
less identified with a Demeter in human form and enhanced
to acquire a temple above the Forum: the aedes Castoris (ded-
by a moving legend (Demeter in search of her daughter Kore,
icated in 484 by the dictator’s son; Pollux was not to join
abducted by Pluto). This “new” Ceres was made into a statue
his brother until the beginning of the Empire, and even then
which, according to Pliny the Elder, was “the first bronze
the name aedes Castorum recalled the original primacy of
statue made in Rome.” Consequently, she gained a “house,”
Castor). Since the harvests were abundant, Aulus Postumius
the temple built in 493 BCE to the triad near the Circus Max-
also fulfilled his vow to the triad of Ceres-Liber-Libera by
imus. The temple was decorated with the paintings and
dedicating a sanctuary. This was a source of great satisfaction
sculptures of Damophilos and Gorgasos, two celebrated
for the plebeians, for the sanctuary was entrusted to their
Greek artists.
charge and served as a meeting place for aediles (plebeian offi-
cials). Thus, circumstances had moved Aulus Postumius to
Patricians and plebeians. Other cults reflect, so to
achieve a skillful balance by the concomitant foundation of
speak, the specific aspirations of the two classes that formed
a patrician cult and a plebeian cult. Only the placement of
the basis of Roman society, the patricians and the plebeians.
the sanctuaries revealed a difference of status: Castor was in-
One observes an antagonism between the two classes that is
stalled inside the pomerium, in the heart of the Forum, while
evident not only on economic, social, and political levels, but
Ceres and her associates had to be located outside of the
also on the religious level. Until 300 BCE only the patricians
pomerium, near the Circus Maximus.
were allowed to discharge as an official function the great tra-
ditional priesthoods, such as the pontificate and the augury.
The codification of law of the Twelve Tables, which
At that date a kind of religious equality was established by
made law an (ever more) important instrument in dealing
a law (the Lex Ogulnia), which, in providing members for
with social conflicts, is said to have entailed regulation of the
these two colleges, reserved half of the seats for plebeians.
calendar. Whereas such an exact dating remains question-
Nevertheless, the patricians kept for themselves the privilege
able, it is certain that during the fifth century the commonly
of admittance to the archaic priesthoods: the rex sacrorum,
used lunisolar calendar was replaced by a purely solar calen-
the three major flamines, and the Salii. The question of the
dar with fixed lengths of month, a civil calendar without par-
origin of the differentiation of the two “orders” remains a
allel in the Mediterranean world. Thereafter, the lunar cult
matter of debate and has been dated to the regal, as well as
was kept but became fossilized, and observation of the lunar
early republican, period.
phases were declamatory only. It is perhaps a consequence
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
7903
of this change that astronomical deities did not gain in im-
use of divination in politics. Despite the usually distanced re-
portance until the Italian reception of astrological practices
lationship to their gods, every important act of the higher
beginning in the late second century BCE.
magistrates was subjected to the prior assent of the gods, in
THE MIDDLE REPUBLIC: SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CHANGES.
particular Jupiter. Religious legitimation of the elected mag-
It is not before the fourth century BCE that we reach surer
istrates was not given once and for all, but in a piecemeal
ground for historical reconstruction. Even then, the process-
manner. To this end, there existed an indigenous institution
es leading to the formation of a new patricio-plebeian elite
especially charged with this mission: auspicy. On the morn-
in the second half of the century remain obscure in their de-
ing of the action planned, the magistrate had to observe the
tails and sequence. The closing of the mainly religiously de-
cries and the flight of birds, checking them against the rule
fined patriciate, marked by the interdict on intermarriage in
specified by himself concerning what would count as divine
the law of the Twelve Tables (around 450 BCE), and their
assent. A large number of forms eventually became standard.
monopolization of political roles gave way to a balance be-
At least from the third century BCE onward, the tripudium,
tween patrician and plebeian office holders (the leges Liciniae
the observation of the hens picking fodder in cages, was the
Sextia are traditionally assigned to 367 BCE). The result was
usual form. Such a technique was open to manipulation, but
the formation of a new elite that channeled their competition
the lack of empirical input did not devaluate the system in
into office holding and military success as public Roman
the eyes of contemporaries. The duty to read auspices was
generals.
at some points of the political process an opportunity to
Rituals were important in giving profile to achieve-
question the validity of the legitimation, or to announce the
ments. The pompa imaginum, the funerary procession that
observation of adverse signs (obnuntiatio). Augurs were spe-
paraded living statues—actors wearing masks representing
cialists of the techniques; they had an individual right to ob-
the ancestors—to give a summary of all the achievements of
serve contrary signs in the context of popular assemblies, but
the deceased’s family in terms of higher offices held, was per-
the normal right to the observation (spectio) was held by the
haps the most characteristic expression of the new culture.
magistrates.
Ancestors who had not performed any higher magistracy did
Other techniques, borrowed from Rome’s neighbors in
not participate and were not commemorated in the speech
Etruria or Magna Graecia and employed collectively or indi-
(laudatio funebris) that explained the file of ancestors on dis-
vidually included haruspicinae disciplina (lore of the harus-
play in the Forum, the pinnacle of the procession (Polybios,
pex) and the consultation of the Sibylline Books. This accu-
6.53). As Harriet Flower has shown, this ritual must have
mulation of divination methods is explained by the desire to
originated in the latter part of the fourth century.
benefit from new techniques, which were all the more seduc-
Wealth was not eliminated as an instrument to gain
tive when they appeared to offer independent access to the
prestige, but its legitimate spending depended on electoral
will of the gods. Whereas auspicia indicated Jupiter’s assent
success and the attainment of offices that offered the oppor-
for the very day of the procedure only, Etruscan soothsayers
tunity to stage attractive rituals. Praetorships and especially
boasted of being able to foretell the future, either by examin-
consulates provided opportunities to greatly enlarge one’s
ing the entrails of sacrificed animals (libri haruspicini), by ob-
wealth through successful warfare and the acquisition of
serving lightning (libri fulgurales), or by interpreting marvels
booty. The contribution of such gains into the public fund
(libri rituales). The first method, divining by examination of
was expected, but the share was never regulated. A victory
entrails, was especially popular. It featured, among the exta
enlarged the general’s clientela by adding the legionaries who
(entrails) used, the liver, which was considered a microcosm
had sworn on his name. The festival of return consisted of
of the world. Every lesion detected in some part of the former
impressive processions (the triumph), ever more attractive
allowed an inference on the fate of the latter.
games, and occasionally temple dedications.
The Sibylline Books, which had been introduced, ac-
The proliferation of games was the most important reli-
cording to tradition, in regal times under Tarquin the Proud,
gious innovation of the period. The combination of proces-
purported to contain prophetic verses. These books, kept in
sional rituals parading gods and actors through the city of
the temple of Capitoline Jupiter (they would later be trans-
Rome and the competitions in circuses or the presentation
ferred by Augustus to the sanctuary of Apollo Palatine),
of dramas on temporary stages brought religion into the cen-
could be consulted, upon order of the Senate, by persons spe-
tral public space and enabled the participation of larger
cialized in that office, the X, later XV viri sacris faciundis.
shares of the populace as spectators. Thus, the rituals gave
Usually, the announcement of bad signs (monstra, prodigia)
information about foreign affairs and culture, they offered
instigated an examination of their significance and measures
space for communication between the various social groups
to placate the gods. The measures advocated (often the intro-
seated in an orderly arrangement in the theater or circus, and
duction of new divinities) were evaluated by the Senate,
they produced a feeling of common identity—a victorious
which would make the final decision. The sibyl did not enjoy
Roman identity.
a liberty comparable to that of the oracle of Delphi: Her re-
Divination. The checks and balances developed in the
sponses were always subject to senatorial censorship. There
formation of the new political elite entailed an exceptional
is no need to stress further the benefit that the Romans
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7904
ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
hoped to gain from these divination techniques of foreign or-
For the third century before the start of the second
igin. This cluster of methods is instructive, moreover, to the
Punic War (218), the following temples were established:
extent that it reveals a fundamental trait of Roman polythe-
Bellona (296), Venus Obsequens (295), Iuppiter Victor
ism. Founded upon a conservative tradition, it was always
(295), Iuppiter Stator (294), Fors Fortuna (293), Aesculapi-
open to enrichment and renewal.
us (292), Hercules Invictus (292), Portunus (292), Sum-
manus (276), Consus (272), Tellus (268), Pales (267), Vor-
New divinities and temples. The Senate controlled
tumnus (264), Minerva (263/2), Ianus (260), Tempestates
claims to triumph and the selection of sites for new temples,
(Storms, 259), Spes and Fides (258/7), Volcanus (252), Ops
and probably also the date of their dedication. The erection
Opifera (250), Neptunus (257), Iuturna (242/1), Iuno Cur-
of permanent theaters was delayed until the very end of the
ritis (241), Fortuna Publica (241), Flora (240), Honos (233),
Republic when Pompey built a theater on the Campus Mar-
Fons (231), Feronia (225), Hercules Magnus custos (223),
tius. Initiative, however, rested with individuals, and the in-
and Honos et Virtus (222). Further temples to Flora, Hercu-
troduction of a new god into the pantheon of Rome generat-
les, Honos, Hora Quirini, Lares, Luna, Penates, Sol et Luna,
ed more attention than, for example, the restoration of an
Sol Indiges, Tiberinus, Vica Pota, Iuppiter Fulgur, and Ops
old temple. Rome’s loosely organized polytheism lent itself
cannot be dated with certainty (Ziolkowski, 1992,
to this sort of openness when the traditional gods proved to
pp. 187–188).
be inadequate in critical situations. Circumstances, perhaps
family practices or local practices of significant places, in-
The list is remarkable in its incoherency. In the long
spired the Romans’ attitude. An early example is demonstrat-
run, the popularity of the gods invoked was very divergent.
ed by the entry of Castor into Rome, described above.
The temple of Asklepios, for example, introduced as a filia-
tion of the great healing sanctuary of Epidaurus, flourished
There were other ways for foreign gods to be introduced
as a center of private devotion, a healing cult in the Greek
into Rome. When the Romans had trouble with an enemy
manner. Thus, the specter of shrines that could be addressed
city, they resorted to the evocatio, which consisted of a kind
for personal needs (as Minerva Medica) was significantly en-
of abduction of divine power at the adversary’s expense and
larged. It should not be forgotten that the importance of
to Rome’s benefit. A famous case (and also unique in the an-
public religion did not stop or diminish private cult activities
nals) occurred in the siege of Veii in 396 BCE. The war
and traditional ways of dealing with personal crises. Individ-
against that Etruscan city seemed endless (it was to last ten
ual religion was taken seriously: one could legitimately, for
years, as long as the Trojan war). Finally, the dictator M.
example, temporarily defer the military draft if one had to
Furius Camillus directly addressed the city’s protective divin-
care for private cults and auspices (Cincius in Gellius, Attic
ity, Uni (the Etruscan homologue of Juno): “Juno Regina,
Nights 16.4.4–5).
who resides now in Veii, I pray that you will follow us after
Influences of Hellenism. The military expansion grad-
our victory into our city, which will soon be yours; you will
ually intensified cultural contacts. As discussed earlier, Rome
there have a temple worthy of your majesty” (Livy, 5.21.3).
was from its beginning within reach of direct and indirect
In this way Juno Regina acquired a temple on the Aventine,
Greek influence. The Dionysian cult that was fought in 186
as a divinity of outside origin, while continuing to sit, as a
BCE (see below), was, despite perhaps some recent organiza-
national divinity, on the Capitolium at the side of Jupiter.
tional changes, a long-established private cult in Italy. Dur-
The practice is still attested in the late Republic, even if the
ing the third century, Rome came in direct contact with the
cult offered to the tutelary deity of Isaura vetus in Asia minor
southern Italian Magna Graecia, and during the second cen-
was realized on the spot (Année épigraphique 1977, 816).
tury the Romans installed themselves in continental Greece
and Asia Minor. The speed of imports and the quality of the
There was another procedure for introducing foreign
reaction changed.
gods into Rome: the capture, pure and simple, of a foreign
divinity. This arrogant approach may seem strange on the
Some gods of the Greek world had particularly attrac-
part of a people imbued with “religious” respect toward the
tive features. Aesculapius has already been mentioned, and
supernatural world. By way of explaining the evocatio,
Apollo, whose introduction was due to an epidemic, was
Macrobius (in Saturnalia 3.9.2) advanced precisely this rea-
equally appealing to the Romans. Indeed it was not the god
son: “Quod. . .nefas aestimarent deos habere captivos”
of the Muses, nor the sun god, nor the prophet god who
(“they regarded it as sacrilege to make prisoners of the gods”).
would later become the patron of the Sibylline Books (these
However, the seizure of Falerii in 241 BCE resulted in captivi-
titles would appear in the Carmen saeculare by Horace during
ty for its goddess, who was then given a small shrine in Rome
the time of Augustus) and to whom the Romans had ap-
at the foot of the slope of Caelius, under the name of Miner-
pealed for aid at the beginning of the fifth century; rather,
va Capta (Ovid, Fasti 3.837). During the campaigns of the
this Apollo was the healing god. His temple, voted “pro vale-
second century, most gods from the eastern part of the Medi-
tudine populi” (“for the people’s health”) in 433, was dedi-
terranean entered Rome only as artistic valuables, and, as
cated in 431 in the Flaminian Meadows at the southwest of
such, they were not offered cults but were given a place in
the Capitol, within a sector that already bore the name Apol-
a villa or a public colonnade.
linare (“Apollo’s enclosure”; Livy, 4.25.3, 40.51.4). The old-
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est invocation used in the prayers of the Vestals was directed
Athena; Ares-Aphrodite, Apollo-Artemis. It could suggest a
to the “physician”: Apollo Medice, Apollo Paean (Macrobi-
conjugal meaning for Jupiter and Juno and an erotic mean-
us, Saturnalia 1.17.15).
ing for Mars and Venus, but nothing of the kind would
New rituals. The introduction of the lectisternia ritual
apply to the association of Neptune and Minerva (which
had been recommended by the Sibylline Books, which were
evokes the rivalry of Poseidon and Athena in giving a name
consulted upon orders of the Senate by the II viri sacris faci-
to Athens), nor for Apollo and Diana/Artemis, who were
undis in the face of an alarming pestilence. This ritual would
brother and sister. One can also wonder if the Romans were
be used more and more, and, as a result, the Romans became
not still more heedful of the representative value of these di-
very familiar with this new form of devotion, which had
vine pairs. Only a functional bond makes sense for the two
more significance on the emotional level than was usual in
last couples, in Rome as well as in Greece: fire for Vulcan
Roman worship. The standard Roman sacrificial ritual con-
and Vesta, economic activity (commerce and grain) for Mer-
sisted essentially of a canonical prayer followed by the slaugh-
cury and Ceres. As for the couples that seemed most to bear
tering of an animal and the offering of consecrated entrails
the stamp of Hellenism, they were explained perfectly in ac-
(the exta) to the divinity (the distinction between exta
cord with Roman norms. Thus Jupiter and Juno were associ-
comprising the lungs, heart, liver, gall bladder, and peritone-
ated here, just as they had been in the Capitoline cult since
um—and the viscera, flesh given over for profane consump-
the sixth century. Nor did Venus and Mars form a couple
tion, is fundamental in Roman ritual). The sacrificial cere-
in Rome in the strict sense of the term. Mars, father of Rom-
mony was celebrated by qualified magistrates or priests on
ulus, is the old Italic god, while Venus, mother of Aeneas,
private initiative around an altar placed in front of the tem-
appeared as the protector of the Romans-Aeneades. In a
ple. In the new ritual, however, statues of the deities reposing
word, Rome knew how to utilize the Greek plan to its own
on cushions (pulvinaria) were displayed within the temples
ends without in turn submitting to it. Rome joined together
on ceremonial beds (lectisternia). Men, women, and children
the two essential personages of its history: Aeneas, founder
could approach them and offer them food and prayers in fer-
of the nation, and Romulus, founder of the city.
vent supplication (see Livy, 24.10.13; 32.1.14), often presid-
Putting the Mediterranean to use. The example de-
ed over by the II or X viri sacris faciundis (cf. Livy, 4.21.5).
scribed above makes manifest a constant attitude. Nothing
The first lectisternium, which was allegedly celebrated in
is more significant in this connection than the introduction
399 BCE, joined in heterogeneous pairs Apollo and Latona,
of the cult of Venus Erycina. Once again the circumstantial
Hercules and Diana, and Mercury and Neptune (Livy,
cause was the imperative need for supplementary divine aid,
5.13.4–6). Outwardly, half of the names were of purely
this time during the Second Punic War (218–210) after the
Greek origin (Apollo, Latona, Hercules), and the other half
disaster of Trasimene in 217 BCE. Named as dictator, Q. Fa-
of Latin origin. In fact, even these Latin names applied to
bius Maximus (who would bear the surname Cunctator, or
Hellenic divinities: Diana/Artemis, Mercury/Hermes, Nep-
“delayer”) obtained from the Senate a consultation with the
tune/Poseidon. The healing god Apollo, accompanied by his
Sibylline Books, which prescribed, among other measures,
mother Latona, was at the head of the list during this period
a promise to provide a temple dedicated to Venus Erycina
of epidemic.
(Livy, 22.9.7–11). This choice becomes clear when one re-
Much more dramatic circumstances—Hannibal at the
calls that, at the time of the First Punic War, the consul Lu-
walls of Rome—instigated in 217
cius Junius had “recognized” Venus, the mother of Aeneas,
BCE the last and most cele-
brated lectisternium in the history of the Republic (Livy,
in the Aphrodite of Mount Eryx, which he had succeeded
22.10.9). On this occasion, the Romans for the first time
in occupying from the start (248 BCE) till the victorious fin-
adopted the Greek plan of a set of twelve deities divided into
ish. Thus Q. Fabius Maximus, who was struggling with the
six couples in the following order: Jupiter and Juno, Neptune
same enemy (the Carthaginians), vowed to give the same
and Minerva, Mars and Venus, Apollo and Diana, Vulcan
goddess—as a pledge of victory—a temple, which was dedi-
and Vesta, and Mercury and Ceres. This ceremony would
cated in 215 on the Capitolium. It was the “Trojan light”
remain unique (one cannot regard as a parallel the merry par-
that earned for Venus Erycina, “mother of the Aeneades,”
ody organized by Augustus during a cena where the twelve
this majestic entry to the summit of the Capitolium, which
dinner companions disguised themselves as gods and god-
was included at that date within the pomerial zone.
desses; see Suetonius, Life of Augustus 70). Without a doubt,
Some ten years later, the Oriental goddess Cybele was
the Greek inspiration is evident in this list in the presentation
introduced on the same basis, and marvels impressed reli-
of pairs of gods and goddesses (the idea of grouping twelve
gious awareness: “two suns were seen; intermittent flashes
principal deities would be repeated later by the installation
had streaked through the night; etc.” (Livy, 29.14.3). An or-
of gilded bronze statues of the di consentes in the niches locat-
acle drawn from the Sibylline Books had predicted “the day
ed below the Portico at the foot of the Capitolium).
when an enemy of foreign race would bring war to Italian
Yet it is necessary to avoid misunderstanding the mean-
soil, he could be defeated and banished from Italy, if the
ing of the coupling here. The Greek model appeared in out-
Mater Idaea were carried from Pessinus to Rome” (Livy,
line after the first four couples: Zeus-Hera, Poseidon-
29.10.5). In this way the Magna Mater (alias Cybele), hon-
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
ored as a “Trojan” ancestor, was solemnly received in Rome
To that end, the calendar days were divided into profane
in 204 BCE and was installed on the Palatine. Until the build-
days (dies profesti) and days reserved for the gods (dies festi
ing of her own temple, which was dedicated in 191 BCE, she
or feriae), and thus for liturgical celebrations. However, if
was provisionally lodged in the temple of Victoria.
one looks at a Roman calendar, one observes that the list of
The entry of these two goddesses, understood in terms
days contains other signs. When the days are profane, they
of the “Trojan light,” is instructive on another account as
are marked by the letter F (fasti); when they pertain to the
well. In spite of the considerable honors that Rome accorded
gods, by N (nefasti). This presentation does not call into
them (far from treating them as outsiders, they were installed
question the division of “profane” and “sacred” times. It sim-
on the prestigious hills of the Capitoline and the Palatine),
ply changes the perspective as to when “divine” becomes
Rome did not neglect to subject their cults to discreet censor-
“human.” Indeed, for the Romans, the day is fastus when it
ship. Venus Erycina was treated in two ways. In the temple
is fas (religiously licit) to engage in profane occupations, ne-
on the Capitoline (dedicated in 215) Rome venerated her as
fastus when it is nefas (religiously prohibited) to do so, since
a Roman goddess. However, in the extrapomerial temple,
the day belongs to the gods. In reality, the analytical spirit
built later outside of the Porta Collina and dedicated in 181,
of the pontiffs came up with yet a third category of C days
Rome considered her to be a foreign goddess, covered by the
(comitiales), which, while profane, lent themselves in addi-
statute of the peregrina sacra (foreign rites), which allowed
tion to the comitia, or “assemblies.” Furthermore, there are
for tolerance of certain original customs. The temple of
other rarely used letters, such as the three dies fissi (half nefas-
Venus Erycina outside the Porta Collina admitted, as an ex-
ti, half fasti). The dies religiosi (or atri) are outside these cate-
tension of the one on Mount Eryx, the presence of prosti-
gories: they are dates that commemorate public misfortunes,
tutes in imitation of the sacred courtesans on the Sicilian
such as July 18, the Dies Alliensis (commemorating the disas-
mountain. The restraints were even stricter for the Mater
ter of the battle of Allia in 390 BCE).
deum Magna Idaea. Her routine cult could be practiced only
The republican calendar (called fasti) divided the ferial
by the Galli, the eunuch-priests, positions from which
days over the course of twelve months. Each month was
Roman citizens were excluded, and the cult was placed under
marked by the calendae (the first day), the nonae, and the idus
the surveillance of the urban praetor. Still, the aristocrats did
(the last two fell respectively on the fifth or seventh, and the
not hesitate to institute mutual visits and banquets during
thirteenth or the fifteenth, according to whether they were
the goddess’s festival. Her games were among the most
ordinary months or March, May, July, or October). The
splendid public rituals in the Roman festival list of the late
feasts were fixed (stativae) or movable (conceptivae) or orga-
Republic.
nized around some particular circumstance.
The supplicatio (organized in 207 BCE, following a mira-
The Roman liturgy developed in line with an order of
cle) in honor of Juno Regina of the Aventine make a particu-
feasts consecrated to particular deities. An overlap was there-
larly memorable impression with an innovation: twenty-
fore possible: since the ides, “days of full light,” were always
seven girls sang a hymn composed especially for the occasion
dedicated to Jupiter. The sacrifice of the Equus October
by the poet Livius Andronicus (Livy, 27.37.7–15)
(horse of October) on October 15 coincided with the ides.
Public worship. The aim of public worship (the sacra
This ritual sequence was punctuated by the rhythm of
publica) was to assure or to restore the “benevolence and
seasons for the agrarian celebrations (especially in April and
grace of the gods,” which the Romans considered indispens-
in July and August) and by the schedule of training for mili-
able for the state’s well-being. Annually returning rituals
tary campaigns. Thus it is interesting to note that the month
dominated public cultic activity. The feasts were fixed (sta-
of March contained several feasts marking the opening of
tivae) or movable (conceptivae) or organized around some
martial activities. There was registered on the calendars a sac-
particular circumstance (imperativae). The feriae, a special
rifice to the god Mars; the blessing of horses on the Equirria
class of days given to the gods as property (and hence free
on February 27 and March 14; and the blessing of arms on
from every mundane activity) were marked as a special class
the Quinquatrus and of trumpets on the Tubilustrium on
of dies nefasti (days not to be used), namely as a group of days
March 19. In addition, there was the Agonium Martiale
whose violation made piacular sacrifices necessary (hence
on March 17. The Salii, carrying lances (hastae) and shields
marked by the letters NP and abbreviations of the festival
(ancilia), roamed the city performing martial dances. Apart
names). Many of these festivals go back to the early Republic
from the feriae and connected ritual sequences, many com-
or an even earlier period. Usually, they were coordinated
memoration days of the dedication of temples filled the cal-
with the days that structured each month. The calendae,
endar. The annual sacrifice in front of the temple sometimes
often marked by festivals to Juno, were the first day of the
gave rise to very popular festivals.
month, the nonae, were the ninth day before the ides (ac-
cordingly the fifth or seventh day) and the idus fell on the
Besides the liturgical feasts, it is also necessary to cite the
thirteenth or the fifteenth, respectively, according to whether
ludi, games consisting essentially of chariot races. They went
they were ordinary months or March, May, July, or October.
back to an old tradition represented by the Equirria. The
The idus were usually dedicated to Jupiter, but the same day
new ludi replaced the bigae, teams of two horses, with the
staged other important festivals, too.
quadrigae, teams of four, for the races in the Circus Maximus
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
7907
and included various performances: riders leaping from one
The only exception to the latter characterization were
horse to another, fights with wrestlers and boxers. (The glad-
the six Vestal Virgins, who had to live in celibacy in the atri-
iator fights, which were Etruscan in origin, appeared in 264
um Vestae on the Forum Romanum, adjacent to the Regia
BCE for private funeral feasts, but they did not become part
and the aedes Vestae, a circular sanctuary accessible to nobody
of the public games until the end of the second century BCE.)
else. “Caught,” as the technical expression was, by the ponti-
These competitions were soon complemented by other spec-
fex maximus at a minimum age of six years, their period of
tacles: pantomimes and dances accompanied by the flute.
service was said to last for thirty years, although no case of
The principal ones were the Ludi Magni or Ludi Romani, cel-
a Vestal who left after that period is known. Instead, the role
ebrated from the fifteenth through the eighteenth of Septem-
of the Vestalis maxima, the eldest one, was one of utmost au-
ber after the ides that coincided with the anniversary of the
thority and sanctity in the eyes of the public.
temple of Jupiter Capitoline. Considered to have been insti-
The predominant priests from perhaps the fourth cen-
tuted by Tarquin the Elder (Livy, 1.35.9), they became an-
tury BCE onward were those organized as collegia sacerdotum.
nual events starting in 367 BCE, which is the date that saw
They were responsible for certain procedures and areas of re-
the creation of the curule magistracy (aediles curules). The
ligious regulation, but were—as a rule—not dedicated to the
Ludi Plebei, a kind of plebeian reply to preceding games,
cult of specific deities. The mode of their recruitment and
were instituted later: they are mentioned for the first time
the persons recruited were increasingly adapted to the rules
in 216 BCE (Livy, 23.30.17). They took place in the Circus
and personal reservoirs of the political magistrates. Although
Flaminius, involved the same kind of games as the Ludi Ro-
election was not implemented for most of them before 104
mani, and were celebrated around the ides of November. It
BCE (Lex Domitia), they came from the leading families only,
is also noteworthy that the Ludi Romani and the Ludi Plebei
being appointed shortly before the consulate or even after-
were both held around the ides (of September or November)
ward in the case of “new men” risen from nonconsular fami-
and dedicated to Jupiter, to whom a sacrificial meal, the
lies. These colleges had no special building for their meet-
Epulum Iovis, was offered.
ings, but regularly (probably monthly) met at their private
The priesthood. Priests were not necessary for private
homes. Holding their offices as lifetime appointments, they
cult. An aedituus, a guardian of a temple, would have to open
formed powerful networks within the political elite.
a temple that was normally closed or provide items necessary
The most important and most politicized position was
for the cult (water, for example). However, much of private
held by the pontifex maximus. He presided over the pontifical
ritual was performed on private ground. Neither prayer nor
college, to which the flamines and Vestales (both “caught” by
animal sacrifice was in need of a cultic specialist other than
him), as well as the rex sacrorum, were attached. Jurisdiction-
the pater familias, the head of the family, a person in charge
al competence and participation in large public rituals led to
of a farm, or the president of an association. The same holds
an enlargement or, even better, differentiation of the college.
true for public rituals. Many were led by the chosen magis-
Its scribes were given the title “minor pontiffs” and the status
trates, who gave the order to kill an oxen or start a horse race.
of priests; a second college, the three (later seven) “men for
A pontiff might assist in reciting a prayer that the magistrate
Jupiter’s banquets” (Septemviri epulonum), was split off in
uttered aloud, but it was the magistrate who performed, for
196 BCE and ascended to nearly equal dignity under the Em-
example, the dedication of a new temple.
pire. In particular, it was their duty to organize the sacrificial
supper, the Epulum Iovis, at the Ludi Romani and the Ludi
By the late Republic, certain priests who were dedicated
Plebei, the Roman and Plebeian games on the ides of Sep-
to special cults—functioning, perhaps, but one or two times
tember and November. They numbered three at first, then
a year—were hardly important or prestigious. Few of these
seven, and finally (without a change of name) ten. The pon-
twelve flamines minores are known by name. The same type
tiffs were early specialists of Roman public and private law;
of specialized priesthood, but more to the fore, was repre-
the realm of religious property rights—divine property,
sented by the rex sacrorum and the three major flamines of
tombs (locus religiosus), the juridical and religious quality of
Jupiter (Dialis), Mars (Martialis) and—already a lesser fig-
the time, and intercalation were in their hands. The college,
ure—Quirinus (Quirinalis). The flamines minores oversaw a
originally recruited from patricians only, grew—always in
number of central, but routine, rituals that probably took
parallel to the augural college—to nine members by the Lex
place without a large public audience, and their priestly role
Ogulnia of 300 BCE, then to fifteen by the Lex Cornelia of
was not more than a part-time job. They were, however, sub-
82 BCE (opening prestigious positions for Sulla’s supporters
jected to rules that limited their opportunities for entering
in the Civil war), and finally to sixteen by Caesar’s Lex Julia
a political career—a subject frequently leading to conflict.
of 46 BCE.
On the other hand, they were recruited at a comparatively
young age, in their early twenties during the late Republic
The augurs made up the second college. Their compe-
(and later), which is more than fifteen years before a consul-
tence encompassed divination and the change of sacral sta-
ate would take office. The wives of the rex and the flamines
tus. Thus, it fell upon them to inaugurate both persons (the
minores supplemented their ritual tasks as regina sacrorum
rex sacrorum and the three flamines maiores) and space (tem-
(with a separate range of cults) or flaminica.
pla); in the ritual of the augurium maximum they even
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
checked for the status of a ritual; that is, they asked for Jupi-
publica—offered a space for religious activities for the aris-
ter’s consent to have the ritual performed. As a college, and
tocracy and the framework for various collective or individu-
in certain functions as individuals, they served as experts for
al activities on the part of ordinary citizens or simply inhabi-
everything concerning the auspicia, the divination by means
tants of Rome. The sacra publica, publicly financed ritual,
of the observation of birds regularly performed by magis-
were not restricted to activities of the city as a whole. Territo-
trates. Being able to question or invalidate auspicial legitima-
rial subdivisions, such as the curiae or the neighborhoods of
tion, they were highly political figures, and the regulations
the compitalia (crossroad sanctuaries), offered space for ritual
concerning the college were at pains to ensure the indepen-
interaction and communication. The curio maximus was the
dence of its members, who would not loose their priesthood
second priesthood to be included into the procedure of pop-
even if they were condemned or exiled.
ular election, more than one hundred years before the augurs
and the other pontiffs. In imperial times, the vicomagistri
The Duo viri sacris faciundis (men in charge of the cele-
who presided over compitalician cult were given the right to
bration of sacrifices) were responsible for safeguarding and
wear the toga praetexta, togas with a purple strip distinguish-
for consulting the Sibylline Books by order of the Senate.
ing Roman magistrates, during their services.
There were at first two of them, then ten (Decemviri, begin-
ning in 367 BCE), and finally—equating them to the other
We do not know much about gentilician cult, but much
colleges—fifteen (quindecimviri).
is known about family and household cult from literary and
The electoral procedures for the members of these
archaeological sources,which serve as a helpful corrective
priestly colleges, probably enacted for the first time in the
against poetic or antiquarian idealization. Rented Roman
second half of the third century, show how carefully Roman
flats lacked built-in altars, and the ancestor cult of deceased
procedures regulated the religious realm. Only a minority
relatives simply dumped into the extra-urban pits might have
(seventeen chosen by lot) of the thirty-five “tribes,” originally
been limited.
regional voting units, selected among the candidates nomi-
The cult within the familia, the extended Roman family
nated by the surviving priests. The successful candidate was
placed under the unrestricted authority of the pater familias,
than formally adrogated by the college, thus continuing the
may be regarded in a biographical perspective. The day of
practice of cooptatio (cooptation) that remained the rule for
birth (dies natalis) and the day of purification (dies lustricus:
all the other, politically less important priestly groups. Even
the ninth day for boys, the eighth for girls, when the infant
priests elected in a popular assembly were not installed by
received its name) were family feasts. In the atrium of the
majority vote.
family home, the infant would acquire the habit of honoring
In addition to the four collegia, it is worth mentioning
the household gods (the lar familiaris and the di penates).
the fraternities that confirm the preference in Rome for
The allusion made in the Aulularia (v. 24s) by Plautus to a
priestly specialization and the division of religious authority.
young daughter who every day would bring “some gift such
The twenty Fetiales saw to the protection of Rome in foreign
as incense, wine, or garlands” to the lar familiaris shows that
relations, especially with regard to declarations of war and
personal devotion was not unknown in Rome. Livy
conclusion of peace treaties. The twenty-four Salii (twelve
(26.19.5) cites a more illustrious example of this kind about
Salii Palatini and twelve Salii Collini, from Augustus on-
P. Cornelius Scipio, the future conqueror of Hannibal.
ward) were dancer-priests who opened the season of war in
“After he received the toga virilis, he undertook no action,
March and who were the youngest aristocratic priests; female
whether public or private, without going right away to the
Salians are mentioned only once (Servius, Ad Aeneiden
Capitolium. Once he reached the sanctuary, he remained
8.285). The twenty-four Luperci (twelve Fabiani and twelve
there in contemplation, normally all alone in private for
Quinctiales) acted only in the rites of the Lupercalia on Feb-
some time.” (It is true that a rumor attributed divine ancestry
ruary 15. The twelve Arval Brethren were in charge of the
to Scipio, something he very carefully neither confirmed nor
cult of the agrarian deity Dea Dia, whose sanctuary was lo-
denied; see above).
cated outside the city in the fields (arva). The function of
The taking of the toga virilis, or pura (as opposed to the
the Sodales Titii (perhaps likewise twelve men) remains un-
toga praetexta, bordered with a purple ribbon and worn by
known; perhaps they continued a regal heroic cult. It is char-
children), generally took place at age seventeen during the
acteristic of the reduced political importance of these priest-
feast of the Liberalia on March 17. Before this point, the puer
hoods that hardly any member is known, or rather the
(boy) offered his bulla (a golden amulet) to the lar familiaris.
membership of those who are known was rarely made explic-
From then on, he was a iuvenis, and he would go to the Capi-
it. In contrast, between one- and two-thirds of the members
tolium to offer a sacrifice and leave an offering in the sanctu-
of the major colleges are known for most years from the Sec-
ary of the goddess Juventus (Iuventas). Girls would offer dolls
ond Punic War onward. By way of a unique ensemble of
and clothing on the day of their wedding. Another family
marble inscriptions from their sanctuary, the fratres Arvales
feast honored the father of the family on his birthday; for rea-
are the best documented priesthood of the Empire.
sons of convenience the commemoration and party seems to
Private worship. Religion as organized by the nobility,
have frequently been moved to the next calends or ides. A
the political elite, and paid for by state funds—hence religio
warm atmosphere brought together the whole family, in-
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
7909
cluding the servants, at least twice a year. On March 1, the
tury BCE onward, were regarded as political troublemakers
feast of the Matronalia, mothers of families would make their
and organizers of popular unrest in the last decennium of the
way up the Esquiline to the temple of Juno Lucina, whose
Republic. Even the territorially organized groups of the com-
anniversary it was. Together with their husbands they prayed
pitalia were subject to suspicion, and they eventually dis-
“for the safeguarding of their union” and received presents.
solved. The most famous and best documented conflict be-
They then prepared dinner for their slaves. Macrobius (Sat-
tween a religious organization and Roman officials is the
urnalia 1.12.7), who mentions this custom, adds that on De-
persecution of the Italian Bacchanalia in 186 BCE.
cember 17, the feast of the Saturnalia, it was the masters’ turn
to serve their slaves, unless they preferred to share dinner
The affair is known from Livy’s extensive narrative
with them (Saturnalia 1.7.37). It is characteristic of the gen-
(39.8–18) and from a bronze copy of the final decree of the
dered perspective of the Romans that the “male” Saturnalia
Senate, which enforced the Roman sanctions of the cult
developed into a carnival lasting for several days, character-
within the whole of Italy, or at least the Roman territories
ized by an exchange of gifts, as well as excessive drinking.
(Senatusconsultum de Bacchanalibus). The cult of Dionysos
had a long history and was widespread throughout Italy. Ac-
At the end of life, the Feriae Denecales (denecales or
cordingly, the Senate’s action was not directed against the
deni-, perhaps from de nece, “following death”) took place.
god Bacchus or his cult in principle. Following a denuncia-
The purpose was to purify the family in mourning, for the
tion, alarm had been created by the secret gatherings (Livy,
deceased was regarded as having defiled his or her family,
39.8.3) that reeked of scandals involving both men and
which thus became funesta (defiled by death). To this end,
women. The bacchants were accused of taking part in crimi-
a novemdiale sacrum was offered on the ninth day after burial.
nal orgies in a milieu marked by “the groans of victims amid
As for the deceased, the body, or a finger thereof kept aside
debaucheries and murders.” The prohibition was dictated
(os resectum) in the case of cremation, was buried in a place
out of a concern for public order. The reaction involved dra-
that become inviolable (religiosus). The burial was indispens-
conian sanctions, including the death penalty for some lead-
able in order to assure the repose of the deceased, who from
ing figures. The cult however, was not suppressed. If restrict-
then on was venerated among the di parentes (later the di
ed to five persons or fewer and to female priests and a
manes). If there were no burial, the deceased risked becoming
majority of female members, and with the renunciation of
one of the mischievous spirits, the lemures, which the father
a associative framework (money, officers), the cult could
of the family would expel at midnight on the Lemuria of
continue—everything else had to be explicitly requested and
May 9, 11, and 13.
permitted by the Senate.
During the Dies Parentales, from February 13 to 21, the
family would go to the tombs of their dead in order to bring
The Bacchanalian affair illustrates the Roman approach
them gifts. Since the period ended on February 21 with a
of honoring the religious obligations of subjects as the city
public feast called the Feralia, the following day, February
itself fulfilled the religious obligations that had arisen in the
22, reverted to a private feast, the Caristia or Cara Cognatio,
long course of history (religiones). The gods would be helpful
in which the members of the family gathered and comforted
and would not interfere, if they were given their due. In this
one another around a banquet. This explains the compelling
process there was an acceptable range of behavior, but any
need in an old family for legitimate offspring (either by
excess would be superstitious (superstitio). In founding new
bloodline or by adoption). In their turn, the duty of the de-
colonies and regulating their affairs, Roman officials were
scendants was to carry on the family worship and to calm the
forced to address the religious basics and put them into legal
souls of their ancestors. Foundations or donations to associa-
terms: that was part of the ius publicum. With regard to such
tions could serve the same purpose.
decisions, the most important source is the Lex Coloniae
Iuliae Genetivae Ursonensis,
a law written in 44 BCE for a
Religious associations. The sacrifice and banquet
Spanish colony founded by C. Julius Caesar, which survived
framed family festivals and organized social space for second-
in fragmentary form in a copy from the end of the first centu-
ary groups as well. The Romans believed that their associa-
ry CE (Crawford, 1996). The basics are few: a college of au-
tions dated back to the early regal period. Common econom-
gurs and pontiffs had to be installed (without specifying their
ic interest and sociability usually went together, formally
tasks); their succession was to be regulated; and the (low) pay
united by the cult of a suitable deity. Bakers, for example,
of the haruspices was specified. Games had to be held for the
venerated Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. In addition, slaves
Capitoline triad and Venus, the tutelary deities. The intro-
of large households were known to have organized them-
duction of every other cult was left to the city council, as was
selves into associations during imperial times. Given the
probably the calendar. It was made certain that the colony
weak economic position of many individuals and families,
was able to pay for the cults and the religious obligation it
associations might provide funeral services as well.
had taken up: the coordination of contracts with suppliers
The multifunctional form of the association (collegium)
of victims and organizers of games was the first topic in the
often opened them to criticism and suspicion. For example,
city council every year.
associations of venerators of the goddess Isis, originally stem-
ming from Egypt but present at Rome from the second cen-
SEE ALSO Indo-European Religions, overview article.
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE EARLY PERIOD
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
7911
Wissowa, Georg. Religion und Kultus der Römer. 2d ed. Munich,
means systematic, identification of Punic, Iberian, and Celtic
1912.
gods with Roman gods. This, in turn, is connected with two
Ziolkowski, Adam. The Temples of Mid-Republican Rome and
opposite aspects of the Roman conquest of the West. On the
Their Historical and Topographical Context. Rome, 1992.
one hand, the Romans had little sympathy and understand-
ROBERT SCHILLING (1987)
ing for the religion of their Western subjects. Although occa-
JÖRG RÜPKE (2005)
sionally guilty of human sacrifice, they found the various
forms of human sacrifices that were practiced more frequent-
ly in Africa, Spain, and Gaul repugnant (hence their later ef-
ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
forts to eliminate the Druids in Gaul and in Britain). On the
The Roman state’s extraordinary and unexpected transfor-
other hand, northern Africa (outside Egypt) and western Eu-
mation from one that had hegemony over the greater part
rope were deeply Latinized in language and Romanized in
of Italy into a world state in the second and first centuries
institutions, thereby creating the conditions for the assimila-
BCE had implications for Roman religion that are not easy
tion of native gods to Roman gods.
to grasp. After all, Christianity, a religion wholly “foreign”
in its origins, arose from this period of Roman ascendancy.
Yet the Mars, the Mercurius, and even the Jupiter and
To begin, then, to understand the religious system of imperi-
the Diana seen so frequently in Gaul under the Romans are
al Rome, it is best to confine the discussion to some elemen-
not exactly the same as in Rome. The individuality of the
tary and obviously related facts.
Celtic equivalent of Mercurius has already been neatly noted
by Caesar (Gallic War 6.17). Some Roman gods, such as
First, the old Roman practice of inviting the chief gods
Janus and Quirinus, do not seem to have penetrated Gaul.
of their enemies to become gods of Rome (evocatio) played
Similarly, in Africa, Saturnus preserved much of the Baal
little part in the new stage of imperialism. Evocatio played
Hammon with whom he was identified. There, Juno Caeles-
some role in Rome’s conquests in the middle Republic, but
tis (or simply Caelestis, destined to considerable veneration
the practice had been transformed. The last temple to be
outside Africa) is Tanit (Tinnit), the female companion of
built in Rome to house a deity “evoked” from an enemy of
Baal Hammon. The assimilation of the native god is often
Rome was that of Vortumnus (264 BCE). A version of the
revealed by an accompanying adjective (in Gaul, for exam-
ritual was probably used to “evoke” the Juno of Carthage in
ple, Mars Lenus and Mercurius Dumiatis). An analogous
the 140s BCE, but no temple was built to her in Rome. The
phenomenon had occurred in the East under the Hellenistic
extent of the transformation is shown by the fact that in 75
monarchies: native, especially Semitic, gods were assimilated
BCE a Roman conqueror of Isaura Vetus (in Asia Minor) took
to Greek gods, especially to Zeus and Apollo. The Eastern
a vow (in language reminiscent of the evocatio), which seems
assimilation went on under Roman rule (as seen, for exam-
to have resulted in the foundation of a new local cult of the
ple, with Zeus Panamaros in Caria).
patron deity of Isaura Vetus. The old procedures of evocatio
are not found in the imperial period. Instead, the cults of
Roman soldiers, who became increasingly professional
Rome’s subjects continued to form the basis for their local
and lived among natives for long periods of time, played a
religious system.
part in these syncretic tendencies. A further consequence of
Second, while it was conquering the Hellenistic world,
imperialism was the emphasis on Victory and on certain gods
Rome was involved in a massive absorption of Greek lan-
of Greek origin (such as Herakles and Apollo) as gods of vic-
guage, literature, and religion, with the consequence that the
tory. Victoria was already recognized as a goddess during the
Roman gods became victorious over those of Greece while
Samnite Wars; she was later associated with various leaders,
their old identification with Greek gods became more firmly
from Scipio Africanus to Sulla and Pompey. Roman emper-
established. Because the gods were expected to take sides and
ors used an elaborate religious language in their discussions
to favor their own worshipers, this could have created some
of Victory. Among Christians, Augustine of Hippo depicted
problems. In fact, from the middle Republic onward, the Ro-
Victory as God’s angel (City of God 4.17).
mans respected the gods of the Greeks. As early as 193 BCE
These transformations are part of the changing relation-
the Romans replied to the city of Teos (in Asia Minor) that
ship between the center (Rome) and the periphery (the Em-
they would “seek to improve both honors towards the god
pire). By the early Empire, Italy fell wholly under the author-
[Dionysos, the patron deity of Teos] and privileges towards
ity of Rome: in 22 CE the senate decided that “all rituals,
you,” on the grounds that Roman success was due to her
temples, and images of the gods in Italian towns fall under
well-known reverence towards the gods (Sherk, 1969,
Roman law and jurisdiction” (Tacitus, Annals 3.71). The
pp. 214–216). In other words, the Romans accepted that the
provinces were different and not subject to Roman jurisdic-
Greek god Dionysos was included among the gods that fa-
tion in the same way. However, Roman governors of the im-
vored Rome. In consequence, the Greeks felt no pressure to
perial period were required to watch over religious life in
modify their ancestral cults, and traditional Greek cults re-
their province. They were concerned that religious life pro-
mained vibrant throughout the imperial period.
ceed in an orderly and acceptable manner, and the governors’
Third, the conquest of Africa, Spain, and Gaul pro-
official instructions included the order to preserve sacred
duced the opposite phenomenon of a large, though by no
places. They also ensured that the provincials took part in
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7912
ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
the annual performance on January 3 of the Roman ritual
processions in honor of the Roman emperor passed by. This
vows of allegiance to the emperor and the Empire.
is not to say that piety towards the gods existed only in public
contexts or indeed was constituted primarily through civic
Roman practices were celebrated in certain specific con-
channels. Individuals formed private religious associations,
texts throughout the Empire. Roman coloniae, settlements
either simply to worship a particular deity or to form a soci-
consisting of Roman citizens (ex-soldiers and landless poor
ety that would ensure the proper burial of its members. They
from Rome), were established in the provinces in the late Re-
also made private prayers and vows to the appropriate god
public and early Empire. Such settlements were privileged
and set up votive offerings to the god in his or her sanctuary.
clones of Rome in a sea of mere subjects of Rome. Their pub-
lic religious life had a strongly Roman cast, despite much
IMPERIAL ATTITUDES TOWARD AND USES OF RELIGION.
variation from place to place. Many coloniae had their own
Augustus and his contemporaries thought, or perhaps in
Capitolium, priesthoods (pontifices and augures), and rituals
some cases wanted other people to think, that the preceding
based on those of Rome.
age (roughly the period from the Gracchi to Caesar) had seen
The Roman army also followed overtly Roman rules.
a decline in the ancient Roman care for gods. Augustus him-
Military camps had at their center a building that housed the
self stated in the public record known as the Res gestae that
legionary standards and imperial and divine images (some-
he had restored eighty-two temples and shrines (in one year,
times including images of Romulus and Remus). The impor-
28 BCE). He revived cults and religious associations, such as
tance of the building is reflected in the fact that in 208 CE
the Arval Brothers and the fraternity of the Titii, and ap-
it is even called a Capitolium (Année épigraphique,1989, no.
pointed a flamen dialis, a priestly office that had been left va-
581, from Aalen in Germany). From the early Empire all le-
cant since 87 BCE. This revivalist feeling was not entirely
gionary soldiers (who were Roman citizens) and later all aux-
new: it was behind the enormous collection of evidence con-
iliary soldiers (who were originally not Roman citizens) cele-
cerning ancient Roman cults, the “divine antiquities,” that
brated religious festivals modeled on those of Rome. They
Varro had dedicated to Caesar about 47 BCE in his Antiquita-
celebrated festivals on the Roman cycle (e.g. Vestalia or Nep-
tum rerum humanarum et divinarum libri; the rest of the
tunalia); they performed imperial vows to the Capitoline
work, the “human antiquities,” was devoted to Roman polit-
triad on January 3; and they celebrated imperial birthdays
ical institutions and customs. Varro’s work codified Roman
and other events.
religion for succeeding generations, and as such it was used
for polemical purposes by Christian apologists.
Towns with the status of municipia (where local citizens
had the so-called Latin right and some even full Roman citi-
The Romans also turned certain gods of Greek origin
zenship) shared some of the Roman religious features of
into gods of victory. As early as 145 BCE, L. Mummius dedi-
coloniae; their principal priesthoods, for example, were
cated a temple to Hercules Victor after his triumph over
named after and modeled on Roman institutions—pontifices,
Greece. After a victory, generals often offered 10 percent of
augures, and haruspices. And from the second century CE on-
their booty to Hercules, and Hercules Invictus was a favorite
ward, municipia in North Africa also began to build their
god of Pompey. Apollo was connected with Victory as early
own Capitolia. Overtly Roman practices served as part of the
as 212 BCE. Caesar boosted her ancestress Venus in the form
process of competitive emulation that marked civic life in
of Venus Victrix. But it was Apollo who helped Octavian,
many parts of the Empire. The original Caesarian regulations
the future Augustus, to win the Battle of Actium in Septem-
for the colonia of Urso in southern Spain, which constitute
ber of 31 BCE.
our fullest single document of this process, remained suffi-
ciently important to Urso for them to be reinscribed a hun-
It is difficult to do justice both to the mood of the Au-
dred years later, at a time when other Spanish communities
gustan restoration and to the unquestionable seriousness
had just received the (lesser) status of the Latin right (Craw-
with which the political and military leaders of the previous
ford, 1996, pp. 393-454). Throughout the Empire, whatever
century tried to support their unusual adventures by unusual
the technical status of the community, there were publicly
religious attitudes. Marius, a devotee of the Mater Magna
organized and celebrated religious rites. For example, the
(Cybele), was accompanied in his campaigns by a Syrian
Greek city of Ephesus (Gr., Ephesos) proudly commemorat-
prophetess. Sulla apparently brought from Cappadocia the
ed the fact that Artemis was born at Ephesus and voted to
goddess Ma, soon identified with Bellona, whose orgiastic
extend the period of her festival “since the god Artemis, pa-
and prophetic cult had wide appeal. Furthermore, he devel-
tron of our city, is honored not only in her native city, which
oped a personal devotion to Venus and Fortuna and set an
she has made more famous than all other cities through her
example for Caesar, who claimed Venus as the ancestress of
own divinity, but also by Greeks and barbarians, so that ev-
the gens Julia. As pontifex maximus for twenty years, Caesar
erywhere sanctuaries and precincts are consecrated for her,
reformed not only individual cults but also the calendar,
temples are dedicated and altars set up for her, on account
which had great religious significance. He tried to support
of her manifest epiphanies” (Die Inschriften von Ephesos no.
his claim to dictatorial powers by collecting religious honors
24, c. 163 CE). Individuals took part in such festivals and also
that, though obscure in detail and debated by modern schol-
sacrificed incense on small altars outside their houses when
ars, anticipate later imperial cults.
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
7913
Unusual religious attitudes were not confined to leaders.
emperor who had not misbehaved in his lifetime. Diviniza-
A Roman senator, Nigidius Figulus, made religious combi-
tion also reinforced the trend toward the cult of the living
nations of his own both in his writings and in his practice:
emperor, which had been most obvious during Augustus’s
magic, astrology, and Pythagoreanism were some of the in-
life. With the Flavian dynasty and later with the Antonines,
gredients. Cicero, above all, epitomized the search of educat-
it was normal for the head of the Roman state to be both
ed men of the first century BCE for the right balance between
the head of the state religion and a potential, or even actual,
respect for the ancestral cults and the requirements of philos-
god.
ophy. Cicero could no longer believe in traditional divina-
tion. When his daughter died in 45
As the head of Roman religion, the Roman emperor was
BCE, he embarked briefly
on a project for making her divine. This was no less typical
therefore in the paradoxical situation of being responsible
of the age than the attempt by Clodius in 62
not only for relations between the Roman state and the gods
BCE to desecrate
the festival of Bona Dea, reserved for women, in order to
but also for a fair assessment of his own qualifications to be
contact Caesar’s wife (he escaped punishment).
considered a god, if not after his life, at least while he was
alive. This situation, however, must not be assumed to have
The imperial age inclined toward distinctions and com-
applied universally. Much of the religious life in individual
promises. The Roman pontifex maximus Q. Mucius Scaevola
towns was in the hands of local authorities or simply left to
(early first century BCE) is credited with the popularization
private initiative. The financial support for public cults was
of the distinction, originally Greek, between the gods of the
in any case very complex, but many sanctuaries (especially
poets as represented in myths, the gods of ordinary people
in the Greek world) had their own sources of revenue. It will
to be found in cults and sacred laws, and finally the gods of
be enough to mention that the Roman state granted or con-
the philosophers, confined to books and private discussion.
firmed to certain gods in certain sanctuaries the right to re-
It was the distinction underlying the thought of Varro and
ceive legacies (Ulpian, Regulae 22.6). In providing a local
Cicero. No wonder, therefore, that in that atmosphere of
shrine with special access to money, an emperor implied no
civil wars and personal hatreds, cultic rules and practices
more than benevolence toward the city or group involved.
were exploited ruthlessly to embarrass enemies, and no one
could publicly challenge the ultimate validity of traditional
Within the city of Rome, however, the emperor was in
practices.
virtual control of the public cults. As a Greek god, Apollo
had been kept outside of the pomerium since his introduction
The Augustan restoration discouraged philosophical
into Rome: his temple was in the Campus Martius. Under
speculation about the nature of the gods: Lucretius’s De
Augustus, however, Apollo received a temple inside the
rerum natura remains characteristic of the age of Caesar. Au-
pomerium on the Palatine in recognition of the special pro-
gustan poets (Horace, Tibullus, Propertius, and Ovid)
tection he had offered to Octavian. The Sibylline Books, an
evoked obsolescent rites and emphasized piety. Vergil inter-
ancient collection of prophecies that previously had been
preted the Roman past in religious terms. Nevertheless, the
preserved on the Capitol, were now transferred to the new
combined effect of the initiatives of Caesar and Augustus
temple. Later, Augustus demonstrated his preference for
amounted to a new religious situation.
Mars as a family god, and a temple to Mars Ultor (the aveng-
er of Caesar’s murder) was built. It was no doubt on the di-
For centuries the aristocracy in Rome had controlled
rect initiative of Hadrian that the cult of Rome as a goddess
what was called ius sacrum (sacred law), the religious aspect
(in association with Venus) was finally introduced into the
of Roman life, but the association of priesthood with politi-
city centuries after the cult had spread outside of Italy. A
cal magistracy, though frequent and obviously convenient,
temple to the Sun (Sol), a cult popular in the Empire at large
had never been institutionalized. In 27 BCE the assumption
and not without some roots in the archaic religion of Rome,
by Octavian of the name Augustus implied, though not very
had to wait until Emperor Aurelian in 274 CE, if one dis-
clearly, permanent approval of the gods (augustus may con-
counts the cult of the Ba’al of Emesa, a sun god, which came
note a holder of permanent favorable auspices). In 12 BCE
and went with the emperor Elagabalus in 220–221 CE. An-
Augustus assumed the position of pontifex maximus, which
other example of these changes inside Rome is that Emperor
became permanently associated with the figure of the emper-
Claudius found the popularity of these alien cults partially
or (imperator), the new head for life of the Roman state. Au-
responsible for the neglect of the art of haruspicy among the
gustus’s new role resulted in an identification of religious
great Etruscan families, and he took steps to revive the art
with political power, which had not existed in Rome since
(Tacitus, Annals 11.15, 47 CE).
at least the end of the monarchy. Furthermore, the diviniza-
tion of Caesar after his death had made Augustus, as his
A further step in the admission of “Oriental gods” to
adopted son, the son of a divus. In turn, Augustus was offi-
the official religion of Rome was the building of a temple to
cially divinized (apotheosis) after his death by the Roman Sen-
Isis. In the late Republic, the cult was formally suppressed,
ate. Divinization after death did not become automatic for
only for the triumvirs to vow a shrine to the goddess in 43
his successors (Tiberius, Gaius, and Nero were not divi-
BCE, and official action was taken once more against the cult
nized); nevertheless, Augustus’s divinization created a pre-
under Augustus and Tiberius. At some point between then
sumption that there was a divine component in an ordinary
and the fourth century CE, festivals of Isis entered the official
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
Roman calendar, possibly under the emperor Gaius Caligula.
were purely instrumental, believed to have a direct causal ef-
From at least the second century CE, the main Roman sanc-
fect on the world; or, in an alternative formulation, the magi-
tuary of Isis on the Campus Martius was architecturally relat-
cian coerced the deities, whereas the priest of religion en-
ed to the east side of the Saepta, or official voting area, and
treated them in prayer and sacrifice. Such theories still
to other public monuments in this area, which suggests its
underlie widely held conceptions of magic. But this grand
integration into the official landscape of Rome. It was, how-
developmental scheme, in which magic is seen as the precur-
ever, the only new foreign sanctuary, so far as can be discov-
sor of “true religion,” has become increasingly discredited,
ered from the surviving fragments, to be represented on the
along with the nineteenth-century evolutionary views of
third-century CE official map of the city of Rome. Jupiter
human society and development of which it is a part. Be-
Dolichenus, a god from northern Syria popular among sol-
sides, the definition of magic as coercive and instrumental
diers, was probably given a temple on the Aventine in the
as against the (essentially Christian and partisan) view of
second century CE.
“real” religion as noninstrumental and noncoercive does not
There is some evidence that the Roman priestly colleges
often match (or help us to classify) the varieties of ritual, wor-
intervened in the cults of municipia and coloniae (in relation
ship, or religious officials in the ancient world. A better start-
to the cult of Mater Magna), but on the whole it is unreason-
ing point is the discussions of magic (and its relation to reli-
able expect the cults of Rome herself to remain exemplary
gion) in the writings of the Romans themselves. For example,
for Roman citizens living elsewhere. For example, Vitruvius,
according to the encyclopedia of Pliny the Elder, magic,
who dedicated his work on architecture to Octavian before
which originated in Persia, was a heady combination of med-
the latter became Augustus in 27
icine, religion, and astrology that met human desires for
BCE, assumes that in an Ital-
ian city there should be a temple to Isis and Sarapis (De ar-
health, control of the gods, and knowledge of the future. The
chitectura 1.7.1), but Isis was kept out of Rome in those
system was, in his view, totally fraudulent (Natural History
years. Emperor Caracalla, however, presented his grant of
30.1-18; cf. Lucan’s Pharsalia 6.413-830). Such views of
Roman citizenship to the provincials in 212
magic as a form of deviant religious behavior should also be
CE in hope of
contributing to religious unification: “So I think I can in this
related to the developing concepts and practices of Roman
way perform a [magnificent and pious] act, worthy of their
law in the imperial period. The speech by Apuleius (De
majesty, by gathering to their rites [as Romans] all the multi-
magia) defending himself against a charge of bewitching a
tude that joins my people” (Papyrus Giessen 40). Although
wealthy heiress in a North African town is particularly im-
the cult of Zeus Kapetolios appears three years later at the
portant.
Greek city of Ptolemais Euergetis in Egypt, the general re-
The relationship of this stereotype to the reality of magi-
sults of Caracalla’s grant were modest in religious terms.
cal practice is, however, complex. Magic was an important
Coins and medals, insofar as they were issued under the
part of the fictional repertoire of Roman writers, but it was
control of the central government, provide some indication
not only a figment of the imagination of the elite; and its
of imperial preferences in the matter of gods and cults, as
practice may have become more prominent through the
well as when and how certain Oriental cults (such as that of
principate—a consequence perhaps of it too (like other
Isis, as reflected on coins of Vespasian) or certain attributes
forms of knowledge) becoming partially professionalized in
of a specific god were considered helpful to the Empire and
the hands of literate experts in the imperial period. So, for
altogether suitable for ordinary people who used coins. But
example, the surviving Latin curses (often scratched on lead
because as a rule it avoided references to cults of rulers, coin-
tablets, and so preserved) increase greatly in number under
age can be misleading if considered alone. Imperial cult and
the Empire, and the Greek magical papyri from Egypt are
Oriental cults are, in fact, two of the most important features
most common in the third and fourth centuries CE. Roman
of Roman religion in the imperial period. But it is crucial to
anxieties about magic may, in part, have been triggered by
take into consideration popular, not easily definable trends;
changes in its practices and prominence, as well as by the in-
the religious beliefs or disbeliefs of the intellectuals; the great-
ternal logic of their own worldview.
er participation of women in religious and in intellectual life
Divination had been central to republican politics and
generally; and, finally, the peculiar problems presented by
to the traditional religion of the Roman state. For example,
the persecution of Christianity.
before engagement in battle or before any meeting of an as-
MAGIC AND DIVINATION. A striking development of the im-
sembly the “auspices” were taken—in other words, the heav-
perial period was that the concept of magic emerged as the
ens were observed for any signs (such as the particular pattern
ultimate superstitio, a system whose principles were parodic
of a flight of birds) that the gods gave or withheld their assent
of and in opposition to true religio. The definition of magic
to the project in hand. These forms of divination changed
is contentious and hotly debated. In the nineteenth and earli-
in Rome under the principate. The traditional systematic re-
er part of the twentieth century, many theorists (especially
porting of prodigies, for example, disappeared in the Augus-
Sir James Frazer, the author of The Golden Bough) defined
tan period: these seemingly random intrusions of divine dis-
“magic” as an inferior and prior form of religion: whereas re-
pleasure must have appeared incongruous in a system where
ligion had a complex cognitive significance, magical actions
divine favor flowed through the emperor; such prodigies as
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
7915
were noted generally centered on the births and deaths of
The cult of Roman provincial governors disappeared
emperors. There were many other forms of divination. Some
with Augustus, to the exclusive benefit of the emperor and
of them (such as astrology) involved specific foretelling of the
his family. When he did not directly encourage the ruler cult,
future. Some (such as dream interpretation) were a private,
the emperor still had to approve, limit, and occasionally re-
rather than a public, affair. Some could even be practiced as
fuse it. Although he had to be worshiped, he also had to re-
a weapon against the current political order—as when cast-
main a man in order to live on social terms with the Roman
ing an emperor’s horoscope foretold his imminent death.
aristocracy, of which he was supposed to be the princeps. It
was a delicate balancing act. It is probably fair to say that dur-
The practitioners of divination were as varied as its
ing his lifetime the emperor was a god more in proportion
functions. They ranged from the senior magistrates (who ob-
to his remoteness than his proximity, and that the success
served the heavens before an assembly) and the state priests
(for success it was) of the imperial cult in the provinces was
(such as the augures who advised the magistrates on heavenly
due to the presence it endowed to an absent and alien sover-
signs) to the potentially dangerous astrologers and soothsay-
eign. His statues, his temples, and his priests, as well as the
ers. These people were periodically expelled from the city of
games, sacrifices, and other ceremonial acts, helped make the
Rome and under the principate were subject to control by
emperor present; they also helped people to express their in-
provincial governors. The jurist Ulpian included in his trea-
terest in the preservation of the world in which they lived.
tise on the duties of provincial governors a section explaining
the regulation of astrologers and soothsayers; a papyrus docu-
The imperial cult was not universally accepted and
ment survives from Roman Egypt, with a copy of a general
liked. Seneca ridiculed the cult of Claudius, and Tacitus
ban on divination issued by a governor of the province in the
spoke of the cult in general as Greek adulation. In the third
late second century
century the historian Dio Cassius attributed to Augustus’s
CE (on the grounds that it led people
friend Maecenas a total condemnation of the imperial cult.
astray and brought danger); and at the end of the third cen-
Jews and Christians objected to it on principle, and the acts
tury CE the emperor Diocletian issued a general ban on as-
of the Christian martyrs remind us that there was an element
trology. Consultation of diviners that threatened the stability
of brutal imposition in the imperial cult. But its controversial
of private families or the life of the emperor himself were ob-
nature in certain circles may well have been another factor
vious targets for punishment.
in the cult’s success (conflicts help any cause). There is even
THE IMPERIAL CULT. The imperial cult was many things to
evidence that some groups treated the imperial cult as a mys-
many people. Indeed, it can be said that there was no “impe-
tery religion in which priests displayed imperial images or
rial cult;” instead, there were many “imperial cults,” as ap-
symbols.
propriate in many different contexts. The emperor never be-
Schematically, it can be said that in Rome Augustus fa-
came a complete god, even if he was considered a god,
vored the association of the cult of his life spirit (genius) with
because he was not requested to produce miracles, even for
the old cult of the public lares of the crossroads (lares compi-
supposed deliverance from peril. Vespasian performed mira-
tales). Such a combined cult was in the hands of humble peo-
cles in Alexandria soon after his proclamation as emperor,
ple (especially ex-slaves). Similar associations developed
but these had no precise connection to his potential divine
along various lines in Italy and the West and gave respectabil-
status; he remained an exception in any case. Hadrian never
ity to the ex-slaves who ran them. Augustus’s birthday was
performed miracles, but his young lover Antinous, who was
considered a public holiday. His genius was included in pub-
divinized after death, is known to have performed some
lic oaths between Jupiter Optimus Maximus and the penates.
(Dörner, 1952, p. 40, no. 78).
In Augustus’s last years Tiberius dedicated an altar to the
numen Augusti in Rome; the four great priestly colleges had
Apotheosis, decided by the Senate, was the only official
to make yearly sacrifices at it. Numen, in an obscure way, im-
form of deification valid for everyone in the Empire and was
plied divine will.
occasionally extended to female members of the imperial
family (Drusilla, the sister of Gaius, who received apotheosis
In the West, central initiative created the altar of Roma
in 38 CE, was the first such honorand.) It had its precedent,
and Augustus outside Lyons, to be administered by the
of course, in the apotheosis of Romulus. Ultimately, the cult
Council of the Three Gauls (12 BCE). A similar altar was
of the living emperor mattered more. It was the result of a
built at Oppidum Ubiorum (Cologne). Later temples to Au-
mixture of spontaneous initiative by provincial and local
gustus (by then officially divinized) were erected in Western
councils (and even by private individuals) and promptings
provinces. The key episode occurred in 15 CE, the year after
from provincial governors and the emperor himself. It had
the official deification of Augustus in Rome, when permis-
precedents not only in the Hellenistic ruler cult but also in
sion was given to the province of Hispania Tarraconensis for
the more or less spontaneous worship of Roman generals and
a temple to Divus Augustus in the colonia of Tarraco. Its
governors, especially in the Hellenized East. Though it is un-
priests were drawn not just from Tarraco but from the whole
likely that temples were built to provincial governors, Cicero
province, and Tacitus (Annals 1.78), reporting the decision
had to decline such worship when he was governor of Cilicia
of 15 CE, notes that the temple set a precedent for other prov-
(Ad Atticum 5.21.7).
inces. In the East, temples to Roma and Divus Julius (for
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7916
ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
Roman citizens) and to Roma and Augustus (for Greeks)
the West, ex-slaves with Roman citizenship (who formed a
were erected as early as 29 BCE. There, as in the West, provin-
significant upwardly mobile group) could aspire to a public
cial assemblies took a leading part in the establishment of the
status that articulated their position in the framework of the
cult. Individual cities were also active: priests of Augustus are
Roman Empire.
found in thirty-four different cities of Asia Minor. The orga-
“O
nization of the cult varied locally. There was no collective
RIENTAL” INFLUENCES. It has long been standard to em-
ploy the category “Oriental religions” in discussing the new
provincial cult of the emperor in Egypt, though there was
religious options in imperial Rome. This category was first
a cult in Alexandria. And any poet, indeed any person, could
widely used, if not invented, by the Belgian scholar Franz
have his or her own idea about the divine nature of the em-
Cumont in the early years of the twentieth century in his pio-
peror. Horace, for example, suggested that Augustus might
neering studies of Roman religion. For Cumont, the key to
be Mercurius (Odes 1.2).
understanding the religious history of the period lay in the
Augustus’s successors tended to be worshiped either in-
influx into Rome of a group of Eastern religions that shared
dividually, without the addition of Roma, or collectively
a number of common characteristics setting them apart from
with past emperors. In Asia Minor the last individual emper-
traditional civic cults—and paving the way, eventually, for
or known to have received a personal priesthood or temple
the rise of Christianity. However, these religions cannot be
is Caracalla. In this province—though not necessarily else-
neatly pigeonholed as “Oriental.” Several of the cults did
where—the imperial cult petered out at the end of the third
proclaim an Eastern “origin” for their wisdom, but it is often
century. Nevertheless, Constantine, in the fourth century,
clear that a Roman version of the cult differed substantially
authorized the building of a temple for the gens Flavia (his
from its (notional) Eastern ancestor. Above all, the “Orient”
own family) in Italy at Hispellum, but he warned that it
itself was hardly the homogeneous category that modern
“should not be polluted by the deceits of any contagious su-
scholars (and the Romans, no doubt) often try to make it:
perstitio”—whatever he may have meant by this (Hermann
different cults came from quite different religious back-
Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae 705, lines 46-48,
grounds—the religious traditions of the home of Mithras in
337 CE).
Persia, for example, had little in common with the Egyptian
traditions in the worship of Isis and Sarapis.
It is difficult to say how much the ceremonies of the im-
perial court reflected divinization of the emperors. Domitian
The issue of whom the new cults attracted is difficult.
wanted to be called dominus et deus (Suetonius, Domitian
Did the different “messages” appeal more to some sections
13.2), but this is anomalous and broke the normal conven-
of the inhabitants of Rome than to others? Were the poor
tion that the emperor should present himself to the Roman
more commonly to be found among the adherents than the
elite as primus inter pares (first among equals). In the third
rich? Women more commonly than men? Did these alterna-
century a specific identification of the living emperor with
tive religions attract those who had only a small role to play
a known god seems to be more frequent (for instance, Sep-
in the traditional civic cults and the political order that those
timius Severus and his wife, Julia Domna, with Jupiter and
cults sustained? Were they, in other words, “religions of dis-
Juno). When the imperial cult died out, the emperor had to
advantage?” There is no simple answer to those questions.
be justified as the choice of god; he became emperor by the
There was enormous variety within the population of Rome,
grace of god. Thus Diocletian and Maximian, persecutors of
which had no single axis between privilege and disadvantage.
Christianity, present themselves not as Jupiter and Hercules
In a society where some of the richest and most educated
but as Jovius and Herculius, that is, the protégés of Jupiter
members were to be found outside (and indeed ineligible for)
and Hercules. It must be added that during the first centuries
the ranks of the elite, it makes no sense to imagine a single
of the Empire the divinization of the emperor was accompa-
category of “the disadvantaged.” Besides, it is very hard now
nied by a multiplication of divinizations of private individu-
(and no doubt always was for most outside observers) to re-
als, in the West often of humble origin. Such divinization
construct accurately the membership of any particular cult;
took the form of identifying the dead, and occasionally the
for apparently casual references to a cult’s adherents in the
living, with a known hero or god. Sometimes the diviniza-
writing of the period are often part and parcel of an attack
tion was nothing more than an expression of affection by rel-
on that cult—deriding a religion as being, for example, the
atives or friends. But it indicated a tendency to reduce the
business of women and slaves. But it is clear that male mem-
distance between men and gods, which helped the fortunes
bers of the senatorial order were conspicuously absent from
of the imperial cult (Wrede, 1981).
the new cults. No senators are attested as initiates of Jupiter
Dolichenus, Jupiter Optimus Maximus Heliopolitanus, Isis,
In at least the “civilized” parts of both East and West,
Mithras, or (probably) Christianity before the mid-third cen-
the principal social change that accompanied these religious
tury CE.
changes was the role of local elites in the service of Rome.
Holders of the local offices of the imperial cult received pres-
New cults claiming an “Oriental” origin penetrated the
tige in their local communities, as they did for holding other
Roman Empire at various dates, in different circumstances,
offices or priesthoods, and they might be able to use such of-
and with varying appeal, although on the whole they seem
fices to further the status of themselves or their families. In
to have supplemented religious needs in the Latin West more
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
7917
than in the Hellenized East. They tended, though not in
to have become the object of a mystery cult in the first centu-
equal measure, to present themselves as mystery cults: they
ry CE; she appears as such in Apuleius’s Metamorphoses.
often required initiation and, perhaps more often, some reli-
Late in the first century CE, Mithraism began to spread
gious instruction.
throughout the Roman Empire, especially in the Danubian
Cybele, the first Oriental divinity to be found accept-
countries and in Italy (in particular, as far as can be known,
able in Rome since the end of the third century BCE, was long
in Ostia and Rome). A developed mystery cult, it had ranks
an oddity in the city. As the Mater Magna (Great Mother),
of initiation and leadership and was—though this has been
she had been imported by governmental decision, she had
disputed—reserved for men, a clear difference from the cult
a temple within the pomerium, and she was under the protec-
of Isis. It was practiced in subterranean shrines rather than
tion of members of the highest Roman aristocracy. Yet her
in temples; the rooms were ritual versions of the cave in Per-
professional priests, singing in Greek and living by their tem-
sia where Mithra had once slain a bull. The environment of
ple, were considered alien fanatics even in imperial times.
the Mithraic cult, as revealed in numerous extant shrines,
What is worse, the goddess also had servants, the Galli, who
was one of darkness, secrecy, and dramatic lighting effects.
had castrated themselves to express their devotion to her.
What promise Mithra held for his devotees cannot be
Under the emperor Claudius, Roman citizens were
known for certain. The cult seems to have encouraged sol-
probably allowed some priestly functions, though the matter
dierly qualities, including sexual abstinence. It certainly pres-
is very obscure. Even more obscure is how Attis became Cyb-
ented some correspondence between the degrees of initiation
ele’s major partner. He is so poorly attested in the republican
and the levels of the celestial spheres, which probably implies
written evidence for the cult of Cybele that scholars used to
an ascent of the soul to these spheres. The killing of the bull
believe that he was introduced to the cult only in the first
(different from the taurobolium and perhaps without any
century
implication of baptism) was apparently felt to be a sacrifice
CE (they saw Catullus 63 as a purely “literary” text).
However, excavations at the Palatine temple of Mater Magna
performed not for the god but by the god. The initiates reen-
discovered a major cache of statuettes of Attis dating to the
acted this sacrifice and shared sacred meals in a sort of com-
second and first centuries
munal life. The progressive transformation of the soul of the
BCE. The find hints that religious
life in republican Rome was more varied than the written re-
initiate in this life, on which much of the cult focused, was
cord suggests. A new festival, from March 15 to 27, appar-
probably conceived to continue after death. Tertullian con-
ently put special emphasis on the rebirth of Attis. Concur-
sidered Mithraism a devilish imitation of Christianity, but
rently, the cult of Cybele became associated with the ritual
the Neoplatonist Porphyry found in it allegorical depths.
of the slaying of the sacred bull (taurobolium), which the
The cult of Sabazios may have been originally Phrygian,
Christian poet Prudentius (Peristephanon 10.1006–1050) in-
but later was known also as an “ancestral” deity of Thrace.
terpreted as a baptism of blood (though his depiction of the
Sabazios appears in Athens in the fifth century BCE as an orgi-
ritual is deeply suspect, forming part of a fierce and late anti-
astic god. He was known to Aristophanes, and later the ora-
pagan polemic). The taurobolium was performed for the
tor Aeschines may have become his priest. There is evidence
prosperity of the emperor or of the Empire and, more fre-
of mysteries of Sabazios in Lydia dating from the fourth cen-
quently, for the benefit of private individuals. Normally it
tury BCE. In Rome the cult was already known in 139 BCE.
was considered valid for twenty years, which makes it highly
It may at that time have been confused with Judaism, but
questionable whether it was meant to confer immortality on
Sabazios was often identified with Jupiter or Zeus, and there
the baptized.
seems to be no clear evidence of syncretism between Sabazios
and Yahweh. Sabazios was most popular in the second centu-
Although Isis appealed to men as well as to women—
ry
and indeed her priests were male—it seems clear that her
CE, especially in the Danubian region. In Rome his cult
left a particularly curious document in the tomb of Vincenti-
prestige as a goddess was due to the unusual powers she was
us, located in the catacomb of Praetextatus. The document
supposed to have as a female deity. The so-called aretalogies
includes scenes of banquets and of judgment after death.
(description of the powers) of Isis insist on this. Thus the ear-
Whether this is evidence of mystery ceremonies or of Chris-
liest aretalogy, found at Maroneia in Thrace, tells of Isis as
tian influence remains uncertain (Hermann Dessau, Inscrip-
legislator and as protector of the respect of children for their
tiones Latinae Selectae 3961; see Goodenough, 1953, p. 45
parents (Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 26, no. 821).
for a description) The tomb of Vincentius appears to belong
The text from Kyme (in West Turkey) declares that she com-
to the third century, when, judging by the epigraphic evi-
pelled husbands to love their wives (H. Engelmann, ed., In-
dence, there seems to have been a decline of the cult of Sabaz-
schriften von Kyme 41, 1.97), and the hymn from Oxyrhyn-
ios and, indeed, of all mystery cults. Although a shortage of
chus (Egypt) in her honor explicitly states that she made the
inscriptions does not necessarily imply a shortage of adepts,
power of women equal to that of men (Oxyrhynchus Papyri
it leaves the impression that by then Christianity was serious-
11.1380). No god or goddess of Greece and Rome had
ly interfering with the popularity of Oriental cults.
achievements comparable with those of Isis. The girlfriends
of the Augustan poets Tibullus and Propertius were captivat-
Another popular Oriental god occupies a place by him-
ed by her. In association with Osiris or Sarapis, Isis seems
self. This is Jupiter Dolichenus, who emerged from Doliche
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7918
ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
in northern Syria in the first century CE and who has over
eralized practices of this kind. People who tell us something
six hundred monuments. His cult is known mostly in Rome
about their own education, such as Cicero, Horace, and
and along the Rhine-Danube border zone. Of the Oriental
Ovid, do not imply that it included a religious side. The situ-
gods, he seems to have been the least sophisticated and to
ation does not seem to have changed in later times, as illus-
have disappeared earliest (in the third century). Christian po-
trated, for instance, in Tacitus’s life of Agricola. Children at
lemicists ignored him. While he circulated in the Empire, he
school no doubt absorbed a great deal from classical authors,
preserved his native attributes: he is depicted as a warrior
but, whether they read Homer or Vergil, they did not absorb
with Phrygian cap, double ax, and lightning bolt, standing
the religion of their own city. Temples carried inscriptions
erect over a bull. In the Roman interpretation, the goddess
explaining what was expected from worshipers as well as the
Juno Regina often accompanied him. Twins, identified with
qualities of the relevant god. Cultic performances, often in
the Castores, followed him; their lower parts were unshaped,
a theater adjoining the temple, helped to explain what the
and they were probably demons. Soldiers seem to have loved
god was capable of. However, a distinct line cannot be drawn
the cult of Jupiter Dolichenus. Its priests were not profes-
between cultic performances, perhaps with an element of ini-
sional, and the adepts called each other brother. Admission
tiation, and simple entertainment. More puzzling still is the
to the cult presupposed instruction, if not initiation.
question of what general idea of “Roman religion” (if, by
RELIGIOUS PLURALISM? There is a constant danger of either
that, is meant the religious institutions and practices of the
overrating or underrating the influence of these Oriental
capital) the population of towns in Italy and coloniae in the
cults on the fabric of the Roman Empire. If, for instance,
provinces would have had. One possible channel is Varro’s
Mithraists knew of the Zoroastrian deity Angra Mainyu,
Divine Antiquities. This treatise remained even under the
what did he mean to them? How did this knowledge affect
Empire the only general work on the Roman religious sys-
the larger society? At a superficial level these cults can be seen
tem. That provincials did turn to it for inspiration is suggest-
as an antidote to the imperial cult, an attempt to retreat from
ed by the effective (polemical) use made of it by the Christian
the public sphere of political allegiance to the private sphere
Tertullian, writing in North Africa. But even Varro’s book
of small, free associations. The need for small loyalties was
is difficult to apply to particular local issues.
widely felt during the imperial peace. Distinctions between
social, charitable, and religious purposes in these multiform
Another element difficult to evaluate is the continuous,
associations are impossible. Tavern keepers devoted to their
and perhaps increased, appeal of impersonal gods within
wine god and poor people meeting regularly in burial clubs
Roman religion. There is no indication that Faith (Fides)
are examples of such associations (collegia). Ritualization of
and Hope (Spes) increased their appeal (they came to play
ordinary life emerged from their activities. Nor is it surpris-
a different part in Christianity by combining with Jewish and
ing that what to one was religion was superstition to another
Greek ideas). At best, Fides gained prestige as a symbol of
(to use two Latin terms that ordinary Latin speakers would
return to loyalty and good faith during the reign of Augustus.
have been hard-pressed to define). Although allegiance to the
But Fortuna and Virtus were popular; the typology of Virtus
local gods (and respect for them, if one happened to be a visi-
on coins seems to be identical with that of Roma. Genius was
tor) was deeply rooted, people were experimenting with new
generalized to indicate the spirit of a place or of a corpora-
private gods and finding satisfaction in them. Concern with
tion. Strangely, an old Latin god of the woods, Silvanus,
magic and astrology, with dreams and demons, seems ubiq-
whose name does not appear in the Roman calendar, became
uitous. Conviviality was part of religion. Aelius Aristides has
important, partly because of his identification with the
good things to say about Sarapis as patron of the symposium.
Greek Pan and with a Pannonian god, but above all because
Pilgrimages to sanctuaries were made easier by relative social
of his equation with Genius. The god as protector of Roman
stability. Several gods, not only Asclepius (Gr., Asklepios),
barracks was called Genius Castrorum, Silvanus Castrorum,
offered healing to the sick. (Here again, Aelius Aristides is
or Fortuna Castrorum. Victoria, too, was often connected
chief witness for the second century.) Hence miracles, duly
with individual emperors and individual victories (Victoria
registered in inscriptions; hence also single individuals, per-
Augusti and Ludi Victoriae Claudi, for example).
haps cranks, attaching themselves to temples and living in
A third complication is syncretism, which means two
their precincts.
different things. One is the positive identification of two or
The real difficulties in understanding the atmosphere of
more gods; the other is the tendency to mix different cults
paganism in the Roman Empire perhaps lie elsewhere. It re-
by using symbols of other gods in the sanctuary of one god,
mains a puzzle how, and how much, ordinary people were
with the result that the presence of Sarapis, Juno, and even
supposed to know about official Roman religion. The same
Isis was implied in the shrine of Jupiter Dolichenus on the
problem exists concerning the Greeks in relation to the reli-
Aventine in Rome. In either form, syncretism may have en-
gions of individual Greek cities. But in Greek cities the col-
couraged the idea that all gods are aspects, or manifestations,
lective education of adolescents, as epheboi, implied partici-
of one god. In most cases of identification of two or more
pation in religious activities (for instance, singing hymns in
gods, there is only the record of a mixed divine name, so it
festivals) that were a form of religious education. In the
is left to guesswork what that name meant, which deity
Latin-speaking world, however, there is no indication of gen-
(Roman or native) was uppermost in the minds of the wor-
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
7919
shippers, or whether the two had merged into a new compos-
educated people in late antiquity who liked to collect priest-
ite whole (a process often now referred to as syncretism).
hoods and initiations to several gods, in pointed contrast
There is no way to know, in other words, how much of the
with Christianity, evidently did so because they did not look
process was an aspect of Roman take-over (and ultimately
upon the gods concerned as one god only. The monuments
obliteration) of native deities, how much it was a mutually
of the leading pagan senator Vettius Agorius Praetextatus are
respectful union of two divine powers, or how much it was
an example of this tendency. In the face of a Christianity that
a minimal, resistant, and token incorporation of Roman im-
was gaining the upper hand, he and those like him sought
perial paraphernalia on the part of the provincials. Signs of
to gather together all that could be saved from the traditional
syncretism, then, always need to be interpreted. For example,
cults (Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, Berlin, 1863, vol. 6,
to understand why most deities in the eastern part of the Em-
no. 1778, 387 CE; Hermann Dessau, Inscriptione Latinae Se-
pire did not merge with Roman counterparts but retained
lectae 1259, tombstone).
their individual personalities and characteristics, whereas in
This is not to deny the convergence of (or at least strik-
the western part pre-Roman gods acquired Roman names,
ing parallels between) certain beliefs and experiences. For ex-
or non-Roman and Roman divine names were linked, it is
ample, the mystical experience of ascension to heaven was
necessary to investigate the nature of Roman religion outside
shared by Paul, Jewish rabbis, Gnostics such as the author
Rome and attend to the agenda of all those groups involved
of the Gospel of Truth, Plotinus, and the author of the
in developing a new Roman imperial worldview.
“Mithras liturgy” (preserved in the Great Magical Papyrus
A related issue is monotheism. According to a Christian
of Paris).
writer of the second century CE, the Greeks had 365 gods.
ROLE OF WOMEN. Gender had always been a factor in the
For the proponent of one (Christian) god this alleged fact
organization of cults. It is important to consider how the ap-
demonstrated the absurdity of Greek religion. Modern schol-
peal of the various cults to different genders determined the
ars also sometimes assume the nobility and superiority of one
membership of new religions. The official civic cults of
supreme god (monotheism) as against the proliferation of lit-
Rome were principally in the control of men—though there
tle gods (polytheism). But the number of the Greek gods
were some exceptions (e.g. Vestal Virgins). Some cults and
(not as great as 365) does not mean that those gods lacked
festivals demanded the participation of women. According
significance any more than does the multiplicity of gods in
to tradition, The temple of Fortuna Muliebris, “the Fortune
the Hindu tradition. In addition, proponents of monotheism
of Women,” was dedicated by senatorial wives in 493 BCE
(whether Jewish, Christian, or Islamic) are often not ready
and served as the focus for their religious activities. In the
to note the disruptive consequences of monotheistic intoler-
imperial period, the temple was restored by Augustus’s wife,
ance or the extent to which alleged monotheisms contain
Livia (and again by Emperor Septimius Severus, along with
plural elements. Within Christianity, what about the Trini-
his two sons and his wife, Julia Domna). Formal involve-
ty, the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the saints? In fact the catego-
ment of women in the official cults of Rome was largely re-
ries monotheism and polytheism do not promote historical un-
stricted to women of senatorial families.
derstanding. Some scholars have sought to “rescue”
In general, although the attendance of women at most
polytheism by arguing for an element of monolatry (or heno-
religious occasions (including games) was not prohibited,
theism), in which the power of one god in the pantheon is
women had little opportunity to take an active religious role
proclaimed as supreme. But this maneuver is conditioned by
in state cults. Even occupational or burial associations gener-
a Judaeo-Christian evaluation of monotheism, and the ten-
ally did not include women; only in the purely domestic as-
dency to monolatry in antiquity is much overstated. The
sociations of the great households were women normally
terms polytheism and monotheism are best left to the theolo-
members. Much more fundamentally, women may have
gians.
been banned—in theory, at any rate—from carrying out ani-
Interest in an abstract deity was encouraged by philo-
mal sacrifice; and so prohibited from any officiating role in
sophical reflection, quite apart from suggestions coming
the central defining ritual of civic religious activity.
from Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. Some have
These limited roles may have been satisfying to some
therefore thought it legitimate to consider the cult of Sol In-
women, but almost certainly not to all. How far then did
victus, patronized by the emperor Aurelian, as a monotheis-
women find in the new cults a part to play that was not avail-
tic or henotheistic predecessor of Christianity. But believers
able to them in civic religions? Some women no doubt found
would have had to visualize the relation between the one and
an opportunity within these cults for all kinds of religious
the many. This relation was complicated by the admission
expression not available within the civic cults of Rome. For
of intermediate demons, either occupying zones between god
some women, it may even have been precisely that opportu-
(or gods) and men or going about the earth and perhaps
nity which first attracted them to an alternative cult. On the
more capable of evil than of good. Even those (such as Plu-
other hand, there is no evidence to suggest that women were
tarch) who could think through, in some depth, the idea of
particularly powerful within these cults in general or that
one god were still interested in Zeus or Isis or Dionysos,
they dominated the membership in the way suggested by the
whatever their relation to the god beyond the gods. Those
conventional stereotype of the literature of the period. In the
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7920
ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
cult of Isis, men held the principal offices, and the names of
Dedications of religious and philosophical books by
cult members recorded in inscriptions do not suggest that
men to women appear in the imperial period. Plutarch dedi-
women predominated numerically.
cated his treatise on Isis and Osiris to Clea, a priestess of Del-
phi. Diogenes Laertius dedicated his book on Greek philoso-
The literary stereotype, in other words, almost certainly
phers (which has anti-Christian implications) to a female
exaggerates the number and importance of women in the
Platonist. Philostratus claims that Julia Domna encouraged
cults by representing them effectively as “women’s cults.”
him to write the life of Apollonius of Tyana. What is more,
Why is this? In part the explanation may lie in the exclusively
according to the Christian writer Eusebius, Julia Mamaea
elite vision of most of the literary sources. Even if women
(mother of the emperor Alexander Severus) invited Origen
did not dominate the new religions, it seems certain that
to visit her in Antioch, allegedly to discuss Christianity.
upper-class women were involved in these cults before their
male counterparts. Wives of senators, that is, were participat-
EVIDENCE. Epigraphy and archaeology are the starting point
ing in the worship of Isis at a period when no senator was
for analysis of the religious history of the Roman Empire.
involved in the cult; and wives of senators are attested as
Both types of evidence are the actual products of religious
Christians from the late second century
adherents of the period, designed to promote or support
CE, before any Chris-
tian senator. Thus, the literary stereotype may reflect a (tem-
their religious actions and beliefs. The interpretation of the
porary) difference between the involvement of elite men and
iconography of objects, the design of buildings, and the for-
women that did not necessarily apply at other levels of soci-
mulation of dedications is absolutely critical. This evidence
ety. Much more fundamentally, however, the claims of fe-
does, however, need to be used with care. Inscriptions have
male fascination with foreign religion are embedded in the
to be treated not simply as texts (which is how they are often
vast literary and cultural traditions of Greco-Roman misogy-
presented in modern books), but as texts with particular rela-
ny. And, at the same time, foreign peoples and places were
tionships to the objects on which they were written. In addi-
denigrated in specifically female terms. In traditional Roman
tion, texts painted on walls (dipinti) or written on material
ideology, “Oriental” cults would inevitably raise questions of
other than stone or bronze rarely survive. But the sheer num-
gender.
ber of religious dedications tempts one to treat the variations
in their numbers over time as an index of the varying popu-
Women’s participation in new cults is one aspect of the
larity of the deity concerned. This is a mistake, as the varia-
active part they played in the religious life of the imperial pe-
tion in the number of religious dedications parallels the vari-
riod. Women, especially wealthy women, experienced con-
ations in the number of inscriptions in general. In other
siderable freedom of movement and could administer their
words, religious inscriptions share in the variations in the
own estates. Roman empresses of Eastern origin (Julia
“epigraphic habit.”
Domna, wife of Septimius Severus, and Julia Mamaea,
A further point to note is that not all religious groups
mother of Severus Alexander) contributed to the diffusion
embedded their practices in material form. Jewish and Chris-
outside Africa of the cult of Caelestis, who received a temple
tian groups in the early Empire are largely invisible from ei-
on the Capitol in Rome. The wife of a Roman consul, Pom-
ther archaeological or epigraphical evidence (in Rome, for
peia Agrippinilla, was priestess of an association of about four
example, there are no remains of synagogues and no secure
hundred devotees (all members of her household) of Liber-
evidence of churches before Constantine).
Dionysos in the Roman Campagna in the middle of the sec-
ond century CE (Moretti, 1968, no. 160). In the Greek
In addition to epigraphy and archaeology, the religions
world, women served as priestesses (as they had always done)
of the Roman Empire survive mainly through writings in
but received new public honors. In the city of Thasos in the
Latin, Greek, Syriac, and Coptic (not to speak of other lan-
third century CE, a woman, Flavia Vibia Sabina, was honored
guages), such as biographies, philosophical disputations, epic
by the local council “as a most noteworthy high priestess
poems, antiquarian books, exchanges of letters, novels, and
. . . the only woman, first in all times to have honors equal
specific religious books. Most of the authors speak only for
to those of the councilors” (Pleket, 1969, no. 29). Women
themselves. But taken together, they convey an atmosphere
could be asked to act as theologoi, that is, to preach about
of sophisticated cross-questioning that would have prevented
gods in ceremonies even of a mystery nature. It is revealing
minds from shutting out alternatives. For example, the Stoic
that the emperor Marcus Aurelius declared himself grateful
Lucan in his Pharsalia, a poem on the civil wars, excludes the
to his mother for teaching him veneration of the gods.
gods but admits fate and fortune, magic and divination. Two
generations later, Silius Italicus wrote an optimistic poem de-
The intellectual and religious achievements of women
scribing Scipio as a Roman Heracles supported by his father,
become more conspicuous in the fourth century CE. Women
Jupiter. More or less at the same time, Plutarch was reflecting
such as Sosipatra, described in Eunapius’s account of the
on new and old cults, on the delays in divine justice, and (if
lives of the Sophists, and Hypatia of Alexandria are the coun-
the work in question is indeed his) on superstition.
terparts (though apparently more broadly educated and more
independent in their social actions) of Christian women such
In the second part of the second century Lucian passed
as Macrina, sister of Gregory of Nyssa (who wrote her biog-
from the caricature of an assembly of gods and from attacks
raphy), and the followers of Jerome.
against oracles to a sympathetic description of the cult of Dea
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
7921
Syria; he abused such religious fanatics as Peregrinus, as well
extent. Such texts present themselves as revealed: they speak
as Alexander of Abonuteichos, the author of a new cult,
of the human soul imprisoned in the body, of fate, and of
whom he considered to be an impostor. Perhaps what Lucian
demonic power with only a minimum of coherence. They
wanted to give is, in fact, what readers get from him—the
are distantly related to what modern scholars call Gnosti-
impression of a mind that refuses to be imposed upon. Fron-
cism, a creed with many variants that was supposed to be a
to’s correspondence with Marcus Aurelius confirms what can
deviation from Christianity and, as such, was fought by early
be deduced from other texts (such as Aelius Aristides’s
Christian apologists. Today, much more is known about the
speeches): preoccupation with one’s own health was a source
Gnostics, thanks to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi li-
of intense religious experience in the second century CE. In
brary, which supplemented, indeed dwarfed, previous dis-
his Metamorphoses, also known as The Golden Ass, Apuleius
coveries of Coptic Gnostic texts. Assembled in the fourth
offers a (partially satirical) account of the mysteries of Isis
century from books mainly translated from Greek, the Nag
that may be based on personal experience. But Apuleius’s
Hammadi library represents an isolated survival. It points to
Golden Ass is only one of the many novels that were fashion-
a previous, more central movement thriving in the exchange
able in the Roman Empire. The appeal of such works proba-
of ideas. What was the impact of the Gnostic sects when they
bly resided in their ability to offer readers vicarious experi-
placed themselves between pagans and Christians (and Jews)
ences of love, magic, and mystery ritual.
in the first centuries of the Empire?
The variety of moods and experiences conveyed by these
STATE REPRESSION AND PERSECUTION. The Roman state
texts, from the skeptical to the mystical, from the egotistic
had always interfered with the freedom to teach and worship.
to the political in the old Greek sense, gives us an approxi-
In republican times, astrologers, magicians, philosophers,
mate notion of the thoughts of educated people on religious
and even rhetoricians, not to speak of adepts of certain reli-
subjects. These books provide the background for an under-
gious groups, had been victims of such intrusion. Under
standing of the Christian apologists who wrote for the pagan
which precise legal category this interference was exercised
upper class. How much of pagan religious thinking was con-
remains a question, except perhaps in cases of sacrilege. Taci-
ditioned by the presence of Jews and, even more, of Chris-
tus writes that Augustus considered adultery in his own fami-
tians in the neighborhood? The anti-Jewish attitudes of a
ly a crime against religio (Annals 3.24). Whatever the legal
Tacitus or of a Juvenal offer no special problem; they are ex-
details, Druid cults and circles were persecuted in Gaul and
plicit. The same can be said about the anti-Christian polem-
Britain in the first century. Augustus prohibited Roman citi-
ics of Celsus. The problem, if any, is that the text is lost and
zens from participating in Druid cults, and Claudius prohib-
inferences have to be made from the reply given in changed
ited the cult of the Druids altogether. Though it is not clear
circumstances by the Christian Origen. But there are far
what the consequences were for participating, there is little
more writers who seldom or never refer to Christianity yet
recorded of the Druids from this time on. Abhorrence of
who can hardly have formulated their thoughts without im-
their human sacrifices no doubt counted for much. But Au-
plicit reference to it.
gustus also did not like the practice of foretelling the future,
for which the Druids were conspicuous, and he is credited
How much Lucian or Philostratus (in his life of Apollo-
with the destruction of two thousand prophetic books (Sue-
nius of Tyana) was trying to put across pagan points of view
tonius, Augustus 31). The Druids were also known to be ma-
in answer to the Christian message is an old question. Nico-
gicians, and Claudius condemned to death a Roman knight
machus Flavianus, a pagan leader, translated the biography
who had brought to court a Druidic magic egg (Pliny, Natu-
of Philostratus into Latin in the late fourth century. Another
ral History 29.54).
author who may know more about Christianity than his si-
lence about it would indicate is Diogenes Laertius. In his
Roman action against the Druids is an example of
lives of philosophers, he pointedly refuses to admit non-
Roman action against practices deemed to be noxious supers-
Greek wisdom and enumerates all the Greek schools, from
titio. It is often said that the Roman government only excep-
Plato to Epicurus, as worthy of study and admiration. With
tionally acted in this way: existing cults might or might not
the renascence of Neoplatonic thought in the third and
be encouraged, but they were seldom persecuted; even Jews
fourth centuries and the combination of Platonism with
and Egyptians were ordinarily protected in their cults. This
mystical and magical practices (the so-called theurgy) in the
view of a general liberal Roman state is false. The Romans
circles to which Julian the Apostate belonged, the attempt
acted whenever need arose against superstitio. In 19 CE two
to erect a barrier to Christianity is patent but, even then, not
scandals in Rome brought the cults of Isis and Judaism to
necessarily explicit.
the attention of emperor and Senate. The outcome, accord-
ing to Tacitus, was that the Senate banished four thousand
The most problematic texts are perhaps those that try
ex-slaves to a labor camp in Sardinia and expelled those of
to formulate explicit religious beliefs. Books such as the
higher status from Italy “unless they gave up their profane
Chaldaean Oracles (late second century, or third century CE)
rites before an appointed day” (Annals 2.85; cf. Josephus,
or the Hermetic texts, composed in Greek at various dates
Jewish Antiquities 18.65–84). The principles of religious co-
in Egypt (and clearly showing the influence of Jewish ideas),
ercion were firmly in place before the emergence of Chris-
make it difficult to decide who believed in them and to what
tianity.
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7922
ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
The long-standing conflict between the Christians and
Theodosianus 16.10.4), and pagan temples in the country
the Roman state has to be set against this background. As
(not in towns) were ordered to be destroyed in 399 (Codex
with actions against other troublesome people, persecution
Theodosianus 16.10.16)—though in the same year, festivals
was desultory and instigated from below, until the mid-third
that appear to have been pagan were allowed (Codex Theodo-
century. However, there are some unique aspects, mostly as
sianus 16.10.17).
a result of Christian rather than of imperial behavior. First,
Rome in the fourth century CE remained for some peo-
the Christians obviously did not yield or retreat, as did the
ple a city characterized by the worship of the ancient gods.
Druids. Indeed they were believed actively to seek conver-
The pagan historian Ammianus Marcellinus, when describ-
sions, even without the knowledge or approval of the head
ing the visit of the emperor Constantius II to Rome in 357
of the household. Second, the Christians hardly ever became
CE, depicted the (Christian) emperor admiring the temples
outright enemies of, or rebels against, the Roman state. The
and other ancient ornaments of the city (16.10.13–17). This
providential character of the Roman state was a basic as-
account tendentiously suppresses any mention of Christiani-
sumption of Christianity. The workings of providence were
ty or Judaism in Rome.
shown, for Christians, by the fact that Jesus was born under
The traditional monuments of the city were duly re-
Roman rule, while the Roman state had destroyed the Tem-
stored in the course of the fourth century CE by the prefectus
ple of Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews, thus making the
urbi (prefect of the city). Even after the reforms of Gratian,
church the heiress to the Temple. Third, the Christians were
when the responsibility of the prefect of the city was redirect-
interested in what can be called “classical culture.” Their de-
ed toward the Christian buildings instead of the traditional
bate with the pagans became, increasingly, a debate within
temples, the imperial authorities did not entirely neglect the
the terms of reference of classical culture; the Jews, in con-
monuments of pagan religion. Under Emperor Eugenius
trast, soon lost their contact with classical thought and even
(392–394 CE) some temples were again restored, and as late
with such men as Philo, who had represented them in the
as the 470s a prefect of the city restored an image of Minerva.
dialogue with classical culture. Fourth, Christianity and its
ecclesiastical organization provided what could alternatively
The traditional religious practices of Rome were not
be either a rival or a subsidiary structure to the imperial gov-
mere fossilized survivals. They did not incorporate elements
ernment. The Roman government under Constantine chose
of Christianity or Judaism, but there were continuing
the Church as a subsidiary institution (without quite know-
changes and restructuring through the fourth century. For
ing on what conditions).
example, in the Calendar of 354 CE, games in honor of the
emperor continued to be remodeled and adjusted to the new
The novelty of the conflict explains the novelty of the
rulers, and the cycle of festivals in honor of the gods was also
solution—not tolerance but conversion. The emperor had to
reworked.
become Christian and to accept the implications of his con-
The process of change is also visible in cults long estab-
version. It took about eighty years to turn the pagan state
lished in Rome, which sometimes received new and heady
into a Christian state. The process took the form of a series
interpretations. In the fourth century the cult of Mater
of decisions about public non-Christian acts of worship. The
Magna placed a new emphasis on the practice of the tauro-
first prohibition of pagan sacrifices seems to have been enact-
bolium. Inscriptions from the sanctuary in the Vatican area
ed in 341 (Codex Theodosianus 16.10.2). Closing of the
record that some worshippers repeated the ritual after a lapse
pagan temples and prohibition of sacrifices in public places
of twenty years—one claimed that he had been thereby “re-
under penalty of death was stated or restated at an uncertain
born to eternity,” which seems to have been a radically new
date between 346 and 354 (Codex Theodosianus 16.10.4).
significance. The reinterpretation of the taurobolium in what
Even leaving aside the reaction of Julian, these measures
was by now an ancient cult of Rome shows clearly how even
cannot have been effective. The emperor remained pontifex
such ancestral religions could still generate new meanings—
maximus until Gratian gave up the position in 379 (Zosimus,
in this case, a new intensity of personal relationship with the
4.36.5). Gratian was the emperor who removed the altar of
divine.
Victoria from the Roman Senate and provoked the contro-
The process of incorporation of once foreign cults into
versy between Symmachus and Bishop Ambrose, the most
the “official” religion is most visible in the priesthoods held
important controversy about the relative merits of tolerance
by members of the senatorial class. Until the end of the
and conversion in late antiquity. Then, in 391, Theodosius
fourth century, senators continued to be members of the four
forbade even private pagan cults (Codex Theodosianus
main priestly colleges, but there were, in addition, priests of
16.10.12). In the same year, following riots provoked by a
Hecate, Mithras, and Isis. For senators to associate them-
special law against pagan cults in Egypt, the Serapeum of Al-
selves with these cults in Rome was an innovation of the
exandria was destroyed. The significance of this act was felt
fourth century. The change should be seen as a trend toward
worldwide. The brief pagan revival of 393, initiated by the
assimilating into “traditional” paganism cults in Rome that
usurper Eugenius, a nominal Christian who sympathized
had not previously received senatorial patronage. Faced with
with the pagans, was soon followed by other antipagan laws.
the new threat posed by imperial patronage of Christianity,
Pagan priests were deprived of their privileges in 396 (Codex
senators redefined (and expanded) their ancestral heritage.
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ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
7923
After the fall of Eugenius, Theodosius’s ban on sacrifices
SEE ALSO Apotheosis; Constantinianism; Druids; Emperor’s
was more effectively applied, and the implications of the old
Cult; Gnosticism, article on Gnosticism from Its Origins to
calendar for public life were revised. Traditional public festi-
the Middle Ages; Hellenistic Religions; Hermetism; Isis;
vals were not banned, but they were officially marginalized
Mithra; Mithraism; Mystery Religions; Sabazios.
in favor of Christian festivals. The last pagan senatorial
priests are attested in the 390s, the series of dedicatory in-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
scriptions from the sanctuary of Mater Magna in the Vatican
General
area runs from 295 to 390
Georg Wissowa, Religion und Kultus der Römer, 2d ed. (Munich,
CE, and the last dated Mithraic
1912) and Kurt Latte, Römische Religionsgeschichte (Munich,
inscription from Rome is from 391 CE (slightly later than
1960) are basic works of reference. They are supplemented
from elsewhere in the Empire). Some Christians went on the
by Martin P. Nilsson, Geschichte der griechischen Religion,
offensive, destroying pagan sanctuaries, including sanctuaries
vol. 2, 3d. ed. (Munich, 1974), for the Eastern side of the
of Mithras. The sanctuary of the Arval Brothers was disman-
Roman Empire. Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Price,
tled from the late fourth century onward.
Religions of Rome, 2 vols. (Cambridge, U.K., 1998) offer a
synthesis of newer approaches (vol. 1 is an analytic history,
But traditional religious rites were very tenacious, and
vol. 2 a sourcebook of texts in translation and monuments,
their demise cannot be assumed from the ending of dedicato-
with commentary; a full bibliography appears in both vol-
ry inscriptions. Emperors through the fifth and into the sixth
umes). See also Arthur Darby Nock, Conversion: The Old
century elaborated Theodosius’s ban on sacrifices—
and the New in Religion from Alexander the Great to Augustine
presumably in the face of the continuing practice of tradi-
of Hippo (Oxford, 1933) and Essays on Religion and the An-
cient World
, 2 vols., edited by Zeph Stewart (Oxford, 1972).
tional sacrifice, for a pagan writer traveling up from Rome
Current research is surveyed in Archiv für Religionsgeschichte
through Italy in the early fifth century observed with pleasure
2 (2000): 283–345 and 5 (2003): 297–371.
a rural festival of Osiris. At around the same time the old
Other useful general books include Jean Beaujeu, La religion ro-
ways were revived during the siege of Rome by the Goths
maine à l’apogée de l’empire, vol. 1, La politique religieuse des
(408–409 CE). When Christianity was not obviously help-
Antonins, 96–192 (Paris, 1955); Jean Bayet, Histoire politique
ing, the prefect of the city, after meeting diviners from Etru-
et psychologique de la religion romaine (Paris, 1969); E. R.
ria, attempted to save the city by publicly celebrating the an-
Dodds, Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety (Cam-
cestral rituals with the Senate on the Capitol. The economic
bridge, U.K., 1965); Clara Gallini, Protesta e integrazione
independence and traditional prestige of local pagan aristo-
nella Roma antica (Bari, 1970); J. H. W. G. Liebeschuetz,
crats, especially in Rome, allowed them to survive for a time
Continuity and Change in Roman Religion (Oxford, 1979);
and to go on elaborating pagan thought. Around 430
Martin Goodman, Mission and Conversion: Proselytizing in
CE the
the Religious History of the Roman Empire (Oxford, 1994);
Roman writer Macrobius sought to recreate in his Saturnalia
Denis C. Feeney, Literature and Religion at Rome: Cultures,
the religious learning and debate of the age of Symmachus,
Contexts, and Beliefs (Cambridge, UK, 1998); John North,
a generation before. Most striking (given the date of its com-
Roman Religion. Greece and Rome New Survey 30 (Oxford,
position) is the complete exclusion of Christianity—an ex-
2000); and John Scheid, An Introduction to Roman Religion
clusion that sought (in vain) to align classical culture and tra-
(Edinburgh, 2003). Clifford Ando, ed., Roman Religion
ditional religion. The Neoplatonists of Athens had to be
(Edinburgh, 2003) republishes some useful articles.
expelled by Justinian in 529.
Roman Temples
See Amanda Claridge, Rome (Oxford, 1998). For a full analyses,
Even at the end of the fifth century CE, the Lupercalia
consult E. Margareta Steinby, ed., Lexicon Topographicum
was still being celebrated in Rome. The bishop of Rome
Urbis Romae, 6 vols. (Rome, 1993–1999).
found it necessary both to argue against the efficacy of the
Roman Images
cult and to ban Christian participation. Hopes that the
See Inez Scott Ryberg, Rites of the State Religion in Roman Art
pagan gods would come back excited the Eastern provinces
(Memoirs of the American Academy at Rome 23; New
during the rebellion against the emperor Zeno in about 483,
Haven, 1955); Robert Turcan, Religion romaine, 2 vols, (Ico-
in which the pagan rhetorician and poet Pampremius had a
nography of Religions 17; Leiden, 1988).
prominent part (Zacharias of Mytilene, Vita Severi, in
Rituals and Calendar
Patrologia Orient. 2.1.40; M.-A. Kugener, ed., Paris, 1903,
On Roman sacrifice see Le sacrifice dans l’antiquité (Entretiens
repr. Turnhout 1993). The peasants (rustici), about whom
Fondation Hardt 27; Geneva, 1981) and John Scheid, Rom-
Bishop Martin of Bracara in Spain had so many complaints,
ulus et ses frères. Le collège des frères Arvales, modèle du culte
public romain dans la Rome des empereurs
(Rome, 1990). For
gave more trouble to the ecclesiastical authorities than did
information about the calendar, see Jörg Rüpke, Kalender
the philosophers and the aristocrats of the cities. Sacrifices,
und Öffentlichkeit. Die Geschichte der Repräsentation und re-
because they were generally recognized as efficient ways of
ligiösen Qualifikation von Zeit in Rom. (Berlin and New York,
persuading the gods to act, were at the center of Christian
1995).
suspicion. According to a widespread opinion shared by the
Epigraphic Texts
apostle Paul (but not by all the church fathers) pagan gods
Epigraphic texts cited in the text include Michael H. Crawford,
existed—as demons.
ed., Roman Statutes, vol. 1 (London, 1996), pp. 393–454;
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7924
ROMAN RELIGION: THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
F. K. Dörner, Denkschriften der Wiener Akademie 75 (Vien-
struction of a Crime,” Classical Antiquity 22 (2003):
na, 1952) p. 40, no. 78; Luigi Moretti, Inscriptiones Graecae
313–339; and S. R. F. Price, “The Future of Dreams: from
Urbis Romae I (Rome, 1968), no. 160; H. W. Pleket, Texts
Freud to Artemidorus,” in Studies in Ancient Greek and
on the Social History of the Greek World (Leiden, 1969), no.
Roman Society, edited by Robin Osborne, pp. 226–59 (Cam-
29; Robert K. Sherk, Roman Documents from the Greek East
bridge, U.K., 2004).
(Baltimore, 1969), pp. 214–216.
The Imperial Cult
Cults outside Rome
See Louis Robert, “Le culte de Caligula à Milet et la province
On cults outside of Rome see Marcel Leglay, Saturne africaine
d’Asie.” Hellenica 7 (Paris, 1949): 206–238; Louis Robert,
(Paris, 1966); Javier Teixidor, The Pagan God: Popular Reli-
“Recherches épigraphiques V–VI,” REA 62 (1960),
gion in the Greco-Roman Near East (Princeton, 1977); Ram-
pp. 285–324 (repr. in his Opera Minora Selecta [Amsterdam,
say MacMullen, Paganism in the Roman Empire (New
1969–1990]), 2: 801–840); Louis Robert, “Théophane de
Haven, 1981); and Martin Henig, Religion in Roman Britain
Mytilène à Constantinople.” Comptes Rendus de l’Académie
(London, 1984). See also the following articles by Louis
des Inscriptions (repr. in his Opera Minora Selecta 5: 561–83);
Robert: “De Cilicie à Messine et à Plymouth avec deux in-
Stefan Weinstock, Divus Julius (Oxford, 1971); Willem den
scriptions grecques errantes,” Journal des Savants 1973,
Boer, ed., Le culte des souverains dans l’empire romain (Gene-
pp. 161–211 (repr. in his Opera Minora Selecta [OMS] 7:
va, 1973); J. Rufus Fears, Princeps a diis electus: The Divine
225–275); “Trois oracles de la Théosophie et un prophète
Election of the Emperor as a Political Concept at Rome (Rome,
d’Apollon,” CRAI 1968: pp. 568–599 (repr. in OMS 5: 584–
1977); Simon R. F. Price, Rituals and Power: The Roman Im-
615); “Un oracle gravé à Oenoanda,” CRAI 1971:
perial Cult in Asia Minor (Cambridge, U.K., 1984); Simon
pp. 597–619 (repr. in OMS 5: 617–639); “Le serpent Gly-
R. F. Price, “Gods and Emperors: The Greek Language of
con d’Abônouteichos à Athènes et Artémis d’Ephèse à
the Roman Imperial Cult,” Journal of Hellenic Studies 94
Rome,” CRAI 1981: 513–535 (repr. in his OMS 5:
(1984): 79–95; Simon R. F. Price, “From Noble Funerals to
749–769); and “Une vision de Perpétue martyre à Carthage
Divine Cult: The Consecration of Roman Emperors,” in Rit-
en 203,” CRAI 1982: 229–276 (repr. in his OMS 5: 791–
uals of Royalty: Power and Ceremonial in Traditional Societies,
839). See Robin Lane Fox, Pagans and Christians (Harmond-
edited by David Cannadine and Simon R. F. Price,
sworth and New York, 1986), on Greek civic cults of the
pp. 56–105 (Cambridge, U.K., 1987); Duncan Fishwick,
imperial period. Also of interest are Paul Veyne, Did the
The Imperial Cult in the Latin West, 3 vols. (Leiden, 1987–
Greeks Believe in their Myths? (Chicago and London, 1988);
2004); Alastair Small, ed., “Subject and Ruler: The Cult of
James B. Rives, Religion and Authority in Roman Carthage
the Ruling Power in Classical Antiquity,” Journal of Roman
(Oxford, 1995); Hubert Cancik and Jörg Rüpke, eds.,
Archaeology, Supp. 17 (1996); and Ittai Gradel, Emperor
Römische Reichsreligion und Provinzialreligion (Tübingen,
Worship and Roman Religion (Oxford, 2002). See also Lellia
1997); chapter 7 of Mary Beard, John North, and Simon
Cracco Ruggini, “Apoteosi e politica senatoria nel IV sec. d.
Price, Religions of Rome, 2 vols. (Cambridge, U.K., 1998);
C.,” Rivista storica italiana (1977): 425–489; and Keith
Ton Derks, Gods, Temples, and Ritual Practices: the Transfor-
Hopkins, Conquerors and Slaves (Cambridge, U.K., 1978),
mation of Religious Ideas and Values in Roman Gaul (Amster-
pp. 197–242. Henning Wrede, Consecratio in formam de-
dam, 1998); David Frankfurter, Religion in Roman Egypt: As-
orum (Mainz, 1981) examines “private” deifications.
similation and Resistance (Princeton, 1998); Simon Price,
Oriental Cults
Religions of the Ancient Greeks (Cambridge, U.K., 1999);
On Oriental cults, the publications by Franz Cumont remain in-
William van Andringa, La religion en Gaule romaine (Paris,
fluential. See, for instance, Astrology and Religion among the
2002); Ted Kaizer, The Religious Life of Palmyra (Stuttgart,
Greeks and Romans (New York, 1912); After Life in Roman
2002); and Simon Price, “Local Mythologies in the Roman
Paganism (New Haven, 1922); Les religions orientales dans le
East,” in Chistopher Howgego, Volcker Heuchert and An-
paganisme romain, 4th ed. (Paris, 1929); Recherches sur le sym-
drew Burnett (eds), Coinage and Identity in the Roman Prov-
bolisme funéraire des Romains (Paris, 1942); and Lux Perpetua
inces (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005),
(Paris, 1949). Robert Turcan’s The Cults of the Roman Em-
pp. 115–124. Volumes 2.16 (Rome and Imperial Cults) and
pire (Oxford, 1996) is a synthesis on Oriental cults. For more
2.17 (Rome and Oriental Cults), 2.18 (Provinces), 2.19–21
recent approaches see Ugo Bianchi and Maarten J. Ver-
(Judaism), and 2.23–27 (Christianity) of Aufstieg und
maseren, ed., La soteriologia dei culti orientali nell’impero ro-
Niedergang der römischen Welt (Berlin and New York,
mano (EPRO 92; Leiden, 1982); Walter Burkert, Ancient
1978–) vary in quality but include some useful studies. A
Mystery Cults (Cambridge, Mass., 1987) and chapter 6 of
searchable index is available from http://www.uky.edu/AS/
Mary Beard, John North and Simon Price, Religions of Rome,
Classics/biblio/anrw.html.
2 vols. (Cambridge, U.K., 1998). On Mater Magna (Cybele)
Magic and Divination
see Maarten J. Vermaseren, Cybele and Attis (London, 1977);
See Frederick H. Cramer, Astrology in Roman Law and Politics
Philippe Borgeaud, La mère des dieux: de Cybèle à la vierge
(Philadelphia, 1954); David S. Potter, Prophets and Emper-
Marie (Paris, 1996). On Isis see: Friedrich Solmsen, Isis
ors: Human and Divine Authority from Augustus to Theodosius
among the Greeks and Romans (Cambridge, Mass., 1979); F.
(Oxford, 1994); Fritz Graf, Magic in the Ancient World
Dunand, Le culte d’Isis dans le bassin oriental de la Méditer-
(Cambridge, Mass., 1997); chapter 5 of Mary Beard, John
ranée, 3 vols. (EPRO 26; Leiden, 1973); Henk S. Versnel,
North and Simon Price, Religions of Rome, 2 vols. (Cam-
Inconsistencies in Greek and Roman Religion I: Ter Unus (Lei-
bridge, U.K., 1998); Daniel Ogden, Magic, Witchcraft, and
den, 1990), pp. 39–95 and chapter six of Stephen J. Harri-
Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: a Sourcebook (Oxford,
son, Apuleius, A Latin Sophist (Oxford, 2000) for a discussion
2002); James B. Rives, “Magic in Roman Law: the Recon-
of the problems of reading Metamorphoses 11. On Mithras
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

ROSENZWEIG, FRANZ
7925
see Reinhold Merkelbach, Mithras (Königstein, 1984); Rich-
Michelle Salzmann, On Roman Time: The Codex-Calendar of
ard L. Gordon, Image and Value in the Graeco-Roman World
354 and the Rhythms of Urban Life in Late Antiquity (Berke-
(Aldsershot, U.K., and Brookfield, Vt., 1996); and Manfred
ley, 1990); Averil Cameron, Christianity and the Rhetoric of
Clauss, The Roman Cult of Mithras (Edinburgh, 2000).
Empire: The Development of Christian Discourse (Berkeley,
1991); Ramsay MacMullen, Christianity and Paganism in the
Gnosticism
Fourth to Eighth Centuries (New Haven, 1997); chapter 8 of
Giovanni Filoramo, A History of Gnosticism (Oxford and Cam-
Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Price, Religions of
bridge, Mass., 1990); Christoph Markschies, Gnosis: An In-
Rome, 2 vols. (Cambridge, U.K., 1998); John Curran, Pagan
troduction (London, 2003); and Karen L. King, What Is
City and Christian Capital: Rome in the Fourth Century (Ox-
Gnosticism? (Cambridge, Mass., 2003) are the best introduc-
ford, 2000); Peter Brown, The Rise of Western Christendom:
tions. An examination of revelation can be found in James
Triumph and Diversity, AD 200–1000. 2d ed. (Oxford,
D. Tabor, Things Unutterable: Paul’s Ascent to Paradise in Its
2003).
Greco-Roman, Judaic and Early Christian Contexts (Lanham,
Md., and London, 1986); and also see Simon Price, “The
ARNALDO MOMIGLIANO (1987)
Mithras Liturgy,” in Andreas Bendlin, ed., Religion and Soci-
SIMON PRICE (2005)
ety: Aspects of Religious Life in the Eastern Mediterranean under
Roman Rule
(Tübingen, 2005).
Relations between Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the
ROSENZWEIG, FRANZ (1886–1929), German-
First Three Centuries
Jewish philosophical theologian, writer, translator of Jewish
See Erwin R. Goodenough, Jewish Symbols in the Graeco-Roman
classical literature, and influential Jewish educational activist.
Period, 13 vols. (New York, 1953–1968); Ramsay MacMul-
Generally regarded as the most important Jewish philosophi-
len, Christianizing the Roman Empire, A. D. 100–400 (New
cal theologian of this century, Rosenzweig also became a
Haven, 1984); Jonathan Z. Smith, Drudgery Divine: On the
Comparison of Early Christianities and the Religions of Late

model of what the Jewish personality in the twentieth-
Antiquity (London and Chicago, 1990); L. Michael White,
century West might be.
Building God’s House in the Roman World (Baltimore and
He was born into an old, affluent, and highly accultur-
London, 1990); Paul R. Trebilco, Jewish Communities in
ated German-Jewish family in Kassel, in which the sense of
Asia Minor (Cambridge, U.K., 1991); Judith Lieu, John
Jewishness, though lively, had shrunk to a matter of upper
North, and Tessa Rajak, eds., The Jews among Pagans and
middle-class formalities. He studied at several German uni-
Christians (London and New York, 1992); Leonard V. Rut-
gers, The Jews in Late Antique Rome (Leiden, 1995); Judith
versities, ranging over multiple disciplines, and finished as a
Lieu, Image and Reality: The Jews in the World of the Chris-
student of Friedrich Meinecke, the important German polit-
tians in the Second Century (Edinburgh, 1996); Martin
ical and cultural historian. During those years he also had in-
Goodman, ed., Jews in a Graeco-Roman World (Oxford,
tense conversations on religion in the modern world, espe-
1998); Mark Edwards, Martin Goodman, and Simon Price,
cially with close relatives and friends, several of whom had
eds., Apologetics in the Roman Empire (Oxford, 1999); Erich
converted to Christianity. Having already adopted a strong
S. Gruen, Diaspora: Jews amidst Greeks and Romans (Cam-
German nationalist outlook, Rosenzweig also tried to sort
bridge, Mass., 2002). See also Morton Smith’s article “Prole-
out his own religious convictions at the very time that he was
gomena to a Discussion of Aretalogies, Divine Men, the
writing his Ph.D. dissertation (on Schelling and Hegel) and
Gospels and Jesus,” Journal of Biblical Literature 90 (June
his first important book (Hegel und der Staat, 2 vols., 1920).
1971): 174–199.
In a night-long conversation on July 7, 1913 with his cousin,
Transition to Christianity
the physiologist Rudolf Ehrenberg (who had become a
See Bernhard Kötting, Peregrinatio religiosa: Wallfahrten in der
Christian theologian), and his distant relative Eugen Rosens-
Antike und das Pilgerwesen in der alten Kirche (Münster,
tock-Huessy (later the influential Protestant theologian, also
1950); Arnaldo Momigliano, ed., The Conflict between Pa-
a convert), Rosenzweig decided that he, too, ought to be-
ganism and Christianity in the Fourth Century (Oxford,
come a Christian; however, he would take this step “as a
1963); Peter Brown, Religion and Society in the Age of Saint
Jew,” not “as a pagan,” and he would, therefore, briefly re-
Augustine (London, 1972); Lellia Cracco Ruggini, “Simboli
turn to the synagogue. His experience there during the High
di battaglia ideologica nel tardo ellenismo,” in Studi storici
in onore di Ottorino Bertolini
, pp. 117–300 (Pisa, 1972); Lel-
Holy Days that year, however, changed Rosenzweig’s mind
lia Cracco Ruggini, “Il paganesimo romano tra religione e
completely: he would instead turn himself from a nominal
politica, 384–394 d. C.,” Memorie della classe di scienze mor-
into a substantial Jew, and he would devote his life to Jewish
ali, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 8.23.1 (Rome, 1979),
values. He studied with and became a close friend to the
3–141; Lellia Cracco Ruggini, “Pagani, ebrei e cristiani:
Neo-Kantian philosopher Hermann Cohen, who was then
Odio sociologico e odio teologico nel mondo antico,” in Gli
living in Berlin in retirement but was still very active with
ebrei nell’Alto Medioevo, Settimane di studio del Centro itali-
Jewish writing and teaching. Rosenzweig immediately began
ano di studi sull’alto Medioevo 26 (Spoleto, 1980): 13–101;
to write on Jewish subjects.
Sabine G. MacCormack, Art and Ceremony in Late Antiquity
(Berkeley, 1981); Peter Brown, Society and the Holy in Late
During World War I, Rosenzweig served in various,
Antiquity (Berkeley and London, 1982); Robert A. Markus,
mainly military, capacities. He continued, however, to corre-
The End of Ancient Christianity (Cambridge, U.K., 1990);
spond with Rosenstock-Huessy on theological matters
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

7926
ROSENZWEIG, FRANZ
(Rosenstock-Huessy, Judaism despite Christianity, Alabama,
tled in Frankfurt, where he entered into close relationships
1968) and with Cohen and others on Jewish matters. He also
with Nehemiah Nobel, the Orthodox rabbi of the communi-
wrote and published essays on historical, political, military,
ty; with Martin Buber; with a younger generation of German
and educational subjects. Assigned to eastern Europe and the
Jews; and with eastern European Jews on their way west. He
Balkans, he experienced some of the full-blooded life of the
founded what became famous as the Free Jewish House of
Jewish communities there. Above all, he began on postcards
Learning (Lehrhaus), in which teachers and students togeth-
to his mother the composition that he finished on returning
er sought out classic Jewish sources and, translating and pub-
home from the war—his magnum opus, Der Stern der Erlö-
lishing them, tried them out on the modern world. Rosenz-
sung (Frankfurt, 1921; translated as The Star of Redemption).
weig and Buber were joined as teachers by well-known
An injury he sustained during the war may have been the
chemists, physicians, sociologists, and activists, and such in-
cause of his severe and eventually fatal postwar illness.
fluential contemporary Jewish scholars as S. D. Goitein,
The Star of Redemption is a complex, difficult, and ambi-
Ernst Simon, Gershom Scholem, Hans Kohn, Erich Fromm,
tious work, in some ways comparable to Hegel’s Phenomenol-
and Nahum N. Glatzer.
ogy of Spirit. The introduction to the first part argues that
Rosenzweig married in 1920 and fathered a son just be-
the fundamental and ineluctably individualistic fact of
fore coming down with a disease so grave that he was expect-
human death breaks up all philosophy qua monism, idealis-
ed to die within months. Instead he lived for six years, so par-
tic or materialistic, into the three realities of human experi-
alyzed, however, that ultimately he could communicate only
ence: man, God, and the world. (Metaphysical empiricism
by blinking an eyelid to the recitation of the alphabet. Never-
is thus an apt name for what Rosenzweig also calls “the new
theless his associates flocked to his side and spread his influ-
thinking.”) In the first part, he philosophically “constructs”
ence. Rosenzweig continued to write philosophical and reli-
these three realities very much in the manner of the later
gious essays and conducted a large correspondence. He
Schelling, as logico-mathematical and metaphysical entities.
edited the Jüdische Schriften (Jewish Writings) of Hermann
In this condition man, God, and the world constitute the
Cohen (3 vols., Berlin, 1924) and, in an extensive introduc-
“pagan” universe: they exist without interrelationships, as
tion, reinterpreted Cohen’s posthumous philosophical theol-
three unconnected points.
ogy as having laid the basis for a proto-existentialist doctrine.
In the second part, the three realities enter into relation-
He continued to study Jewish sources. He translated, among
ships with one another through “revelation,” that is, by con-
other things, the Hebrew poetry of Yehudah ha-Levi and
tinuously revealing themselves to each other. God reveals his
supplied it with extensive commentaries. In 1924 he joined
love to man and thus becomes available to human prayer,
with Martin Buber to produce a new German translation of
and the world is revealed as divine creation, available to
the Hebrew Bible, and in the process the two also developed
human transformation. Speech is the operative force in this
a sophisticated theory of translation, language, and textuali-
dimension of the world. Three points have formed a triangle.
ty. Their position was that the full meaning of a text develops
The final part of the book establishes the second triangle of
through what has since come to be called “reception history.”
the “star of redemption” when the individual relations be-
Thus the Bible is divinely revealed not as a matter of Ortho-
tween man, God, and the world are transformed into collec-
dox dogma or in opposition to Bible-critical history but in
tive, historical forces, specifically, Judaism and Christianity.
terms of its effects over time. Translation must not adjust the
(Two interlocking triangles form the hexagram that is the
text to a new culture but must confront the new culture with
Magen David, the Star of David, symbol of redemption.) Ju-
the text’s own authenticity. This confrontation takes place
daism is “the fire in the star”; that is, Israel is “with God/the
on the ground of the universal, Adamite human speech em-
truth,” outside of history, in eternity. Christianity is the rays
bedded in the literary forms of both languages. When Rosen-
from the star on pilgrimage through the world and history
zweig died at the age of forty-three, the Bible translation had
toward God/the truth, in order to conquer the kingdom of
progressed to Isaiah. (Buber finished it in the 1950s.)
God’s eventual universal realm. In this dimension of the
Rosenzweig’s basic tenets led to some new and promis-
world, collective speech—liturgy and hymn—is the opera-
ing positions in modern Jewish life. Between the Orthodox
tive force. Judaism and Christianity are the two valid cove-
belief in the Sinaitic revelation and the Liberal critical histor-
nants—Sinai for Jews and Calvary for the rest of mankind,
icism regarding the Bible, his “postmodernist” view made it
to be unified only when the road to truth has brought the
possible to take all of Torah with revelatory seriousness and
Christian world to the Jewish domicile in truth. In the mean-
punctiliousness, while neither rejecting modern scholarship
time loving acts of believers are to “verify” the love of revela-
nor committing oneself to a fideistic view. This coincided
tion and prepare the eschatological verity of God as “the all
with and influenced the biblical work of such scholars as
in all.” (Truth is thus Hegelian-existentialist “subjectivity,”
Buber, Benno Jacob, Yeh:ezkel Kaufmann, and Umberto
and the three parts of The Star explicate the basic theological
Cassuto. It also laid the basis for much subsequent renewed
triad of creation, revelation, and redemption.)
Jewish traditionalism among the acculturated in Germany
After the war Rosenzweig wanted to translate his beliefs
and elsewhere. Rosenzweig’s outlook, beyond the established
and his pronounced educational interests into action. He set-
fronts of Orthodoxy and Liberalism, also offered help with
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RODSH HA-SHANAH AND YOM KIPPUR
7927
respect to Jewish law (halakhah). In opposition to Buber’s
Cohen, Richard A. Elevations: The Height of the Good in Rosenz-
subjectivistic, pietistic antinomianism, Rosenzweig called for
weig and Levinas. Chicago, 1994.
an open-minded, receptive confrontation with Jewish law to
Gibbs, Robert. Correlations in Rosenzweig and Levinas. Princeton,
embrace it “as much as I can” in terms of one’s own prepara-
N. J., 1992.
tion and honesty. His “two-covenant doctrine” serves as a
Hollander, Dana. “On the Significance of the Messianic Idea in
strong foundation for Jewish-Christian dialogue, although it
Rosenzweig.” Cross Currents 53 (Winter 2004): 555–566.
can easily be abused in an “indifferentist” spirit and although
Mack, Michael. “Franz Rosenweig’s and Emmanuel Levinas’s Cri-
it suffers inherently from Rosenzweig’s pervasive europocen-
tique of German Idealism’s Pseudotheology.” Journal of Reli-
trism (e.g., his total blindness to Islam) and his antihistori-
gion 83 (January 2003): 56–79.
cism (cf. Hegel’s “absolute spirit” after “the end of history”).
S
Unlike his friend Buber, Rosenzweig rejected the notion of
TEVEN S. SCHWARZSCHILD (1987)
Revised Bibliography
a Jewish state (which would bring Israel back into history);
on the other hand, he naturally preferred Jewish self-
reauthentification in language, ethnicity, culture, and reli-
gion to liberalistic acculturation in gentile societies. With the
RODSH HA-SHANAH AND YOM KIPPUR,
rise of Nazism, Rosenzweig’s educational ideology, along
holy days prominent in the Jewish religious calendar, mark
with that of Buber, spoke to German Jewry so aptly and
the beginning of the new year and set off the special period
powerfully that the Lehrhaus pattern of highly cultured and
traditionally designated for self-scrutiny and repentance.
acculturated teachers and students in community spread
They are referred to as Yamim NoraDim (“days of awe”), the
throughout the country and produced an “Indian summer”
time when the numinous aspect of Judaism comes into its
of German-Jewish creativity of a high order in the 1930s.
own.
The impact of Rosenzweig’s thought continues to be
RODSH HA-SHANAH. RoDsh ha-Shanah (“head of the year,” i.
strong, philosophically and religiously. The interconnections
e., New Year) is the name given in postbiblical times to the
between him and Martin Heidegger, whom Rosenzweig
biblical festival of the first day of the seventh month (count-
praises in his last essay (“Vertauschte Fronte,” 1929; in Ge-
ing from the spring month of the Exodus from Egypt) and
sammelte Schriften, vol. 3, pp. 235–237), are increasingly
described (Lv. 23:23–25, Nm. 19:1–6) as a day of blowing
being crystallized. Heideggerian existentialist phenomenolo-
the horn. The postbiblical name is based on Talmudic teach-
gism, with Jewish-Rosenzweigian modifications, has further
ings that on this day all humanity is judged for its fortunes
left its significant marks on diverse movements of thought—
in the coming year. For this reason RoDsh ha-Shanah is also
the Frankfurt School (of Hegelian neo-Marxists) on the one
called Yom ha-Din (“day of judgment”). Biblical scholars,
hand, and Emmanuel Levinas, who goes beyond Heidegger
exploring the origins of the festival, have noted the parallels
and Husserl in philosophy and takes Buberian-
with ancient Near Eastern agricultural festivities in the au-
Rosenzweigian dialogism yet closer to historical Judaism, on
tumn and the enthronement ceremonies of the king as the
the other. Rosenzweig’s sophisticated traditionalism com-
representative of the god Baal or Marduk. According to
prises ethnicity, language, and religion (though still without
the critical view, references to the festival occur in sections
“land”) and shows the way back from European high culture
of the Pentateuch known as the Priestly code, which is post-
to Jewish self-definition.
exilic and hence could well have been influenced by Babylo-
nian practices. Such theories remain, however, conjectural.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In Nehemiah 8:1–8 there is a vivid description of the dramat-
The most extensive collection of Rosenzweig’s writing and study
ic occasion when the Israelites who had returned from Baby-
of his life is Franz Rosenzweig, der Mensch und sein Werk: Ge-
lonian captivity renewed their covenant with God. Ezra read
sammelte Schriften, 6 vols. (Dordrecht, 1976–1984). In En-
from the Torah on this first day of the seventh month; the
glish, see Franz Rosenzweig: His Life and Thought, 2d rev. ed.,
people, conscious of their shortcomings, were distressed at
edited by Nahum N. Glatzer (New York, 1961), and my
hearing the demands of the Law, but Nehemiah reassured
Franz Rosenzweig, 1886–1929: Guide of Reversioners (Lon-
them: “Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet and
don, 1961).
send portions unto him for whom nothing is prepared; for
Rosenzweig’s magnum opus, The Star of Redemption, has been
this day is holy unto our Lord; neither be ye grieved, for the
translated by William W. Hallo (New York, 1971). It is dis-
joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). These are
cussed in Else-Rahel Freund’s Franz Rosenzweig’s Philosophy
the antecedents of the festival as it later developed (held on
of Existence: An Analysis of The Star of Redemption, translated
the first and second days of the autumnal month of Tishri),
by Stephen L. Weinstein and Robert Israel and edited by
a day of both joy and solemnity. The day also became known
Paul R. Mendes-Flohr (The Hague and Boston, 1979); it is
also the subject of my book review in The Thomist (October
as Yom ha-Zikkaron (“day of remembrance”) because on it
1971): 728–737.
God remembers his creatures.
New Sources
The themes of God as king and judge of the universe
Batnitzky, Leora. Idolatry and Representation: The Philosophy of
and the need for repentance all feature prominently in the
Franz Rosenzweig Reconsidered. Princeton, N. J., 2000.
RoDsh ha-Shanah liturgy. The special additional prayer con-
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7928
RODSH HA-SHANAH AND YOM KIPPUR
sists of three groups of verses and prayers: (1) malkhuyyot
At the festive meal on RoDsh ha-Shanah it is customary
(“sovereignties,” in which God is hailed as king), (2) zikhro-
to dip bread in honey and to eat other sweet things while
not (“remembrances,” in which God is said to remember his
praying for “a good and sweet year.” In some places the cele-
creatures), (3) shofarot (“trumpet sounds,” which refer to the
brants eat fish to symbolize the good deeds they hope will
blowing of the horn). A popular medieval interpretation of
proliferate like fish in the sea in the year ahead. An ancient
these three is that they represent the three cardinal principles
custom is to go to the seaside or riverside on the afternoon
of the Jewish faith: belief in God, in reward and punishment
of the first day of RoDsh ha-Shanah, there to cast away the
(God “remembers” humankind’s deeds), and in revelation
sins of the previous year. This is based on Micah 7:19, a verse
(the horn was sounded when the Law was given at Sinai, as
that speaks of God casting away the sins of the people into
stated in Exodus 19:16). Another prayer of the day looks for-
the depths of the sea.
ward to the messianic age, when the kingdom of heaven will
YOM KIPPUR. Yom Kippur (“day of atonement”) is the cul-
be established and all wickedness will vanish from the earth.
mination of the penitential season, the day of repentance and
In a hymn recited on both RoDsh ha-Shanah and Yom Kip-
reconciliation between humanity and God and between peo-
pur, continuing with the judgment theme, God is spoken of
ple and their neighbors. It is the most hallowed day in the
as the great shepherd tending his flock. He decides on RoDsh
Jewish year and is still observed by the majority of Jews, even
ha-Shanah, and sets the seal on Yom Kippur, “who shall live
those who are otherwise lax in religious practices. In Temple
and who shall die; who shall suffer and who shall be tranquil;
times, elaborate sacrificial and purgatory rites, described in
who shall be rich and who poor; who shall be cast down and
Leviticus 16, were carried out. The high priest entered the
who elevated.” At various stages in the liturgy of RoDsh ha-
Holy of Holies in the Temple, where no other person was
Shanah and Yom Kippur there are prayers to be inscribed in
allowed to enter under pain of death, to make atonement for
the Book of Life, based on a Talmudic passage stating that
his people. A whole tractate of the Mishnah (Yoma D) de-
the average person whose fate is in the balance has the oppor-
scribes in greater detail the Temple service on Yom Kippur.
tunity during the period from RoDsh ha-Shanah to Yom Kip-
The Mishnah was compiled over one hundred and fifty years
pur to avert the “evil decree” by repentance, prayer, and char-
after the destruction of the Second Temple, but at least some
ity. These days, including RoDsh ha-Shanah and Yom
of the material does represent the actual practice in the Sec-
Kippur, are consequently known as the Ten Days of Peni-
ond Temple period. After the destruction of the Temple in
tence, the period for turning to God and for special strictness
70 CE, the day became one of prayer and worship. The refer-
in religious observances. The verse “Seek ye the Lord while
ence to “afflicting the soul” (Lv. 16:29) on this day is under-
he may be found” (Is. 55:6) is applied especially to this time
stood as an injunction to fast. No food or drink is taken from
of the year.
sunset on the ninth of Tishri until nightfall on the tenth.
The central ritual of the RoDsh ha-Shanah festival is the
Other “afflictions” practiced are abstaining from marital rela-
ceremony of blowing the shofar. Although the shofar may
tions, from wearing leather shoes, and from bathing.
be fashioned from the horn of several kosher animals, a ram’s
The ninth of Tishri, the day before Yom Kippur, is de-
horn, reminiscent of the ram sacrificed by Abraham in place
voted to preparation for the fast. On this day, festive meals
of Isaac, is preferred. Many attempts have been made to ex-
are eaten both for the purpose of gaining strength for the fast
plain the significance of the rite; MaimonidesE is typical:
and to celebrate the pardon Yom Kippur brings. In Talmud-
ic teaching, Yom Kippur does not bring atonement for of-
Although it is a divine decree that we blow the shofar
fenses against other human beings unless the victims have
on RoDsh ha-Shanah, a hint of the following idea is con-
pardoned the offenders. It is the practice, consequently, for
tained in the command. It is as if to say: “Awake from
your slumbers, you who have fallen asleep in life, and
people to ask forgiveness of one another on the day before
reflect on your deeds. Remember your Creator. Be not
the fast. The custom of kapparot (“atonements”) is carried
of those who miss reality in the pursuit of shadows, who
out in the morning. The procedure is to take a cockerel, wave
waste their years seeking vain things that neither profit
it around the head three times, and recite “This shall be in-
nor deliver. Look well to your souls, and improve your
stead of me,” after which the cockerel is slaughtered and
actions. Let each of you forsake his evil ways and
eaten. Many medieval authorities disapproved of the practice
thoughts.” (Code of Law, Repentance 3.4)
as a pagan superstition, but it is still followed by some Jews.
The shofar is sounded a number of times during the syna-
Others prefer to use money instead of a cockerel, and then
gogue service. The three basic notes are teqi Eah (a long,
to distribute it to the poor. Another custom still observed by
drawn-out note, signifying hope and triumph), shevarim (a
some is that of malqot (“flagellation”), in which the beadle
broken set of short notes), and teru Eah (a set of even shorter
in the synagogue administers a token beating with a strap as
notes that, like shevarim, represents weeping). First, the
atonement for sin. Many pious Jews, in preparation for the
teqi Eah suggesting firm commitment to God’s laws is sound-
fast, immerse themselves in a miqveh (ritual bath) as a purifi-
ed followed by the two weeping sounds as humanity reflects
cation rite. Before leaving for the synagogue, as the fast be-
on his sins and failings, and finally a second teqi Eah is blown
gins, parents bless their children.
signifying confidence in God’s pardon where there is sincere
In the majority of synagogues, services are several hours
repentance.
long on Yom Kippur night, and continue without pause dur-
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ROSICRUCIANS
7929
ing the day from early morning until the termination of the
ROSICRUCIANS. Although the secrecy pledged by
fast. The evening service begins with the Kol Nidrei (“all
members necessarily limits knowledge of Rosicrucian frater-
vows”), a declaration in Aramaic to the effect that all reli-
nities and their legendary founder, Christian Rosencreutz
gious promises that will be undertaken in the year ahead are
(whose surname means “rose cross”), documents published
hereby declared null and void. This was introduced as a
in the early seventeenth century and specific historical allu-
means of discouraging such vows since a promise made to
sions to the Rosicrucians from that time on both provide
God had dire consequences if broken. Throughout the day
basic information on these fraternities and adumbrate their
hymns and religious poems composed over many centuries
significance within the esoteric traditions that arose in early
are chanted. These consist of praises, supplications, martyr-
modern Europe. The story of Christian Rosencreutz was
ologies, and, especially, confessions of sin. A prominent fea-
promulgated through the publications Fama Fraternitatis
ture of the additional service (Musaf) is the remembering of
(1614) and Confessio Fraternitatis (1615), which recounted
the Temple service on Yom Kippur. At the stage that relates
his life and teachings and described the fraternity he
how the high priest would utter the divine name and the peo-
founded. A third document, the Chymische Hochzeit Chris-
ple would then fall on their faces, the members of the congre-
tiani Rosencreutz (Chemical Wedding; 1616), portrayed an
gation kneel and then prostrate themselves. This is the only
alchemistic initiatory process, the representation of which
occasion nowadays when there is prostration in the syna-
was based in part on the actual wedding of Frederick V, Elec-
gogue. At the late-afternoon service, Jonah is read as a lesson
tor Palatine, and Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I of
that none can escape God’s call and that he has mercy even
England.
on the most wicked if they sincerely repent. The day ends
HISTORY. According to the story recounted in these docu-
with NeEilah (“closing”), a special service signifying that the
ments, Christian Rosencreutz was a German scholar born in
gates of heaven, open to prayer all day, are about to close.
1378. He lived to be 106. One hundred and twenty years
At this particularly solemn time of the day, the worshipers
after his death, his followers, obeying his instructions,
make an urgent effort to be close to God, many standing up-
opened his tomb; they heralded this event as the “opening”
right for the hour or so of this service. As the sun sets, the
of a new era in Europe. The tomb purportedly contained
congregation cries out aloud seven times: “The Lord he is
Rosencreutz’s uncorrupted body, various artifacts, and texts
God.” Then the shofar is sounded to mark the termination
summarizing his teachings. In his quest for wisdom,
of the fast.
Rosencreutz had traveled to the Holy Land, Egypt, Morocco,
White, the color of purity and mercy, is used on Yom
and Spain; his teachings reflected the influences of alchemy,
Kippur for the vestments of the scrolls of the Torah and the
Alexandrian Hermetism, Christian gnosticism, Jewish mysti-
ark in which the scrolls are kept as well as for the coverings
cism (Qabbalah), and the Paracelsian medical tradition. Fol-
in the synagogue. Traditional Jews wear white robes; in fact,
lowing his own preparation and study, Rosencreutz, with
these are shrouds to remind humanity of its mortality. This
three companions, established the Society of the Rose Cross.
tradition serves a main theme of Yom Kippur: human life
This fraternity was to have no other profession than (in the
is frail and uncertain, but one can place trust in God and
manner of Paracelsus) to attend to the sick for free. Members
share in God’s goodness forever. Since the festival of Sukkot
were also required to travel in order to gain and to dissemi-
falls a few days after Yom Kippur, it is advised that as soon
nate knowledge, to report yearly by letter or in person to the
as the worshipers return home from the synagogue and be-
center Rosencreutz had founded (called the Home of the
fore breaking the fast, they should make some small prepara-
Holy Spirit), to wear no distinctive garb, to seek worldly suc-
tion for the erection of the Sukkot booths and so proceed
cessors, and to employ the rose cross as their seal and symbol.
immediately after the day of pardon to do a good deed.
Significantly, both the publication of the aforemen-
SEE ALSO Atonement, article on Jewish Concepts.
tioned Rosicrucian documents and the purported opening
of Rosencreutz’s tomb occured in the early seventeenth cen-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tury, thus placing Rosicrucianism directly in the context of
Norman H. Snaith’s The Jewish New Year Festival (London, 1947)
Reformation and Counter-Reformation currents. Further,
considers the views of the myth and ritual school that RoDsh
the documents originally appeared in Bohemia, which at the
ha-Shanah had its origin in enthronement ceremonies. Two
time was a haven for alchemists, freethinkers, millenarians,
useful little books of my own are A Guide to Rosh Ha-Shanah
and adherents of diverse religious traditions. The authorship
(London, 1959) and A Guide to Yom Kippur (London,
1957). A good survey of the liturgical themes of RoDsh ha-
of the three key texts has been attributed to Johann Valentin
Shanah and Yom Kippur is Max Arzt’s Justice and Mercy
Andreae (1586–1654), a Lutheran theologian and mystic.
(New York, 1963). The anthology by S. Y. Agnon has been
Andreae later described the history of the Rosicrucians up to
translated into English as Days of Awe (New York, 1948).
his time as pure fabrication; at their publication, however,
Two anthologies with comprehensive bibliographies are
his texts met with a receptive and enthusiastic audience.
Philip Goodman’s The Rosh Hashanah Anthology (Philadel-
With the collapse in 1620 of the brief reign in Bohemia of
phia, 1970) and The Yom Kippur Anthology (Philadelphia,
Frederick and Elizabeth and the onset of the Thirty Years
1971).
War, Rosicrucianism became associated with Protestantism
LOUIS JACOBS (1987)
and “heretical teachings.” As part of their campaign against
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7930
ROSICRUCIANS
Rosicrucianism, the Jesuits even penned their own Rosicru-
crucian “science” comprised a system of mathematics and
cian-style document, the Rosa Jesuitica (c. 1620).
mechanics for the lower world, celestial mathematics for the
higher world, and angelic conjuration for the supercelestial
During the seventeenth century, Rosicrucian figures
world. In principle, the angelic sphere could be penetrated
such as the “Great Hermeticist” Michael Maier (1568–1622)
by the use of Rosicrucian technique, and, thus, the essence
and the physician Robert Fludd (1574–1637) were instru-
of all reality was graspable. The initiates were offered insight
mental in the spread of Rosicrucian thought and influence
into the nature of all life. The Hermetic axiom “As above,
on the European continent and in England, respectively. The
so below,” typical of Rosicrucian teaching, had a profound
antiquarian Elias Ashmole (1617–1692) is believed to have
effect on early modern scientific thought, and Rosicrucian-
brought the Rosicrucian current into speculative Freemason-
ism—like other occult paths—has been credited with having
ry. What linked these writers, as well as numerous minor fig-
helped to prepare the way for the rise of modern science.
ures, was less an identifiable Rosicrucian brotherhood than
an adherence to Rosicrucian beliefs. The claims of Descartes
The Chymische Hochzeit depicts the initiatory aspects of
and Leibniz—that, the secrecy of the Rosicrucian order not-
Rosicrucianism. Echoing themes of the Fama and the Confes-
withstanding, their efforts to meet a live Rosicrucian were in
sio, its story recounts Christian Rosencreutz’s participation
vain—support the contention that Rosicrucianism existed
in the celebration of a royal wedding. Called on the eve of
mainly as a religious and intellectual approach to life rather
Easter from his preparation for Communion, Rosencreutz
than as an actual association. In this connection, the question
journeys to a magical castle full of treasures. There he joins
of whether Francis Bacon was a Rosicrucian is unimportant,
the wedding party, and over the course of the Christian Holy
for he certainly was influenced by, and a participant in, the
Week he views many marvels and becomes initiated into chi-
Rosicrucian trends affecting European intellectual life.
valric orders. This romance stands as a spiritual allegory both
of Rosencreutz’s inner transformation and of the transforma-
Following a period of relative quiescence in the eigh-
tion of the Rosicrucian elect.
teenth and early nineteenth centuries, Rosicrucianism was
revived. The Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, founded in the
The esoteric dimension of the transformation is ren-
latter part of the nineteenth century by Robert Wentworth
dered in alchemical symbols. Union of bride and bridegroom
Little (d. 1878), played an important role in the renewal and
represents a mystical marriage of the soul, and this spiritual
spread of Rosicrucianism. This was not, however, the only
image is bound to an alchemic metaphor of elemental fusion.
strain. Here, polemic concerns of divers Rosicrucian groups
Likewise, the theme of spiritual death and rebirth is tied to
obscure the already uncertain history of interactions among
the alchemy of elemental transmutation. The symbolic com-
European currents and the introduction of Rosicrucianism
ponents of the rose cross may further evidence the impor-
into America. In the mid-1980s, two major Rosicrucian so-
tance of the alchemical tradition to Rosicrucian spiritual dis-
cieties exist in the United States: the Society of Rosicrucians,
cipline: Within the alchemical lexicon, ros, or dew, is the
or Societas Rosicruciana in America, founded in New York
solvent of gold, and crux, the cross, is the equivalent of light.
City and presently located in Kingston, New York, and the
The emblem, however, clearly draws on other symbolic
Ancient and Mystical Order of Rosae Crucis, based in San
traditions as well. Rosicrucianism’s roots in chivalric tradi-
Jose, California. The Societas Rosicruciana publishes the
tions are revealed in certain aspects of the rose cross. The
Mercury quarterly; the first issue appeared in 1916. The An-
“chemical wedding” leads to Christian Rosencreutz’s initia-
cient and Mystical Order issues the Rosicrucian Digest, which
tion as a Red Cross knight, and the initiation he experiences
began publication as the Triangle in 1921.
in the allegorical tale is similar to that actually undergone by
In addition to the establishment of Rosicrucian organi-
Frederick V (at the time of his marriage) into the English
zations, the late nineteenth century witnessed Rosicrucian-
Order of the Garter, whose heraldric symbol is the Red Cross
ism’s strong influence upon Western esotericism. Rosicru-
of Saint George.
cian traditions took form in the Order of the Golden Dawn,
The symbol of the rose and the cross also evokes mysti-
a Hermetic society whose initiates practiced a spiritual disci-
cal images of the rose of the Virgin and the death of Christ.
pline that they claimed was based upon principles of occult
(Coincidentally, the rose cross was one of Luther’s emblems.)
science and the magic of Hermes Trismegistos. At various
For contemporary Rosicrucians, the interpretation of the
times, the order numbered William Butler Yeats and Aleister
rose cross centers in the maxim “No cross, no crown,” that
Crowley among its members. Rosicrucianism’s influence was
is, the belief that one comes to the rose (signifying the divine)
also felt in the artworks of an idealist renaissance fostered by
through mortal suffering.
the occult aestheticism of Joséphin Peladan’s Salons de la
Rose + Croix in Paris and in the work of Rudolf Steiner and
SEE ALSO Anthroposophy; Freemasons; Paracelsus; Steiner,
the Anthroposophical Society.
Rudolf.
DOCTRINES. From its beginnings, Rosicrucianism spread a
message of general reformation, preached a new enlighten-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ment, promised a new Paradise, and taught a combination
Arthur E. Waite’s Real History of the Rosicrucians (London, 1887)
of religious illumination, evangelical piety, and magic. Rosi-
is the standard account of Rosicrucianism. The Secret Doc-
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ROUSSEAU, JEAN-JACQUES
7931
trine of the Rosicrucians (Chicago, 1918), by Magus Incogni-
The vicar’s views are unquestionably Rousseau’s own.
to (pseudonym for Clifford Edward Brooksmith), is a parti-
Of equal importance with his positive beliefs is his rejection
san study of teachings and symbols. The best recent account,
of, as unanswerable and, practically speaking, unimportant,
particularly of the cultural, intellectual, and political milieu
many of the traditional central questions of metaphysics and
in which Rosicrucianism emerged, is Frances A. Yates’s The
theology, such as the meaning of “creation,” the alleged eter-
Rosicrucian Enlightenment (London, 1972). This book draws
nal punishment of the wicked, and the status of “revelation.”
upon the full range of recent scholarship. A Christian
Although Rousseau, an admirer of the scriptural Jesus, con-
Rosenkreutz Anthology, edited by Paul M. Allen and Carlo
Pietzner (Blauvelt, N.Y., 1968), offers a useful compilation
sidered himself a Christian, he refused, consistently with his
of traditional texts as well as essays by Rudolf Steiner and
natural religion, to endorse claims that Jesus’ alleged miracles
others associated with Anthroposophy. Francis King’s Magic
were proof of his divinity.
(London, 1975) explores Rosicrucian influences on Western
These religious views were central to Rousseau’s entire
magic.
outlook. In his autobiographical Confessions (completed in
New Sources
1770 but published posthumously, in two parts, in 1782 and
A˚kerman, Susanna. Rose Cross over the Baltic: The Spread of Rosi-
1789) and elsewhere, he speaks rather positively of his early
crucianism in Northern Europe. Boston, Mass, 1998.
moral upbringing in Calvinist Geneva, although he had left
Melton, J. Gordon, ed. Rosicrucianism in America. New York,
there at the age of sixteen in search of wider horizons. Within
1990.
a brief time, he had declared himself a convert to Catholi-
Mulvey Roberts, Marie. Gothic Immortals: The Fiction of the
cism in Turin. He next established some reputation as a
Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross. New York, 1990.
music teacher and theorist, traveling to various Swiss and
McKintosh, Christopher. The Rose Cross and the Age of Reason:
French cities before settling in Paris. There he made the ac-
Eighteenth-Century Rosicrucianism in Central Europe and Its
quaintance of Thérèse Levasseur, a working-class woman
Relationship to the Enlightenment. New York, 1992.
who became his lifelong companion, and of the social circle
McKintosh, Christopher. The Rosicrucians: The History, Mytholo-
surrounding the philosophes, notably Diderot. He eventually
gy, and Rituals of an Esoteric Order. York Beach, Me., 1997.
contributed to their Encyclopedia.
HARRY WELLS FOGARTY (1987)
An incident in the autumn of 1749, known as “the illu-
Revised Bibliography
mination of Vincennes,” shaped Rousseau’s subsequent ca-
reer. Stopping along the road to rest, he glanced at a journal
announcement of a prize essay contest on the question of
ROUSSEAU, JEAN-JACQUES (1712–1778) was a
whether the renaissance of the sciences and arts had contrib-
Geneva-born author, social and educational theorist, and ad-
uted to the purification of morals. The insight that, on the
vocate of a nondogmatic religion of nature. Rousseau was a
contrary, civilization and progress had brought about degen-
prolific writer; however, his mature religious thought is en-
eration from the more natural earlier state of humanity
capsulated in a comparatively short section, “The Profession
struck him forcefully. His Discourse on the Sciences and Arts
of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar,” of Émile (1762), his treatise
(1750), which elaborates on the consequences of this degen-
in support of experientially based educational methods. The
eration, won the prize. In his Discourse on the Origins of In-
straightforward, somewhat serene tone of this famous state-
equality (1755), he imaginatively reconstructs humanity’s de-
ment stands in marked contrast to the complex, turbulent
velopment from a happy but unenlightened early state of
pattern of its author’s life history.
nature through successive stages leading to the establishment
of private property, government, and ultimately despotism.
Amid the natural beauties of the Alps, Rousseau’s vicar,
But he also insists that an attempt to return to the primitive
a simple, unpretentious country priest, recounts his efforts
state would be unrealistic. His Social Contract, published in
to resolve his doubts, stemming from the diversity of com-
the same year (1762) as Émile, aims to show how a free com-
peting beliefs. Dissatisfied with the philosophers, of whom
munity structured in accordance with the general will of its
he says he is not one, he has found a basis for certitude and
citizens could claim moral legitimacy. It concludes with the
optimism in his own experience. This has convinced him,
chapter “On Civil Religion,” in which Rousseau proposes to
ultimately, of the presence of order in the universe, which
combine the principles of natural religion with the state’s
is only explicable by the existence of a powerful, intelligent,
need for religious reinforcement: a new doctrine affirming
and beneficent God. He further asserts the immortality of
the “sacredness of the social contract and the laws” is the
the immaterial soul and the natural goodness of human be-
result.
ings. Evil stems from ignoring the “heavenly voice” of con-
science, which teaches a sociable sympathy for others and re-
Rousseau’s work of 1762, particularly the “Profession
jects self-interest as the basis of right conduct. The vicar
of Faith,” was attacked by Catholics, Protestants, and philo-
concludes that the adherent of natural religion may in good
sophes alike. He was forced to flee France to avoid arrest and
conscience follow the prescribed religious customs of the ju-
was also condemned by the authorities of Geneva, whose cit-
risdiction in which he or she happens to live, as he himself
izenship and religion he had proudly readopted eight years
does in Roman Catholic Savoy.
earlier. Subsequent forced displacements and isolation led
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7932
ROY, RAM MOHAN
him to suspect the existence of a large conspiracy against
at that time. At Patna, Roy became acquainted with Islamic
him. But by the time of his death, Rousseau’s ideas—
thought, particularly Islamic monotheism and views on
especially, perhaps, as popularized in his romantic novel, The
Hindu image worship, which was to have a lasting influence
New Heloise (1761)—had won many adherents. His name
on his own religious beliefs. His new ideas and subsequent
later came to be associated with the French Revolution;
criticism of Hinduism caused such conflict with his parents
Robespierre was a great admirer of Rousseau’s, as was Kant,
that he left their home to travel around northern India, per-
who took Rousseau’s ideal of societal self-government—
haps venturing as far as Tibet, to study the religions of those
obedience to a law that one has prescribed for oneself—as
areas firsthand. Encouraged by his mother, he then settled
his formula for moral autonomy.
down in Banaras (Varanasi) for a few years to study Sanskrit
and the Hindu scriptures. At this time he also began to study
Subsequent uses and interpretations of Rousseau’s
English, which eventually enabled him to secure an appoint-
thought have been equally disparate. Was he a rationalist or
ment in Bengal under the East India Company in 1803.
a proponent of the purest sentimentality? A totalitarian or
a democrat? A conservative or a protosocialist? A sympathetic
Success as an administrator and an assured income from
portrayer of female heroines or a blatant sexist? A Pelagian,
landed estates permitted Roy to retire at the age of forty-two
a Deist in spite of himself, or a consistent exponent of the
and settle permanently in Calcutta, then the political and in-
fundamental ideas of the Reformation? Textual evidence ex-
tellectual capital of India. There he launched an active career
ists for these and many other incompatible, ardently defend-
calling for reforms in Indian religion and society. There too
ed interpretations of Rousseau. What is correct in any case
he began to develop close ties with the Unitarian missionaries
is that Rousseau had a keen sense for dialectical paradoxes
of Calcutta. Roy was attracted to the Unitarian doctrine of
in the human condition, and that he was a pioneer in explor-
divine unity, and for a time (1824–1828) he regularly at-
ing the complex tensions and ambivalences of the human
tended Unitarian services and considered himself a “Hindu
psyche, beginning with his own.
Unitarian.” Later, he and his followers rejected Unitarianism
as unsuited to their views and principles; in 1828 they
BIBLIOGRAPHY
founded their own movement, which came to be known as
One complete English translation of Émile in current circulation
the Bra¯hmo Sama¯j, a society organized to provide for the
is Barbara Foxley’s (1903; reprint, London, 1966), and there
proper worship of brahman, whom Roy considered to be the
is another of the Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar,
one true God of the Hindu scriptures. In 1830 he set sail for
translated by Arthur H. Beattie as Creed of a Priest of Savoy
England to realize a long-held dream of visiting Europe, the
(New York, 1956). Multiple translations of other major
land of the scientific rationalism to which he had become so
Rousseauean writings exist, the most numerous being those
attracted. He was, unfortunately, never to return to India,
of The Social Contract. Particularly distinguished, in terms of
for his life was cut short by a serious illness; he died at Bristol
scholarship, is Roger D. Masters and Judith R. Masters edi-
on 22 September 1833.
tion of The First and Second Discourses (New York, 1964).
Ronald Grimsley has edited a collection entitled Religious
Roy’s first work of major importance was the Tuh:fat
Writings (Oxford, 1970). Among the numerous secondary
al-muwa¯h:h:id¯ın (A gift for the monotheists). This work, writ-
works, Grimsley’s Rousseau and the Religious Quest (Oxford,
ten in Persian and Arabic at an early date but not published
1968) is perhaps the most useful introduction to this topic
until 1804, argues that, by natural reason, all human beings
in English, although it cannot compare in comprehensive-
ness to Pierre Maurice Masson’s La Religion de Jean-Jacques
believe in one being who is the source and governor of cre-
Rousseau, 3 vols. in 1 (1916; reprint, Geneva, 1970). Among
ation, but by habit and training at the hands of deceitful reli-
more general English-language studies, Charles Hendel’s
gious leaders, they stray from this virtuous belief. In 1815
two-volume Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Moralist (1934; reprint,
Roy published a major study of Hindu Vedanta,
New York, 1962), remains an especially lively and readable
Veda¯ntagrantha (also abridged as Veda¯ntasa¯ra), and from
classic.
1816 to 1819 he published translations of five major
Upanis:ads in both Bengali and English. He hoped to show
WILLIAM LEON MCBRIDE (1987)
by these efforts that the belief in and worship of the one
brahman was the only sensible religious practice for Hindus.
Roy published The Precepts of Jesus in 1820, which presented
ROY, RAM MOHAN (1772–1833), important early
Christianity as a simple, virtuous moral code, avoiding men-
nineteenth-century reformer of Indian religion and society,
tion of miracles and opposing the doctrine of the Trinity in
founder of the Bra¯hmo Sama¯j. Roy’s lasting influence has
favor of the unity of God. This publication upset both the
earned him the epithet “father of modern India.”
orthodox Hindu community and the Baptist missionaries of
Calcutta.
Ram Mohan Roy was born into an orthodox Hindu
brahman family on May 22, 1772, in Radhanagar, a small
The two primary tenets of Roy’s religious reform were
town in modern West Bengal. He was sent at an early age
the establishment of a Hindu monotheism and the abolish-
to Patna, then a center of Islamic learning, to study Persian
ment of what he called Hindu “idolatry.” He wrote in his
and Arabic, the languages of social and political advancement
English introduction to the Veda¯ntasa¯ra:
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R:TA
7933
My constant reflections on the inconvenient or, rather,
cutta, 1974). Two recent biographies are B. N. Dasgupta’s
injurious rites introduced by the peculiar practice of
The Life and Times of Rajah Rammohun Roy (New Delhi,
Hindoo idolatry, which, more than any other pagan
1980) and M. C. Kotnala’s Raja Ram Mohun Roy and Indian
worship destroys the texture of society, together with
Awakening (New Delhi, 1975). The English Works of Raja
compassion for my countrymen, have compelled me to
Rammohun Roy, 6 vols., edited by Kalidas Nag and Debajyoti
use every possible effort to awaken them from their
Burman (Calcutta, 1945–1951), is the sourcebook of Roy’s
dream of error; and by making them acquainted with
works for the English reader. A good study of Roy’s religious
their scriptures, enable them to contemplate, with true
ideas is Ajit Kumar Ray’s The Religious Ideas of Rammohun
devotion, the unity and omnipresence of nature’s God.
Roy (New Delhi, 1976). For the lasting influence of Ram
(de Bary, 1958, p. 575)
Mohan Roy and the Bra¯hmo Sama¯j, see David Kopf’s The
Roy believed that the pure Hinduism of an earlier age had
Brahmo Samaj and the Shaping of the Modern Indian Mind
become encrusted with degrading customs, of which it had
(Princeton, 1979).
to be purged. Although his appreciation of monotheism
Extracts from Roy’s introduction to the Veda¯ntasa¯ra, including
began with his exposure to Islamic thought and was strength-
the quotation that appears above, can be found in Sources of
ened by Christian Unitarianism, Roy was born a Hindu and
the Indian Tradition, edited by Wm. Theodore de Bary (New
York, 1958), pp. 573–575.
would not be satisfied until he had found approval for his
monotheistic ideas in the Hindu scriptures. He found this
New Sources
confirmation in his study of Vedantic thought, particularly
Datta, Bhabatosha. Resurgent Bengal: Rammohun, Bankimchandra,
that of the Upanis:ads. The Upanis:adic brahman, according
Rabindranath. Calcutta, 2000.
to Roy, is not a static absolute but rather the sole “author
Mazumder, Durga Prasad. Dimensions of Political Culture in Ben-
and governor of the universe.” As for Hindu image worship,
gal, 1814–1857: With Special Reference to Raja Rammohun
he contended that the scriptures recommend it only for the
Roy. Calcutta, 1993.
feebleminded and he therefore declared it inferior and un-
Mitra, Saroj Mohan, ed. The Golden Book of Rammohun Roy. Cal-
worthy of practice.
cutta, 1997.
Much of what Roy criticized in Hinduism was precisely
Robertson, Bruce Carlisle. Raja Rammohan Ray: The Father of
what was condemned by the Christian missionaries in Cal-
Modern India. Delhi, 1995.
cutta. His reform program had two essential purposes: to
DAVID L. HABERMAN (1987)
convince the Hindus that many of their beliefs and practices
Revised Bibliography
were not sanctioned by their own scriptures and to demon-
strate both to the adherents of other religions and to the Brit-
ish rulers that, contrary to common understanding, the
R:TA
Hindu scriptures did not advocate polytheism and idolatry
(Skt., “cosmic order”) represents the Vedic notion of
but in fact contained a lofty and rational message. These ef-
an impersonal and powerful force upon which the ethical
forts, of course, caused deep resentment and outrage among
and physical worlds are based, through which they are inex-
many orthodox Hindus.
tricably united, and by which they are maintained. R:ta is the
universal truth that gives effective strength to Vedic ritual
Roy also campaigned vigorously for certain social re-
practices, that serves as the foundation for proper social orga-
forms. He promoted modern education and struggled cease-
nization, and that preexists even the Vedic gods themselves,
lessly for women’s rights. Roy’s influence was particularly
who find in it the very source and essence of their power. In
conspicuous in the official British proscription of sat¯ı (the
many ways, r:ta stands as the Vedic antecedent for the notion
self-immolation of a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre)
of dharma (the established order of things, proper behavior,
in 1829.
fitting truth), a concept of central importance not only to
Many scholars place Roy at the head of a reformation
the various forms of Hinduism but also to the teachings of
of Indian religion and society that was to change Indian cul-
Buddhism, Jainism, and other South Asian religious systems.
ture significantly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The term r:ta is based on the Sanskrit verbal root r: (“go,
The most important and lasting event in his career was the
move”), which itself reflects the Indo-European verbal root
establishment of the Bra¯hmo Sama¯j. Through this religious
*ar (“fit together properly”). Thus r:ta signifies the cosmic
society, which nurtured such figures as Rabindranath Tagore
law that allows the universe to run smoothly, the dynamic
and Keshab Chandra Sen, Roy’s continuing influence was as-
structure in which every object and all actions have their
sured. Roy shaped the Bra¯hmo Sama¯j with his ideas, and
proper place and in which all parts support and strengthen
many scholars will argue that it was the Bra¯hmo Sama¯j that
the whole in a flowing symbiosis. The word is related
shaped modern Indian culture.
through *ar to the Greek harmos, from which the English
S
harmony derives, and to the Latin ars (“skill, craft”), the
EE ALSO Bra¯hmo Sama¯j.
source of the English art and artist. Accordingly, the term r:ta
BIBLIOGRAPHY
connotes the experience of a “finely tuned” universe whose
A reliable source for the life of Ram Mohan Roy is the first chapter
laws can give creative power to those gods and cultic special-
of Sivanath Sastri’s History of the Bra¯hmo Sama¯j, 2d ed. (Cal-
ists who understand its structures.
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7934
RUDRA
The R:gveda (c. 1200 BCE) commonly assigns to the gods
howler.” The root rud also connotes “red” (as in English
such epithets as “he who possesses r:ta,” “he who grows ac-
ruddy), suggesting that the earliest concept of the divinity
cording to r:ta,” or “he who is born of r:ta,” descriptions rep-
was inspired by red storm clouds or the sound of thunder.
resenting the Vedic notion that the gods derive their strength
Rudra has no correlates in other Indo-European myth-
from their adherence to cosmic law. If they—or humans, for
ologies.
that matter—were to go against the structures of r:ta, they
would then be said to be anr:ta, a common synonym for
Some scholars believe that the earliest prototype of
vr:jina (“crooked, wrong”) and even asatya (“untrue”). Thus
Rudra may be traced to an Indus Valley seal in which four
even the gods must obey the laws of r:ta. The principles of
animals surround a seated figure. This seal, and some Vedic
r:ta (like those of the Zand Avestan asha, a Zoroastrian notion
texts, suggest Rudra’s connection with animals. As the Lord
to which r:ta is linguistically and conceptually related) func-
of Animals (Pa´supati), he is their protector as well as their
tion in eternal opposition to any principle of disjunctive or
destroyer, an ambivalence common in many mythologies.
disintegrative power (druh; Av., druj) as well as to those per-
The animal most frequently associated with Rudra is the
sonal demons and humans who seek to disrupt impersonal
bull, a symbol of rain and fertility. Typically, the figure in
cosmic order by means of harmful magical practices (ya¯tu).
the Indus Valley seals is seated in a posture later associated
with yogic meditation, leading some to postulate a non-
Throughout the Vedic period r:ta was understood to be
Aryan origin of his post-Vedic role as the ascetic mendicant
an impersonal law and was never personified or hypostatized
par excellence.
into a deity. Characteristically, the primary agent or guardian
of the laws of r:ta is the god Varuna, who—in Vedic times
Rudra’s wife is Pr:´sni, whose name denotes a leather
at least—was an ethical sky god whose omniscient judgment
water bag, clearly an association with rainwater. This associa-
the Vedic cult admired and feared.
tion is strengthened by references in the R:gveda to Rudra as
the bringer of fertilizing rain. Rudra is invoked in only four
As the impersonal source of cosmic and ethical order,
hymns of the R:gveda, although he also figures in the later
r:ta includes important creative aspects. The gods find their
Sam:hita¯s and in the Bra¯hman:as. The R:gvedic hymns de-
ability to create the world precisely in their ability to recog-
scribe him as a well-dressed god riding in a chariot, carrying
nize the principles of r:ta. These creative dimensions appear
a bow and arrows. These hymns seek to avert the wrath of
frequently in Vedic salutatory depictions of natural process-
a fearsome and destructive god who hurls his lethal arrows
es. Thus the wonderful facts that the sun rises in the east
at random upon men and beasts. In addition to the wind
every morning and that water runs downhill are trustworthy
gods, Va¯yu-Va¯ta¯h:, Rudra’s Vedic associates are the Rudras
cosmic events because they reflect the truth of cosmic harmo-
and the Maruts, who share his benign and chthonic traits re-
ny (see R:gveda 1.105.12). Furthermore, Vedic tradition held
spectively. The word marut, derived from the root mr: (“to
that the very structures of r:ta allow the human community
die”), seems to signify a spirit of the dead. Cultic worship
access to the powers that drive the universe itself. This is
of Rudra also confirms his close connection with Yama, the
most apparent in the performance of the ritual: since proper
god of death, with spirits of the dead, and with the dark god-
cultic activity embodies the structures and processes of cos-
dess Nirr:ti. His oblations and the venue and manner of offer-
mic law, the incorrect performance of the ritual would signal
ing them are characteristic of a chthonic god. Rudra’s later
the collapse of cosmic order and would be as devastating to
Vedic consort was Rudra¯n:¯ı, or M¯ıdhus:¯ı. The latter, like
the Vedic community as it would be if the sun were not to
Pr:´sni, signifies Rudra’s function as the “pourer,” and indi-
rise or rivers not to flow.
rectly connects him with fertility, a trait incipient from the
Indus Valley period. This perhaps explains the worship of
SEE ALSO Dharma, article on Hindu Dharma.
Rudra in the phallic emblem, which later almost completely
replaced his anthropomorphic representation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The most complete study of r:ta continues to be Heinrich Lüders’s
In the Vedic literature Rudra is intimately connected
Varun:a, vol. 2, Varun:a und das R:ta (Göttingen, 1959).
with Agni and Soma. Indeed, in his power, brilliance, and
Shorter discussions may be found in Hermann Oldenberg’s
destructive capacity he is almost an alter ego of Agni. Like
Die Religion des Veda (Berlin, 1894), pp. 195–221; Edward
Soma, he dwells on a mountaintop, especially Mount
Washburn Hopkins’s Ethics of India (New Haven, 1924),
Mu¯javat, the abode of Soma in later literature. But from the
pp. 2ff., 40–44; and F. Max Müller’s Lectures on the Origin
Yajurveda onward, a syncretism begins in which the R:gvedic
and Growth of Religion (London, 1879), pp. 237–250.
Rudra merges with other gods evidently of indigenous ori-
W
gin, reflecting the fusion of Aryan and non-Aryan peoples.
ILLIAM K. MAHONY (1987)
In that text Rudra is invoked as the god of burglars, highway-
men, night rovers, and cheats. His benign characteristics per-
sist, but dark and malevolent traits now appear, and his
RUDRA is a Vedic god and precursor of the great Hindu
chthonic character is henceforth established. In later Vedic
divinity S´iva. The name Rudra derives from the verbal root
literature Rudra assumes such new names as Bhava, S´arva,
rud (“to howl, to roar”), from which he takes the epithet “the
Ugra, Maha¯deva, and S´iva. Some of these figures are clearly
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RU
¯ M¯I, JALA¯L AL-D¯IN
7935
of regional origin, while others are still unspecified but may
not “Ru¯m¯ı,” as he became known after settling in Anatolia,
be indigenous gods of non-Vedic origin. Both the Yajurveda
or Ru¯m. Although the date of his birth seems well estab-
and the Bra¯hman:as record the progress of Rudra’s syncretism
lished, he may have been born some years earlier. His father,
with other gods until he finally merges into S´iva, his mytho-
BahaD al-D¯ın Walad, a noted mystical theologian, left the
logical successor. The complex “Rudra-Siva” is thus often
city some time before the Mongol invasion of 1220 and took
used by students of the tradition to designate the mythologi-
his family via Iran to Syria, where Jala¯l al-D¯ın studied Arabic
cal and cultic fusion of S´iva and his Vedic precursor.
history and literature. They then proceeded to Anatolia, an
Because of the fairly early syncretism with other indige-
area that had not yet been reached by the Mongol hordes and
nous regional and tribal gods, Rudra becomes a conglomer-
thus offered shelter to numerous mystics and scholars from
ate of disparate traits. His evident ambivalence toward the
the eastern lands of Islam. They enjoyed the liberal patronage
sacrifice bears testimony to this. In the subsequent S´aiva
of the Seljuk Sult:a¯n EAla¯D al-D¯ın Kayko¯ba¯d. After Baha¯D
mythological cycle, the sacrifice flees from him, or he is de-
al-D¯ın’s family settled in Laranda (now Karaman), Jala¯l
nied a share in Daks:a’s sacrifice. Infuriated, he destroys the
al-D¯ın married, and in 1226 his first son, Sult:a¯n Walad, was
sacrifice, killing men and injuring gods. These anti-Vedic
born. The aged BahaD al-D¯ın was invited to Konya (ancient
traits continue to multiply until the R:gvedic god who grant-
Iconium), the capital of the Anatolian Seljuks, to teach in
ed boons, forgave sins, and blessed his devotees assumes a
one of the city’s numerous theological colleges. After his
dual personality combining benign and malevolent traits.
death in early 1231, Jala¯l al-D¯ın succeeded him in the chair.
S
A disciple of Ru¯m¯ı’s father, Burha¯n al-D¯ın Muh:aiqqiq,
EE ALSO S
´iva.
reached Konya in the early 1230s and introduced Jala¯l
B
al-D¯ın into the mystical life and to the ideas of his father,
IBLIOGRAPHY
Agarwala, Vasudeva S. S´iva Maha¯deva, the Great God. Varanasi,
whose Ma Ea¯rif, a collection of sermons and a spiritual diary,
1966.
were later to form an important source of inspiration for
Bhandari, V. S. “Rudra as the Supreme God in the Yajurveda.”
Ru¯m¯ı. He also studied the Persian poetry of H:akim Sana¯D¯ı
Nagpur University Journal 16 (October 1965): 37–42.
of Ghazna (d. 1131), the first poet to use the form of
mathnav¯ı, “rhyming couplets,” for mystical instruction.
Bhattacharji, Sukumari. Indian Theogony: A Comparative Study of
Indian Mythology from the Vedas to the Puranas. Cambridge
Ru¯m¯ı may have visited Syria in the 1230s, but nothing defi-
and New York, 1970. Includes chapters on Rudra-S´iva.
nite is known. His teacher later left Konya for Kayseri (Cae-
sarea), where he died about 1242.
Dange, Sadashiv Ambadas. “Tryambaka.” Journal of the Oriental
Institute (University of Baroda) 19 (1969): 223–227.
Shams al-D¯ın. After EAla¯D al-D¯ın’s death in 1236, the
Machek, Václav. “Origin of the Gods Rudra and Pu¯s:an.” Archiv
Mongols invaded Anatolia, and the internal situation deteri-
orientalni 22 (1954): 544–562. A perceptive article.
orated owing to the incompetence of his successors. In the
Mayrhofer, Manfred. “Der Gottesname Rudra.” Zeitschrift der
midst of the upheavals and troubles in eastern and central
Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 103 (1953): 140–
Anatolia Jala¯l al-D¯ın underwent an experience that trans-
150. An original article on the import of the god’s name.
formed him into a mystical poet. In October 1244 he met
O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. Ascetism and Eroticism in the Mythol-
the wandering dervish Shams al-D¯ın, “Sun of Religion,” of
ogy of S´iva. London, 1973.
Tabriz, and, if the sources are to be believed, the two mystics
Pisani, Vittore. “Und dennoch Rudra ‘Der Rote.’” Zeitschrift der
spent days and weeks together without eating, drinking, or
Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 104 (1954): 136–
experiencing any bodily needs. The discussions of Ru¯m¯ı and
139. Seeks to trace the god’s identity from the derivation of
Shams, who must have been about the same age, led Jala¯l
his name.
al-D¯ın into the depths of mystical love but also caused anger
S
and jealousy among his students and his family. Shams left
UKUMARI BHATTACHARJI (1987)
Konya, and in the pangs of separation, Mawla¯na¯ suddenly
turned into a poet who sang of his love and longing while
whirling around to the sound of music. He himself could not
RU
¯ M¯I, JALA¯L AL-D¯IN (AH 604–672/1207–1273
understand the secret of this transformation and expressed
CE), Muslim mystic and poet. No S:u¯f¯ı poet has exerted a
his feelings in ever-new verses, declaring that it was the spirit
vaster influence on Muslim East and Christian West than
of the beloved that made him sing, not his own will. There
Jala¯l al-D¯ın, called Mawla¯na¯, or Mawlaw¯ı, “our master.” His
was no question of seeking a fitting rhyme or meter—they
Persian works are considered the most eloquent expression
came to him spontaneously, triggered by a casual sound, a
of Islamic mystical thought, and his long mystico-didactic
word, or a sight. The poems of this early period, which excel
poem, the Mathnav¯ı, has been called “the QurDa¯n in the Per-
in their daring paradoxes and sometimes eccentric imagery,
sian tongue” by the great fifteenth-century poet Ja¯m¯ı of
do not mention the name of the beloved but allude to it with
Herat.
frequent mention of the sun, which became Ru¯m¯ı’s favorite
LIFE. Muh:ammad Jala¯l al-D¯ın was born in Balkh, now Af-
symbol to express the beautiful and destructive but always
ghanistan; the Afghans therefore prefer to call him “Balkh¯ı,”
transforming power of love. In addition to classical Persian,
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RU
¯ M¯I, JALA¯L AL-D¯IN
he sometimes used the Turkish or Greek vernacular as it was
1262, when H:usa¯m al-D¯ın was designated as Ru¯m¯ı’s spiri-
spoken in Konya.
tual successor (khal¯ıfah), and continued almost to the mas-
ter’s death on December 17, 1273. His death was lamented
When news reached Konya that Shams al-D¯ın had been
not only by the Muslims but also by the numerous Chris-
seen in Damascus, Mawla¯na¯’s elder son, Sult:a¯n Walad, trav-
tians and Jews of Konya, for he had friendly relations with
eled there and succeeded in bringing his father’s friend back.
all of them (and his verse at times shows a remarkable aware-
As Sult:a¯n Walad says in his poetical account of his father’s
ness of Christian thought and ritual).
life, “They fell at each other’s feet, and no one knew who was
the lover and who the beloved.” This time, Shams stayed in
H:usa¯m al-D¯ın, his first successor, died in 1284; then
Mawla¯na¯’s home, married to one of the young women there,
Sult:a¯n Walad, the obedient son, assumed the leadership of
and the intense spiritual conversation between the two mys-
the disciples and shaped them into a S:u¯f¯ı fraternity proper.
tics continued. Again jealousy built up, and Shams disap-
He institutionalized the mystical dance, sama¯ E, in the form
peared in December 1248. It seems certain that he was assas-
that has remained current through the centuries. By the time
sinated with the connivance of Mawla¯na¯’s younger son.
he died in 1312, the Mevlevi order (called Whirling Dervish-
Ru¯m¯ı knew what had happened but refused to believe it; his
es in the West) was firmly established and continued to exert
poetry expressed the certitude that “the sun cannot die,” and
great influence on Turkish culture, particularly music and
he even went to Syria to seek the lost friend. But eventually
poetry. The order was abolished, like all mystical fraternities,
he “found him in himself, radiant as the moon,” as Sult:a¯n
in 1925 by Kemal Atatürk; but since 1954 the anniversary
Walad says, and most of his lyrical poetry came to be written
of Ru¯m¯ı’s death is again being celebrated in Konya, and the
in the name of Shams al-D¯ın.
performers of the sama¯ E have toured Western countries
Friends and disciples. After reaching complete annihi-
under the label of a “tourist attraction.”
lation (fana¯ D) in Shams, who had claimed to have attained
WORKS. Mawla¯na¯’s writings can be divided into two distinct
the stage of being “the Beloved” and who appeared as the
parts: the lyrical poetry that was born out of his encounter
true interpreter of the secrets of the Prophet, Mawla¯na¯ found
with Shams and is collected in the more than thirty-six thou-
spiritual peace in his friendship with S:ala¯h: al-D¯ın, an illiter-
sand verses of the so-called D¯ıva¯ni Shams-i Tabr¯ız, and the
ate goldsmith with whom he had long-standing relations
didactic Mathnav¯ı-yi ma Enav¯ı with about twenty-six thou-
through his own spiritual teacher, Burha¯n al-D¯ın. S:ala¯h:
sand verses, written in a simple meter that had already been
al-D¯ın became, as it were, Ru¯m¯ı’s mirror; in his pure sim-
used for similar purposes by EAt:t:ar. Mawla¯na¯’s “table talks”
plicity he understood the friend without questioning. To ce-
have been collected under the title F¯ıhi ma¯ f¯ıhi; these prose
ment the relationship, Mawla¯na¯ married Sult:a¯n Walad to
pieces sometimes supplement the poetry, since the same sto-
S:ala¯h: al-D¯ın’s daughter, and his letters to his beloved daugh-
ries are used at times in both works. More than a hundred
ter-in-law are beautiful proofs of his humanity.
letters, written to dignitaries and family members, have also
survived; they show that Mawla¯na¯ was also practically-
The number of disciples that gathered around Ru¯m¯ı
minded and looked well after those who entrusted them-
grew steadily. They came from different layers of society, for
selves to him.
he was a friend of some of the powerful ministers who, for
all practical purposes, ruled the country; but there were also
D¯ıva¯n-i Shams. The D¯ıva¯n is a remarkable piece of lit-
greengrocers and craftsmen among them. A number of
erature in that it translates the author’s ecstatic experiences
women belonged to his circle, some of whom arranged musi-
directly into poetry. The form is the traditional ghazal with
cal sessions for him in their homes. Outstanding in piety and
its monorhyme. The rhythm is strong, and often the verses
obedience among his disciples was the youthful H:usa¯m
invite scanning by stress rather than by the rules of quantita-
al-D¯ın Cheleb¯ı, who now became Ru¯m¯ı’s third source of in-
tive classical Persian prosody, although Ru¯m¯ı uses the tradi-
spiration.
tional meters most skillfully. He is also a master of rhetorical
plays, puns, and unexpected ambiguities, and his allusions
A poem dated November 1256 reveals the moment
show that he had mastered Arabic and Persian classical litera-
when H:usa¯m al-D¯ın first assumed his new role. About that
tures and history as well as religious writings completely. In
time, he had asked the master to compose a mystical
some poems one can almost follow the flow of inspiration:
mathnav¯ı for the benefit of his students so that they would
Beginning from a seemingly trivial event, such as a strange
no longer need to go back to the epics of Sana¯D¯ı and EAt:t:ar.
sight in the street, the mystic is carried away by the music
Ru¯m¯ı began by reciting the famous “Song of the Reed,” the
of the words and the strength of his rapture until, at least in
eighteen introductory verses of the Mathnav¯ı, which express
some longish poems, the inspiration tapers off even though
the soul’s longing for home, and from that time H:usa¯m
the rhyme continues to carry him through some more (not
al-D¯ın wrote down whatever inspirational teaching came
too good) verses.
from the master. The composition of the Mathnav¯ı was in-
terrupted in 1258 when S:ala¯h: al-D¯ın died after a protracted
Mathnav¯ı. As the D¯ıva¯n was largely born out of an ec-
illness and H:usa¯m al-D¯ın lost his wife; the poems attributed
static experience that was expressed in unusual and extremely
to the next four years are usually didactic in character though
rich imagery, it is difficult to analyze. The Mathnav¯ı is some-
lyrical in form. The dictation of the Mathnav¯ı resumed in
what more accessible, and it has been a source for mystical
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RU
¯ M¯I, JALA¯L AL-D¯IN
7937
instruction ever since it was written. For the Western reader,
ingenious systematization. To explain everything in the
the book is still not easy to understand, for stories grow out
Mathnav¯ı in the light of wah:dat al-wuju¯d, “unity of being,”
of stories to lead to a mystical adage or a highly lyrical pas-
as systematized by Ibn al-EArab¯ı, would be wrong. Of course,
sage, and after long digressions the poet may return to the
Ru¯m¯ı was deeply convinced, as is every true Muslim, that
original anecdote only to be carried away by a verbal associa-
the multiplicity of phenomena is a veil before the absolute
tion or, as we may surmise, by the interruption of a listener
Divine Unity: God’s creative command, “Kun!” (“Be!”),
who set him on a different train of thought. The Mathnav¯ı
with its two letters (kn), is like a two-colored rope that makes
is a storehouse not only of S:u¯f¯ı lore but also of folklore, prov-
people forget the unity of God who created it. The end of
erbs, and sometimes very crude, even obscene stories that,
the ascending ladder of manifestations through which the
again, turn into surprising symbols of spiritual experiences.
creatures have to pass in their constant attempt to return to
The book contains so little technical terminology of the S:u¯f¯ıs
their beginning (symbolized by the reed bed out of which the
and so few theoretical discussions of “stages,” “states,” and
complaining flute was once cut) lies in Eadam, “positive
so forth that some listeners objected to the master’s simple
nothingness,” the divine essence that is absolutely hidden
“storytelling,” as becomes evident from scattered remarks in
and beyond any qualifications. But Ru¯m¯ı’s experience of
the Mathnav¯ı itself.
unity is not based on mere speculations of a gnostic approach
to life; rather, it develops out of the experience of love, for
Content. The subject of Mawla¯na¯’s work is always love,
the lover believes that everything he sees, hears, or feels mere-
the true moving power in life. Those verses in the D¯ıva¯n that
ly points to the one Beloved with whom he experiences an
can be assigned with some certainty to the early years (c.
ever-growing proximity until his own “I” has been burned
1245–1250) use especially strong images to describe the
away in the fire of separation, and he feels that only the
mystery of love, the encounter between lover and beloved,
Friend exists, who has taught him that “there is no room for
the secrets of seeking and finding, of happiness in despair.
two I’s in the house.”
They carry the reader away even though the logical sequence
is not always very clear. Love is personified under different
This loving relationship is also expressed in prayer.
guises—Ru¯m¯ı sees it as a police officer who enacts confisca-
Among all Muslim mystics, Ru¯m¯ı has expressed the mystery
tion of humanity’s goods or as a carpenter who builds a lad-
of prayer most eloquently: Prayer is the language of the soul,
der to heaven, as a ragpicker who carries away everything old
and the poor shepherd’s prayer in which he offers his beloved
from the house of the heart, or as a loving mother, as a drag-
God “to sweep his little room, to comb his hair, to pick his
on or a unicorn, as an ocean of fire or a white falcon, to men-
lice, and to bring him a little bit of milk” is more acceptable
tion only a few of the images of this strongest power of life.
to God than learned words uttered without feeling or with
God’s preeternal address to the not-yet-created souls, “Alastu
pride, for it is the expression of true love. More importantly,
bi-rabbikum” (“Am I not your Lord?” QurDa¯n 7:171), is in-
prayer is a gift of God: The man who called “God” ever so
terpreted as the first music, which caused creation to dance
long and was finally seduced by Satan to refrain from calling
out of not-being and to unfold in flowers, trees, and stars.
is informed by God himself that “in every ‘O God’ of yours
Everything created participates in the eternal dance, of which
there are a hundred ‘Here am I’ of mine.” Without divine
the Mevlevi ritual is only a “branch.” In this ritual, the true
grace, people would not be able to pray—how could a rose
mystery of love, namely “to die before dying,” of sacrificing
grow out of mere dust?
oneself in order to acquire a new spiritual life, is symbolized
It was out of this life of constant prayer that Mawla¯na¯
by the dervishes casting off their black gowns to emerge in
was able to teach and to inspire later generations. But one
their white dancing dresses, symbols of the luminous “body
must not forget that he was well aware of this world, even
of resurrection.” For the idea of suffering and dying for the
though he considered it “like the dream of a sleeping per-
sake of transformation permeates all of Ru¯m¯ı’s work, and he
son.” Yet, the actions that occur in this dreaming life will be
expresses it in ever-new images: not only the moth that casts
interpreted in the “morning light of eternity,” and Mawla¯na¯
itself into the candle, or the snow that melts when the sun
never tired of teaching his disciples that, as the Prophet had
enters the sign of Aries, but even the chickpeas that are boiled
stated, “this world is the seedbed of the other world,” for
in order to be eaten, and thus to reach a higher level of exis-
each action—rather, each thought—brings its fruits for spiri-
tence in becoming part of the human body, speak of this
tual development. Death, therefore, is the true mirror that
mystery of transformation, as does the image of the treasure
will show everyone his real face.
that can only be found in ruins; for the heart must be broken
in order to find in itself the “hidden treasure,” which is God.
This awareness of the world makes Ru¯m¯ı’s poetry espe-
cially powerful. There is nothing abstract in his verse, and
Most interpreters, including the leading European ex-
he does not shun to mention the lowliest manifestations of
pert, Reynold A. Nicholson, have understood Ru¯m¯ı’s work
life, since for him everything turns into a symbol of some
almost exclusively in the light of Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s theosophy.
higher reality. Spring is the time of resurrection, when the
Although on friendly terms with Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s stepson and
frozen material world suddenly becomes a paradise thanks
foremost interpreter, S:adr al-D¯ın Qunaw¯ı, Mawla¯na¯ was
to the thunder’s “trumpet of Isra¯f¯ıl,” and the trees, donning
not fond of the “great master’s” theoretical approach and his
green paradisical garments, dance in the spring breeze of eter-
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7938
RUNES [FIRST EDITION]
nal love. Animals and plants, the arts and crafts of the citizens
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of Konya (sewing, weaving, calligraphy, pottery, and the
The most important Ru¯m¯ı scholarship in the West has been car-
like), and the skills of gypsy rope dancers inspired him as
ried out by Reynold A. Nicholson, whose Selected Poems from
much as the legends of the S:u¯f¯ı saints of yore, or the tradi-
the D¯ıva¯n-i Shams-i Tabriz (1898; reprint, Cambridge,
tions of the Prophet. Allusions to and quotations from the
1952) is the first major study of the D¯ıva¯n with useful notes,
even though the tendency toward a Neoplatonic interpreta-
QurDa¯n form the warp and woof of his work. Just as the sun,
tion is somewhat too strong. Nicholson edited and translated
according to Eastern folklore, is able to transform pebbles
The Mathnawi of Jalalu Dddin Ru¯m¯ı (London, 1925–1940) in
into rubies, so too Ru¯m¯ı, touched by the “Sun of Tabr¯ız,”
six volumes with two additional volumes of a most welcome
who was for him the locus of manifestation of the divine sun
commentary.
of love, was able to transform everything into a poetical sym-
The D¯ıva¯n, which has been published often in the East, was criti-
bol. It goes without saying that not all his verse is on the same
cally edited in ten volumes by BadiE al-Zaman Furuzanfar
level, but the spirit is the same everywhere. Even though
(1957; reprint, Tehran, 1977). Fihi ma fihi, Mawla¯na¯’s prose
Ru¯m¯ı, in a moment of anger, claimed that he thoroughly
work, is likewise available in several Eastern editions and in
disliked poetry, he knew that he was forced by the mystical
a translation by A. J. Arberry as Discourses of Ru¯m¯ı (London,
Friend:
1961). Arberry has published other translations of Ru¯m¯ı’s
work, including Tales from the Masnavi (London, 1961) and
I think of rhymes, but my Beloved says: “Don’t think
Mystical Poems of Ru¯m¯ı (Chicago, 1968, selections 1–200;
of anything but of my face!”
Boulder, 1975, selections 201–400). Earlier translations of
parts of the Mathnav¯ı by James W. Redhouse, The Mesnevi
The allusions to philosophical problems in some of the later
(London, 1881), and E. H. Whinfield, Masnavi i ma Dnavi
lyrics, and especially in the fourth book of the Mathnav¯ı,
(1887; reprint, London, 1973), may be used for reference.
show that during the mid-1260s Ru¯m¯ı developed some in-
Afzal Iqbal’s The Life and Thought of Mohammad Jala¯lud-D¯ın
terest in more theoretical aspects of Sufism, but this period
Ru¯m¯ı (Lahore, 1956), enlarged in later editions, provides an
apparently did not last long.
introduction to Ru¯m¯ı’s life and work, as does William Chitt-
ick’s excellent book The Sufi Path of Love (Albany, N.Y.,
Mawla¯na¯’s life can be seen as the ideal model of the mys-
1983). Most valuable are the studies of the Turkish scholar
tic’s progress: After the experience of the love of Shams,
Abdülbâki Gölpinarli, who has not only written a fine biog-
which, like a high-rising flame, burned him to complete an-
raphy of Ru¯m¯ı, Mevlânâ Celâlettin, hayati, felsefesi, eserlerin-
nihilation, there followed a period of comparative quietude
den seçmeleri (Istanbul, 1952), and a history of the Mevlevi
order, Mevlânâ’dan sonra Mevelivïlik (Istanbul, 1953), but
in his relationship with the goldsmith, a time of finding his
has also translated the D¯ıva¯n (Divan-i kebir, 7 vols., Istan-
transformed self. Finally, in the descending semicircle of his
bul, 1957–1960) and the letters (Mevlânâ Dnin mektuplari, Is-
life, he returned to the world and its creatures by teaching
tanbul, 1963) into Turkish. For a general survey, with em-
H:usa¯m al-D¯ın the mysteries he had experienced through the
phasis on the poetical aspects of Ru¯m¯ı’s work, see my study
medium of the Mathnav¯ı. This sequence explains the stylistic
The Triumphal Sun (London and The Hague, 1978), with
differences between the D¯ıva¯n and the Mathnav¯ı; it also ex-
extensive bibliography.
plains why the Mathnav¯ı became the centerpiece of mystical
One of the oldest biographies of Mawla¯na¯, his friends, and his
education wherever Persian was understood, from Ottoman
family, Shams al-D¯ın Ah:mad Afla¯k¯ı’s two-volume Mana¯qib
Turkey to the borders of Bengal.
al- Ea¯rifin, was published in the Persian original by Tahsin
Yazici (Ankara, 1959–1961) and translated by him into
LEGACY. In the East, the Mathnav¯ı has been translated into
Turkish (Âriflerin menkibeleri, Ankara, 1964). The French
many languages, and hundreds of commentaries have been
version by Clément Huart, Les saints des derviches tourneurs
composed; it has been a source of inspiration for mystics and
(Paris, 1918–1922), is not very reliable.
kings alike. In the West, Ru¯m¯ı’s work was studied from
There is a considerable literature on Ru¯m¯ı, and (partly very free)
about 1800 onward and inspired poets such as Rückert in
translations of his poems, in German, the latest ones being
Germany, whose free adaptations of some ghazals are still the
Aus dem Diwan (Stuttgart, 1963) and Rumi: Ich bin Wind
best introduction to Ru¯m¯ı’s style and thought. Through
und du bist Feuer (Cologne, 1982) by me and Licht und Rei-
gen
(Bern, 1974) by J. Christoph Bürgel. Important for the
Rückert, Hegel learned of “the excellent Ru¯m¯ı,” in whom
serious scholar are Helmut Ritter’s numerous studies, includ-
he saw a distant forerunner of his own thought. Numerous
ing “Philologika XI: Maula¯na¯ G
˘ ala¯ladd¯ın Ru¯m¯ı und sein
partial translations of Mawla¯na¯’s lyrics exist, but to do full
Kreis,” Der Islam 26 (1942): 116–158, 221–249, and
justice to him is next to impossible because of the multicol-
“Neuere Literatur über Maula¯na¯ Cala¯ludd¯ın Ru¯m¯ı und
ored imagery of his verse, and the innumerable allusions
seinen Orden,” Oriens 13–14 (1960–1961).
would require a running commentary. Simple prose transla-
ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL (1987)
tions, again, cannot convey the delight that the reader feels
when carried away by the rhythmical flow of these poems,
which mark the high point of mystical verse in Islam.
RUNES [FIRST EDITION]. The modern English
SEE ALSO Sufism.
word rune (Dan., rune; Swed., runa; Icel. pl., rúnar; Ger.,
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RUNES [FIRST EDITION]
7939
Rune) signifies any character in the ancient Germanic, and
“[I, Go-]dagastiz painted the rune” (i.e., carved the inscrip-
especially Scandinavian, alphabet. The word is seemingly de-
tion). The longest inscription (720 runes) is that of Rök,
rived from a hypothetical Germanic form, *runo-, meaning
which is partly versified and is filled with mythological and
“secret” (cf. modern Ger. raunen, “whisper”; Icel. ry´na,
semihistorical allusions. The westernmost, and northern-
“speak confidentially”; Goth. rûna, “secret”; AS rún, “rune,
most, inscription is the fourteenth-century carving from
secret whispering”). The Finnish word runo, meaning
Kingiktorsoaq, Greenland, far above the Arctic circle.
“song,” is an early borrowing from Germanic.
Of five thousand known inscriptions, more than three
Comprising the earliest known form of writing in any
thousand are Swedish, most of which were carved before
Germanic tongue, runic inscriptions can be documented for
1100. Lacking a cursive form and hence unhandy for manu-
as early as 200 CE. What is known of cultural, and especially
script use, and imperiled after 1100 by the spread of Latin
linguistic, development in general leads to the supposition
letters, the runes nevertheless persisted, especially in Sweden,
that runes must have been in existence for some generations
for several centuries. Ultimately, they fell into disuse save as
by the time the earliest preserved inscriptions were carved.
an occasional pastime or for such limited purposes as mark-
Numerous theories concern the date of their creation, the
ing the calendar or, recapitulating their earliest use, indicat-
tribal identity of their inventors, and the models by which
ing ownership. In Sweden a form of runic shorthand enjoyed
they were inspired. Much discussed also is the original pur-
a limited vogue.
pose or purposes of the runes: were they invented and used
Conflicting theories derive the runes, via some early
initially to serve religious (and magical) ends or were they
Germanic-speaking tribe, from the Greek alphabet, the
primarily conceived of as a mode of communication? It is at-
Roman alphabet, or from North Italic (Etruscan); even Celt-
tested that during the period of their employment—for a
ic influence has been posited. Suggested intermediaries are
millennium and longer—they served both these purposes.
the Goths around the Black Sea and the Marcomanni, who
The geographical distribution of the earliest brief in-
were resident in Bohemia until their destruction at Vercellae
scriptions points strongly to early Denmark as the primary
in 18 CE. But the Gothic alphabet of Bishop Ulfilas (fourth
center for the first important use of runes. From Denmark
century) itself shows runic influence, and the Marcomanni
the loci of early Germanic inscriptions radiate outward to
or their fellow Germans would simply have adopted the
southern Norway and Sweden, to northern Germany, Po-
Latin alphabet entirely. The greatest number of similarities
land (Rozwadów), and the Ukraine (Kowel), and ultimately
is between runic and Latin, and that accords well with the
to Hungary (Szabadbattyán) and Romania (Pietroassa).
intense early relations between Rome and (pre-Danish) Jut-
Later the runes spread to England, undergoing in time char-
land, “the long-time heartland of Germania” (Haugen,
acteristic modifications and additions and eventually awak-
1976).
ening the interest of monks and bishops.
Some early rune masters, however, had no doubt of the
The geographical evidence for a centralized origin of the
origin of the runes. It is explicitly stated on the Noleby Stone
runes is reinforced by a linguistic consideration. From the
(Sweden, 450 CE), on the Sparlösa Stone (Sweden, 800), and
outset, as evidenced by all known examples, there was no fal-
in the Old Norse Hávamál (st. 80; cf. ss. 138–144) that the
tering or sign of experimentation: whether created by an in-
runes derived from the gods. Whether or not the runes were
dividual genius or by a group, the runes were made full-
originally created for religio-magical purposes, they were cer-
blown, not only in their graphic and phonetic values but in
tainly no less adaptable to such use than were the classical
their unique order and arrangement. Made up of twenty-
alphabets that preceded and coexisted with them. Early in-
four characters divided into three groups of eight, the runic
scriptions repeatedly contain the word alu, meaning “protec-
“alphabet” is now known, after its first six characters, as the
tion, magic, taboo”; on the Stone of Nordhuglo (Norway,
futhark. During the Viking age, commencing around 800,
425) the rune master proudly refers to himself as the gudija
and through a second act of decisive linguistic creativeness,
(priest) “protected against magic.”
the Scandinavian futhark was shortened to sixteen characters,
In time, Christian notions succeeded traditional Ger-
still arranged in three groups. This took place first in Den-
manic conceptions. Inscriptions in the younger futhark,
mark, then in Norway and Sweden.
often carved within traditional serpentine patterns, came to
The earliest inscriptions, from 200 CE or so, appear on
be decorated with Christian crosses as well; the serpents were
small objects such as spearheads, buckles, amulets, and
retained partly out of tradition and convenience as line
horns, apparently as marks of ownership. Their angular
markers and occasionally out of residual resentment or defi-
shape indicates the practice of carving onto wooden tablets.
ance of the “new faith.” But as Christianity gained sway in
By the fourth century they were being chiseled into stone,
the north, runic incantations, maledictions, and appeals to
particularly in Norway where rocks are plentiful. With that
the Germanic gods yielded to such phrases as “So-and-so
step, the runes acquired additional scope and permanence,
made this thing (e.g., built this bridge) for his soul.” Late in-
chiefly as memorial inscriptions, which frequently have his-
scriptions are sometimes mixed with Latin phrases; the ham-
torical value of note. The oldest of this new type, dating from
mer of Þórr (Thor) is paired with a Christian cross; the Vir-
350–400, is the brief inscription of Einang, Norway, reading
gin Mary is mentioned.
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7940
RUNES [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
In the British Isles runes were adroitly drawn into the
is now believed to be from c. 600 CE. Second, the word alu,
service of the church. One of the finest examples of this is
found frequently in runic inscriptions from the third to the
the splendid Ruthwell Cross (Dumfriesshire, c. 800),
eighth centuries, is no longer interpreted as “amulet” (cf.
adorned with evangelical pictures and containing portions of
Gothic alhs, “temple”). Instead, a connection with Hethitic
The Dream of the Rood. The tenth-century Jelling Stone (No.
alwanzahh (to charm) and Greek alúein (to be beside oneself)
2), that huge royal Danish monument erected by King Ha-
suggests a meaning of “ecstasy” or “magic.” Third, the con-
rald Bluetooth in honor of his parents and himself, is aggres-
tinued use in the Christian era of serpentine patterns to con-
sively Christian; on it, Harald claims credit for having chris-
tain a series of runes is now considered to be due to tradition
tianized the Danes. Many rune stones have been transported
rather than as signalling pagan defiance. Finally, it should be
to churchyards and even immured in church walls, as a rule
pointed out that the Ruthwell Cross inscription (now dated
with the inscribed face obscured, a practice that points rather
c. 627–725 CE) quotes an Old English poem that in the mid-
to economic than to religious considerations.
ninth century was reworked into another Old English poem
In the sixteenth century the study of runes became a
called The Dream of the Rood.
learned preoccupation in Sweden, whence it spread to Den-
Early scholarship on runes assumed that this system of
mark, and by the nineteenth century the subject was being
writing was essentially magical, and despite considerable
pursued to some effect in Germany and Great Britain. In the
skepticism about that view, many early inscriptions (second–
twentieth century much energy has been devoted to such
eighth centuries CE) do appear magical in nature. But wheth-
topics as runic cryptography, speculative theories of Ger-
er magical, religious, or secular, runic inscriptions provide
manic uniqueness, and efforts to derive the runes from early
much contemporary evidence regarding Germanic pagan-
conceptual signs (Begriffszeichen). Little of this has borne
ism. The Glavendrup (c. 900–925 CE) and Snoldelev (early
fruit, but the systematic study of runology during the past
ninth century) inscriptions on stone monuments refer to
hundred years or so has brought forth works of great
priests. Their formula “Þórr consecrate these runes” attests
distinction.
to a belief in this god, and the monuments themselves show
the importance of commemoration of the dead. The Rök in-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
scription (early ninth century) contains riddling allusions to
The important task of photographing, systematizing, and inter-
preting the great corpus of inscriptions is going forward in
obscure legends. The rune-master raised the stone in memo-
several countries. Notable names in modern runological re-
ry of his dead son, but evidently the father was a priest, and
search are, for Denmark, Ludvig Wimmer, Lis Jacobsen,
the stone appears to have a second purpose of testing a per-
Erik Moltke, and Karl-Martin Nielsen; for Iceland, (the
son’s knowledge of ancient lore. Runes also appear on cult
Dane) Anders Baeksted; for Norway, Sophus Bugge, Magnus
objects such as bracteates (medal-like gold jewelry) and
Olsen, Carl J. S. Marstrander, and Aslak Liesto⁄l; for Sweden,
drinking horns. An inscription on a secular item of jewelry,
Sven Söderberg, Erik Brate, Otto von Friesen, Elias Wessén,
the south German “Nordendorf fibula” (c. 600–650 CE), re-
Elisabeth Svärdström, and Sven B. F. Jansson; for Finland,
fers to Wodan and Wigiþonar (Hallowing-Thor), making it
Magnus Hammarström; for Germany, Wilhelm Krause,
one of the few sources that record the south Germanic belief
Helmut Arntz, Hans Zeiss, and Hertha Marquardt; and for
in the Germanic pantheon.
Great Britain, R. W. V. Elliott and R. I. Page. Excellent ori-
entations and bibliographies can be found in the following
Another aspect of Germanic paganism was the belief in
works.
the magical properties of runes. Each rune represented not
Derolez, R. Runica Manuscripta: The English Tradition. Ghent,
only a sound but also the word that was its name. For exam-
1954.
ple, the f-rune was named (cattle, or wealth), and the t-
Düwel, Klaus. Runenkunde. Stuttgart, 1968.
rune was named for Ty´r, god of victory, and was often carved
Elliott, R. W. V. Runes: An Introduction. New York, 1959.
on weapons. A rune could be repeated in an inscription to
Haugen, Einar. The Scandinavian Languages. Cambridge, Mass.,
emphasize its concepts, as could magical words. Migration
1976.
Age bracteates were inscribed with the words laukaR laukaR
laukaR
(leek, leek, leek) to invoke the particularly effective
Jansson, Sven B. F. The Runes of Sweden. Stockholm, 1962.
medicinal and magical powers of this plant. The healing
Musset, Lucien. Introduction à la runologie. Paris, 1965.
power of runes is explained in the eddic poem Sigrdrífumál,
Page, R. I. An Introduction to English Runes. London and New
and another eddic poem calls runes the antidote for misfor-
York, 1973.
tune (Hávamál, sts. 138–141). The þ-rune was sometimes
ERIK WAHLGREN (1987)
called þurs (giant) and could be used in black magic; the
eddic poem Skírnismál (st. 6) says that carving it three times
will bring disgrace, madness, and restlessness to its victim.
Yet another eddic poem (Rígsþula, st. 41) includes runic lore
RUNES [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS].
among the cultural gifts divinely transmitted to the nobility,
The first edition’s article on “Runes” has held up well, al-
along with the aristocratic pastimes of swimming and the
though some updates are necessary. First, the Noleby stone
chess-like game of “tables.”
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RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
7941
After the demise of paganism, runes were widely used
Herteig, Asbjo⁄rn, ed. The Bryggen Papers. Supplementary Series 2.
in Christian contexts. On the Isle of Man, which developed
Oslo, 1988.
Christianity from Irish sources but was later settled by Scan-
Lönnroth, Lars. “The Riddles of the Rök-Stone: A Structural Ap-
dinavians, Celtic high crosses were carved with runic inscrip-
proach.” Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi 92 (1977): 1–57.
tions and dedications like those on continental Scandinavian
Page, R. I. Runes. Reading the Past 4. London and Berkeley,
monuments. That Manx Scandinavians assimilated the
Calif., 1987.
Cross as a warrior standard and implement of power—akin
to the weapons of the pagan gods—is seen from the tenth-
Page, R. I. Runes and Runic Inscriptions: Collected Essays on Anglo-
century slate cross fragment at Kirk Andreas. On the right
Saxon and Viking Runes. Woodbridge, U.K., 1995.
side of the cross, Óðinn with his spear and raven treads on
ELIZABETH ASHMAN ROWE (2005)
the jaw of a wolf; on the left, Jesus or a saint, armed with
cross and book, treads on a serpent, flanked by a fish (cf. Gen.
3:15). To either side of the upper member of the cross are
runic inscriptions. The Danish Jelling Stone (c. 965–987
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. Vladimir I,
CE), raised by a king to commemorate his role in the conver-
grand prince of Kiev (960–1015) was the first Christian ruler
sion of Denmark, displays a simple cross surrounded by in-
of Russia. Having sent ambassadors to investigate the reli-
terlace and a serpentine runic inscription. A fashion for
gions of his day, Vladimir was persuaded to embrace Greek
somewhat similar memorials left thousands of eleventh-
Christianity when, according to the Russian Primary Chroni-
century rune stones in Sweden, where memorial stones with
cle, his envoys reported that at the liturgy in Constantinople
runic inscriptions continued to be erected until around
they did not know whether they were in heaven or on earth.
1100. The custom died out not due to the introduction of
Vladimir’s marriage to the Byzantine princess Anna and his
Christianity per se (many of the later stones are definitely
economic dealings with the empire also played a significant
Christian), but perhaps due to the new custom of burying
part in his decision to align his principality with the imperial
the dead in churchyards. Pieces of wood with runic inscrip-
Church of Byzantium. Vladimir was baptized in 988.
tions of mythological poetry, found in the Bryggen section
KIEVAN CHRISTIANITY. After the baptism of the Kievan peo-
of Bergen, Norway, show that this medium as well as this
ples by prince Vladimir, Orthodox Christianity flourished in
material had an enduring life in an Christian, urban, non-
the lands of Rus’. Before the Tatar devastations in the thir-
clerical environment as late as the twelfth to fourteenth cen-
teenth century, Kiev was a cosmopolitan city with commer-
turies. Runes in Bergen could be used for magical pur-
cial and cultural ties with Europe and the East. Its spiritual
poses—in love charms, for example, or as something like a
center was the Kievan Monastery of the Caves founded by
curse (“Ími heated the stone so that the hearth would smoke!
Anthony of Kiev (d. 1072) and Theodosius (d. 1074). The
Never shall the food be cooked! Out with heat! In with cold!
monastery provided the first literary and historical as well as
Ími heated the stone!”)—but usually they had secular pur-
religious writings in the Russian lands; for centuries it served
poses, acting as ownership tags for merchandise, accounting
as the theological and spiritual center of Russian church life.
records, packing slips, and other kinds of ordinary, everyday
In the early years of Christian Kiev, several remarkable
communication. The knowledge of runic writing was evi-
churches were constructed, such as the Cathedral of Holy
dently widespread from the eleventh century on, and some
Wisdom (Hagia Sophia, 1037); these churches conformed
10 percent of all medieval (c. 1050–1500) runic inscriptions
to Byzantine patterns of architecture, iconography, and mo-
are in Latin and have religious content. Some are prayers;
saic decoration. The leader of church life was the bishop of
others are charms. Churches and ecclesiastical furniture such
Kiev, often a Greek by nationality, who had the title metro-
as baptismal fonts, bells, and censers were inscribed with
politan.
runes.
The city-republics of Novgorod and Pskov to the north
S
also developed vibrant Christian societies after their conver-
EE ALSO Eddas; Germanic Religion, overview article.
sions, boasting wonderful architectural and iconographic
achievements that early began to show independence and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
originality. Spared attacks by the Tatars, these areas were
Blandade runstudier. Runrön: Runologiska bidrag utgivna av Ins-
threatened by crusading Christians from the West who de-
titutionen för nordiska spra˚k vid Uppsala universitet. 2 vols.
sired to enforce Latin Christianity in the region. Grand
Uppsala, Sweden, 1992 and 1997.
Prince Aleksandr Nevskiy (d. 1263) led the Russians in their
DuBois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadel-
defeat of the invading Swedes (1240) and the Teutonic
phia, 1999.
Knights (1242), thus preserving the Orthodox faith. He also
Düwel, Klaus. Runenkunde. 2d ed. Stuttgart, Germany, 1983.
managed to maintain peace with the Tatars through skillful
diplomacy accomplished by extensive visits to the khans, to
Düwel, Klaus, ed. Runeninschriften als Quellen interdisziplinärer
whom he paid homage and tribute.
Forschung: Abhandlungen des Vierten Internationalen Sympo-
siums über Runen und Runeninschriften in Göttingen vom

MUSCOVITE CHRISTIANITY. After the devastation of Kiev by
4.–9. August 1995. Berlin, 1998.
the Tatars in 1240, the center of Russian political and eccle-
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7942
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
siastical life shifted to Moscow. The Muscovite princes suc-
During the time of the westernization of Russia under
ceeded in bringing the rival cities of the region into submis-
Peter the Great and subsequent czars, the Russian Church
sion, and with the final defeat of the Tatars by Grand Prince
became the virtual captive of the state. The patriarchate was
Dmitri Donskoi in 1380, their city reigned supreme among
abolished and replaced by the Holy Synod, consisting of
the Russians. The ascendancy of Moscow could not have oc-
bishops, presbyters, and laypeople. Church councils were
curred without the efforts of church leaders, particularly the
forbidden, ecclesiastical properties were appropriated and
metropolitans, such as Alexis (d. 1378), who for a time
secularized, and church schools began to teach in Latin. The
served as governing regent, and the abbot Sergiy of Radonezh
clergy were alienated from the people, particularly the intel-
(d. 1392).
lectuals, and the church structure was bureaucratized, with
the lay government official for ecclesiastical affairs, the Ober-
Sergiy is considered by many to be Russia’s greatest saint
procuror of the Holy Synod, at its head.
and the “builder” of the nation. A simple monk who became
famous for his ascetic labors and mystical gifts, he was ap-
LATINIZATION IN THE UKRAINE. From the end of the fif-
pointed abbot of the Saint Sergius Trinity Monastery, which
teenth century the church in the Kievan area, by now a part
he founded in the wilderness north of Moscow. The monas-
of the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom, was canonically attached
tery soon became the center of social and economic as well
to the patriarchate of Constantinople and not to Moscow.
as religious and spiritual life in the region. Its members and
In 1596 in Brest-Litovsk, the metropolitan of Kiev signed an
their disciples provided Russia over the centuries with hun-
act of union with the Church of Rome, a move opposed by
dreds of bishops, abbots, missionaries, thinkers, artists, and
some bishops and most leading laypeople. Great numbers of
secular leaders, many of whom were canonized saints of the
believers in the territories of these bishops became Uniates
church. One such figure was the monk-iconographer Andrei
at this time and, over the centuries, developed into strongly
Rublev (c. 1360–1430), whose painting of the Trinity in the
committed members of the Catholic Church. In the early
form of three angels who visited Abraham is among the great
twenty-first century the Ukrainian and Ruthenian Eastern
masterpieces of Russian art. Closed after the 1917 revolu-
Rite Churches remain staunchly anti-Russian and anti-
tion, the monastery was reopened after World War II; it at-
Orthodox.
tracts thousands of pilgrims annually and houses the Mos-
The defense of Eastern Orthodoxy during this period
cow Theological Academy and Seminary.
was led by the Orthodox metropolitan of Kiev, Petr Moghila
THE IMPERIAL PERIOD. In the fifteenth century, with the fall
(d. 1647). Though violently anti-Catholic, Petr was himself
of Constantinople to the Turks (1453), the theory developed
trained in the West and became responsible for bringing
that Moscow was the “third Rome,” the last center of true
many Latin doctrines and liturgical practices into the Ortho-
Christianity on earth. Job, the metropolitan of Moscow, was
dox Church through his publications and the school he
elected patriarch. This election was confirmed by Jeremias
founded in Kiev, which influenced not only the whole Rus-
II of Constantinople in 1589, thus giving the Russian
sian Church but the entire Orthodox world. In addition to
Church a status of self-governance and honor equal to that
the theological school in Kiev, higher faculties of theological
of the ancient patriarchates of the Christian empire: Rome,
study specializing in preparing missionaries for the Eastern
Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The
regions were established in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and
patriarchate existed in Russia de facto until 1700, de jure
Kazan.
until 1721, when Peter the Great (1672–1725) issued the
RUSSIAN MISSIONARY ACTIVITY. In the eighteenth and nine-
Ecclesiastical Regulation, which created a synodical form of
teenth centuries the missionary efforts of the Russian Church
church government patterned after that of the Protestant
were extensive. The Scriptures and services of the church
Churches of Europe. The patriarchate was restored to the
were translated into many Siberian languages and Alaskan di-
Russian Church only in 1918, when the All-Russian Church
alects as the eastern regions of the empire were settled and
Council, the first such assembly allowed since before Peter’s
evangelized. Russian missionaries reached the Aleutian Is-
rule, elected Tikhon Belavin (d. 1925), a former archbishop
lands in Alaska in 1794, thus beginning the history of Rus-
of the North American mission, to the office.
sian Orthodoxy in the New World. The monk Herman
(d. 1830), a member of the original missionary party, was
In the seventeenth century Patriarch Nikon (d. 1681)
canonized a saint of the church in 1970 by both the Russian
attempted to reform the Russian Church according to the
Church and the Orthodox Church in America. The latter,
practices of the Church of Constantinople. He corrected the
formerly the Russian missionary diocese in North America,
liturgical service books and instituted Greek forms of ritual,
was recognized in the same year by the Russian Church as
such as the practice of making the sign of the cross with three
the fifteenth autocephalous (self-governing) Orthodox
fingers instead of two, as was the practice among the Rus-
Church in the world.
sians. Nikon’s reform was taken as an assault on the “third
Rome” theory because it radically questioned any special call-
Joining Herman in the Orthodox calendar of saints
ing of the Russian Church and nation. Its result was not only
were two other great missionaries. Innokentiy Veniaminov
the resignation of the unyielding patriarch but the schism of
(d. 1879) was a young married priest who traveled extensive-
great numbers of “old ritualists” from the established church.
ly through Siberia and North America, reaching as far as San
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RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
7943
Francisco. He created several Alaskan alphabets, translated
The beginning of the twentieth century also saw a reviv-
many texts, wrote many books, and converted countless peo-
al of patristic studies and a recapturing of the authentic Or-
ple before becoming head of the Russian Church as metro-
thodox theological and liturgical tradition in the ecclesiasti-
politan of Moscow, which post he occupied until his death.
cal schools as well as a religious renaissance on the part of
Nikolai Kasatkin (d. 1912) was the first Orthodox archbish-
a significant number of Russian intellectuals, many of whom
op of Tokyo and the founder of the now autonomous Ortho-
either perished in Joseph Stalin’s prison camps, like Pavel
dox Church of Japan. In addition to contributing to the con-
Florenskiy (d. 1937), or who were exiled to the West.
version of thousands, he translated Scriptures and services
Among the latter group were the philosopher Nikolai
into Japanese and built the cathedral of Nikolai-Do in
Berdiaev (d. 1948) and the theologian Sergei Bulgakov
Tokyo.
(d. 1944), who served as dean of the émigré Russian Ortho-
dox Theological Institute of Saint Serge in Paris. The insti-
SPIRITUAL REVIVAL OF THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH
tute educated scores of pastors and church workers and sent
CENTURIES. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries also
scholars, such as George Fedotov (d. 1951), Georges
saw a revival of traditional Orthodox ascetical and mystical
Florovsky (d. 1979), Alexander Schmemann (d. 1983), and
life, uninfluenced by the westernizing tendencies of the ec-
John Meyendorff (d. 1992), to Saint Vladimir’s Seminary in
clesiastical institutions. Paisiy Velichkovskiy (d. 1794)
New York.
brought the hesychast method of mystical prayer, rooted in
the invocation of the name of Jesus, into the Ukraine and
THE ERA OF PERSECUTIONS. When the Bolsheviks came to
Russia from Mount Athos, an important monastic center in
power in Russia in October 1917, one of the main points
northern Greece. He translated into Church Slavonic many
on their ideological program was the war against all manifes-
ancient texts, including the anthology of writings on the spir-
tations of religion. This battle turned into full-fledged geno-
itual life by the church fathers titled the Philokalia (Dobro-
cide in the 1920s and 1930s: the repressive wave of militant
toliubie). (Church Slavonic, the language created for the
atheism spared nobody—neither bishops, priests, monks,
Slavs by the Greek brothers Cyril and Methodius in the
nuns, nor laypeople. The bitter fate of persecuted clergy was
ninth century, is still used liturgically in the Russian
shared by their wives and their children, who were declared
Church.) Bishop Feofan Govorov (d. 1894) translated into
“children of the enemies of the people” and placed in special
modern Russian many of the same works, including several
boarding schools, where they were raised in an antireligious
contemporary Greek and Latin spiritual classics. Feofan also
spirit. People from all religions—Christians (Orthodox,
wrote many treatises on the spiritual life that continue to ex-
Catholics, Protestants), Muslims, Jews, and Buddhists—
ercise wide influence in the Orthodox Church. He accom-
suffered equally from the persecutions. All of this took place
plished this task after retiring as bishop and spending twenty-
while slogans of the struggle for freedom, equality, and fra-
five years as a monastic recluse. Another retired bishop can-
ternity, inherited from the French Revolution, were pro-
onized for his ascetic life and spiritual writings was Tikhon
claimed.
of Zadonsk (d. 1783), who inspired the Russian novelist
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881) to name after him a char-
The notion of freedom had a limited meaning when it
acter in The Possessed.
came to religion. The Stalinist constitution of 1929 allowed
the freedom to exercise a religious cult and to propagate athe-
During this same period there emerged in Russia a tra-
ism. It was therefore possible to promote only atheism, be-
dition of spiritual eldership (starchestvo), the most famous
cause the preaching of religion was officially forbidden. In
center of which was the hermitage of Optina, where such el-
practice mere membership in a church was seen as a threat
ders (startsy) as Leonid, Macarius, and Ambrose spent several
to the entire Soviet society and almost inevitably led to dis-
hours each day instructing and counseling people of all class-
missal from one’s job and the loss of social status. In many
es, including many philosophers, intellectuals, and statespeo-
cases, especially during the bloody 1920s and 1930s, to be
ple, among whom were Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), Dos-
a believer meant risking one’s life and the lives of one’s loved
toevsky, Vladimir Soloviev (1853–1900), and Konstantine
ones.
Leontiev (1831–1891).
During the twenty years of revolutionary terror that
The most famous saint of the time, however, was an
began during Vladimir Lenin’s (1870–1924) time and con-
elder from the Sarov monastery, the priest-monk Serafim
tinued during the rule of Joseph Stalin (1879–1953), the
(d. 1833), whose teachings on the Christian life understood
church was almost totally annihilated. By 1939 all monaste-
as the “acquisition of the Holy Spirit” still have great influ-
ries and theological schools were closed, and tens of thou-
ence among the Orthodox. Ioann of Kronstadt (d. 1908), a
sands of churches were either blown up or shut down. Of
parish priest from the port town of Kronstadt near Saint Pe-
the more than 60,000 prerevolutionary churches, only about
tersburg, also was acclaimed at this time throughout the na-
a hundred remained open; of the more than 150 bishops
tion as an “all-Russian pastor.” He is glorified in the church
serving before the revolution only 4 remained free. The over-
as a man of prayer and preaching who called the people to
whelming majority of the clergy and monastics (whose num-
spiritual and sacramental renewal on the eve of the Russian
ber before the revolution exceeded 200,000) were either shot
revolution, which both he and Serafim had predicted.
to death or tortured in concentration camps.
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7944
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
The catastrophic course of combat at the beginning of
Leninist doctrines with accompanying antireligious propa-
World War II forced Stalin to mobilize all the national re-
ganda that was legally supported and officially enacted by the
sources for defense, including the Russian Orthodox Church
state.
as the people’s moral force. Some churches were opened for
R
services, and some bishops and priests were released from
USSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CEN-
prisons. The Russian Church did not limit itself to giving
TURY. The situation changed drastically after the collapse of
the Soviet regime. In the 1990s millions of people returned
spiritual and moral support to the country in danger. It also
to their faith and were baptized, and thousands of churches,
rendered material aid by providing funds for all kinds of
hundreds of monasteries, and dozens of theological schools
things, including army uniforms. This process, which can be
were opened. The number of bishops more than doubled
described as a rapprochement between church and state in
and by 2004 was approximately 150, and the number of
a “patriotic union,” culminated in Stalin’s receiving Patriar-
priests and deacons and their parishes more than quadrupled
chal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergiy (Stragorodsky) and
and in 2004 stood at about 30,000. The growth statistics of
Metropolitans Alexy (Simansky) and Nikolay (Yarushevich)
monasteries and church educational institutions was particu-
at a meeting on September 4, 1943.
larly impressive: in 1988 there were eighteen monasteries in
From that historic moment a thaw began in relations
the jurisdiction of the Russian Church, and by 2004 there
between church and state. Later in September 1943 in Mos-
were over six hundred; and the number of theological schools
cow, with the permission of state authorities, a Bishops’
during this period grew from three to approximately one
Council convened and elected Metropolitan Sergiy (Strago-
hundred.
rodsky) patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. His successor
was Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky), elected patriarch in
According to 2003 statistics, about 70 percent of Rus-
1945. During and after World War II some theological
sians think of themselves as belonging to the Russian Ortho-
schools and monasteries were reopened, and some churches
dox Church. The majority of believers in the Ukraine, Be-
were restored. The church, however, remained always under
larus, and Moldova belong to the Russian Church, and most
state control, and any attempts to spread its work outside its
Orthodox Christians in the Baltic (Estonia, Latvia, Lithua-
walls were met with strong rebuffs, including administrative
nia) and Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
sanctions.
Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) count themselves
members of the Russian Church. The total number of faith-
The 1960s, when Nikita Khruschev (1894–1971) was
ful of the Russian Orthodox Church living in Russia, the
in power, brought a new wave of repressions, when thou-
above-mentioned countries, and elsewhere (particularly in
sands of churches throughout the Soviet Union were closed
western Europe) comprises over 150 million.
“for ideological reasons.” State control over the church affairs
continued under Leonid Brezhnev (1906–1982), when Pa-
This unprecedented quantitative growth in the 1990s
triarch Pimen (1971–1990) was the primate of the church.
was accompanied by radical changes in the church’s sociopo-
One of the leading hierarchs of that time was Metropolitan
litical situation. After more than seventy years the church
Nikodim of Leningrad (d. 1978), who invested great efforts
once again became an integral part of society in all the coun-
into the struggle for better understanding between the
treis of the former Soviet Union and was recognized as a
church and the state and greater independence of the former
highly authoritative spiritual and moral power. And after
from the latter.
many centuries the church acquired the right to define inde-
pendently its place in society and its relations with the state
Until the end of the 1980s it was impossible to confess
without any interference from secular authorities.
one’s faith openly and at the same time occupy any more or
less significant position in society. The entire activity of the
This change in the church’s status required from it tre-
church was under the strictest control of the authorities, the
mendous efforts in overcoming the “ghetto mentality” that
number of churches and clergy was severely regulated, and
had formed during the many years of forced isolation. Previ-
missionary, educational, and charitable work was forbidden.
ously clergy had associated only with their parishioners, but
now they had to confront a great number of people unfamil-
In the last years of the Soviet era the Russian Orthodox
iar with the church’s teaching and practices and whose
Church in the U.S.S.R. had the legal right to hold church
knowledge of religion was either rudimentary or nonexistent.
services in buildings authorized by the state for such pur-
Previously priests did not preach outside the walls of their
poses. A council of twenty laypeople was needed to petition
churches, but now they had opportunities to appear on tele-
for the use of a church. Because few churches and monaste-
vision, on radio, and in print. Previously society and the
ries were functioning at that time, church services were nor-
church had followed their own separate courses, but now the
mally crowded. The church had no right to teach, preach,
church was drawn into society’s discussions of the funda-
or pray outside of these buildings, because “religious propa-
mental questions of human existence.
ganda” was still expressly forbidden by Soviet law. Admission
to the three operating theological schools was strictly moni-
Ten years of intensive work in understanding and ana-
tored by the state. There were no church schools for children
lyzing the contemporary issues were crowned with the adop-
and laypeople, who received daily instruction in Marxist-
tion of a document titled The Bases of the Social 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

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
7945
the Russian Orthodox Church at the Bishops’ Council of
ests, such as peacemaking at the international, interethnic,
2000. The significance of this document is conditioned by
and civil levels, fostering mutual understanding and coopera-
the fact that it reflects the church’s position on questions in-
tion among peoples, nations, and states; concern for the
volving church-state relations and contemporary society in
moral state of society; spiritual, cultural, moral, and patriotic
general. The document is intended to serve as a spiritual and
education; works of mercy and charity and the development
moral guide for the entire Russian Orthodox Church—not
of joint social programs; the protection, restoration, and de-
just for the clergy but in no lesser way for the laity as well.
velopment of the historical and cultural legacy, including the
CHURCH AND STATE RELATIONS. Orthodoxy was the state
care of historical and cultural monuments; dialogue with or-
religion of Russia for many centuries, which meant the
gans of state government of any kind and at all levels on
church not only enjoyed a respected position in society and
questions significant to the church and society, including
a substantial income but also was totally dependent on the
those involving the creation of relevant legislation, decrees,
government. During the synodal period (1700–1917) the
and decisions; pastoral care for soldiers and law-enforcement
church was essentially part of the bureaucratic system; conse-
personnel and their spiritual and moral education; crime pre-
quently its freedom was violated, and its activities were limit-
vention and pastoral care for prisoners; scholarship, includ-
ed. During Soviet times it was even more enslaved to the
ing research in the area of humanities; health; culture and
state, and although the principle of separation of church and
creative activities; the work of church and secular mass
state had been proclaimed, it worked only in favor of the au-
media; activities for the conservation of the environment;
thorities: the church received nothing from the government,
economic activity for the benefit of the church, state,and so-
whereas the latter interfered in the affairs of the church and
ciety; supporting the institution of the family, motherhood,
controlled its workings.
and childhood; and opposing the activities of pseudo-
religious organizations harmful for the individual and
On account of the persecutions in the twentieth centu-
society.
ry, the Russian Orthodox Church, when it became free from
C
government control, categorically declined to be associated
HURCH GOVERNANCE. The Russian Orthodox Church
(which is also known officially as the Moscow Patriarchate)
with the government and to become a state church. In 2000
has a hierarchical structure of governance. The supreme bo-
in the Bases of the Social Concept the church declared both
dies of church authority and governance are the Local Coun-
its loyalty to and its independence from the state and re-
cil, the Bishops’ Council, and the Holy Synod, which is
served for itself the right, if necessary, of civil disobedience.
chaired by the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
Cases of such civil disobedience can be of either a personal
or a general nature:
The Local Council consists of the bishops and represen-
The Christian, following the will of his conscience, can
tatives of the clergy, monastics, and laity. It interprets the
refuse to fulfil the commands of state forcing him into
teaching of the Orthodox Church, preserving the doctrinal
grave sin. If the church and her holy authorities find it
and canonical unity with the local Orthodox Churches. It
impossible to obey state laws and orders, after a due
also deals with internal matters of church life, canonizes
consideration of the problem, they may take the follow-
saints, elects the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and es-
ing action: enter into direct dialogue with the authori-
tablishes the procedure of such elections.
ties on the problem, call upon the people to use demo-
cratic mechanisms to change the legislation or review
The Bishops’ Council, which is convened every four
the authority’s decision, apply to international bodies
years, consists of the diocesan bishops and those assistant
and world public opinion and appeal to her faithful for
bishops who direct synodal departments and theological
peaceful civil disobedience.
academies, or have canonical jurisdiction over parishes in
The Bases of the Social Concept is the first document in the
their charge. The Bishops’ Council is responsible for, among
history of world Orthodox Christianity that includes an offi-
other things, preparation for convening a Local Council and
cial statement on the possibility of disobedience to the state.
monitoring the implementation of its decisions. It also
The document also maintains that
adopts and amends the Statute of the Russian Orthodox
Church; resolves basic theological, canonical, liturgical, and
the state should not interfere in the life of the church
pastoral issues; canonizes saints; adopts liturgical offices;
or her government, doctrine, liturgical life, spiritual
gives competent interpretation to church regulations; ex-
guidance of her flock, etc., or the work of canonical
presses pastoral concern for contemporary problems; defines
church institutions in general, except for those aspects
the nature of relations with governmental bodies; maintains
where the church is supposed to operate as a legal entity
obliged to enter into certain relations with the state, its
relations with local Orthodox Churches; establishes, reorga-
legislation and governmental agencies. The church ex-
nizes, and dissolves self-governed churches, exarchates, dio-
pects that the state will respect her canonical norms and
ceses, and synodal institutions; and approves ecclesiastical
other internal statutes.
awards.
According to the Bases of the Social Concept, the Russian Or-
The Holy Synod, chaired by the patriarch of Moscow
thodox Church can effect its participation in state affairs by
and All Russia, is the governing body of the Russian Ortho-
cooperating in those areas that touch upon its sphere of inter-
dox Church between Bishops’ Councils. It is convened sever-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

7946
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
al times a year. Apart from the patriarch, it includes seven
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a self-governed
permanent and five temporary members. The permanent
church with the right of broad autonomy. Its primate is the
members of the synod are the metropolitans of Kiev and All
metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine.
Ukraine, of Minsk and All Belorussia, of Kisineu and All
The three Russian Orthodox dioceses in the Republic
Moldova, of Krutitsy and Kolomna, and of Saint Petersburg
of Kazakhstan are united into one metropolia headed by the
and Ladoga as well as the chancellor of the Moscow Patri-
metropolitan of Astana and Alma-Ata. The parishes in Kyr-
archate and the chairman of the Department for External
gyzstan, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan be-
Church Relations. Temporary members of the Holy Synod
long to the diocese of Tashkent and Central Asia headed by
are invited by rotation from among diocesan bishops to each
the metropolitan of Tashkent and Central Asia.
session.
The Russian Orthodox Church has eight dioceses “in
The patriarch of Moscow and All Russia is the first in
the distant abroad”: Argentine and South America, Berlin
honor among the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church.
and Germany, Brussels and Belgium, Budapest and Hunga-
He governs the Russian Orthodox Church together with the
ry, the Hague and the Netherlands, Korsun (in France,
Holy Synod, which he chairs. The patriarch is elected by the
Spain, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland), Sourozh (in the United
Local Council from among those bishops who are at least
Kingdom and Ireland), and Vienna and Austria. The patriar-
forty years old; enjoy a good reputation and confidence
chal parishes in the United States and Canada are consolidat-
among the bishops, clergy, and people; are higher theological
ed into deaneries governed by assistant bishops.
school graduates; have sufficient experience of diocesan gov-
The Russian Orthodox Church has representations to
ernance; are distinguished by their commitment to the ca-
the European Institutions in Brussels, to the World Council
nonical order; and “have a good report of them which are
of Churches in Geneva, to the United Nations in New York,
without” (1 Tm. 3:7). The patriarch is elected for life. In
to the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Cairo, to the Patriarchate
2004 the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was His
of Antioch in Damascus, to the Patriarchate of Serbia in Bel-
Holiness Alexy II (Ridiger), patriarch of Moscow and All
grade, to the Patriarchate of Bulgaria in Sofia, and to the
Russia, who in 1990 succeded Patriarch Pimen.
Church of Czech Lands and Slovakia in Prague. The Russian
Orthodox Church also has representations in Dusseldorff,
The synodal institutions are executive bodies under the
Strasbourg, Bari, Dublin, and in some other cities as well as
patriarch and the Holy Synod. There are a Department for
the ecclesiastical mission in Jerusalem.
External Church Relations, a Publishing Board, an Educa-
tion Committee, a Department for Catechism and Religious
The Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church and the
Education, a Department for Charity and Social Service, a
Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church are independent
Mission Department, a Department for the Co-Operation
churches free in their internal affairs and linked with Univer-
with the Armed Forces and Law-Enforcement Bodies, and
sal Orthodoxy through the Russian Orthodox Church. The
a Youth Department. The chancellery is also part of the
primate of the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church is
Moscow Patriarchate with the status of synodal institution.
the archbishop of Tokyo, metropolitan of All Japan. The pri-
mate is elected by the Local Council of the Japanese Autono-
INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. The Russian Orthodox Church
mous Orthodox Church, and his nomination is approved by
is divided into dioceses, which are local churches headed by
the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. In the early twenty-
a bishop and uniting diocesan institutions, deaneries, parish-
first century the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church
es, monasteries, church representations, theological educa-
consists of several communities of believers who because of
tional institutions, brotherhoods, sisterhoods, and missions.
political circumstances are deprived from permanent pastoral
Some dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church are consoli-
care.
dated in exarchates. This consolidation is based on the na-
The so-called Russian Orthodox Church Outside of
tional-regional principle. In 2004 the Russian Orthodox
Russia is a self-governed metropolia headed by its first hier-
Church had the Byelorussian exarchate located in the Re-
arch, the metropolitan of New York and Eastern America.
public of Belarus and headed by the metropolitan of Minsk
It separated from the Moscow Patriarchate in the 1920s for
and Slutsk, patriarchal exarch for All Belarus.
political reasons. In the early twenty-first century it is not
recognized as canonical either by the Moscow Patriarchate
The Moscow patriarchate incorporates autonomous and
or by any other local Orthodox Church. However, the pro-
self-governed churches. Self-governed churches function on
cess of its rapprochement with the Moscow Patriarchate is
the basis of and within the limits provided by the patriarchal
underway, which may eventually lead to restoration of full
tomos issued by the decision of the Local Council or the
communion between it and the world Orthodoxy.
Bishops’ Council. In the early twenty-first century the self-
governed are the Latvian Orthodox Church (primate—the
SEE ALSO Uniate Churches.
metropolitan of Riga and All Latvia), the Orthodox Church
of Moldova (primate—the metropolitan of Kishinev and All
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Moldova), and the Estonian Orthodox Church (primate—
Arseniev, Nicholas. Russian Piety. 2d ed. Crestwood, N.Y., 1975.
the metropolitan of Tallinn and All Estonia).
Bolshakoff, Serge. Russian Mystics. Kalamazoo, Mich., 1980.
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RUTH AND NAOMI
7947
Bulgakov, Sergei. The Orthodox Church. Revised translation by L.
Elimelech’s unexplained death, the two sons marry Orpah
Kesich. Crestwood, N.Y., 1988.
and Ruth (both Moabite). Ten years pass. Mahlon and Chi-
Ellis, Jane. The Russian Orthodox Church: A Contemporary History.
lion die, leaving the three women alone. Naomi begins a
London and Sydney, Australia, 1986.
journey back to Bethlehem and instructs her daughters-in-
Fedotov, George P. The Russian Religious Mind, vol. 1: Kievan
law to return to their mothers’ houses. Orpah departs with
Christianity: The Tenth to the Thirteenth Centuries, vol. 2:
a kiss, but Ruth clings to Naomi with a pledge. The two ar-
The Middle Ages: The Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Centuries
rive in Bethlehem at harvest. Naomi publicly laments her
(1946–1966). Belmont, Mass., 1975.
emptiness.
Fedotov, George P. A Treasury of Russian Spirituality. Belmont,
In chapter 2, at her own initiative, Ruth obtains food
Mass., 1975.
and protection by gleaning in the fields of Boaz, a relative
Kovalevsky, Pierre. Saint Sergius and Russian Spirituality. Crest-
of Elimelech. Boaz, an upstanding citizen, is generous with
wood, N.Y., 1976.
the women, and Naomi blesses him in her words to Ruth.
Lossky, Vladimir. The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church.
In chapter 3, Ruth seeks out a satiated, sleeping Boaz
Cambridge, U.K., 1957.
on the threshing floor one night. Adapting Naomi’s scheme,
Meyendorff, John. The Orthodox Church. Crestwood, N.Y., 1981.
Ruth uncovers his “legs” and lies beside him. When Boaz
Pospielovsky, Dimitri. The Russian Church under the Soviet Re-
awakes, Ruth asks him to claim her and to act as redeemer
gime, 1917–1982. 2 vols. Crestwood, N.Y., 1984.
of Naomi and Elimelech’s land. Boaz praises Ruth’s charac-
ter and agrees to her requests, but acknowledges the existence
Ramet, Petra, ed. Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twentieth
Century. Durham, N.C., and London, 1988.
of a closer relative/redeemer. Ruth returns secretly with food
to Naomi.
Ramet, Sabrina. Nihil Obstat: Religion, Politics, and Social Change
in East-Central Europe and Russia. Durham, N.C., and Lon-
In chapter 4, Boaz publicly approaches the closer rela-
don, 1998.
tive and manipulates him into waiving his right of redemp-
Schmemann, Alexander. The Historical Road of Eastern Orthodoxy.
tion. Boaz receives a blessing from the elders and claims Ruth
Crestwood, N.Y., 1977.
as his wife. Together, they produce an heir to Elimelech’s es-
tate. Neighbor women bless the Lord, praise the boy’s moth-
Struve, Nikita. Christians in Contemporary Russia. New York,
1967.
er, and ascribe him to Naomi. They name the child Obed,
the future grandfather of King David.
Ware, Bishop Kallistos. The Orthodox Church. New York, 1993.
The Book of Ruth concludes with a genealogy that may
Zernov, Nicolas. The Russian Religious Renaissance of the Twentieth
Century. New York, 1963.
be read either as integral to the story or as an external addi-
tion. The genealogy makes Ruth an ancestress of David and,
Zernov, Nicolas. The Russians and Their Church. New York, 1964.
therefore, of a Davidic messiah. The Christian Gospel of Mat-
THOMAS HOPKO (1987)
thew includes Ruth in a genealogy of Jesus (Mt. 1:5).
HILARION ALFEYEV (2005)
ORIGINS AND IMPLICATIONS. Some scholars have concluded
from the Obed genealogy that the Book of Ruth was written
to foster support for the Davidic dynasty. Others have em-
RUTH AND NAOMI have long enjoyed favored status
phasized Ruth’s Moabite heritage (reiterated frequently in
in Jewish and Christian tradition. Ruth is often portrayed as
the text) and have suggested Ruth was written in opposition
a paragon of virtue and a model for religious conversion.
to Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s post-exilic policy forbidding mar-
However, feminist scholars have tended to replace idyllic in-
riage to outsiders. Both claims are speculative.
terpretations with more complex understandings of the
The story itself, based on a folk-tale model, offers sparse
scriptural narrative that bears Ruth’s name.
evidence about historical matters such as date and circum-
THE BOOK OF RUTH. Ruth, one of two Hebrew Bible books
stance of origin. This tale (or separate Ruth and Naomi tradi-
titled after women, is a beautifully crafted tale consisting of
tions) may have circulated orally before becoming written
eighty-five verses divided into four chapters. More than half
text. The most scholars have said with certainty is that the
the verses feature dialogue among main characters. Naomi,
Book of Ruth achieved its final form no earlier than the time
Ruth, and Boaz are leading figures in Ruth. Orpah and an
of David. Name etymologies attributed to the characters in
unnamed relative/redeemer play key roles near the beginning
Ruth are historically suspect at best. Ruth also provides little
and end. Bethlehem’s women and (male) elders also figure
reliable information about actual Israelite practices concern-
importantly in the story. The narrative is framed by the
ing levirate marriage (which this technically is not), redemp-
death of three men and the birth of one child. The basic plot
tion of land, legal procedures, or religious acts.
is as follows:
God is mentioned as the agent of blessing and the source
In chapter 1, Elimelech and Naomi, with sons Mahlon
of Naomi’s complaint. Many readers understand God to be
and Chilion, journey from famine-stricken Bethlehem
a silent but active character in the story. The Book of Ruth
(meaning “house of food”) to Moab for survival. After
portrays ordinary people bringing about extraordinary
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7948
RUUSBROEC, JAN VAN
events. The Ruth scroll is read and celebrated annually dur-
Folklorist Interpretation (Baltimore, 1979) and Edward F.
ing the Jewish festival of Shavu’ot (Pentecost).
Campbell Jr.’s Ruth, vol. 7 of the Anchor Bible (Garden
City, N.Y., 1975). A commentary that takes feminist critique
The authorship of the Book of Ruth is unknown. Some
into account is Katharine Doob Sakenfeld’s Ruth, in the In-
scholars have proposed that, unlike most Hebrew scriptures,
terpretation Series (Louisville, Ky., 1999). Danna Nolan Fe-
this narrative speaks with a “woman’s voice.” The author
well and David Miller Gunn offer a self-described subversive
could be a woman, a community of women, or a man or men
reading in Compromising Redemption: Relating Characters in
sensitive to and influenced by women’s experience. But this
the Book of Ruth (Louisville, Ky., 1990). Feminist readings
is pure speculation and is more relevant to reading and inter-
are also available in works edited by Athalya Brenner: A Fem-
preting than to making historical or literary claims.
inist Companion to Ruth (Sheffield, U.K., 1993) and Ruth
and Esther: A Feminist Companion to the Bible
, second series
The pledge of Ruth to Naomi is commonly recited at
(Sheffield, U.K., 1999). Visual images linked to feminist
weddings, even though the original context is not marriage,
commentary on Ruth are available at http://
but two women whose fates are joined by an oath that re-
womensearlyart.net/ruth/.
mains intact even when one of them marries someone else:
SUSANNA W. SOUTHARD (2005)
“Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following
you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried. May the
RUUSBROEC, JAN VAN (1293–1381) was a Flem-
LORD do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death
ish Christian mystic, known as “the Admirable.” Born in Ru-
parts me from you!” (Ru. 1:16–17). Naomi responds to Ruth
usbroec, near (or in) Brussels, he was educated for the priest-
with silence, which leads some commentators to suggest that
hood in both lower and higher studies under the care of his
the pledge is more of a threat (or at least an expression of de-
kinsman Jan Hinckaert, canon of Saint Gudule collegial
termination) than a promise.
church in Brussels. He was ordained a priest at age twenty-
Feminist scholars have pondered the implications of the
four and became influential in the theological and spiritual
Book of Ruth. On the one hand, it may be read as a positive
currents of the church and of the tradition of Middle Nether-
story of strong women who work together to obtain security
landic (Netherlandic-Rhenish) mysticism. He led a devout
in a man’s world. Scholars who have taken this view have
life in the circle of friends around Hinckaert and Vrank van
compared Ruth to Tamar in Genesis 38. Tamar is also a
Coudenberch. Aware of the need to bring doctrinal teaching
strong woman who obtains justice and security from her fa-
to the people in their own language, Ruusbroec wrote in the
ther-in-law (Judah) through extraordinary means. On the
Brabant vernacular.
other hand, Ruth may be read as a story of assimilation where
In 1343, impelled by a longing for silence and a richer
the title character gains then loses her individual identity.
spiritual life, Ruusbroec and his companions withdrew to the
When Naomi arrives in Bethlehem, she speaks to the women
solitude of Groenendael, near Brussels. A few years later their
of “emptiness,” although Ruth, having pledged her presence,
association developed into a monastery of canons regular
presumably stands nearby. Ruth gains an identity (in
under the Augustinian rule of order. His gentleness gained
Naomi’s eyes as well as the reader’s) while interacting with
him the epithet “the good prior,” and his spiritual wisdom
Boaz. Yet in the end, Ruth’s child becomes Naomi’s, and
earned him the title “Doctor Admirabilis.” He wrote four ex-
neither woman is named in Obed’s genealogy, where the
tensive treatises and seven shorter works; only seven of his
child is attributed to Boaz. According to this reading, Ruth
letters have been preserved. His reputation for holiness was
the independent Moabite woman is transformed into a ser-
ratified when the church declared him “blessed” on Decem-
vant of patriarchal interests concerning land and lineage.
ber 2, 1908.
Some feminist scholars have dismissed Ruth and found
In Ruusbroec’s doctrine, human being is fundamentally
in Orpah the better role model. As Naomi’s words reveal,
oriented toward the triune God. He sees God as at once indi-
both daughters-in-law have shown chesed, meaning “kind-
visibly one and threefold, in constant tension between activi-
ness” or “loyalty” (Ru. 1:8). Orpah loves Naomi and honors
ty and essence. Essence enjoys itself quietly in modelessness.
her by following instructions. In returning to her mother’s
Activity is fecund. The Father, in knowing himself, creates
house, Orpah remains loyal to her own family, her own na-
relationships; he brings forth and expresses himself in his
tional identity (Moabite), and her own gods. Whether read
Son, the Word of God. In the reciprocal beholding of Father
traditionally or nontraditionally, the Book of Ruth and its
and Son, the Holy Spirit flows forth as the mutual bond of
characters are rich with meaning.
active love. Turning inward in essential love, they enjoy the
unity of essence, which drives them afresh toward activity.
SEE ALSO Shavu’ot.
In turning outward, God creates according to the image
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of his Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit. The human
Influential commentaries include Jack M. Sasson’s Ruth: A New
creature in its selfhood is irrevocably distinct from the tran-
Translation with a Philological Commentary and a Formalist-
scendent God. At the same time, however, the creature is in
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RUUSBROEC, JAN VAN
7949
relation with and directed toward God because human being
flowing transcendent love and of humankind’s potentiality
is created in the unity of God’s likeness and image.
for harmonious ascent to union with God.
Ruusbroec sees humanity as structured in a threefold
BIBLIOGRAPHY
way, according to three interacting unities. The body and the
Works by Ruusbroec
lower faculties of the soul are under the heart and form the
Ruusbroec, Jan van. Werken. 2d ed. 4 vols. Antwerp, 1944–1948.
unity of the heart. The higher faculties of the soul, oriented
In original Dutch.
to the highest human powers, form the unity of spirit, which
Wiseman, J. A., ed. John Ruusbroec: The Spiritual Espousals and
in activity is receptive to God’s essence. In these two lower
Other Works. New York, 1985.
unities, by the grace of God, the creature attains likeness to
Works about Ruusbroec
God in active (outer) life and in inner life (“unity by
Ampe, Albert. Kernproblemen uit de leer van Ruusbroec. 4 vols.
means”). According to the third unity, the creature attains
Tielt, 1950–1957.
its oneness with God’s image in the contemplative life
Ampe, Albert. “Jean Ruusbroec.” In Dictionnaire de spiritualité,
(“unity without means,” or “unity without difference”).
vol. 8. Paris, 1974.
Dupré, Louis. The Common Life: The Origins of Trinitarian Mysti-
In Christ (the God-man) humanness is realized in the
cism and Its Development by Jan Ruusbroec. New York, 1984.
fullness of likeness and unity-of-image in himself, and this
Mommaers, Paul. The Land Within: The Process of Possessing and
fullness is communicated to and in humankind. The ascent
Being Possessed by God according to the Mystic Jan van Ruysbr-
in likeness and unity is realized in Christ and in human be-
oeck. Chicago, 1975.
ings: on earth, characterized by mortality, in the likeness of
Mommaers, Paul, and Norbert de Paepe, eds. Jan van Ruusbroec:
grace; in heaven, characterized by immortality and irradiated
The Sources, Content and Sequels of His Mysticism. Louvain,
by the lumen gloriae, in the likeness of glory. Ruusbroec’s
1984.
grandiose view provides a balanced synthesis of God’s out-
ALBERT AMPE (1987)
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S
SAEADYAH GAON (882–942), properly SaEadyah ben Yosef al-Fayyum¯ı, was a Jew-
ish theologian, jurist, scholar, and gaon (“head, eminence”) of the rabbinic academy at
Sura, Babylonia. SaEadyah was born in Dilaz: (modern Abu Suwayr) in the Faiyu¯m district
of Upper Egypt. Virtually nothing is known about his family and early education. By age
twenty-three, however, he had corresponded with the noted Jewish Neoplatonist Yitsh:aq
Israeli (c. 855–955), published the first Hebrew dictionary (Sefer ha-agron), and com-
posed a polemic against the Karaite schismatic EAnan ben David (fl. 760). After leaving
Egypt, SaEadyah spent time in both Palestine and Syria but eventually, in 921 or 922,
settled in Babylonia. There he championed the cause of the Babylonian rabbis in a dispute
with Palestinian authorities over fixing the religious calendar and published his views in
two treatises, Sefer ha-zikkaron and Sefer ha-mo Eadim. Recognizing his ability, the exilar-
ch, or hereditary leader of the Jewish community, awarded SaEadyah with an academic
appointment in 922 and subsequently elevated him to the gaonate of Sura. Soon after-
ward, in 930, a legal dispute between the two developed into a bitter political struggle
in which each deposed the other from office. SaEadyah was driven into formal retirement
in Baghdad, but, ultimately, reconciliation led to his reinstatement in 937.
A versatile and prolific author, SaEadyah pioneered in many areas of Jewish scholar-
ship. He translated the Hebrew Bible into Arabic, wrote commentaries on most of its
books, assembled the first authorized siddur, or Jewish prayerbook, and composed numer-
ous other works in the fields of jurisprudence, grammar, lexicography, liturgical poetry,
and theology. His most famous work, Sefer emunot ve-de Eot (933; The Book of Beliefs and
Opinions,
1948), was the first systematic exposition and defense of the tenets of Judaism
and contains a detailed account of his views.
The Book of Beliefs and Opinions reflects both the cosmopolitanism and the sectarian
rivalries characteristic of tenth-century Baghdad. SaEadyah indicates that the intense com-
petition between adherents of the various religious and philosophical creeds had produced
an atmosphere of spiritual confusion in which believers were either mistaken or in doubt
about the inherited doctrines of their religion, whereas unbelievers boasted of their unbe-
lief. Seeking to dispel such doubt and establish a common basis for achieving religious
C LOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT CORNER. Sixteenth-century illuminated miniature of dancing dervishes,
from the “Sessions of the Lovers.” [©Bodlein Library, University of Oxford]; South torana at the
Great Stupa at Sa¯ñc¯ı, India. [©Adam Woolfitt/Corbis]; Eleventh-century S´iva Nat:ara¯ja from
Southern India. Musée Guimet, Paris. [©Giraudon/Art Resource, N.Y.]; The “Wedded Rocks”
at Futamigaura in Ise, Japan. [©Werner Forman/Art Resource, N.Y.]; Angkor Vatt, Cambodia.
[Dave G. Houser/Corbis].
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7952
SAEADYAH GAON
certainty, SaEadyah adopted the methods of kala¯m (Islamic
simple in nature. Moreover, the essential attributes of life,
speculative theology) current in his day. He aimed to defend
power, and wisdom should not be understood as separate
the doctrines of his faith and to refute errors by using rational
features of God’s nature but as identical with it. Only a defi-
arguments that could convince any reasonable person. Thus,
ciency of language necessitates speaking about distinct attri-
from mere acceptance of traditional doctrines, itself always
butes. Similarly, reason dictates that whenever scripture de-
open to doubt, the reader would arrive at rationally estab-
picts God with creaturely characteristics, these terms should
lished beliefs or convictions, just as the book’s title suggests.
be understood metaphorically.
To facilitate this transition, SaEadyah begins by identify-
In accounting for God’s relation to his creatures,
ing the causes of error and doubt. He then analyzes three
SaEadyah takes up various questions about divine justice. By
sources of truth and certainty and illustrates their proper use:
creating the world out of nothing, God wished to endow
(1) sense perception, (2) rational intuition of self-evident
creatures with the gift of existence. He further sought to pro-
principles, and (3) valid inference. To these he adds a fourth
vide them with the means for attaining perfect bliss by giving
source based on the other three, reliable tradition, which is
them the commandments of the Torah. By thus requiring
both indispensable to civilized life and the medium in which
human effort to attain happiness rather than bestowing it by
God’s revelation to the prophets is transmitted. While
grace, God assured that such happiness would be all the
SaEadyah confidently believes human speculation can arrive
greater. The commandments themselves fall into two classes:
at the truth of everything disclosed in prophecy, revelation
rational commandments, such as the prohibitions against
is still necessary to teach the truth to those incapable of spec-
murder and theft, and traditional commandments, such as
ulation and to guide the fallible inquiries of those who are
the dietary and Sabbath laws. The authority of the former
capable, since only God’s knowledge is complete. Because
lies in reason itself, while that of the latter lies in the will of
verification of revealed truths confirms faith, SaEadyah con-
the commander. God revealed both types of law, because
siders such verification a religious obligation.
without revelation not even perfectly rational men would
agree on the precise application of the rational laws, much
SaEadyah’s organization of the rest of the treatise like-
less discover the traditional laws, on both of which their sal-
wise reflects kala¯m, especially the preoccupation of the
vation depends.
MuEtazil¯ı school with establishing God’s unity and justice.
To prove the existence of the one God, SaEadyah employs
For SaEadyah, the fact of revelation is confirmed by the
four standard kala¯m arguments showing that the world was
occurrence of publicly witnessed miracles, announced in ad-
created and must therefore have a creator.
vance, that could have been performed only by God’s om-
nipotence. They are to be accepted as proof of the authentici-
(1) Since the world is spatially finite, the power within it
ty of the revelation, unless the revealed teaching is contrary
that maintains it in existence must also be finite. But
to reason.
then the world’s existence over time must likewise be fi-
nite, indicating that it was created.
Once God holds humanity responsible for fulfilling his
commandments, justice requires that people be able to
(2) Everything composite is created by some cause. Since
choose to obey or disobey. SaEadyah argues that sense experi-
the whole world displays skillful composition, it must
ence attests to this ability in us and that reason shows that
have been created.
God does not interfere with its exercise. While God fore-
(3) All bodies in the world are inseparably linked to acci-
knows exactly what one shall choose, his knowledge in no
dental characteristics that are created in time. But what-
way causes one’s choices. One can always choose otherwise,
ever is inseparably linked to something created is itself
although he would foreknow that choice too.
created.
Rewards and punishments are determined according to
(4) If the world were eternal, an infinite period of time
the majority of one’s actions, and for SaEadyah the suffering
would have to have elapsed for the present to be
of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked also con-
reached. But since an infinity cannot be traversed and
form to this rule. For either such experiences represent im-
the present has been reached, the world must have exist-
mediate retribution in this world for the minority of one’s
ed for only a finite period after being created.
evil or good actions (with eternal reward or punishment for
the rest to follow in the world to come), or they are tempo-
SaEadyah offers further arguments to show that the world
rary trials whereby God may increase one’s reward in the
could only have been created out of nothing and by a single
hereafter. These latter are “sufferings of love,” and bearing
deity.
them bravely counts as a righteous act deserving reward. In-
SaEadyah’s discussion of God’s nature and attributes
deed, SaEadyah’s commentary on Job interprets it as a debate
traces the implications of his being a creator. For God to
designed to show that undeserved suffering really is a trial.
have created a world such as ours at a point in the past, he
For Job erroneously thought that God’s justice consists sim-
must be alive, powerful, and wise. But insofar as God is cre-
ply in doing as he wishes, a position reminiscent of the rival
ator and not creature, he cannot possess the characteristics
AshEar¯ı school of kala¯m, while the friends mistakenly sup-
of creatures. Hence, he must be incorporeal and absolutely
posed all suffering is a penalty. Only Elihu claims that Job’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

SABAZIOS
7953
afflictions are a trial that divine justice will repay, and God
ume, edited by Boaz Cohen for the American Academy for
confirms this by reasserting his providence over all creation
Jewish Research (New York, 1943); Abraham Neuman and
and restoring Job’s material fortunes prior to rewarding his
Solomon Zeitlin’s Saadia Studies (Philadelphia, 1943); and
soul in the hereafter.
Steven T. Katz’s Saadiah Gaon (New York, 1980).
New Sources
SaEadyah defines the soul as a pure, luminous substance
Aizenberg, Yehudah. Ha-Derekh li-shelemut: e-mishnato shel Rav
that can act only through the body. Because the body and
Se Eadyah GaDon. Jerusalem, 1985.
the soul are jointly responsible for one’s behavior, God’s jus-
Eisen, Robert. “Job as a Symbol of Israel in the Thought of
tice requires that retribution affect both together. According-
Saadiah Gaon.” Daat 41 (1998): 5–25.
ly, he will resurrect the bodies of Israel’s righteous from the
Simon, Uriel. Four Approaches to the Book of Psalms: From Saadiah
dust with the same power he used to create them ex nihilo.
Gaon to Abraham Ibn Ezra. Translated by Lenn J. Schramm.
This event heralds Israel’s messianic age and universal peace.
Albany, N.Y., 1991.
It occurs either when all Israel repents or when God’s foreor-
Weiss, Roslyn. “Saadiah on Divine Grace and Human Suffering.”
dained end arrives, whichever is first. However, when God
Journal of Jewish Thought & Philosophy 9 (2000): 155–171.
finishes creating the appointed number of souls, there will
Zewi, Tamar. “Biblical Hebrew Word Order and Saadya Gaon’s
be a general resurrection and judgment, and a new heaven
Translation of the Pentateuch.” Ancient Near Eastern Studies
and earth. In this final retribution, the righteous will bask,
38 (2001): 42–57.
and the wicked will burn, in the light of a miraculous divine
radiance.
BARRY S. KOGAN (1987)
Revised Bibliography
SaEadyah concludes the treatise by describing the kind
of conduct worthy of reward. Since humans are composite
creatures with many conflicting tendencies, they should not
SABAZIOS, a god of the Thracians and the Phrygians,
devote themselves to one above all others. Rather, they
is also known from Greek and Latin sources as Sabadios,
should strive for a balance and blending of preoccupations
Sauazios, Saazios, Sabos, Sebazios, Sabadius, and Sebadius.
determined by reason and Torah.
His name is related to the Macedonian word sauâdai, or saû-
Aside from offering the first systematic exposition of Ju-
doi, meaning “satyrs” (Detschew, 1957, p. 427). According
daism in rational terms, SaEadyah laid the foundation for all
to some scholars (e.g., Lozovan, 1968), he was a Thracian
later medieval Jewish philosophy by asserting the complete
mountain god whose cult was carried by Phrygian emigrants
accord of reason and revelation. Although SaEadyah was far
from Thrace to Anatolia.
more confident than his successors about what reason could
Greek sources from the fifth century BCE onward men-
prove, his commitment to investigation and proof in all areas
tion Sabazios as a Thracian or Phrygian god. In Athens, his
of Jewish scholarship gave rationalism a legitimacy in Juda-
cult’s initiation ceremonies took place by night, and the
ism that it might not otherwise have enjoyed. He is rightly
adepts were purified by being rubbed with mud. A sacramen-
recalled as “the first of those who speak reason in every area.”
tal drink was also involved. The identification of Sabazios
with Dionysos, which occurs regularly in Hellenistic sources,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
is unquestionable. However, Phrygian inscriptions relate
Still the best general survey of SaEadyah’s life and oeuvre is Henry
him to Zeus, and in North Africa, where his cult is attested
Malter’s Saadia Gaon: His Life and Works (1921; reprint,
as early as the fourth century BCE, he might have had the fea-
Philadelphia, 1978). The only complete English translation
tures of a heavenly god; hence he was later identified with
of SaEadyah’s main theological work is Samuel Rosenblatt’s
the Semitic god Baal, both of them receiving the Greek epi-
Saadia Gaon: The Book of Beliefs and Opinions (New Haven,
thet hupsistos (“highest, supreme”). He was probably wor-
1948), with an analytical table of contents and a useful index.
shiped in Thrace under other local names, such as Athy-
An abridged translation of the same work with an excellent
parenos, Arsilenos, Batalde Ouenos, Eleneites, Mytorgenos,
introduction and notes is Alexander Altmann’s Saadia Gaon:
Ouerzel(enos), and Tasibastenus.
Book of Doctrines and Beliefs, available in Three Jewish Philos-
ophers,
edited by Hans Lewy et al. (New York, 1960). The
Sabazios’s name has been connected with the Indo-
most comprehensive discussion in English of SaEadyah’s en-
European *swo-, meaning “[his] own,” and with the idea of
tire worldview is Israel I. Efros’s “The Philosophy of Saadia
freedom, which occurs frequently among the epithets of
Gaon,” in his Studies in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (New
Dionysos. Franz Cumont has suggested a relationship with
York, 1974), since it draws from a variety of SaEadyah’s
the Illyrian sabaia, or sabaium, identifying a beer extracted
works. A shorter but still valuable discussion remains Julius
from cereals (see Russu, 1969, p. 241). More recently, Ghe-
Guttmann’s “Saadia Gaon,” in Philosophies of Judaism (New
orghe Mu¸su has translated Sabazios as “sap god,” from the
York, 1964). A basic resource for understanding SaEadyah’s
relation to kala¯m is Harry A. Wolfson’s The Repercussions of
Indo-European roots *sap- (“taste, perceive”) and *sab-
the Kalam in Jewish Philosophy (Cambridge, Mass., 1979).
(“juice, fluid”). This translation corresponds well to the pat-
Useful individual studies of SaEadyah’s communal activities
tern of Dionysos/ Sabazios, who was the divinity of humidity
as well as different aspects of his literary, scholarly, and theo-
and as such was connected with both vegetation and intoxi-
logical work may still be found in the Saadia Anniversary Vol-
cation (see Mu¸su, in Vulpe, 1980, pp. 333–336).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

7954
SABBATEANISM
The Jews of Syria and Anatolia identified Sabazios with
Lane, Eugene. “Towards a Definition of the Iconography of Sa-
Sabaoth. Under the Roman rulers Sabazios was worshiped
bazius.” Numen 27 (1980): 9–33.
in Thrace, where he was more often known as Sebazios or,
Taceva-Hitova, Margarita. “Wesenzüge des Sabatioskultes in
in Latin, Sabazius, Sabadius, or Sebadius and where he re-
Moesia Inferior und Thracia.” In Hommages à Maarten J.
ceived such epithets as epekoos (“benevolent”), kurios
Vermaseren, edited by M. B. de Boer and T. A. Edridge, vol.
(“lord”), megistos (“greatest”), and so forth. In Crimea, prob-
III, pp. 1217–1230. Leiden, 1978.
ably under Jewish-Anatolian influence, he was called hupsis-
Tassignon, Isabelle. “Sabazios dans les pantheons des cités d’Asie
tos. He was constantly identified with both Zeus and the sun.
Mineure.” Kernos 11 (1998): 189–208.
Motifs of hands making the votive gesture of benedictio La-
IOAN PETRU CULIANU (1987)
tina are among the distinctive features of his cult. According
CICERONE POGHIRC (1987)
to several Christian writers (Clement of Alexandria, Arnobi-
Revised Bibliography
us, and Firmicus Maternus), the most impressive rite of initi-
ation into the mysteries of Sabazios consisted of the adept’s
contact with a snake (aureus coluber) that was first put over
SABBATEANISM SEE SHABBETAI TSEVI
his breast (per sinum ducunt) and then pulled down to his
genitals.
SABBATH, JEWISH
No less enigmatic than Zalmoxis, Sabazios was wor-
SEE SHABBAT
shiped as early as the fourth century BCE both as a chthonic
and as a heavenly god. Scholars have too often tried to solve
this riddle by supposing a borrowing from Jewish religion,
SACRAMENT
This entry consists of the following articles:
but Jewish influence was not relevant in Anatolia before the
AN OVERVIEW
third century BCE. One should rather consider that chthonic
CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS
features determined the character of the Thracian Sabazios,
whereas the Phrygian Sabazios was probably connected with
SACRAMENT: AN OVERVIEW
the sky.
The meaning of the term sacrament is heavily determined by
Christian usage. This circumstance presents both important
BIBLIOGRAPHY
opportunities and certain difficulties for the scientific study
Bianchi, Ugo, and Maarten J. Vermaseren, eds. La soteriologia dei
culti orientali nell’impero romano. Leiden, 1982. See the
of religion. On the one hand, the familiarity of the term and
index, s. v. Sabazios.
of the rituals to which it refers in Christianity makes possible,
at least for the Western student of religion, progression from
Detschew, Dimiter. Die thrakischen Sprachreste. Vienna, 1957.
the known to the less known with the aid of developed cate-
Lozovan, Eugen. “Dacia Sacra.” History of Religions 7 (February
gories used for comparative purposes. On the other hand,
1968): 209–243.
there is the danger that the derivation of the category of sac-
Russu, I. I. Ilirii istoria, limba ¸si onomastica romanizarea. Bucha-
rament from Christianity will result in a distortion of other
rest, 1969.
religions, unduly emphasizing cognates or analogies while ig-
Vulpe, Radu, ed. Actes du Deuxième Congrès International de Thra-
noring or dismissing distinctive features of other traditions.
cologie, vol. 3, Linguistique, ethnologie, anthropologie. Bucha-
In order to both make good on the comparative oppor-
rest, 1980.
tunities provided by the term and to overcome the limita-
New Sources
tions of too heavy a reliance upon the perspective that has
Bodinger, Martin. “Le dieu Sabazios et le Judaisme.” Archaeus 6
determined its customary meaning, this article will first indi-
(2002): 121–139.
cate some of the antecedents to the standard Christian view
Corpus Cultus Iovis Sabazii (CCIS). Vol. I: The Hands. Vol. II: The
of sacrament. A consideration of parallels or cognates to
Other Monuments and Literary Evidence. Vol. III: Conclu-
Christian sacraments will be followed by a brief consider-
sions, edited by Maarten J. Vermaseren and Eugene N. Lane.
ation of the possibility of a more strictly formal definition
Leiden, 1983–89.
of the category.
Giuffré Scibona, Concetta. “Aspetti soteriologici del culto di Sa-
HELLENISTIC SACRAMENTS. While classical Christian usage
bazio.” In La soteriologia dei culti orientali nell’impero romano.
has largely determined the understanding of sacrament that
Atti del Colloquio Internazionale (Roma 24–28 Settembre
1979),
edited by Ugo Bianchi e Maarten J. Vermaseren,
the student of comparative religion employs in the study of
pp. 552–561. Leiden, 1982.
religion, it is important to have some awareness of the pre-
Christian understanding of sacrament and its Greek anteced-
Johnson, Sherman E. “The Present State of Sabazios Research.”
In Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt 2.17.3,
ent, must¯erion. Three antecedents to the classical use of the
pp. 1583–1613. Berlin and New York, 1984.
term will be considered: the mystery cults, the apocalyptic
mystery, and the mystical, or gnostic, tradition.
Lane, Eugene. “Sabazius and the Jews in Valerius Maximus: A Re-
examination.” Journal of Roman Studies 69 (1979):
The mystery cults. The Greek must¯erion is of uncertain
35–38.
etymology but is most probably associated with muein,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SACRAMENT: AN OVERVIEW
7955
meaning “to close” (the mouth), and thus “to keep secret.”
“noetic” significance, other reform movements—most nota-
Certainly it was this connotation of secrecy that dominated
bly Buddhism—reject this connection to the Vedic rites in
the technical usage of the term to designate the Hellenistic
the quest for ultimate insight. In the Western Christian tra-
cults, especially those associated with Eleusis, which are ac-
dition examples of sacramental mysticism often approximate
cordingly known as “mystery cults” or simply as “mysteries”
the pattern of the yogic or gnostic transformation of external
(musteria). The term must¯erion designates the sharp dividing
ritual into interior discipline. While these parallel phenome-
line between initiates, for whom the secret history of the god
na demonstrate the way in which the bodily action of ritual
(his birth, marriage, or death and rebirth, depending on the
may become paradigms for an interior praxis, it is with sacra-
cult) is dramatically reenacted, thus binding their fate to the
ment as a species of bodily action that the phenomenology
god’s, and noninitiates, who cannot participate in this kind
of religion must be most concerned.
of salvation.
EMERGENCE OF THE CLASSICAL PERSPECTIVE. The Latin
If the term were to be employed in this, its earliest tech-
sacramentum was generally employed as a technical term for
nical religious sense, for phenomenological and comparative
a military oath, the vow of a soldier. The initiatory function
purposes, its application would necessarily be restricted to es-
of this vow understood in relation to the vow of secrecy asso-
oteric initiation rites of cult societies such as those found
ciated with the Greek mysteries made possible the appropria-
among the indigenous peoples of the Americas (for example,
tion of the term sacramentum for those activities (especially
the Snake and Antelope societies of the Hopi). A somewhat
baptism) in which the Christian confession of faith (which,
more flexible usage might include those rites of passage that
like the vow of soldiers, placed one in mortal danger) played
stress the esoteric character of the knowledge imparted.
an important role. Thus, despite the typically exoteric char-
acter of Christian doctrine and practice, ideas and practice
Such usage, however, would be unwieldy for two rea-
associated with the Greek mysteries were used to interpret
sons: (1) it would exclude many rituals for which the term
Christian rituals. Sacramentum gradually lost its wider, apoc-
sacrament has become standard—Christian and Hindu ritu-
alyptic meaning, was increasingly used to refer to baptism
als in particular—and (2) it would duplicate existing termi-
and eucharist, and then was extended by analogy to apply
nology of initiatory rituals and rites of passage.
to related ritual actions including confession and penance,
confirmation, marriage, ordination, and unction. The earlier
Apocalyptic usage. In the New Testament, must¯erion
Latin sense of “vow” can still be discerned in baptism, confir-
is used in a way that is grounded in apocalyptic rather than
mation, marriage, and ordination, but the oldest Greek asso-
cultic sensibility. Here must¯erion refers to the disclosure of
ciations with cultic participation in salvation predominate.
God’s ultimate, or eschatological, intention. The term is
Thus sacrament comes to be exclusively identified with a set
used quite widely to designate anything that prefigures the
of ritual actions that are understood to be both necessary to
final consummation of the divine will or plan. Thus Chris-
and efficacious for salvation.
tian proclamation, biblical typology, and the inclusion of Jew
and gentile in divine election could all be referred to as
COGNATE SACRAMENTS. Since the scientific study of religion
must¯erion (which becomes sacramentum in Latin). Signifi-
is a discipline that has arisen within the culture most heavily
cantly, the term was not used in a specifically cultic sense at
influenced by Christianity, it is natural that much of its ter-
all in this period.
minology is borrowed from Christianity. (Just as, mutatis
mutandis,
Christianity has borrowed its terminology from
If this sense of the term, derived from late Jewish and
the cultures in which it has taken root.)
early Christian apocalyptic writings, were to be decisive for
phenomenological or comparative approaches to the study
If sacrament is defined ostensively, by reference to the
of religion, then the term’s application would be restricted
set of rituals that bear that name in Christianity, then one
to those groups that have a strong orientation to future ful-
is confronted with the question of whether to restrict this dis-
fillment. The Ghost Dance of the indigenous peoples of the
cussion to the two sacraments accepted by most Protestants
North American Plains and the elaborate baptismal rites of
(baptism and eucharist) or to include the additional five sac-
the African independent churches are illustrations of ritual
raments (confirmation, penance, marriage, ordination, and
enactments of such eschatological expectations.
extreme unction) accepted by Catholics. Clearly, eucharist
and baptism have a place of singular importance in all Chris-
Gnostic usage. Deriving from the theory and practice
tian traditions; a phenomenological approach, however, will
of the mystery cults, certain mystical and especially gnostic
seek the widest possible range of data and so provisionally
philosophical traditions of the Hellenistic world used
accept the more inclusive enumeration.
must¯erion to apply to the quest for transcendental insight.
There are two sorts of such sacraments, those that deal
While they dispensed with outward forms of ritual or cult,
with transitional moments and so are not repeated and those
they nevertheless sought by knowledge a saving union with
that are regularly repeated.
the divine.The religious tradition that best exemplifies this
sense of must¯erion/sacrament is the Hinduism of the
Sacraments of transition. The earliest and most impor-
Upanis:ads and of yoga. While these movements do not reject
tant of the transitional sacraments is baptism. In early Chris-
the ritual or cult but seek to give it a more pure, interior, and
tianity this ritual signified the movement from the worldly
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7956
SACRAMENT: AN OVERVIEW
to the eschatological reality, or, under influence from the
raments of transition, ordination and marriage (traditionally
Greek mysteries, from the profane to the cultic sphere of par-
thought of as mutually exclusive), have developed. Rites of
ticipation in the fate of the god. This type of transitional rite
ordination are found in virtually all societies in which a
is analogous to the initiation into cult societies of, for exam-
priestly caste is drawn from the society as a whole. (In a num-
ple, the indigenous peoples of the North American Plains.
ber of societies the priesthood is hereditary, and rites associ-
It is also characteristic of the African independent churches
ated with accession to cultic authority may be coterminous
of central and southern Africa.
with accession to adulthood. This appears to be largely true
of the brahmanic class of Hinduism, for example.) Marriage
As Christianity became more or less coextensive with
rites are obviously quite widespread although only those that
culture and society, the transition came more and more to
have a clearly sacred or religious character are directly compa-
be identified with birth or early infancy (a development con-
rable. Often these have the added dimension of rites to en-
tingent upon the understanding of penance and eucharist as
sure fertility.
supplementing the forgiveness of sins and transformation of
life originally associated with baptism). As a ritual associated
Perhaps the most highly developed system of sacraments
with infancy, it took the place of the Jewish rite of circumci-
of transition is to be found in Hinduism. The term sam:ska¯ra,
sion, except that it applied equally to female infants. It is thus
which generally translated as “sacrament,” refers to any rite
similar in function to the Hindu sacrament of Namakarana,
of transition, of which several hundred may have been per-
in which the child receives a name.
formed. In modern Hinduism the number of reduced (to be-
As baptism became “infant baptism,” the catechetical
tween ten and eighteen). These sacraments begin with con-
aspect of the ritual that inaugurated persons into full mem-
ception (Garbha¯dha¯na) and continue through pregnancy
bership in the cult society became fixed in the form of confir-
(Pum:savana, Simanta, Ja¯takarman). In addition to the nam-
mation. Insofar as confirmation is associated with adoles-
ing ceremony (Na¯makaran:a), which occurs a few days after
cence, it could enter into homology with rites of tribal
birth, there are sacraments to mark the first appearance of
initiation—a species of ritual that is exceedingly widespread
the infant outside the home, the child’s first solid food, the
and well developed among the indigenous peoples of the
tonsure, and the piercing of the child’s ears. Sacraments that
Americas, Africa, and Australia. In Africa and Australia the
mark the progress of the male child’s education include Up-
sacrament of initiation takes the form of segregating a cohort
anayana and Veda¯rambha. The completion of these studies
of adolescent males and placing them under great stress
requires a further sacrament (Sama¯vartana). Marriage
(often including circumcision) so that distinctions among
(Viva¯ha) is the only sacrament permitted to ´su¯dras or lower
them are erased. The loss of social identity and the violation
castes. The final transition of death is marked by the sacra-
of bodily integrity is accompanied by esoteric instruction and
mental rites of Antyes:t:i.
rites of great emotional force that frequently involve symbol-
These sacraments generally involve sacrifices, ceremo-
ism of death and birth. A significant number of groups, for
nies of fire and water, ritual washings, recitation of appropri-
example, the Bemba of Africa, have initiation rites (Chi-
ate mantras and prayers, and so on. Both individually and
sungu) of similar intensity for adolescent females. Among
collectively these Hindu sacraments are far more elaborate
North American aboriginal peoples, the young males (and,
than the comparable set of Christian rituals and so may pro-
rarely, females) undertake the highly individualized dream or
vide the student of religion with a more adequate set of cate-
vision quest, which may entail a rigorous journey, fasting,
gories for studying sacraments of transition.
and other ordeals. This individualized initiation contrasts
sharply with the corporate initiation of African and other
Repeatable sacraments. While sacraments of transition
groups.
are in principle nonrepeatable (with the possible and limited
exceptions of marriage and extreme unction), two sacra-
A further extension of transitional sacrament occurs
ments of great importance in traditional Christianity, pen-
with the development of extreme unction, the anointing of
ance and eucharist, do require repeated performance.
the sick. This sacrament may assume the form of a viaticum,
by means of which the recipient is enabled to make the tran-
In the Christian tradition penance is related to baptism
sition from this life to the world beyond. Insofar as the
as the restoration of baptismal purity and to the Eucharist
Christian sacrament of unction has the intention of healing
as the necessary preparation for participation. The confession
(as in the anointing of the sick), it becomes repeatable and
of sin has a place of central importance in the religion of
homologous to the healing rites found in virtually all reli-
Handsome Lake practiced by contemporary Iroquois in the
gious traditions. Collections of incantations for this same
United States and Canada. Individual confession to a priest
purpose constitute the Egyptian Book of Going Forth by Day,
was of great importance in Central and South America,
and in ancient Iran the whispering of formulas to the dying
among the Inca and Maya, as is confession to a shaman
person was accompanied by the administration of haoma, the
among, for example, the Inuit (Eskimo).
sacred beverage.
The ritual that is most often associated with sacramen-
Unlike baptism, confirmation, and unction, which tra-
tality is the Eucharist, Mass, or Communion of the Christian
ditionally have been required of all Christians, two other sac-
community. The selection of comparable rituals from the
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7957
history of religions will depend upon the degree of emphasis
such an ad hoc nature that they devolve to disguised ostensive
placed upon one of three aspects: thanks giving or offering,
definitions or are so broad as to identify virtually any ritual
communal meal, or sacrifice of the divine victim.
action. If, for example, sacrament is defined in accordance
with the principle of ex opere operatum (“what the action sig-
Certainly for much of Western history the last aspect
nifies it also accomplishes”), any ritual thought by its practi-
has been especially emphasized. The most dramatic instances
tioners to be efficacious (including, of course, all forms of
are the human sacrifices, which include the Greek phar-
magic) will be covered. If, on the other hand, only those ritu-
makos, a number of African rites, and practices belonging to
al actions positively commanded by Jesus are said to be sacra-
the high civilizations of the Americas, especially the Aztec.
ments, this proves to be an ostensive definition (which,
Among the latter the sun god, Tezcatlipoca, was impersonat-
moreover, is usually applied in an arbitrary manner—so as
ed by the prisoner of war most honored for beauty and brav-
to exclude ritual foot washing, for example). The same is true
ery, who received homage for a full year before being sacri-
of definitions of sacrament that insist on the conjunction of
ficed. Many of the human sacrifices, including those to
matter and form. According to this view, form designates the
Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, were subsequently eaten as
crucial pronouncement whereas matter may refer, for exam-
a form of ritual cannibalism.
ple, to the water of baptism, the oil of unction, or the bread
Substitutions for the flesh of the divine victim are also
and wine of the Eucharist. Moreover, this notion of matter
found, including the eating of a dough image of Huitz-
may be arbitrarily extended to apply also to the sacraments
ilopochtli, which first was shot with an arrow, and a similar
of penance (the sin of the believer) and marriage (the love
ritual involving the dough image of the tree god, Xocotl.
between spouses).
The communal meal is a common feature of many sacri-
If a formal definition is required, it appears that theolo-
fices. A vegetable, animal, or cereal offering is presented to
gy will not be of much help. It does seem possible, however,
the god and is subsequently shared by all participants, much
to propose a more strictly phenomenological definition. On
as in the Christian Communion the bread and wine is first
this basis sacrament may be defined as “a ritual that enacts,
offered in thanksgiving and then shared by the participants.
focuses, and concentrates the distinctive beliefs, attitudes,
Where these rites are associated with first-fruits festivals or
and actions of any religious tradition.” While any ritual may
with harvest, the element of thanksgiving (eucharist) is espe-
perform this function to some degree, it will usually be possi-
cially pronounced. These rites are found not only in agrarian
ble to discriminate within the ritual complex of a tradition
societies. Common among hunters and gatherers are rituals
as a whole that ritual (or group of rituals) that functions as
involving a communal meal in which the sacralized game an-
a paradigm for other ritual action and so may be said to have
imal is both praised and eaten. An example from the Pacific
a privileged and normative relationship to the articulated sys-
coast of North America is the ritual surrounding the first
tem as a whole. Usually these sacraments will be found with-
salmon catch. Among circumpolar peoples such rites are per-
in the prescribed corporate ritual or liturgy.
formed after successful bear hunts.
In this definition the initiation rites of the mystery reli-
Here too should be mentioned the preparation of sacred
gions, the Christian Eucharist, the Ghost Dance and peyote
substances whose consumption makes for unity with the di-
ritual of the North American Indians, and many other rituals
vine. The haoma of Iran, the soma of India, and the halluci-
already mentioned would be included. But the principle of
nogenic substances so important to the indigenous peoples
inclusion is not their resemblance to specific Christian rituals
of the Americas are illustrations. Members of the Native
but their location and function within the religious tradition
American Church, which includes many of the aboriginal
of which they are a part.
peoples of North America, use peyote as a sacramental ele-
ment within a liturgical setting in order to acquire union
In addition, rituals that are not material cognates to
with the divine.
Christian sacraments and so are necessarily overlooked on
the basis of an ostensive definition of sacrament now acquire
FORMAL DEFINITIONS OF SACRAMENT. The procedure that
a sacramental character. Thus the Shalako ceremony of the
has just been illustrated, of finding material cognates to the
Zuni Indians of New Mexico, which displays the vigor and
sacraments of the Christian tradition in the field of religious
values of the Zuni while inviting the participation and bless-
studies, while illuminating in certain respects, may tie the
ings of the gods, is a sacrament in the form of a dance (to
term too closely to the Christian tradition to be genuinely
which there are no Christian but many other religious cog-
serviceable for phenomenological purposes. Accordingly, one
nates). While regular occasions for prayer do not have a sac-
may attempt to acquire a more formal definition of sacra-
ramental character in Christianity, they may well have this
ment, a definition that can be employed for comparative
character in Islam, which is generally suspicious of ritual and
purposes.
of Christian sacraments in particular. Finally, the Buddhist
Since Christian theology has devoted considerable ener-
practice of zazen, which consists of periods of sitting and
gy to the development of such a formal definition, one may
breathing punctuated by periods of walking, may have a
look first to the theological definitions. When this is at-
place of importance and function similar to the Christian
tempted, however, it becomes clear that these are either of
Eucharist.
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SACRAMENT: CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS
The further refinement of a phenomenological defini-
church. The Eastern Christian and Roman Catholic church-
tion of sacrament in tandem with its use in the analysis of
es enumerate these rituals as seven: baptism, confirmation (or
the place and function of particular rituals within the wider
chrismation), eucharist, penance (sacrament of reconcilia-
ritual complex of which they are a part is an important agen-
tion), matrimony, ordination (or holy orders), and the
da for the study of religion.
anointing of the sick (extreme unction). Protestant churches
usually enumerate the sacraments (in the narrower sense of
SEE ALSO Gnosticism; Human Sacrifice; Initiation; Mystery
the term) as only two, namely, baptism and eucharist, be-
Religions.
cause these two are clearly identified in the New Testament.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The word sacrament derives from Latin sacramentum,
For concise historical background, see the article on musterion by
meaning “oath,” “pledge,” or “bond.” As a Christian term
Günther Bornkaum in Theological Dictionary of the New Tes-
applied to rituals of worship, it is found no earlier than the
tament, edited by Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich
third century, when it came into use in Western churches as
(Grand Rapids, 1964–1976), and the article “Mystery,” in
a translation of the Greek term must¯erion, which had the reli-
the Encyclopedia of Theology, edited by Karl Rahner (New
gious connotation of effecting union with the divine, even
York, 1975).
before Christians used the term in that sense. When the word
The classic treatment of rites analogous to sacraments of transition
sacrament is used in the singular without contextual specifica-
is Arnold van Gennep’s Les rites de passage (Paris, 1909),
tion, it may be assumed to mean the Eucharist.
translated by Monika B. Vizedom and Gabrielle L. Caffee as
JEWISH ROOTS. At the time of Jesus of Nazareth the people
The Rites of Passage (Chicago, 1960). Victor Turner’s The
Ritual Process
(Chicago, 1969) is a major contribution to the
of Israel, the Jewish community, enjoyed a rich accumula-
understanding of these rituals. A useful source for the Hindu
tion of symbolism and ritual. Jesus and his early followers
sacraments is Raj Bali Pandey’s Hindu Samskaras: A Socio-
participated in that heritage and followed the observances.
Religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2d rev. ed. (Delhi,
Characteristically, Christian rituals were shaped not only out
1969). Ake Hultkrantz’s Religions of the American Indians,
of the immediate experience of the early Christian communi-
translated by Monica Setterwall (Los Angeles, 1979), con-
ty but also out of the stories, imagery, and ritual observances
tains important information and an excellent bibliography.
of their Jewish tradition. This influence can be seen in Chris-
Ronald L. Grimes’s Beginnings in Ritual Studies (Washing-
tian perceptions of sacred space and sacred time, and it also
ton, D. C., 1982) suggests the relationship between zazen
appears in the configuration of sacred actions.
and the Eucharist.
The core of the Christian sacramental system is the Eu-
New Sources
Davis, Richard H. Ritual in an Oscillating Universe: Worshiping
charist, also known as the Divine Liturgy, the Lord’s Supper,
Siva in Medieval India. Princeton, N.J., 1991.
the Communion service, and the Mass. The ritual is based
directly on the table grace of Jewish observance as solemnized
Vahanian, Gabriel. “Word and Sacrament: The Religious Dialec-
tic of Nature and Culture.” In Natural Theology Versus Theol-
in the Passover Seder. There are several common elements:
ogy of Nature, pp. 140–149. Berlin; New York, 1994.
the community is gathered to respond to God’s call and to
fulfill a commandment; the gathering is at a ritual meal at
THEODORE W. JENNINGS, JR. (1987)
which prescribed foods are blessed, shared, and consumed;
Revised Bibliography
the accompanying prayers and ceremonies ritually reenact a
past saving event so that the present worshipers become part
of that past event and it becomes present in their experience;
SACRAMENT: CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS
the doing of this anticipates a fulfillment that still lies in the
In the Christian community sacraments are acts of worship
future; the ritual (though not it alone) constitutes the partici-
that are understood by the worshipers to give access to an
pants as God’s holy people. In the Jewish understanding and
intimate union with the divine and to be efficacious for salva-
also in the Christian, the ritual is not effective in isolation
tion. The term sacraments is sometimes used in a very broad
from the community’s daily life; on the contrary, it is effec-
sense for places, persons, things, ceremonies, and events that
tive precisely in its reshaping of the imagination and sense
mediate, or are intended to mediate, the presence and power
of identity of the worshipers, bringing about a transforma-
of the divine. In this broad sense, Christians acknowledge
tion of individual and social life.
sacraments in other religious traditions and also in the partic-
Other sacramental rites that have clear antecedents in
ular circumstances of the lives of individuals and groups. A
Jewish observances are baptism in water as a ritual of spiritual
simple illustrative story in the Hebrew scriptures (the Old
regeneration, the imposition of hands in blessing, and the ac-
Testament of Christians) is that of Jacob setting up a stone
tion of anointing to confer an office or mission. Beyond the
in the desert and calling the place Bethel, house of God (Gn.
direct influence of ritual actions of Jewish life, there is the
28:10–22).
much more extensive and pervasive indirect influence of sto-
More usually the term sacraments refers to a limited
ries, prayers, and symbols from the Hebrew scriptures. Thus,
number of ancient rituals understood to be the acts of Jesus
baptism is not easily understood without knowledge of the
Christ carried out through the continuing ministry of the
Hebrew stories of creation and sin, of the Deluge, and of the
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passing through the waters of the Red Sea at the Exodus and
The custom was established in the early centuries of the
through the waters of the Jordan River as Israel took posses-
laying on of hands not only in confirmation but also in
sion of the Promised Land. Similarly, confirmation (chris-
the designation of persons to certain ministries or offices in
mation) is not readily understood without reference to the
the life and worship of the community. Such laying on of
theme of the breath of God, which runs through the Hebrew
hands symbolized the passing on of authorization under-
scriptures.
stood to come in a continuous line from Jesus and his earliest
EARLY HISTORY. Although there are references to sacramen-
followers. It was performed in the context of a worship as-
tal activity in the New Testament, and these are accompa-
sembly and was accompanied by prayers and solemnity.
nied by a sacramental theology (e.g., 1 Cor.), little is known
From the fourth century onward there is evidence of the
about the form of early Christian ritual except through late
blessing of marriages, at least in certain cases, by bishops, al-
second-century sources. By the fourth century most of the
though the ritual of marriage was otherwise performed ac-
rituals were elaborate and well established in the patterns that
cording to local civil custom. Of the anointing of the sick
were to endure, though they were not numbered explicitly
there is, despite the injunction found in the New Testament
as seven until the twelfth century in the West and the seven-
(Jas. 5:14), no clear evidence from the early centuries of the
teenth century in the East.
church.
Early Christian rites. The central sacrament has always
Theology of the rites. Christian sacraments are based
been the Eucharist. From early times it has consisted of a rit-
on the understanding that human existence in the world as
ual meal of small amounts of bread and wine, commemorat-
human beings experience it is not as it is intended by God,
ing the farewell supper of Jesus before his death and extend-
its creator; hence they stand in need of salvation (redemp-
ing the presence and friendship of Jesus to his followers
tion, rescue, healing). If all were in the harmony of God’s
through the ages. The celebration begins with readings from
creation, all things would speak to humanity of God and
the Bible, prayers, usually a sermon on the biblical texts read,
would serve its communion with God. However, because of
and sometimes, hymns. Then follows a great prayer of praise
a complex legacy of the misuse of human freedom (a legacy
and thanksgiving, recited by the one who presides over the
known as original sin), the things of creation and the struc-
ritual; in this context the story of the farewell supper is recit-
tures of human society tend to betray humans, turning them
ed and reenacted. The bread and wine are consecrated, the
away from their own true good. Jesus Christ is seen as the
bread is broken and distributed to the worshipers, who con-
savior (redeemer and healer) in his life, actions, teachings,
sume it immediately, and the wine is likewise consumed.
death, and resurrection. The sacraments are understood as
This eating and drinking is known as “communion.”
continuing his presence and redeeming power.
Admission to the community formed around the Eu-
In the New Testament and the other writings extant
charist is by baptism and confirmation. In the early centuries
from the earliest period of Christian history, known as the
baptism was by total immersion of the candidate, preferably
patristic period, the community dimension of the sacraments
in running water, accompanied by a formula of profession
is inseparable from the communion with God that they offer.
of faith. This going through the water symbolizes a death and
Sacraments are redemptive because they draw people into the
a spiritual rebirth. Baptism was surrounded by lesser ritual
fellowship in which salvation is found. Baptism is the out-
elements: a divesting of old clothes and donning of a new
reach of God through Jesus in his community whereby it is
white robe (which was worn for about one week), an anoint-
possible for a person to turn (convert) from the ways and so-
ing, and the receiving of a lighted candle. The ritual was gen-
ciety of a world gone astray to the ways and society of the
erally preceded by a fast of some days and an all-night vigil.
community of the faithful. That this is the meaning of bap-
A further step of the initiation into the community was a
tism is evident in the New Testament in the early chapters
confirmation of the baptism by the bishop (the leader of the
of the Acts of the Apostles and in the instructions given in the
local church) with a laying on of hands, a further anointing,
early community, for instance, in the Didache. Similarly, the
and a prayer that the Holy Spirit (the breath of God that was
Eucharist is seen as fashioning worshipers into “one body”
in Jesus) might descend upon the candidate.
with Jesus Christ, which has far-reaching consequences for
their lives and their relationships (as the apostle Paul explains
In the early centuries, there were also many reconcilia-
in 1 Corinthians, chapters 11–13).
tion (penance, repentance) rituals: the recitation of the
Lord’s Prayer was one. However, there was also a more for-
In the patristic period, the theology of the sacraments
mal ritual of reconciliation, later modified radically, that ap-
was more inclusive and less specific than it later became, be-
plied to those excommunicated from the Eucharist and the
cause the terms musterion, among Greek writers, and sacra-
company of the faithful for some grave offense. A period of
mentum, among Latin writers, were being used rather gener-
exclusion, accompanied by the wearing of a special garb and
ally for all Christian rituals, symbols, and elements of
the performance of prescribed works of repentance that were
worship. But the emphasis is clearly on the Eucharist and the
supported by the prayers of the community, was concluded
initiation into the fellowship of the Eucharist, with the un-
by a ceremony in which the bishop led the penitents back
derstanding that it constitutes a dynamic in history. Not only
into the worship assembly to readmit them to the Eucharist.
does it commemorate the past event of the death and resur-
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SACRAMENT: CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS
rection of Jesus, and put the worshiper in intimate commu-
are ill, whether or not they are in danger of death. Anointing
nion with that event, but it anticipates a glorious fulfillment
of the sick has the double purpose of prayer for healing from
of all the biblical promises and hopes in the future, and puts
illness and forgiveness of sin.
the worshiper into intimate communion with that future,
The Orthodox churches ordain men only to their minis-
thereby transforming the quality of life and action within the
tries, as bishops, priests, deacons, subdeacons, and readers.
historical present.
Ordinations are performed by a bishop during the Liturgy,
SACRAMENTS IN THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN TRADITION.
and the consecration of a bishop is normally performed by
The sacramental practice and theology of the Orthodox
three bishops. Essentially the rite is that of imposition of
churches is in direct continuity with the Greek patristic writ-
hands, but this is preceded by an acclamation of the congre-
ings, emphasizing wonder and reverence in the presence of
gation in which the faithful approve the candidate and con-
the holy.
sent to his ordination. The candidate is then brought to the
altar to kiss its four corners and the hands of the bishop. The
Orthodox rites. Besides the seven sacraments enumer-
bishop lays hands on the candidate with a prayer invoking
ated above, Eastern Christianity recognizes a wide range of
God’s blessing.
ritual considered sacramental in a broader sense: the anoint-
ing of a king; the rite of monastic profession; burial rites;
The Orthodox marriage ceremony, celebrated by a
blessing of water on the feast of the Epiphany; and blessings
priest, has two parts, the Office of Betrothal and the Office
of homes, fields, harvested crops, and artifacts. These are not,
of Crowning, and includes the blessing and exchange of
however, all of equal importance.
rings, the crowning of the bride and groom, and the sharing
of a cup of wine by the couple.
Although, since the seventeenth century, the Orthodox
churches have accepted the Western enumeration of seven
Theology of the rites. Orthodox liturgy is concerned
rites, the manner of celebration of Orthodox sacraments does
with making the beauty of the spiritual an element of experi-
not correspond closely to the Western celebrations. The first
ence, even a haunting element of experience. Liturgy is
sacramental participation of an Orthodox Christian is that
“heaven on earth,” an anticipation of the glorious future.
of initiation, usually in infancy. The children are baptized
The fundamental sacramental principle is that in Jesus Christ
by total triple immersion with an accompanying formula in-
a process of divinization has begun that continues in the sac-
voking the triune God. This is followed immediately by the
ramental mysteries and draws the worshipers in. Christ him-
chrismation (anointing) of forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth,
self is the first sacramental mystery, continuing to live in the
ears, breast, hands, and feet, with words proclaiming the seal
church, whose sacred actions reach forward to a glorious ful-
of the gift of the Holy Spirit. As soon as possible thereafter,
fillment in the future. The sacramental actions are the real-
the infant is given Communion (either a small taste of the
ization or becoming of the church as heavenly and earthly
wine, or both bread and wine). This initiation is performed
community. Therefore, they establish communion with the
by a bishop or a priest.
redemptive events of the past, communion among persons,
and communion with the heavenly realm.
The Eucharist, also known as the Divine Liturgy, is or-
dinarily celebrated daily, though the community as a whole
In the theology of the Orthodox church there is a strong
is more likely to participate on Sundays, special feasts, and
sense of the organic wholeness, continuity, and pervasive
weekdays of Lent. It is performed in a highly elaborated way
presence of the redemption in the world, and therefore an
with processions, candles and incense, congregational sing-
unwillingness to draw some of the sharp distinctions that the
ing, and the wearing of special vestments by the celebrating
West has been willing to draw concerning the sacramental
clergy.
mysteries.
WESTERN DEVELOPMENTS UP TO THE SIXTEENTH CENTU-
The ordinary ritual of repentance and reconciliation is
RY. In the West, the sacraments underwent more change
not a public ceremony as in the early church but a private
than in the East. This was caused by many factors, such as
conversation between a Christian and a priest who acts in the
the large-scale conversions of European peoples, the cultural
name of the church. The penitent, the person seeking for-
discontinuity resulting from the dissolution of the Roman
giveness and reconciliation through the ministry of the
empire, the problem of the difference in languages, a poorly
church, ordinarily stands or sits before a cross, an icon (sa-
educated clergy in the medieval period, and some other char-
cred image) of Jesus Christ, or the book of the Gospels. The
acteristics of Western traditions in church organization and
priest, who stands to one side, admonishes the penitent to
theology.
confess his or her sins to Christ, because he, the priest, is only
a witness. Having heard the confession, and having perhaps
Western rites. In the practice of the sacraments as re-
given advice, the priest lays his stole (a type of scarf used as
ceived from the early church, there were some modifications.
a ritual vestment) on the head of the penitent, lays his hand
In the initiation, which was almost always conferred on chil-
on it and pronounces a prayer of forgiveness. Besides this rit-
dren in the medieval period, baptism, confirmation, and first
ual of repentance, which can be repeated many times by the
participation in the Eucharist were separated. The custom
same person, the anointing of the sick is available to all who
grew up of baptizing not by immersion but by pouring water
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7961
over the forehead of the child. Confirmation, being the pre-
East. Sacraments are valid if the rite is duly performed by a
rogative of the bishop, might be considerably delayed, and
duly authorized minister, quite independently of the spiritu-
Communion was delayed out of a sense that infants might
al goodness or worthiness of that minister, because essentially
“desecrate” the holy.
they are the acts of Christ performed through the mediation
of his church. Therefore a Eucharist correctly celebrated by
The Eucharist became something that the priest did; the
someone who has gone into schism from the church or who
people had little part in it and little understanding of it. Its
is wicked would nevertheless be a true Eucharist.
symbolism had become rather obscure and overlaid with ad-
ditions and the Latin language, which had been adopted be-
According to the Scholastics, the necessity of baptism,
cause it was the vernacular in the West in earlier centuries,
and of sacraments in general, for salvation is grounded in the
was retained long after ordinary people no longer understood
universal involvement of the human race in the heritage of
it. Communion by the laity became rare at this time, and
sinfulness and disorientation. This led to much speculation
even then it was restricted to the bread alone, the priest being
in medieval times concerning the fate of people who were not
the only one who received from the cup. Many ordinary
baptized because the opportunity had not been presented to
Christians sought their real inspiration and forms of worship
them. The Scholastics found an acceptable compromise in
outside the liturgy of the Eucharist and the sacraments, and
postulating, besides the “baptism of blood” of martyred con-
thus a great variety of other devotional practices arose.
verts who had not yet been initiated, a “baptism of desire”
granted to those who lived in good faith by the light that
As in the East, the old solemn and public form of recon-
God had given them.
ciliation gave way to a far more private one embodied in a
conversation between penitent and priest. This had originat-
There was strong emphasis in this theology on the effi-
ed in a tradition of voluntary individual spiritual guidance
cacy of the sacraments because they were the acts of Christ.
given by a wise and spiritual person who was not necessarily
Their efficacy is to bestow grace, that is, an elevation of
a priest. However, by the thirteenth century it had become
human existence to a privileged intimacy with God leading
obligatory for all people to confess, at least once a year, “all
to salvation. Augustine’s teaching tended to emphasize the
their grave sins” to their own parish priest, and the ceremony
gratuity of God’s gifts so strongly that it gave the impression
was constructed rather like a judicial procedure. By a subtle
to some that the human response of faith and surrender was
shift of usage in the twelfth century, the prayer that God
not a constituent of the sacramental encounter. Augustine
might forgive had become a declaration that the priest for-
and the medieval theologians taught that the salvific effect
gave by the power the church had vested in him. There were
of (or the grace bestowed by) a sacrament was not dependent
also some changes in the other sacraments. The anointing of
on the virtue of the one who administered the sacrament.
the sick became, in effect, the sacrament of the dying. Ordi-
Unfortunately, this was sometimes popularly understood as
nation was restricted not only to men, but to celibate men,
meaning that sacraments are also not dependent for their ef-
and the consent of the faithful was not sought, even as a ritu-
ficacy on finding faith in the recipient.
al formality. Effectively, the ranks of the clergy were reduced
S
to two: bishop and priest. Men were ordained to the other
ACRAMENTS IN POST-REFORMATION ROMAN CATHOLIC
T
ranks (deacon, subdeacon, minor orders) only as an interme-
RADITION. The Council of Trent (1545–1563), while cor-
recting many abuses, substantially reaffirmed both the prac-
diate step to the priesthood.
tice and the theology of the sacraments as they had been re-
There seems to have been no obligatory religious ritual
ceived from the medieval period. It was not until the
for a marriage until the eleventh century, although there was
twentieth century, and particularly until the Second Vatican
a custom of celebrating a Eucharist at which a canopy was
Council (1962–1965), that substantive developments oc-
placed over the bride and groom and a special blessing
curred.
was pronounced. After the eleventh century, weddings were
Roman Catholic rites. The most significant and perva-
performed at the church door with the priest as witness and
sive changes in the sacramental rites following Vatican II
were followed by a Eucharist at which the marriage was
were the restoration of a more extensive and careful use of
blessed. Essential to the ceremony was the exchange of con-
scripture and of preaching on the biblical readings; a recon-
sent by the couple. A ring was blessed and given to the bride.
struction of rites to emphasize the communal character of the
Theology of the sacraments. The Western theology of
sacraments and the full and active participation of the laity;
the sacraments is heavily indebted to Augustine, bishop of
and a simplification and clarification of the symbolism of the
Hippo (d. 430), though the Scholastic theology of the West
rites, effected by stripping away accretions and rediscovering
in the Middle Ages elaborated Augustine’s teachings much
the classic forms from the heritage of the early church, and
more. Key ideas in Scholastic teaching are concerned with
also by introducing some cautious and modest contemporary
the validity, the necessity, and the efficacy or causality of the
adaptations.
sacraments.
In the case of adults, initiation has been restored to its
Validity is a legal concept, and this gave a different di-
ancient form with some adaptations. As in the primitive
rection to Western sacramental theology from that of the
church, the culminating ceremonies are placed at the conclu-
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SACRAMENT: CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS
sion of a leisurely time of preparation known as catechume-
A distinct but related aspect of the renewed theology of
nate. In the case of infants, baptism has been simplified and
the sacraments after Vatican II is the rediscovery of the link
made more clearly a community action and commitment.
that was seen so clearly in the early church between Christian
sacraments and social justice. The very ceremonies and sym-
The Eucharist, like the other sacraments, is now cele-
bols of the sacraments are seen as presenting a radical chal-
brated in the vernacular. Even in large congregations, the
lenge to many of the existing structures of the world. Under
presiding priest now faces the community across the altar
the influence of biblical renewal and patristic scholarship,
rather than facing away from the people. More people now
there is a consistent effort in contemporary Catholic sacra-
have active roles in the ceremony. It is usual, not exceptional,
mental theology to correct a former bias by constant remem-
for all to communicate, that is, to partake of the bread, and,
brance that the sacraments are not simply acts of Christ but
on special occasions, also of the wine. The whole community
also of the community, are not only channels of grace but
at every Eucharist, not only the clergy on certain solemn oc-
also acts of faith and worship.
casions, exchanges a ritual “kiss of peace” (which is actually
more usually a handshake).
SACRAMENTS IN THE PROTESTANT TRADITION. Although
Protestant churches cannot simply be taken as a unity when
The anointing has been reinstated as a sacrament of the
discussing the sacraments, they do have one factor in com-
sick rather than the dying. But perhaps the greatest changes
mon: They define themselves by their discontinuity with the
have occurred in the structures for the sacrament of reconcili-
medieval church tradition. Positively they also define them-
ation, which now has not only an individual rite, but also
selves by a special emphasis on scripture and on personal
a communal one and a mixed one. The individual form re-
faith.
mains much as before but is enriched by scripture readings,
while the focus of the rite has shifted from the judicial func-
Protestant rites. In general, the Protestant churches ac-
tion to spiritual guidance in a progressive Christian conver-
knowledge as sacraments, in the strict sense of the term, only
sion. The communal form consists of an assembly in which
baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Although other rites are cele-
scripture is read; a sermon is preached; there are hymns and
brated, they are ordinarily not called sacraments because
prayers including a common, generic confession of sin and
Protestants generally find no evidence of their institution by
repentance; and a general absolution, given in the name of
Jesus Christ. Some Christian groups of the Western church
the church. In the mixed form a similar service is held, but
that are traditionally grouped with Protestants do not ac-
a pause is made during which individuals can go aside to
knowledge sacraments at all; examples are the Society of
make a personal and specific confession of sins to a priest out
Friends (Quakers), Unitarians, and Christian Scientists.
of earshot of the congregation, and an individual absolution
is given.
Among those Protestant churches that practice baptism,
some insist on the “believer’s baptism” and therefore will not
The significant change in holy orders is not in the cere-
baptize infants because they are not capable of a response of
mony but in the fact that the Catholic church once again or-
faith. Such, for instance, are the Baptists, the Disciples of
dains permanent deacons (thereby restoring a third rank of
Christ, and the Mennonites. These groups practice baptism
clergy), who, moreover, may be married men. Marriages are
by immersion. Most Protestant groups, however, do baptize
more usually celebrated with an exchange of rings, rather
infants and consider the pouring (sometimes the sprinkling)
than a ring for the bride only, and both partners receive the
of water over the head as sufficient, accompanied by the re-
nuptial blessing. It is still understood that the partners them-
cital of a formula usually invoking the triune God.
selves confer the sacrament on each other; the priest serves
as witness.
Protestant churches in general do not celebrate the Eu-
charist (Lord’s Supper) as frequently as do the Catholic and
Theology of the sacraments. The Catholic theology of
Orthodox churches. Even a weekly celebration is not cus-
the sacraments after Vatican II has returned to closer affinity
tomary in most cases, though a monthly Communion service
with the patristic and Eastern understanding. The funda-
is quite usual. Although there is a variety of rites in the vari-
mental sacrament is Jesus Christ, who is made present in the
ous churches, the central elements remain: the blessing and
sacrament of the church, which in turn is realized as a sacra-
breaking of bread and its distribution to the worshipers to
ment in its own sacramental actions and assemblies. But
eat, accompanied by the biblical words of and about Jesus
sacramentality is pervasive in Christian experience and not
at his farewell supper; the blessing and distribution of the cup
restricted to the seven special moments. The liturgy (espe-
of wine (in some cases nonalcoholic grape juice) to be drunk
cially that of the Eucharist) is the peak or summit of Chris-
by the worshipers, also accompanied by the appropriate bib-
tian life in that everything should lead to it and everything
lical formula; biblical readings and meditation; and some ex-
should flow from it. That is to say, life for the Christian com-
pression of fellowship in the community. In general the Eu-
munity should be progressively transformed in the grace of
charist as celebrated by the Protestant churches is marked by
Christ, in lifestyle, in relationships, and in community struc-
a certain austerity of ritual expression and elaboration when
tures and values by the repeated immersion of the communi-
compared with the celebrations of the Catholic and Ortho-
ty in the eucharistic moment.
dox churches.
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SACRAMENT: CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS
7963
Most Protestant churches celebrate some or all of the
Christian Priesthood; Repentance; Rites of Passage, article
other rites that the Catholic and Orthodox churches enu-
on Jewish Rites; Water; Worship and Devotional Life, arti-
merate as sacraments, although Protestants do not accord the
cle on Jewish Worship.
rites that designation. There is a variety of rites of reconcilia-
tion, ranging from private confession of specific sins to an
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ordained minister, through such other forms as mutual con-
The most inclusive single-volume introduction to sacraments in
fession between laypersons or stylized, generic formulas in
the Western tradition is Joseph Martos’s Doors to the Sacred
which the whole congregation acknowledges sinfulness and
(New York, 1981). The biblical themes that underlie the
symbolism of the sacraments are discussed briefly in my book
need of forgiveness, to the characteristic Mennonite rite of
The Meaning of the Sacraments (Dayton, Ohio, 1972). A de-
foot washing (commemorating the action of Jesus related in
tailed account of the historical development of the symbol-
the Gospel of John 13:2–10).
ism is given in Jean Daniélou’s The Bible and the Liturgy
Anointing of the sick and other anointings have tradi-
(Notre Dame, Ind., 1966). What is known of the origins of
tionally been practiced in some churches and have become
the Christian rites in apostolic times is summarized in Ferdi-
nand Hahn’s The Worship of the Early Church (Philadelphia,
far more common under the influence of the charismatic and
1973). The development of the rites through the patristic pe-
Pentecostal movements. Marriages are commonly celebrated
riod is described in Josef A. Jungmann’s The Early Liturgy to
with some religious ceremony that includes bestowal of a
the Time of Gregory the Great (Notre Dame, Ind., 1959). The
ring or exchange of rings, exchange of marriage vows, and
rites of the Orthodox tradition and their theological explana-
an exhortation in the context of community worship. Al-
tions are described in part 2 of Timothy Ware’s The Ortho-
though most Protestant churches have some type of ordina-
dox Church (Baltimore, 1963). A further presentation of con-
tion of ministers, the ceremonies for such conferral reflect
temporary Orthodox sacramental theology is available in
the different ways in which ministry and the role and status
Alexander Schmemann’s Sacraments and Orthodoxy (New
of the minister are understood.
York, 1965). A Protestant discussion of the rites and their
theology, written from a Reform perspective but discussing
Theology of the rites. Common to the Protestant
the Lutheran tradition also, is G. C. Berkouwer’s The Sacra-
churches is the insistence on the primacy of the Bible and
ments, translated from the Dutch by Hugo Bekker (Grand
on faith in salvation. Generally the efficacy of sacraments is
Rapids, Mich., 1969). Another Protestant account, written
not emphasized, while the role of the faith of the individual
from the perspective of the Disciples of Christ, is J. Daniel
participant is stressed. This emphasis, combined with a
Joyce’s The Place of the Sacraments in Worship (Saint Louis,
strong sense of the priesthood of all believers, means that
1967). A detailed history of the rites from the point of view
of the Episcopal church is Marion J. Hatchett’s Sanctifying
there is less concern over the “validity” of sacraments, and
Life, Time and Space: An Introduction to Liturgical Study
especially over the “validity of orders” of presiding ministers
(New York, 1976). The Catholic theological understanding
than in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions.
of the sacraments prior to Vatican II is succinctly presented
A major concern in celebrating the two great sacraments
in Bernard Piault’s What Is a Sacrament? (New York, 1963).
The Catholic understanding of the sacraments in the light
is obedience to the command of Jesus to do so, as that com-
of Vatican II is very clearly presented in Bernard Cooke’s
mand is read in the New Testament. However, a significant
Sacraments and Sacramentality (Mystic, Conn., 1983). Karl
difference exists between the Lutheran and the Calvinist un-
Rahner’s The Church and the Sacraments (London, 1963) is
derstanding. In the former an act of God in the sacrament
a short but highly technical reformulation of the older
is effective when it encounters faith in the participant. In the
Roman Catholic sacramental theology in the light of a re-
latter a sacrament is a sign of God’s grace but does not confer
newed ecclesiology. Edward Schillebeeckx’s Christ: The Sac-
that grace.
rament of the Encounter with God (Mission, Kans., 1963), an
epoch-making book in its time, is a similar reformulation
ECUMENICAL ISSUES. The sacraments raise some ecumenical
linking traditional sacramental theology to a renewed Chris-
questions among Christians of different churches. One of
tology. Bernard Cooke’s Ministry to Word and Sacraments:
these is the question of “intercommunion,” that is, whether
History and Theology (Philadelphia, 1976) is a lengthy study
Christians of one church may receive communion at the Eu-
showing the historical development of the sacraments in rela-
charist of another. Most churches allow this practice, at least
tion to changing perceptions of priesthood. A series of essays
in some circumstances. Another question is whether Chris-
on the ecumenical questions relating to the sacraments is col-
tians transferring from one church tradition to another
lected in The Sacraments: An Ecumenical Dilemma, edited by
should be baptized again. With some exceptions, the church-
Hans Küng (New York, 1967), and The Sacraments in Gener-
es do not confer baptism a second time, because they consid-
al: A New Perspective, edited by Edward Schillebeeckx and
Boniface Willems (New York, 1968). Technical and detailed
er the first baptism valid. The question of accepting the ordi-
bibliographies are given in each of these volumes.
nation to ministry of other churches has proved far more
controversial.
New Sources
Boswell, John. Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe. New York,
SEE ALSO Ablutions; Atonement; Baptism; Confession of
1994.
Sins; Eucharist; Grace; Hands; Initiation; Justification; Mar-
Fahey, Michael. A., ed. Catholic Perspective on Baptism, Eucharist
riage; Ministry; Ordination; Passover; Priesthood, article on
and Ministry. Lanham, Md., 1986.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

7964
SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
Gorringe, Timothy J. The Sign of Love: Reflections on the Eucharist.
sacred as a special category of religion in the way that the cor-
London, 1997.
rect or the true has been made a category of cognition theory,
Guernsey, Daniel P., ed. Eucharistic Texts and Prayers throughout
the good a category of ethics, and the beautiful a category
Church History. San Francisco, 1999.
of aesthetics. The sacred is then what gives birth to religion,
Limouris, Gennadios, and N. M. Vaporis, eds. Orthodox Perspec-
in that humanity “encounters” it; or it functions as the es-
tives on Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry. Brookline, Mass.,
sence, the focus, the all-important element in religion. Of
1985.
course it is possible to define the sacred in such a way if one
Mitchell, Nathan. Eucharist as Sacrament of Initiation. Chicago,
determines that a single attribute is sufficient for an all-
1994.
encompassing statement about religion. But when one is
forced to find attributes that suggest religion’s links to alto-
O’Malley, William J. Sacraments: Rites of Passage. Allen, Tex.,
1995.
gether different concepts, aside from those having to do with
the quality of lying beyond a specific boundary, one discov-
Primavesi, Anne. Our God Has No Favorites: A Liberation Theology
ers that the attribute of sacrality is no longer enough, even
of the Eucharist. Tunbridge Wells, U.K., and San Jose, Calif.,
1989.
if one views its original spatial aspect as a transcendental or
metaphysical one. And today, confronted with definitions
Reumann, John Henry Paul. The Supper of the Lord: The New Tes-
advanced by critics of ideology, sociologists, psychoanalysts,
tament, Ecumenical Dialogues, and Faith and Order on Eucha-
and others, it indeed necessary to find such attributes. Any
rist. Philadelphia, 1985.
definitions, even simple descriptions of the sacred and the
Shurden, Walter B. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Macon, Ga.,
profane, are affected by these as well; they also depend, in
1999.
turn, on the manifold factors one has to muster when identi-
White, James F. The Sacraments in Protestant Practice and Faith.
fying the concept of religion.
Nashville, Tenn., 1999.
Yet it is not necessary to discard the ancient Roman dis-
MONIKA K. HELLWIG (1987)
Revised Bibliography
tinction between sacer and profanus, for the idea that they
exist side by side represents a fundamental paradigm for
making distinctions in general. It therefore has a certain heu-
ristic value, though admittedly only that and nothing more.
SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE. When
referring to the sacred and the profane and distinguishing be-
The relationship between the sacred and the profane can
tween them, the languages of modern scholarship are indebt-
be understood either abstractly, as a mutual exclusion of
ed to Latin, even though they may have equivalent or synon-
spheres of reality, or cognitively, as a way of distinguishing
ymous terms for both that have been derived from their own
between two aspects of that reality. The former approach
linguistic traditions. To the Roman, sacrum meant what be-
necessarily presupposes that such exclusion is recognizable;
longed to the gods or was in their power; yet when referring
the latter, that one is dealing with ontic factuality. Even if
to sacrum one was not obliged to mention a god’s name, for
one assumes a transsubjective reality, the boundary between
it was clear that one was thinking of cult ritual and its loca-
the two spheres may prove to be movable or even fictitious,
tion, or was primarily concerned with the temple and the
and even if one confines oneself to the fact of subjectivity,
rites performed in and around it. Profanum was what was “in
one may at times conclude that transcendence conditions the
front of the temple precinct”; in its earlier usage, the term
individual psychologically. Thus, when asking whether the
was always applied solely to places. Originally, profanare
sacred and the profane “exist,” and how humans “experi-
meant “to bring out” the offering “before the temple precinct
ence” them, one encounters even greater difficulties than
(the fanum),” in which a sacrifice was performed. Sacer and
when inquiring after being and its various modes. Even
profanus were therefore linked to specific and quite distinct
though this article contains primarily the most important in-
locations; one of these, a spot referred to as sacer, was either
formation about the various ways in which the sacred has
walled off or otherwise set apart—that is to say, sanctum
been perceived in the history of religions, these difficulties
within the other, surrounding space available for profane use.
of meaning must be borne in mind. It is necessary to suppress
This purely spatial connotation adheres to the two terms to
one’s own conclusions about how and in what dimensions
this day, and implies that it represents a definition of them,
the sacred might exist, and about what it “is,” in favor of the
or at least of their more important features. It makes sense
numerous theories that have been advanced on the question;
wherever the church still stands next to the town hall, the
according to these, conclusions may only be drawn case by
cult site alongside the village council chamber, and wherever
case, in the light of the data and the theoretical arguments
an assembly of Buddhists or Muslims is something other
presented, and may well come out differently in every in-
than an assembly of professional economists or athletes.
stance. Only with such reservations in mind can one consider
the nature of the sacred and the profane.
If one clings to the spatial aspect of these terms, howev-
er, and attempts to use it as a means of distinguishing not
MEANS OF IDENTIFICATION. In selecting evidence of the sa-
only between the two of them but also between religion and
cred and its relationship to the profane one must be limited
nonreligion, one is led astray. This occurs if one posits the
to two approaches: Either it is tacitly perceived as something
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
7965
real, or it assumes some kind of symbolic form. In order to
profane (upon which the terminology of the medieval precur-
establish tacit perception, one requires proofs that silence is
sors of modern scholarly languages was based) was the Latin
maintained for the sake of the sacred. These proofs suffice
of the Roman classical writers and church fathers, including,
not only for the mystic, for example, who could speak but
among the texts of the latter, the Vulgate and the harmony
prefers to maintain silence, but also for persons who have
of its gospel texts represented by Tatian’s Diatessaron in the
spoken, but whose language is unknown: namely, the people
Codex Fuldensis. Equating words resulted in the double pre-
of prehistory and early historical times.
sentation of terms in the vernacular, as can still be seen from
Symbolic forms may be specifically linguistic or of a
various contextual, interlinear, and marginal glosses, and in
broader cultural nature. If they are linguistic, the historian
the translations of the Abrogans, an alphabetical dictionary
of religions must distinguish between the language spoken
of synonyms, and the Vocabularius Sancti Galli, in which the
by the people who are the objects of study (“object lan-
terms are arranged by subject. Bilingualism, resulting from
guage”) and the one spoken by the scholar, though naturally
the rechristianization of Spain, was also responsible for the
the two will have shadings and terms in common. One can
earliest translation of the QurDa¯n by Robertus Ketenensis and
best make this distinction by keeping one’s own definition
Hermannus Dalmata, for the unfinished Glossarium Latino-
of what is sacred or profane separate from the definition that
Arabicum, and for some important translations from He-
is given by the culture under scrutiny itself (“self-
brew, which not only reflect the Jews’ skill as translators
definition”). Each definition naturally identifies the sacred
throughout the Diaspora, but also represent active endeavors
and profane in a different way. The self-definition is part of
on the part of the medieval mission among the Jews. Terms
those languages in which religious and nonreligious docu-
for the sacred and its opposites could thus be translated into
ments have come down to us; in terms of methodology, these
the vernaculars directly out of Hebrew, Latin, and Catalan,
are the same as object languages. The definitions the histori-
and out of the Arabic by way of Latin. They also became
an develops must arise not only out of the categories of lan-
available from Greek, once the early humanists, the forerun-
guage, but also out of those of modern sociology, psycholo-
ners of the modern scholars, had rediscovered the Greek clas-
gy, aesthetics, and possibly other disciplines as well,
sics through the Latin ones, and the original text of the New
categories employed in an attempt to understand the sacred
Testament and the Septuagint by way of the Vulgate. At the
and profane without resorting to the concepts one customar-
Council of Vienne, in 1311–1312, it was decided to appoint
ily translates with sacred and profane; in terms of methodolo-
two teachers each of Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, and Chaldean
gy, this amounts to a metalanguage.
at each of five universities; thenceforth Latin emerged once
and for all as a metalanguage with respect to the terminolo-
If the symbolic forms are not of a linguistic nature, there
gies of these languages (including Latin itself, now consid-
is no self-definition at all. The definitions given from outside
ered as an object language), and in so doing came to stand
to which one must restrict oneself, in this case to relate to
fundamentally on the same footing as the European ver-
language, are not metalinguistic in nature, for the object area
naculars.
is not expressed merely in language, but rather through social
behavior, anthropological data, or works of art.
In order to avoid short-circuiting self-confirmations
within the terminology of sacredness, it is best to consider
Whether considered a linguistic or a nonlinguistic ex-
this complex as an independent one transmitted to modern
pression, the definition given from outside can assume an af-
scholarship not from the Middle Arabic of the Islamic tradi-
firmative character, and in so doing turn into the self-
tionalists, nor from the Middle Hebrew of the Talmudists,
definition of the scholar who identifies himself with a given
but solely from the Middle Latin of the Christian scholars.
artifact, be it in a text, a specific event, a psychic configura-
It must be distinguished from a later complex that resulted
tion, or a work of art. The researcher compiling a definition
from the use of the European vernaculars in missionary work
can thus identify himself with both its sacredness and pro-
and in colonization. These were able to reproduce certain
faneness.
word meanings from the native languages, but more often
As a rule, one should give neither of these means of
led to interpretations dependent on the terminology of sa-
identification precedence over the other. It is for purely prac-
credness from the former complex, rather than congenial
tical reasons that this article now turns its attention first to
translation. Moreover, true bilingualism was only present in
those methods relying on linguistic evidence.
the work of a few explorers and missionaries. More recently,
Philological methods. It is an axiom in the logic of
of course, translation has been accomplished increasingly in
criticism that one can declare the use of a concept of sacred-
accordance with methods taken from the study of the early
ness in a source to be false. However, the conclusions of the
oriental languages, of Indo-European, and of comparative
modern scholar, no matter how subtly they might not only
philology, as well as from linguistic ethnology; only in the
deny phenomena of sacredness within religions but also
twentieth century did all of these achieve independence from
manage to demonstrate them outside of religions, are con-
interpretations provided by classical antiquity and by Judeo-
stantly in need of correction by object-language traditions.
Christian-Islamic tradition.
Seen in terms of the history of scholarship, the first ob-
Philologia classica sive sacra. The relationship between
ject-language tradition to contain the terms for sacred and
sacer and profanus can be called a contradictory opposition,
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
if one understands sacer as the object-language expression of
ted by the religious institutions; dies nefasti were those on
something true and profanus as its logical negation. In the
which such activities were nefas, that is, not permitted, or
rich cultic vocabulary of Latin sacer is of prime importance.
sacrilegious.
Rites such as those of the ver sacrum—the sacrifice of all ani-
The meaning of fas does not accord with that of fanum,
mals born in the spring and the expulsion from the commu-
then—nor are they related etymologically; fas is related to
nity and cult congregation of all grown people about to es-
fatum—as though fas is “what is appropriate to the fanum.
tablish their own domestic state (for the purpose of securing
Here it is rather the profane sphere that is the positive start-
the support of Mars, who worked outside communal bound-
ing point. Fas is the utterance (from fari, “speak”) of the re-
aries)—or the devotio—the offering of an individual life as
sponsible secular praetor who permits something; nefas is
a stand-in for an enemy army, so that Mars will destroy it
that which the priest responsible in the fanum finds unutter-
as well—serve as prime examples of the characteristic rela-
able, which constitutes sacrilege on those days over which his
tionship between the sacrum’s liability and certain kinds of
institution has control. When one recognizes that what is
human behavior. It follows that all cult objects and sites in-
here accepted as natural and immutable passes over into what
cluded in ritual acts can also be sacra. This meaning gives rise
has been fixed by humans and is therefore subject to change,
to derivations such as sacrare, sacrificare, sancire, sacramen-
and which can be objectively false just as its opposite can,
tum, sacerdos. Of these, sancire (“to set aside as sacer”; later
then one can speak of the opposition between fanum/sacer
also “to designate as being sacer,” or, even more generally,
and fas as a contrary one.
“to establish with ceremony”) is the most fertile, for its parti-
ciple sanctus would ultimately come to characterize every-
Sacer thus has a contradictory opposite (profanus) and
thing appropriate to the sacrum. Sanctus could thus assume
a contrary one (fas). In addition, finally, there is a dialectical
a multitude of meanings, including those of cult infallibility
opposition contained within the concept of sacer itself. This
and moral purity. Accordingly, it was an ideal translation for
comes from the ambivalence produced when, as with fas, the
the Greek hagios of the New Testament and the Septuagint,
extrasacral sphere is assumed as the positive starting point in
and, by way of the latter, for the Hebrew qadosh as well.
one’s appraisal. Sacer is thus what is venerated, to be sure,
When used in such a Judeo-Christian context, sacer was then
but also something sinister; or, to put it another way, it is
restricted in meaning to “consecrated,” and this tended to
both holy and accursed. Consecration to a god is perceived
fix a change in meaning that had begun already in the Latin
by humans as a blessing, whereas being possessed by a god
of the writers of the Silver Age, as sacrum ceased to have an
is perceived as a misfortune. One must not make this dialec-
almost innate quality and came to depend on the act of con-
tical contrast into an actual one by construing possession and
secration to a deity. A new formation such as sacrosanctus
misfortune as a fatal consecration to an underworld deity in-
(“rendered sanctum by way of a sacrum”) attests to this differ-
imical to humans, for in so doing one destroys an ambiguity
ence, as well as to the continuing similarity between the two
that is part of the basic structure of every religious experience.
meanings.
Positively, sacer esto simply means that a person is handed
over to a deity; negatively, it implies that he is excluded from
The basic meaning of profanus may also be discovered
the community. The negative side of the dialectic may ex-
within the context of human actions, for the spatial connota-
tend as far as demonization. If damnation or demonization
tion, which is always at its root, doubtless first derived from
is manifest on the historical level, then one is dealing with
the use made of the area outside the sacrum. Originally, per-
something other than profanation, and, outside the holy, still
haps, this space may even have been used for rites, for the
another sphere is revealed in addition to the profane. The di-
fact that even here one is dealing not with banal functions
alectical relationship with this sphere comes about only
but with special ones is shown by legal arguments about how
through humanity’s limited capacity for experience, and
assets owned by a god or in the estate of a deceased citizen
must not be enhanced by philologically setting up some find-
can be used “profanely.”
ing related to sacer; that is, it must not be turned into an es-
sential contrary working inside the nature of a numen or a
Along with profanus, there is also another concept that
deity.
is the opposite of sacer, namely that of fas. This designates,
in a purely negative way, the sphere in which human affairs
The types of contrasts between the terms designating
may take place. Fas est means that one may do something
the sacred and the profane are less fundamental in Greek
without any religious scruples, but not that one must do so.
than in Latin, even though elements of ambivalent back-
It first appears as a qualifier for a permitted act, then for a
ground experience may also be recognized in hagios and hi-
condition as well, and accordingly was used through all of
eros. For the most part, the expressions have the character of
the literature of the Roman republic only as a predicate con-
a primary positing dependent on premises other than those
cept. Livy, who also used the term sacrosanctus with some fre-
relating to the differences between inclusion in or exclusion
quency, was the first to employ the concept as a subject as
from a given precinct, or between ritual and nonritual behav-
well. Specific times came to be distinguished by the activities
ior. As a rule, the antithesis was only created belatedly,
appropriate to them. Dies fasti were days on which civil, po-
through the use of the alpha privative, as in anhieros, anosios,
litical, commercial, or forensic activities were fas, or permit-
amuetos, or asebes; the only term that appears to relate to an
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
7967
original negative concept, namely the opposite of hieros, is
From the root hag-, from which hagnos derives, the ad-
bebelos, which can be translated as “profane,” while koinos
jective hagios was also created. This does not limit, but rather
can function as the opposite of practically all the concepts
emphasizes (hence, too, its superlative hagiotatos), and is used
of sacredness. In a survey of the latter, then, the contrary con-
especially of temples, festivals, and rites, though only rarely
cepts may be easily imagined, even though not specifically
of the reverent attitudes of men. In classical Greek and the
named.
pagan Greek of Hellenistic times it is used only relatively
rarely. Precisely for this reason its clear religious connotation
From Mycenaean times on, the decisive concept is that
was preserved, and this is what recommended the term to
designated as hieros. Behind it, most likely, is a sense of force
Hellenistic Jewry as a virtually equivalent translation for the
altogether lacking in the early Roman term. Hieros functions
Hebrew qadosh, whereas from the hieros group of words one
almost exclusively as a predicate, both of things and of per-
finds only hiereus as a possible rendering of the Hebrew
sons: offerings, sacrificial animals, temples, altars, votive gifts
kohen (“priest”), and hieron to designate a pagan shrine. The
(even including money), the road leading to Eleusis, the wars
New Testament develops even further the sense given to
engaged in by the Delphic amphictyony, and priests, initiates
hagios in the Septuagint—though unlike the Septuagint it
in the mysteries, and temple slaves. Only very rarely did any-
can also use hieron when referring to the Temple in Jerusa-
one go so far as to call a god or a goddess hieros; Greek-
lem—and thereby transmits this sense to the Greek of the
speaking Jews and Christians were forced to resort to the
church fathers and the Byzantine church. Secular modern
term hagios. Traces of some experiential ambivalence are ap-
Greek continues to use hagios as the standard term for “sa-
parent when a hieros logos, or cult legend, is regarded as arre-
cred” to this day.
ton (“unspeakable”) and a shrine as aduton or abaton
(“unapproachable”). It is nonetheless striking that in Homer
The word hosios designates behavior that conforms to
and the older Greek literature a whole range of things may
the demands of the gods. Accordingly, it can be applied to
be called hieros: cities, walls, hecatombs, altars, temples, pal-
human justice just as properly as to a correctly performed
aces, valleys, rivers, the day and the night, the threshing
cult ritual. Both are carried out on the profane level. Though
floor, bread and the olive tree, barley and olives, chariots,
one cannot translate hosios with “profane,” one must think
guard and army units, individual personality traits, moun-
of it as a contrary opposite of hieros: If money belonging to
tains, letters, bones, stones used in board games. Here it is
the gods is hieron, that means one cannot touch it, but the
rare to find hieros used with any connection to the gods, as
rest, which is hosion, may be freely used. The Septuagint
when grain and the threshing floor, for example, are spoken
never uses hosios as a translation for qadosh but generally does
of as the gifts of Demeter. On the whole it is tempting to
for h:asid (“pious”). The Vulgate, however, renders hosios un-
speak of a certain profanation due to literary redundancy,
affectedly with sanctus, whether applied to humans or to
though in fact a complete reversal of meaning is never pro-
God.
duced.
Sebesthai (“to shrink back from a thing, to be awe-
Hagnos, which also encompasses what is pure in the cul-
struck”) has no parallel in the Semitic languages, and hence
tic sense, is even more profound in its meaning than hieros;
the word is important solely in the classical Greek tradition.
it relates to hazesthai (“to avoid in awe, to fear, to venerate”)
The related adjective semnos implies exaltedness or sublimity
in the same way that semnos (“solemn, sublime, holy”—i. e.,
when used of gods; when applied to speeches, actions, or ob-
jects (a royal throne, for example) it suggests that they com-
lacking the component of purity) relates to sebesthai (“to be
mand respect. It appears only infrequently in the Greek Bible
afraid, to perceive as holy”). Hagnos is more frequently used
for various terms, just as does the important classical concept
than hieros when referring to the gods (Demeter, Kore, Per-
euseb¯es, which is chosen in a few instances to render tsaddiq
sephone, Zeus, Apollo, Artemis), but in that they are ele-
(“the just one”), which in turn may also be translated with
ments that can purify, water and fire can also be hagnos, as
dikaios. The Vulgate has difficulty with both adjectives, and
can sky, light, and ether. Because of this connotation, hagnos
makes do with approximations or circumlocutions.
can be used not only for things and persons in the same way
as hieros, but may also designate rites and festivals or the con-
In the Hebrew Bible the all-important concept is qa-
ditions of sexual purity and of freedom from the contamina-
dosh. If its root is in fact qd (“to set apart”), its fundamental
tion of blood and death, as, for example, when applied to
meaning is not unlike the Roman sacer. But it is also possible
bloodless offerings (hagna thumata). Hagnos can even extend
that its root is qdsh, as in the Akkadian qadashu (“to become
to the whole conduct of one’s life outside the cult, though
pure”), which would point to a cultic connection. Nothing
the connotation “sacred” never entirely disappears; it is only
is qadosh by nature, however; things only become qadosh by
in Hellenistic Greek that it comes to mean “purity of charac-
being declared so for, or by, Yahveh Elohim. All of creation
ter.” Whether one is justified in calling this a profane use or
is potentially eligible: persons, especially priests; places, espe-
not depends upon one’s judgment of the nature of post-
cially the city of Jerusalem; festivals, especially the Sabbath;
classical religiosity in general. In any case, the only clearly
buildings, especially the Temple; adornments, especially the
contradictory opposite of hagnos is miaros (“polluted, dis-
priest’s crown and robe; bodies of water; plants; and animals,
gusting”).
especially sacrificial ones. The prophets—assisted by a trend
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
that emerged from the reading of God’s law at the Israelite
qdsh and its derivatives have in Hebrew. At the same time,
feast of covenantal renewal and culminated in the establish-
the Arabic qds and its offshoots (muqaddas, “holy”) continue
ment of the Holiness Code (Lv. 17–26)—managed to trans-
to survive with more general meaning. This switch in the rel-
fer the attribute “holy” almost exclusively to Yahveh Elohim.
ative values of the two may have occurred simply because all
As a result, only a very few of the above-mentioned categories
of the concepts of sacredness having to do with rites and sac-
of objects and activities continued to be accorded the attri-
rifices were concentrated on a specific precinct. It is as
bute of holiness in the actual target language of Hebrew. In
though the Israelite concept of holiness, bound as it was to
large part, reference to holy places, times, actions, and objects
the ideas of sacrifice and consecration, were multiplied by the
is metalanguage interpretation. It is not factually wrong, for
Roman concept, with its original link to a well-defined loca-
even a holiness accorded by God on the basis of his own holi-
tion. The city of Mecca is a h:ar¯ım, a circumscribed, inviola-
ness is deserving of the name. Nevertheless, one must be
ble spot. The strip of land that surrounds and protects it is
aware of the special quality of having been created by him
known as al-h:ara¯m. In the city’s center lies al-masjid
that is typical of such holiness; this is in distinct contrast, for
al-h:ara¯m, the “forbidden mosque,” so named because it may
example, to the Greek concept of nature. And it affects the
not be entered by those who have not performed an ih:ra¯m,
designation of what is profane in Israel. An important thesis
or consecrated themselves. In the center of its inner court-
of secularization theory asserts that the desacralization of the
yard, al- h:ara¯m al-shar¯ıf (the “noble precinct”), lies the
world, especially of nature and its wonders as it was accom-
aedes sacra, the KaEbah, al-bayt al-h:ara¯m (the “forbidden
plished in the Israelite theology of holiness, and later trans-
house”). Everything outside this complex is known as h:ill,
mitted by Christianity, was one of the fundamental precon-
where, just as in the profanum, except during a period of
ditions for the worldliness of the modern era. If one does not
three months, everything is h:ala¯l (“permitted”) that is pro-
regard this basic precondition as a conditio sine qua non, it
hibited in the sacred sites. The Arabic h:ala¯l is thus close in
is doubtless correctly identified. It would be possible to view
meaning to the Hebrew h:ol, but quite different from h:ala¯l.
the realm of created things in the Israelite concept of the
world as profane, just as one might view secularity as a legiti-
Linguistica externa. Regarding the problem of “the
mizing criterion for what constitutes the modern era, but
holy,” a number of groups of terminologies have to be locat-
that profaneness would be altogether different in kind from
ed between the Latin/Greek/Hebrew/Arabic ensemble and
that of Rome or Greece. Given this situation, it is under-
the modern scholarly languages influenced by them, termi-
standable that in the Old Testament languages (Hebrew and
nologies that can suggest things similar to those existing in
Septuagint/Vulgate translations) the “profanity” of the world
the gap between those object languages and these metalangu-
is expressed in quite dissimilar fashion and only fragmentari-
ages. Semantic antinomies that can remain unrecognized in
ly, depending upon whether it is mentioned in the cult con-
the latter should certainly not influence this terminology.
text of pure and impure or in prophetic preaching about obe-
There are three ways of attempting to establish meanings
dience and sin. As a clear contradiction to qadosh is thus
here: through etymological “translation,” through syno-
found, in only a few instances, the adjective h:ol, which is ren-
nyms, and through analysis of the context and its cultural
dered by the Septuagint with beb¯elos and by the Vulgate with
background. The first of these, especially favored in the case
profanus (t:ameD, “impure,” becomes akathartos and pollutus,
of the Indo-European and Semitic languages, is altogether
respectively; t:aher, “pure,” becomes katharos and mundus).
worthless. Reliable checks are only provided by context anal-
H:ol designates only something that is accessible and usable
ysis. In this way one can discover “synonyms”—though not
without ritual, while the verb h:alal suggests a genuine dese-
always synonyms in the strict sense—which more or less ap-
cration by means of an abomination.
proximate what the meta-languages define as sacred/holy and
profane.
The grateful use of created things, which God makes
holy, by people who are likewise holy because God is, is not
The Sanskrit term is:ira has the same root as the Greek
the same thing as the Greeks’ and Romans’ removal of things
hieros, but contextually it means “strong, robust, impetu-
from profane use. The closest parallel to the latter in Israel
ous.” Sanskrit does not even have a separate word for “holy,”
is the practice of bans. Translated etymologically, h:erem
though there are numerous adjectives applied to objects and
(“the banned object”) means what has been set apart. The
persons in the religious sphere, such as pun:ya for a geographi-
difference not only between this practice and profane use of
cal location, t¯ırthaka for a ford, or the crossing or passageway
a holy object but also between it and the sacrifice of an object
to a pilgrimage shrine, or substantives such as muni for a seer
lies in the fact that the purpose for the setting apart is the
or an ascetic. Related etymologically to the Greek hazesthai/
object’s destruction. The Septuagint quite correctly expresses
hagios are the Sanskrit yaj and Avestan yaz. These two also
the term’s identity with the idea of damnation by using ana-
mean “to hold in awe,” but their usage is limited to the sense
(te)thema(tismenos), while the Vulgate makes do with con-
of “bestow, present,” as when one brings a gift to a deity (Skt.
secratum or votum.
ijya¯, Av. yasna, “the offering”), and there is no connotation,
as in the Greek hagios, of an otherworldly essence from which
In Arabic, at least since the appearance of the QurDa¯n,
the earthly is thought to have derived. For this latter sense
words with the root h:rm take on the central importance that
Avestan has the word spenta, to which are related the Slavic
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
7969
sv˛etu and Lithuanian ˇsventas. These latter two are used in
realize it in the world. There are numerous adjectival terms
Christian contexts for sacer, but their root meaning originally
corresponding to this concept, the most important being
lay somewhere between “supernaturally powerful” and “espe-
kug, mah, and zid. In Babylonian, kug is translated with ellu
cially favorable, extremely useful.” Pahlavi translations ren-
(“[ritually] pure, bright, free”), mah with siru (“first-rank, ex-
der spenta with abzo¯nig (“overflowing, bursting with
alted”), and zid with imnu (“right-hand”) or kanu (“to be
power”). The cultural background is the world of plants and
firm”). Alternatives to ellu in Babylonian spells are the terms
animals, which in its abundant energy has the miraculous
namru (“clear, radiant”) and quddushu (“purified, [made]
ability to bring forth new life and set it to work in its own
perfect”), the latter having the same root as the Hebrew qdsh.
cause.
Moreover, the Babylonian creation epic Enuma elish attests
to a primordial cosmogony in a preexistent world. For the
The Germans have translated spenta with heilwirkend
(“producing well-being” or “prosperity”) employing a root
relationship between what the metalanguages call the sacred
that means “whole, sound, intact,” and that gave rise to the
and the profane one finds analogies in the relationship be-
German heilig (“holy”). Gothic hails meant “healthy”; Old
tween human and animal forms of deities, as well as between
Icelandic and Old High German heil is “a good omen” or
their constructive activity (including Marduk’s creation of
“good fortune.” Runic hailag means roughly “gifted with
the world) and the social organization of gods and human
good fortune [by a god],” but also, conversely, “consecrated
beings.
[to a god].” This becomes equal to the Gothic adjective weihs
In Egypt, whose language became accessible by way of
and its related active verb weihan, medial verb weihnan, and
Greek (through the Rosetta Stone), temples and necropolises
abstract noun weihitha, which appear in the Gothic transla-
especially were set apart from the everyday world, and, in
tion of the Bible in place of the Greek hagios, hagiazein,
connection with them, so were gods and specific objects.
hagiazesthai, and hagiasmos, respectively. All in all, the Ger-
This sense of being separate did not have to be concentrated
man heil- words connote a physical integrity with distinct re-
in a specific term, but from the first to twentieth dynasties
ligious significance. Possession of such integrity is a boon
this was frequently done with the word dsr. Dsr means, first
that can be given. The god who bestows it thereby becomes
of all, a kind of vibrating motion, but it can also designate
one to whom one gives veneration (Ger., weiht). According-
a defense against a rush of attackers or, more generally, a
ly, even in Gothic the two concepts weihs and hails (which
clearing resulting from the settling of a whirlwind. These
can also develop to hailigs) are interchangeable, and the situa-
have in common a sense of thrusting away that amounts to
tion in other Germanic languages is similar.
the establishment of distance. The word came to be used, in
In general the synonyms in the Indo-European lan-
an increasingly abstract sense, for such distance when an ap-
guages for what the metalanguages imply with their contrast
propriate attribute was required to describe the location of
between profane and sacred boil down to a qualitative exag-
a cult statue in a necropolis, a shrine, the eternal body of the
geration, intensification, or concentration of aspects of
god Re, the space in which bulls were sacrificed, the realm
nature.
of the gods, and the underworld paths reserved for the dead
once they had become Osiris. It is simplest to conceive of
Among the ancient peoples of Asia Minor, to whose
the relationship of such places and objects to the everyday
ideas the mythology of the Hittites in part attests, there ap-
world as the subsequent removal of the distance at which
pears to have been no special word for mysteries, such as the
they have been placed. Something of this sort happens when
amazing magnetic force of stones or the destruction of cre-
texts used in the context of religious institutions become the
ation by the creator himself. Yet a Hittite adjective, parkui,
models for secular literature; the most important ancient
refers to the state of purity required in preparation for con-
Egyptian narrative, the Story of Sinuhe, for example, poses as
tact with the gods, and another, shuppi, designates such con-
a copy of an autobiographical tomb inscription.
tact itself. Among the Sumerians, for reasons whose elabora-
tion would go beyond the scope of this article, one must
Western knowledge of the Chinese and Japanese lan-
assume from earliest times a well-defined pantheon that pre-
guages is due in general to the presence of Jesuit missionaries
dated all ritual. The basic polytheistic structure is of a more
in China and Japan in the sixteenth century. Deeper under-
general character than anything that has been defined to
standing of the vocabulary of East Asian religions comes
demonstrate a consistent background world beyond the dif-
most of all from Chinese translations of Buddhist texts origi-
ferentiations into socially and functionally limited deities.
nally written in Indian dialects, and already known through
Yet even the world of the gods is permeated by a single, uni-
other channels; and, later, from the study of Japanese render-
fying element that one can only call “the divine.” This is the
ings of the better-known Chinese. The first bilingual (i. e.,
me, which is met with in compounds like melam (“divine ra-
Chinese- or Japanese-European) dictionaries finally appeared
diance, divine majesty”). Mythical people and kings can also
in the nineteenth century. Whether or not there are precise
exhibit it, in which case they are god-men. The gods pro-
equivalents for sacred and profane is largely a matter of each
nounce me and exclude it from the framework of fate, which
individual lexicographer’s interpretation. The Chinese shen-
they in fact subordinate to the me. Humanity is required to
sheng, which some gloss as meaning “holy,” is held by others
bring itself into conformity with this me so as to be able to
to mean, roughly, “extremely right,” “highly exalted,” or
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
“doubtless as it must be.” Of course, it is possible to interpret
relatively early, sacer existed alongside sanctus, which, confus-
an ecstatic act such as submersion into the totality of the Tao
ingly enough, could also be used to refer to this mode of
as the attainment of holiness; however, the foundation in
transformation. Sacer could be exchanged for the clearer
physical nature that is discovered to be a basic principle of
form sacratus, and it is from this that the French (con)sacré,
the mystical experience is so much more magical here than
the Italian sacro (synonym: benedetto), and the Spanish
in other religions that a difference in quality results. The rela-
(con)sagrado derive. For this meaning English employs the
tionship between the sacred and the profane would thus be
Romance word sacred, while German and Dutch make use
roughly the same as that between alchemy and hygiene, both
of the ancient root *ueik- (possibly a homonym; “to set
of which are practiced within Taoism as a means of attaining
apart” or “to oppose oneself to someone”) with the forms
“not-dying.”
geweiht and gewijd. In addition, German also substitutes for
this a form from the former word group, using geheiligt in
The Shinto¯ concept of nature is doubtless both more
the sense of geweiht, a situation that gives rise to constant
spiritual and more mythological. The kami, or nature and
misunderstanding. This misunderstanding had been pre-
ancestral deities, are profane or sacred to the precise degree
pared for by the double direction of Gothic weihs/hailigs, and
in which they do or do not belong organically to the everyday
it was strengthened by imitating the biblical wording. For
world of the living. The monks (shidoso¯) and wandering hijiri
the sake of clarity, some careful speakers therefore prefer the
who carried the rites and concepts of the popular and even
form dargeheiligt to mean “consecrated.” This substitution
more magical esoteric Buddhism out into the provinces, and
also occurs in Swedish, which uses only vigd and helgad. In
thereby contributed greatly to its fusion with Shinto¯, can
the scholarly Slavic language ambiguity is avoided through
rightly be called “holy men”—whatever that may imply
incorporation of the simple form into a composite, as in the
about the charismatic leaders of new religions in the present
case of the Russian sviaschchennyi and the Polish ´swia˛tobliwy.
day, who take them as their models.
In Latin, profanus had continued to be the opposite of
The metalanguage expressions sacred and profane and
both sanctus and sacer, the latter in its broader, classical
their equivalents are only synonyms for all of the views de-
Roman sense as well as its more limited Judeo-Christian
rived from the various terminologies discussed here. If one
meaning. Accordingly, the Romance languages and Ro-
proceeds from the roots of their subject matter and not from
mance-influenced English still use the term, while the strictly
an all-inclusive hermeneutics, they are not complete syno-
Germanic languages have it only as a loan word. In all of
nyms but only partial ones, of a conceptual rather than a sty-
them there are synonyms with the meaning “secular,” or
listic nature.
something similar. Synonyms of this type have completely
Metalanguage meanings. The modern scholarly lan-
replaced the Latin form in the Slavic languages; Russian has
guages for the most part presuppose the changes of meaning
svetskii or zemnoi, Polish ´swiecki or ´swiatowy.
that the classical vocabulary ultimately experienced as a result
It is most important to notice the metalanguage nature
of being put to Christian use, in part after certain non-
of these terms as they are used to translate expressions from
Christian usages that prepared the way. These changes of
the linguistic complex Latin/Greek/Hebrew/Arabic, as well
meaning are characterized by the fact that a clear distinction
as from other languages. Scholars have frequently failed to
exists between the quality of God in the beyond and the
do so, and this has led to a great number of semantic antino-
quality of creation in the here and now; and the terms are
mies that were not recognized as such and therefore became,
distributed accordingly. This distinction must not be
often enough, the cause of premature or totally false identifi-
thought of as static, however, for it can be suspended in ei-
cations.
ther direction, that is to say, both by God’s communication
with humans and by humans’ consecration of things to God.
Sociological methods. For the examination of symbol-
ic forms of a nonlinguistic nature, the methods of sociology
In the first sense, the Latin term sanctus had ultimately
are the most effective. Of such nonlinguistic forms, the most
come to mean a primarily divine quality; and consequently
important are, of course, rites. Much would suggest that rites
there is now the French saint and the Italian and Spanish
were in fact the very earliest forms of religious expression.
santo. The Germanic languages, on the other hand, perpetu-
This article shall here assume stereotypings to be next in im-
ate the root that in the language’s earliest stages had meant
portance, forms that are even more hypothetical and that
“intact, healthy, whole,” represented by the English holy (re-
serve, among other things, as the rationale for institutional-
lated to whole; synonyms: godly, divine), by the German and
izations. The two scholars who have analyzed these forms
Dutch heilig, and by the Swedish helig. And the Slavic lan-
most profoundly are Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, and
guages preserve a root that had meant “efficacious” in the
this article shall draw on their findings. In so doing their
early stage of the language: the Russian sviatoi, for example,
identifications are accepted, by and large, though not their
or Polish ´swi˛ety.
theories regarding the ultimate origin of religion(s).
In the second sense, that is, for the quality attained by
Neither Durkheim’s nor Weber’s method is correct in
dedication to God, Latin had preserved the term sacer, which
itself, but together they may well be so. Durkheim’s idea
was linked to places, objects, and situations. Later, though
that, in contrast to individual reality, society is of the nature
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
7971
of a thing, and Weber’s idea that social reality is made up
that continuously creates sacred things. The things in which
of continuous human action, inclusive of theorizing, are
it chooses to discover its principal aspirations, by which it
complementary. It is true of both, as for most of the other
is moved, and the means employed to satisfy such aspira-
sociological approaches, that they strive to work with pure
tions—these it sets apart and deifies, be they men, objects,
designations, but that these are also more or less stamped by
or ideas. If an idea is unanimously shared by a people, it can-
metalanguage usage and by concepts from classical and
not be negated or disputed. This very prohibition proves that
church tradition. This often tends to compromise the accura-
one stands in the presence of something sacred. With prohi-
cy of translation from native languages; but, on the other
bitions of this kind, cast in the form of negative rites, human-
hand, this is what permits at least an approximate under-
ity rids itself of certain things that thereby become profane,
standing of unfamiliar terms.
and approaches the sacred. By means of ritual deprivations
The nature of the sacred and profane in the objectivity
such as fasts, wakes, seclusion, and silence, one attains the
of social reality. In The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life
same results as those brought about through anointings, pro-
(New York, 1915), Émile Durkheim points out that all reli-
pitiatory sacrifice, and consecrations. The moment the sa-
gious beliefs share one characteristic in common. They pre-
cred detaches itself from the profane in this way, religion is
suppose, he notes,
born. The most primitive system of sacred things is totem-
ism. But the totem is not the only thing that is sacred; all
a classification of all things, real and ideal, of which
things that are classified in the clan have the same quality,
men think, into two classes or opposed groups, general-
inasmuch as they belong to the same type. The classifications
ly designated by two distinct terms which are translated
that link them to other things in the universe allot them their
well enough by the words profane and sacred (profane,
place in the religious system. The idea of class is construed
sacré). . . . By sacred things one must not understand
by men themselves as an instrument of thought; for again
simply those personal beings which are called gods or
spirits; a rock, a tree, a spring, a pebble, a piece of wood,
it was society that furnished the basic pattern logical thought
a house, in a word, anything can be sacred. A rite can
has employed. Nonetheless, totemism is not merely some
have this character; in fact, the rite does not exist which
crude, mistaken pre-religious science, as James G. Frazer sup-
does not have it to a certain degree. . . . The circle of
posed; for the basic distinction that is of supreme importance
sacred objects cannot be determined, then, once for all.
is that between sacred and profane, and it is accomplished
Its extent varies infinitely, according to the different re-
with the aid of the totem, which is a collective symbol of a
ligions. . . . We must now show by what general char-
religious nature, as well as a sacred thing in itself. Nor does
acteristics they are to be distinguished from profane
a thing become sacred by virtue of its links through classifica-
things. One might be tempted, first of all, to define
tion to the universe; a world of profane things is still profane
them by the place they are generally assigned in the hi-
even though it is spatially and temporally infinite. A thing
erarchy of things. They are naturally considered superi-
or in dignity and power to profane things. . . . It is
becomes sacred when humans remove it from ordinary use;
not enough that one thing be subordinated to another
the negative cult in which this happens leads to taboo. A per-
for the second to be sacred in regard to the first. . . .
son becomes sacred through initiation. Certain foodstuffs
On the other hand, it must not be lost to view that there
can be forbidden to the person who is still profane because
are sacred things of every degree. . . . But if a purely
they are sacred, and others can be forbidden to the holy per-
hierarchic distinction is a criterium at once too general
son because they are profane. Violation of such taboos
and too imprecise, there is nothing left with which to
amounts to desecration, or profanation, of the foodstuffs in
characterize the sacred in its relation to the profane ex-
the one case, of the person in the other, and profanation of
cept their heterogeneity. However, this heterogeneity is
this kind can result in sickness and death. In the holy ones—
sufficient to characterize this classification of things and
that is to say, both the creatures of the totem species and the
to distinguish it from all others, because it is very partic-
members of the clan—a society venerates itself.
ular: it is absolute. In all the history of human thought
there exists no other example of two categories of things
The meaning of sacred and profane in the context of
so profoundly differentiated or so radically opposed to
subjective religious action. Max Weber states in Wirtschaft
one another. The traditional opposition of good and
bad is nothing beside this. . . . In different religions,
und Gesellschaft (Tübingen, 1922) that the focus for sociolo-
this opposition has been conceived in different ways.
gy is the “meaning context” of an act. In order to interpret
Here, to separate these two sorts of things, it has seemed
an act with understanding, the sociologist
sufficient to localize them in different parts of the physi-
cal universe; there, the first have been put into an ideal
has to view [social] structures as simply the conse-
and transcendental world, while the material world is
quences and connections of specific action on the part
left in possession of the others. But howsoever much the
of individual persons, since for us these are the only rep-
forms of the contrast may vary, the fact of contrast is
resentatives of meaningful action we can compre-
universal. (pp. 52–54)
hend. . . . Interpretation of any action has to take no-
tice of the fundamentally important fact that [the]
These words express the most strictly sociological theory of
collective structures . . . belonging to everyday
all those that have been advanced regarding the concept of
thought are conceptions of something in part existing, in
the sacred and the profane. Durkheim argues that it is society
part desired to be true in the minds of actual persons
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
. . . conceptions on which they base their actions; and
that one could physically step out of one’s normal state; and
that as such they have a most powerful, often virtually
from the first century BCE, that one’s essential being, the soul,
dominating causal significance for the manner in which
the self or perceiving organ, could take leave of the body. The
actual persons conduct themselves. (pp. 6–7)
notion of ecstasy is found throughout the history of the
The same also applies to religiously (or magically) motivated
human psyche and human culture. It may seize a person for
communal action, which can only be comprehended from
no apparent reason or be induced through meditation, auto-
the point of view of the subjective experiences, conceptions,
hypnosis, fasting, drugs, fixing the eyes on specific objects,
and goals of the individual, that is, from the point of view
or extended ritual repetition of certain words or motions. Ec-
of its meaning. According to Weber, such action is at bottom
stasy is not necessarily sacred; it can also be profane, though
oriented to the here and now. It gradually attains a wealth
quite often specific manifestations, such as intoxication, glos-
of meanings, ultimately even symbolic ones. Trial and adher-
solalia, receptivity to visions and voices, hyperesthesia, anes-
ence to what has been tried are of particular importance,
thesia, or paresthesia, are identical. In technologically poor
since deviation can render an action ineffective. For this rea-
cultures, profane ecstasies may accompany initiations, rites
son, religions are more tolerant of opposing dogmatic con-
of passage, and preparation for war, or may be reactions to
cepts than they are of innovations in their symbolism, which
specific defeats or social setbacks. Examples of profane ecsta-
could endanger the magical effect of their actions or rouse
sies in literary cultures are those of the Corybantes and Mae-
the anger of the ancestral soul or the god. Hence there is en-
nads of Greece, of the dancers and flagellants who appeared
countered in all cultures religious stereotyping, in rites, in
in the wake of the Black Death in the fourteenth century,
art, in gestures, dance, music, and writing, in exorcism and
of Shakers and Quakers, of individual psychopaths, and of
medicine. The sacred thus becomes specifically what is un-
social outcasts. Ecstasy is only sacred in the context of histori-
changeable. By virtue of it, religious concepts also tend to
cal religion and is never the primal germ of any religion.
force stereotypes upon behavior and economics. Any actions
Nevertheless, ecstasy can be experienced within a religion as
intended to introduce change have to be correspondingly
the basic source of its particular variety of mysticism.
binding. The ones most likely to fulfill this requirement are
It then passes over into trance, of which possession has
specific contracts. The Roman civil marriage in the form of
already been recognized as the hyperkinetic primal form.
coemtio was, for example, a profanation of the sacramental
When the being by which one is possessed, or—to put it
confarreatio.
more mildly—inspired, is held to be a god who has replaced
the extinguished consciousness, classical Greek already spoke
Anthropological methods. At times humans reveal
of enthousiasmos. By definition, such possession is sacred.
themselves in situations that appear to be of a different quali-
Profane trances, on the other hand, are those accompanied
ty than ordinary ones. The latter form the basis for compari-
by visions of distant events, or past or future ones.
son either as the sum of their normal behavior or as a social
cross section. For the moment, comparisons demonstrating
Sexuality and asceticism. Sex, especially female sexuali-
the specific differences between a possibly sacred condition
ty, is considered sacred. It stands as the positive condition
and a profane one, or showing social appraisal of a specific
contrary to both infertility and asexuality. If a woman was
human type as sacred in contrast to the profane average per-
infertile, it probably meant above all that she was malnour-
son, are best relegated to categories of a historical anthropol-
ished, and starvation is always profane when not undertaken
ogy, for as yet no historical psychology exists that might pen-
in deliberate fasts as a means of conquering the physical self.
etrate still further. A culture may choose to identify any
(The sacredness of the mother must certainly have been en-
number of unusual individual conditions or situations as sa-
hanced when, in the Neolithic period, agriculture was first
cred or profane. The most important of these warrant closer
developed—a new science made possible by Mother Earth.)
examination.
Sexuality, especially active sex, is also held to be the con-
trary of asexuality, the profane sign either of the normal con-
Ecstasy and trance. Even in terms of ethology, one could
dition of both sexes as the result of danger, cold, or constant
probably establish a similarity between humans and animals
labor, or of the lesser capacity for frequent orgasm on the
in the way they concentrate on an opponent, holding their
part of the male.
breath in silence and maintaining a tense calm from which
they can instantly switch into motion. Presumably this has
The importance in archaic societies of dominant god-
its roots in the moment when the first hunter found himself
desses, especially mother goddesses, is solely dependent on
confronting his prey. As far as humans are concerned, the
the sacredness of their sexuality and is not a result of their
perpetuation and further development of this primeval be-
given character as either the otherworldly representatives of
havior is a history of self-interpretations that presuppose con-
matriarchal societies or the polar referents in patriarchal
tinuously changing social contexts. This was probably first
ones. From the role of a great goddess alone it is impossible
apparent in shamanism, and continues to be so wherever it
to draw any conclusions about a given social order. Such
persists. Contributing to the Greek concept of ekstasis was
goddesses are frequently of a dual nature, both helpful and
the idea that man is capable of “standing outside himself.”
cruel, both givers and destroyers of life, and this ambiguity
Specifically, from the fifth century BCE on, it was believed
is altogether a part of their sacredness.
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
7973
Asceticism is not the profanation of sexuality but rather
control of cities or towns in which the elected administration
a transcendence over the normal human condition into a
or leading landholders had been rendered powerless by social
perfection that lies in the opposite direction. The ascetic
or religious upheavals (see Brown, 1982). Similarly, magic
practices self-denial with regard to all aspects of life, includ-
can be either sacred or profane, as can seen if it is examined
ing eating and drinking. In suppressing his sexuality, he is
from the perspective of history.
to a certain extent both acknowledging its sacred dimension
and claiming that sacredness for himself.
SACRED AND PROFANE HISTORY. Related to the anthropo-
logical approach is the historical. In terms of history, quali-
Innocence and wisdom. Since Vergil’s fourth Eclogue,
ties of objects, modes of conduct, events, relationships, and
perhaps since the prophecies of Isaiah, or even earlier, the in-
persons in part define themselves as sacred or profane, and
nocence of the messianic child has been seen as sacred. Mere
insofar as they do one may either accept them or criticize
babbling childishness, on the other hand, is profane. Yet one
them. In part, however, it is up to the scholar to establish
can hardly conclude from the innocence of the messianic
and define them. In either case it is quite possible that the
child how sinful or jaded the society that hopes for him actu-
sacred is truly metaphysical, eternal, and transhistorical and
ally considers itself.
manifests itself only fragmentarily and partially in a continu-
Wisdom can be the sacredness of old age, as in the case
ing succession of historical objects. It is equally possible in
of the Hindu guru, the mystagogue of late antiquity, or the
either case that the sacred is constantly forming itself anew
tsaddiq in Jewish Hasidism, who only after long experience
out of certain symbol-making forces inherent in the histori-
is able, through their own example, to help their fellow peo-
cal processes, by transcending even the objectifications of
ple find communion with God. Feebleness on the part of the
such forces.
elderly is widely considered to be profane, and when it poses
In the history of religions there are numerous examples
a burden on the young they tend to segregate themselves
of belated creation of the sacred out of the profane. The sa-
from it socially. In extreme cases the old are sent off into the
cred may initially have been only a catchall concept for spe-
wilderness, as in some cultures of ancient India, or are left
cific desires and may have later become genuine; or it may
behind in an abandoned campsite, a practice of some no-
have come into being by means of true consecration, or sanc-
madic peoples. The aged exile only avoids being profane by
tification, in both senses of the term, as have been identified
seeking his own salvation, and that of the others, through a
above. One thinks, for example, of the sanctification of ac-
curse, rather than through wisdom.
tions that were originally only ethical, of the evolution of the
Charismatic and magical gifts. The relationship be-
gift (Marcel Mauss’s term) into the offering, of the emer-
tween these is complex, especially since subsequent explana-
gence of gods from humans by way of the intermediate stage
tion of a magical or miraculous act frequently shifts the ac-
of the hero, and so forth.
cent or undertakes to reevaluate it, and since modern
interpretation is bound to suspect an element of trickery in
Related to this is the problem of whether the sacred and
the majority of miracles.
profane should be viewed as having come into being simulta-
neously, or one before the other. All three possible theories
A miracle worker was often thought of as a sacred per-
have been advanced. Unfortunately, however, the findings
son, as were Origen’s pupil Gregory Theodoros of Sykeon
of religious phenomenology and the history of religions per-
and others who were given the epithet Thaumaturgus. But
mit no sure pronouncements about the very earliest religious
not all of the figures canonized as saints by the Catholic
manifestations. Even the basic assumption that religion came
Church, for example, were miracle workers—unless, of
into being along with the appearance of man, though most
course, one considers it miraculous that anyone could have
likely correct, provides no solution to the problem of priori-
fulfilled absolutely the commandment to love God, his
ty. For even if one makes such an assumption, one still can-
neighbor, and his enemy. Conversely, it is also possible for
not know whether religion once encompassed the whole of
a miracle worker not to be recognized as a saint or be held
life, or whether there was not from the very beginning a pro-
to have been so according to religious scholarship—as were
fane worldview alongside the religious one, with its knowl-
Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney and Giovanni Melchior
edge of the sacred.
Bosco—and still not count as a charlatan like Cagliostro or
Rasputin (who were, in fact, probably neither totally profane
Origins. The sacred may be an integral part of religion,
nor demonic). Here profaneness is easier to define: That per-
but when studying its history it is necessary to treat it as quite
son is profane who is simply incapable of controlling sick-
independent. According to one possible view, the sacred and
nesses, natural forces, or his or her own feelings of animosity.
the profane came into being simultaneously. Another theory
One also hears of “false prophets,” as, for example, in ancient
has it that the sacred was a later elevation of the profane. Still
Israel or in Lucian’s satire on the pseudoprophet Alexan-
a third presupposes a kind of primal pansacrality, claiming
der—though it cannot be discerned whether these were sim-
that the sacred was once a totality that encompassed or uni-
ply instances of certain holy people winning out over others.
fied the entire world. Even the magical was not yet detached
In late antiquity it was possible for charismatic persons to rise
from it. And the profane, whether magical or not, only grad-
to “sainthood,” for better or for worse, by taking over the
ually developed through a kind of primal secularization.
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
The primal polarity and homogeneity of the sacred and
lie the pure and the ordinary—now seen as profane, that is,
profane. For this thesis one can point to caves and grottoes
as the realm of what is permissible.
from the middle Paleolithic (the Drachenloch and the Wil-
In Freud’s view, the central taboo is the one against in-
denmannlisloch in the Swiss canton of Saint Gall; Petershö-
cest; it derives from the will of the primal father. After he
hle in Middle Franconia, in Germany), others from the late
has been killed, one’s relationship to him becomes ambiva-
Paleolithic (Altamira, Lascaux, Trois Frères, Rouffignac),
lent and finds its synthesis in the idea of sacredness. The rea-
and numerous Neolithic ones. Their special nature fulfills
son behind his murder is the primal father’s castration of his
only the two criteria for holiness: (a) spatial detachment from
sons, which is replaced symbolically by circumcision. It is the
the settings of everyday life and (b) unusualness; but these
circumcision performed on the male progeny of Israel, for
are sufficient to justify calling them sanctuaries. These caves
example, that represents the actual sanctification of that
are difficult to reach, they are located either at a great height
people.
or far below the surface, access to them is either narrow or
hard to find, and they are too low or too dark for everyday
René Girard argues that the sacred arose out of sacrifice,
activities. They contain artworks sequestered away from day-
which, as the ultimate form of killing and bloodletting,
to-day viewing as well as deposits of bones and skulls that
brings to an end the chain of force and counterforce that
cannot be merely the remains of meals. These facts indicate
constitutes the profane history of humankind. Since the ulti-
that here, in addition to the profane area (namely, the sitting,
mate use of force that cancels out everything can no longer
sleeping, and eating space near the cave entrance), there was
be arbitrary, it comes to be circumscribed and restrained
also a sacred room. The question of whether the deposits
through rituals. Once the resultant sacred act is correctly
were offerings or not, and whether they were meant for a sin-
identified as such and distinguished from profane action, the
gle god or several, remains unanswered. But it is virtually cer-
roles of the sacred and profane in society are truly segregated.
tain that the caves were used for sacred activities, in many
If the sacred and the profane come to be indistinguishable,
cases for initiation rites. Entering them, one proceeded out
a sacrificial crisis ensues; this is at the same time a confusion
of the profanum into the sacrum. It is not known what other
of roles and brings on a social crisis. The force required to
relationships may have been maintained between these two,
restore stability is applied both by individuals and by the col-
but it is clear that they did exist side by side. It is then alto-
lective: by individuals in the form of asceticism, self-
gether probable that each had come into being as distinct
discipline, and other actions against the self, through which
from the other, and that at no earlier date did the two occupy
they attain sacredness; and by the collective, through deflec-
a single space that was predominantly only one or the other.
tion onto a scapegoat, which protects society from the threat
that groups within it will destroy each other. (See Girard,
The priority and homogeneity of the profane and subse-
[1972] 1977.)
quent appearance and heterogeneity of the sacred. This thesis
accords with the one that supposes that there was once a time
Some of these theses can point to changes that have ac-
when humankind was as yet without religion. It is based pri-
tually occurred in the relationship between the sacred and
marily on ethnological theories, and in part also on psycho-
profane through the course of history, and even Freud’s theo-
analytical ones. It claims, with James G. Frazer, that magic
ry, though otherwise impossible, contains an element of
as a prescientific science proved wanting, and humans there-
truth in the fact that the exercise of religion can actually be-
fore had to seek refuge in religion.
come a compulsive act. Girard’s thesis is doubtless the most
realistic in its incorporation of the nature of man, and the
In the formula of dogmatic Marxism, the primeval
nature of his socialization, within the primary constitution
human’s social existence was so primitive that his or her con-
of sacrifice (to the extent to which the latter exists at all). But
sciousness was wholly absorbed with practical matters and
none of this is of any use toward a valid reconstruction of
was incapable of giving birth to religious abstractions. Only
prehistory.
when magic became necessary to assist in the attainment of
food through hunting and agriculture did religion evolve
The priority and homogeneity of the sacred and hetero-
along with it, and its function was then further bolstered by
geneity of the profane. All of the things now distinguished
the appearance of hierarchical social structures.
as religion, magic, and science; as religious worship, sorcery,
and medicine; as prophecy, law-giving, and ethics; and as
According to Wilhelm Wundt and others, the sacred
priests, kings, and shamans, were once united in a sacral
had its origins in notions of impurity. Taboo, the instilling
unity. Such is the widespread, fundamental view derived
of a reluctance to touch, was common to both (and still con-
from the thesis of a primal monotheism, as propounded by
tinues to be so), whereas the everyday sphere is profane and
thinkers from Andrew Lang to Wilhelm Schmidt; derived,
pure. At some point this reluctance entered the religious
too, from the theologoumena of a primal revelation ad-
sphere and split into awe in the presence of the sacred and
vanced by Johann Tobias Beck and Adolf Schlatter, the ele-
loathing for the demonic; everything that was displeasing to
ments of E. B. Tylor’s animism theory, the mana-orenda
the sacred deity was now held to be impure, that is, profane,
identification from the period between R. H. Codrington
and the sacred was pure. Gradually, the impure has come to
and Gerardus van der Leeuw, and the preanimism or dyna-
function as the opposite of the sacred, and between the two
mism theory promulgated from R. R. Marett to Konrad T.
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
7975
Preuss. One can say that the profane becoming independent
such intercourse becomes wholly profane. Nevertheless, its
is the result of a process of differentiation out of primal sa-
archetype persists in the human spirit, and is always capable
crality only if one ignores the synonymity between the very
of restoring the religious feeling to consciousness, if condi-
definition of the sacred and the naming of the phenomena
tions are favorable.
on which these theories are based.
Just what sort of conditions these have to be, no one can
Temporal existence. Since it is impossible to verify any
say. It may be that they are altogether unfavorable when a
theory of origins or development, it is advisable to do with-
civil religion is established of the type envisioned by Jean-
out one altogether, and to adopt the approach of Mircea
Jacques Rousseau at the end of his Social Contract; it may also
Eliade, who for historical consideration sees the sacred as an
be that they are indeed favorable when no organized religion
element in the structure of consciousness, rather than as a
continues to play any role.
stage in the history of its development. Regardless of the sim-
ilarity of religious phenomena throughout cultures, it is the
Restoration. It is possible to try to secure once more the
cultural-historical context that at the same time lends an im-
place for the sacred in society that it lost thanks to the disap-
measurable novelty to their various manifestations. As for the
pearance of the distinction between it and the profane that
phenomena of the sacred and the profane, the following tem-
once existed. This is what motivates the scholarship of the
poral aspects are of fundamental importance.
Collège de Sociologie. Every community that is intact and
wishes to remain so requires a notion of the sacred as a priori.
Unchangeableness. The sacred is absolutely unchange-
Archaic societies that provided sufficient room for the sacred
able only if one has extrahistorical reasons for treating it as
kept it socially viable in secret fraternities or through magi-
a metaphysical, eternal, or transhistorical reality. As under-
cians or shamans. Modern societies can achieve the same by
stood by Max Weber, it is not unchangeable. On the histori-
means of public events such as festivals, which generate social
cal plane, unchangeableness and constancy are evident to the
strength, or by the establishment of monastic, elitist orders,
degree that in everything that the religious phenomenologies
or the creation of new centers of authority.
identify as sacred—persons, communities, actions, writings,
manifestations of nature, manufactured objects, periods,
DETERMINING THE RELATIONSHIPS. The relationships be-
places, numbers, and formulas—not only are situations, mo-
tween the sacred and the profane occur both on the level of
tive, and conditions expressed, but an ancient type remains
their expression in language and on a (or the) level of exis-
operative, or makes a reappearance. Once delineated, such
tence that is characterized by various different ontological
types can reappear at any moment, and they persist through
qualities. The relationships between these two levels them-
great periods of time. Notwithstanding, genuine changes also
selves are of a more fundamental nature. Since only the homo
take place.
religiosus is capable of bearing witness to the manner of such
existence, and not the scholar, one can speak of it only in for-
Metamorphoses. These appear as either transcendence
mal categories that reveal both the conditions of one’s possi-
over the profane or secularization—now no longer consid-
ble perception of the sacred and the transcendental prerequi-
ered primary, as it was above—of the sacred. The former oc-
sites of its mode of being.
curs in initiations, sacraments, and baptisms, in the use of
stones for shrines or of animals as offerings, in the blessing
The epistemological approach. Non-Kantian religious
of an object, an act, or a person. The latter is evident on a
thinkers and scholars have always restricted themselves to
large scale in world-historical processes. On a small scale it
their inner experience. What they have found there could
is present whenever a sacred function is simulated, when a
easily be rediscovered in history. The experiential method,
myth is transformed from the fact that it is into a reporting
which tends toward psychology, was therefore always superb-
of facts, when a sacred text is read for entertainment, or
ly compatible with the historical-genetic method. On the
whenever someone’s behavior swerves from his vows to God,
other hand, it is also possible to apply a logical, analytical,
without his actually sinning. The ultimate form of seculariza-
transcendental method, and in fact this can be used in inves-
tion is the destruction of the sacred while the profane contin-
tigating the possibilities of both inner experience and histori-
ues to exist; the greatest possible transcendence is the restitu-
cal perception. Heretofore, discussion of these alternatives
tion of the sacred together with a fundamental skepticism
has been most productive toward determining the position
regarding the profane.
of the philosophy of religion, and therefore religion itself,
within the overall scheme of culture and scholarship. At the
Destruction. The destruction of religion is not the same
same time, it has tended to curtail any elucidation of the reli-
thing as the destruction of the sacred. The destruction of a
gious phenomenon in general and the phenomenon of the
religion occurs most clearly when it is confined to institu-
sacred and its relation to the profane in particular. Perhaps
tions, as these can simply be abolished. It is less apparent
one could take it further.
when a religion ceases to have its original function, but this
too can finally be ascertained. The sacred, on the other hand,
A priori and a posteriori. In his book Kantisch-Fries’sche
increasingly tends, in industrial society, to be transformed
Religionsphilosophie und ihre Anwendung auf die Theologie
from the active element it once was into a kind of unex-
(Tübingen, 1909), Rudolf Otto took a rational approach to
pressed potentiality. It then decays in social intercourse and
the a priori concept and applied it to the idea of God. God
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7976
SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
is not an object alongside or superior to other objects, and
bivalence that truly exists and is not to be confused with the
he cannot be placed in one of the various standard relation-
dialectic of the hierophanies. However, Otto was referring
ships. He is able to transcend space and time as well as every
primarily to the essence of the sacred in itself. Such an ap-
particular relationship. Accordingly, it must be possible to
proach is logically possible only if one begins consistently
imagine the sacred as standing in a transcendental primal re-
and exclusively from “above.” Since Otto declares both as-
lationship to things. One way or the other, the a priori con-
pects to be factors of the same numinousness, his method-
cept is rational.
ological starting point becomes, de facto, if not intentionally,
Judeo-Christian theocentricity. This is certainly extremely
Rationality and irrationality. When writing Das Heilige
productive, but it also exhibits one of the limits of scholarly
(1917), Otto abandoned his transcendental philosophical
study of religion: namely its continual orientation, only
position. He did not give up the a priori concept, however,
seeming to overcome the theological a priori, at the starting
but rather reinterpreted it with a psychological slant. In this
point of historical scholarship, namely recognition of the am-
way, the transcendentality of the rational applied to the a pri-
bivalence in the ancient Roman notion of the sacrum.
ori concept becomes the capacity of thought to be rational.
This capacity can then be opposed to the irrational. The ra-
Dialectics. Eliade has concentrated the links between
tional concepts of absoluteness, necessity, and essential quali-
the complexes of the sacred and the profane on the plane of
ty, as well as the idea of the good, which expresses an objec-
appearances, introducing the inspired concept of hiero-
tive and binding value, have to be traced back to whatever
phany. A hierophany exposes the sacred in the profane. Since
lies in pure reason, independent of experience, whereas the
there are numerous hierophanies (though the same ones do
irrational element of the sacred must be traced back to
not always appear everywhere), he sets up a dialectic of
the pure ideas of the divine or the numinous. Here, from the
hierophanies to explain why an object or an occurrence may
point of view of irrationality, “pure” becomes the attribute
be sacred at one moment but not at another. Such an ap-
of something psychically given, and the a priori becomes
proach makes it possible to examine every historical datum
emotional.
and identify it as sacred or profane—and in so doing to write
On the other hand, as Anders Nygren argues, just as one
a new history of religions within profane history. In addition,
questions the validity of perception, using the a priori of cog-
one can draw conclusions about the objectivity of the sacred,
nition theory, it becomes necessary to question the validity
which is satiated with being and therefore has the power,
of religion, using the religious a priori concept. Further, Ny-
functioning through the hierophanies (including even their
gren and Friedrich Karl Feigel suggest, it becomes necessary
profane element), to become apparent. Eliade does both.
to comprehend the sacred as a complex category a priori, not
The former demonstrates a historical phenomenology, and
so as to be able to experience it in itself, but rather so as to
points toward an as yet unrealized historical psychology of
identify the sacred in experience and cognition, even in the
religion. The latter is subject to the same criticism as the on-
course of history.
tological proof of God.
The ontological approach. Links exist not only be-
IDEOGRAMMATICS AND HERMENEUTICS. The sacred remains
tween the sacred and the profane, each of which has its own
closely bound to the modalities of its names. One cannot do
complexity, but also between the sacred and the demonic,
without the testimony revealed in language, but one must
the profane and the evil, the profane and the demonic, and
not restrict the sacred to the terms language provides. In ad-
the sacred and the evil. The first and second links have onto-
dition to such testimony, one has to discover the sacred in
logical implications, the third and fourth have ethical ones,
experience. The sum of linguistic testimony and descriptions
and the fifth has both. One obscures the demonic aspect
of such experience can serve both as a check on each other
when one asks the question whether one can have an ethic
and as mutual confirmation.
that can deal with the awesome potential powers at modern
Deciphering the sacred. Using this approach, one can
humanity’s disposal without restoring the category of the sa-
only speak of the sacred ideogrammatically. Classical phe-
cred, which was thoroughly destroyed by the Enlightenment.
nomenology of religion is content to present the sacred as
In Hans Jonas’s view, these powers continue to accumulate
revealed in so-called phenomena that corroborate each other
in secret and impel humankind to use them, and only re-
within a larger context. However, this kind of evidence ob-
spectful awe in the face of the sacred can transcend calcula-
scures the ambivalence that permits one to experience a sa-
tions of earthly terror. But it is not the task of this article to
cred phenomenon simultaneously with a profane one.
enter into a discussion of ethical implications; the reader
Therefore, one can only understand the phenomenon of the
must be content to consider the ontological ones.
sacred, whether evidenced with the aid of language or writing
Ambivalence. Otto described the positive aspect of the
or not, as something like the Greek idea, and accordingly re-
sacred by using the numinous factor fascinans and various
gard the forms of the sacred accessible to description and in-
subordinate factors of the numinous factor tremendum. He
vestigation as its ideograms. However, these can also be un-
characterized its negative aspect by way of a subordinate fac-
derstood as “tautograms,” that is, as designations that
tor of the latter that he called “the awesome.” In so doing
withhold immanence, but at the same time one cannot call
he provided countless studies with the suggestion of an am-
them profane merely because they lack the connotation of
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SACRED AND THE PROFANE, THE
7977
transcendence into the sacred. Otto’s book on the holy was
Theorie Rudolf Ottos (Leiden, 1966) and by Georg Schmid
already in large part an ideogrammatics of the sacred.
in Interessant und Heilig: Auf dem Wege zur integralen Reli-
gions-wissenschaft
(Zurich, 1971). Important sociological in-
Understanding the sacred. At the heart of the findings
vestigation of ritual is found in Jean Cazeneuve’s Sociologie
from the study of synonyms that have provided reasons for
du rite (Paris, 1971) and of the history of force, counterforce,
speaking of both the sacred and the profane in the singular
and sacrifice in René Girard’s La violence et le sacré (Paris,
are certain basic attributes, such as separateness, power, in-
1972), translated by Patrick Gregory as Violence and the Sa-
tensity, remoteness, and otherness. Cognition theory has less
cred (Baltimore, 1977). Additional ethical implications are
difficulty identifying the sacred when it examines larger sys-
considered by Bernhard Häring in Das Heilige und das Gute,
tems, within which such fundamental attributes are mutually
Religion und Sittlichkeit in ihrem gegenseitigen Bezug (Krail-
complementary. In doing so, one cannot only recognize the
ling vor München, 1950). On the disappearance of the sa-
ideograms of the sacred in texts but also treat the sacred as
cred through secularization and its reappearance in times of
crisis, see Enrico Castelli’s Il tempo inqualificabile: Contributi
though it were explained. Eliade’s work represents just such
all’ermeneutica della secolarizzazione (Padua, 1975) and Fran-
a hermeneutics of the sacred as distinguished from the
co Ferrarotti and others’ Forme del sacro in un’epoca di crisi
profane.
(Naples, 1978). Summaries from various points of view in-
clude Roger Caillois’s L’homme et le sacré (1939; 3d ed.,
SEE ALSO Hierophany; Holy, Idea of the; Purification; Sa-
Paris, 1963), translated by Meyer Barash as Man and the Sa-
cred Space; Sacred Time; Secularization.
cred (Glencoe, Ill., 1959); Jacques Grand’Maison’s Le monde
et le sacré,
2 vols. (Paris, 1966–1968); and Enrico Castelli
BIBLIOGRAPHY
and others’ Il sacro (Padua, 1974).
The most influential modern book on the subject is Rudolf Otto’s
New Sources
Das Heilige (Breslau, 1917; often reprinted), translated by
Anttonen, Veikko. “Sacred.” In Guide to the Study of Religions
John W. Harvey as The Idea of the Holy (Oxford, 1923). The
edited by Willi Braun and Russell T. McCutcheon,
most important earlier contributions (Wilhelm Windelband,
pp. 271–282. London and New York, 2000. An attempt to
Wilhelm Wundt, Nathan Söderblom), subsequent ones (Jo-
connect the cognitive and the cultural.
seph Geyser, Friedrich Karl Feigel, Walter Baetke, et al.), and
various specific philological studies are collected in Die Dis-
Borgeaud, Philippe. “Le couple sacré/prophane. Genèse et fortune
kussion um das Heilige, edited by Carsten Colpe (Darmstadt,
d’un concept ’opératoire’ en histoire des religions.” Revue de
1977). A new epoch began with the work of Mircea Eliade,
l’histoire des religions 211, no. 4 (1994): 387–418. Important
and one could cite a great number of monographs by him.
novel assessment by an historian of religions.
As the most relevant, one might single out his Traité
Cazelles, Henri. “Sacré et sainteté dans l’Ancien Testament.” In
d’histoire des religions (Paris, 1949), translated by Rosemary
Dictionnaire de la Bible. Supplément 10, pp. 1393–1432.
Sheed as Patterns in Comparative Religion (New York, 1958),
Paris, 1985.
and Das Heilige und das Profane (Hamburg, 1957), translat-
Colpe, Carsten. Über das Heilige. Frankfurt am Main, 1990. The
ed by Willard R. Trask as The Sacred and the Profane (New
idea of holy in philosophy and in today’s world.
York, 1959).
Colpe, Carsten. “Heilig (sprachlich)” and “Das Heiliege.” In
Hans Joachim Greschat has provided a study of the classical late
Handbuch religionswissenschaftlicher Grundbefriffe, vol. 3, ed-
nineteenth-century theme in his Mana und Tapu (Berlin,
ited by H. Cancik, B. Gladigow and K.-H. Kohl. Stuttgart,
1980). Examples from an African people are provided by
1993. The definitive synthetic appraisal by the foremost
Peter Fuchs in Kult und Autorität: Die Religion der Hadjerai
scholar of the sacred.
(Berlin, 1970) and by Jeanne-Françoise Vincent in Le pou-
voir et le sacré chez les Hadjeray du Tchad
(Paris, 1975). Ex-
Courtas R., and F. A. Isambert. “La notion de ‘sacré’. Bibliogra-
emplary philological investigation of linguistic usage and
phie thématique.” Archives de sciences sociales des religions 22
concepts among the Greeks, Romans, Jews, and early Chris-
(1977): 119–138.
tians is found in the article “Heilig” by Albrecht Dihle in the
Idinopulos, Thomas A., and Eward A. Yonan. The Sacred and its
Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum, vol. 13 (Stuttgart,
Scholars: Comparative Methodologies for the Study of Primary
1987); similar study of late antiquity appears in Peter
Religious Data. Leiden, 1996. Historiographical, method-
Brown’s Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity (London,
ological and idiographic studies in a cross-disciplinary per-
1982). The same subject matter, expanded to include the an-
spective. Select bibliography.
cient Orient and India, is found in the important work ed-
Mol, Hans J. Identity and the Sacred. Oxford, 1976. The sacred
ited by Julien Ries et al., L’expression du sacré dans les grandes
in social scientific perspective.
religions, 3 vols., (Louvain, 1978–1986), for which there is
a separate introduction by Julien Ries, Le sacré comme appro-
Morani, Moreno. “Lat. sacer e il rapporto uomo-dio nel lessico re-
che de Dieu et comme ressource de l’homme (Louvain, 1983).
ligioso latino.” Aevum 55 (1981): 30–46.
Supplementing this with respect to Egypt is James Karl Hoff-
Morani, Moreno. “Le parole del ‘sacro in Grecia.” In Atti del se-
meier’s “Sacred” in the Vocabulary of Ancient Egypt: The Term
condo incontro internazionale di linguistica greca, edited by
DSR, with Special Reference to Dynasties I–XX (Freiburg,
Emanuele Banfi, pp. 175–193. Trento, Italy, 1997.
1985).
Morani, Moreno. “La terminologia del ‘sacro’ in lingue in-
Theoretical implications are investigated by Ansgar Paus in Re-
doeuropee antiche: riflessioni e problemi.” In Pensiero e isti-
ligiöser Erkenntnisgrund: Herkunft und Wesen der Apriori-
tuzioni del mondo classico nelle culture del Vicino Oriente, ed-
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SACRED SPACE
ited by R. Bianca Finazzi and A. Valvo, pp. 165–196.
or the rites within it, it may be endowed with religious mean-
Alessandria, Italy, 2001. A novel assessment of this issue in
ing. A shrine that is the focus of religious activity on certain
historical-linguistic perspective.
occasions may be ignored at other times. In short, a sacred
Ries, Julien. “Sacré.” In Dictionnaire des religions, 3d ed., Paris,
place comes into being when it is interpreted as a sacred
1993. A remarkable synthesis with an account of the histo-
place.
riographical debate.
This view of sacred space as a lens for meaning implies
Santi, Claudia. Alle radici del sacro. Lessico e formule di Roma anti-
that places are sacred because they perform a religious func-
ca. Rome, 2004. A refreshingly novel approach to the issue
tion, not because they have peculiar physical or aesthetic
of the relationship sacer / sanctus in its ancient Roman back-
qualities. The tradition articulated by Friedrich Schleierma-
ground. Extensive bibliography.
cher and developed by Rudolf Otto links the perception of
Schilling, Robert. “Sacrum et profanum. Essay d’ interprétation.”
holiness to religious emotion. Originally or authentically,
Latomus 30 (1971): 953–969. A classical study by a distin-
therefore, sacred places ought to have had the power to evoke
guished scholar of Roman religion.
an affective response. And many sacred places do precisely
Segal, Robert A., et al. “Symposium on the Sacred.” Method and
that: The sacred mountains of China, the Gothic cathedrals
Theory in the Study of Religion 3 (1991): 1–46. Methodologi-
of Europe, and the sources and the estuaries of India’s holy
cal.
rivers have a beauty and a power that are elements of their
Webb, Eugene. The Dark Dove: The Sacred and Secular in Modern
religious dimension. But such qualities of place are not inevi-
Literature. Seattle, 1975. The author is an expert in both
table. Many sacred places, even places that are central in the
comparative literature and comparative religion.
religious life of the community, are unimpressive to someone
York, Michael. “Toward a Proto-Indo-European Vocabulary of
outside the tradition. The form of the place, without a
the Sacred.” Word 44 (1993): 235–254.
knowledge of what and how it signifies, may not convey any
religious sense whatever. R:ddhipur, for example, is the prin-
CARSTEN COLPE (1987)
Translated from German by Russell M. Stockman
cipal pilgrimage place of the Mha¯nubha¯vs, a Kr:s:n:aite Ma-
Revised Bibliography
harashtrian sect. It is the place where God lived in the incar-
nate form of Gun:d:am Ra¯ül, where he deposited divine
power, and where he performed acts that revealed his divine
nature. It is the place visited by another divine incarnation,
SACRED SPACE. A sacred place is first of all a defined
Cakradhar, who founded the Mha¯nubha¯v community. But
place, a space distinguished from other spaces. The rituals
R:ddhipur itself is completely unexceptional, and the places
that a people either practice at a place or direct toward it
where Gun:d:am Ra¯ül performed his deeds are indicated only
mark its sacredness and differentiate it from other defined
by small stone markers. There is nothing there that gives rise
spaces. To understand the character of such places, Jonathan
to a sense of awe or mystery, and yet the village is revered
Z. Smith has suggested the helpful metaphor of sacred space
and protected by religious restrictions. The place is not
as a “focusing lens.” A sacred place focuses attention on the
aesthetically profound, but it is nonetheless religiously pow-
forms, objects, and actions in it and reveals them as bearers
erful.
of religious meaning. These symbols describe the fundamen-
tal constituents of reality as a religious community perceives
ESTABLISHMENT OF SACRED SPACE. Both the distinctiveness
them, defines a life in accordance with that view, and pro-
of sacred space and its reference to the ultimate context of
vides a means of access between the human world and divine
a culture are often expressed in the conviction that sacred
realities.
space is not arbitrary. Objectively, and not only subjectively,
a sacred place is different from the surrounding area, for it
As meaningful space, sacred space encompasses a wide
is not a place of wholly human creation or choice. Rather,
variety of very different kinds of places. It includes places that
its significance is grounded in its unique character, a charac-
are constructed for religious purposes, such as temples or te-
ter that no purely human action can confer on it.
menoi, and places that are religiously interpreted, such as
mountains or rivers. It includes spaces that can be entered
In traditional societies, the whole land of a culture is
physically, as the outer geography of a holy land, imagina-
normally sacred, and this sacredness is often communicated
tively, as the inner geography of the body in Tantric yoga,
in the narratives of its foundation. Sometimes the land is
or visually, as the space of a man:d:ala. Sacred space does not
uniquely created. The Kojiki and Nihongi record the tradi-
even exclude nonsacred space, for the same place may be
tions of the age of the kami when Japan and its way of life
both sacred and nonsacred in different respects or circum-
were established. According to these texts, the divine pair,
stances. In traditional Maori culture, for example, the latrine
Izanagi and Izanami, looked down upon the waters of the
marks the boundary between the world of the living and that
yet unformed earth and dipped a jeweled spear into the
of the dead. As such, it is the ritual place at which an unwant-
ocean. From the brine that dripped from the spear the first
ed spirit can be expelled or the help of the spirits obtained.
island of Japan was formed. The divine couple later gave
Therefore, it is sacred. And it is still a latrine. Similarly, a
birth to other deities, among them the sun goddess, Ama-
house is a functional space, but in its construction, its design,
terasu, whose descendants rule over Japan. Thus, Japan is
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7979
different from all other places: It is the first land, and the
dle, and even the place where the angel Gabriel flattened the
land whose way of life is established by the gods. Or a land
rock before the Prophet’s ascent. And it was further intensi-
may become sacred because it is given by a god, like the land
fied by bringing other religiously significant events into con-
of Israel. Or again, a land may be established by ritual. Ac-
nection with it. The stories of Abraham and Isaac, of Mel-
cording to an early Indian tradition in the S´atapatha
chizedek, king of Salem, and of Jacob’s ladder were among
Bra¯hman:a, the land lying to the east of the Sadanira River
the other biblical and nonbiblical narratives set there. As this
was unfit for habitation by brahmans. It became fit when the
example illustrates, a sacred place can draw a variety of tradi-
sacrificial fire was carried across the river and established in
tions to itself and thereby become even more powerfully
the land.
sacred.
Similarly, a sacred structure or place within a holy land
Places may also be made sacred through the relics of
possesses something—a character, a significance, or an ob-
holy beings. A grave may sanctify a place, for the tomb marks
ject—that sets it apart. The traditions of the greater Hindu
not only the separation of the living from the dead but also
temples and pilgrimage places declare that they are intrinsi-
the point of contact between them. In early Christianity, for
cally, not ascriptively, sacred. The holiest images of the S´aiva
example, tombs of martyrs became places of communion
tradition are the svayambhu¯lin
¯ gas, images of S´iva that are not
with the holiness of the deceased. Later, beginning about the
human creations but self-manifestations of the god. Similar-
sixth century, the deposition of relics became the center of
ly, the holiest places of the goddess are the p¯ıt:has, the places
rites for the consecration of a church. These sanctified the
where the parts of her body fell after her suicide and dismem-
church and, within the church, the sanctuary where they
berment. In other cases, not an object but the very ground
were installed.
itself fixes the worship of a divinity to a particular spot. Ac-
cording to the traditions of the temple at S´r¯ıran˙gam, the
Finally, the form of a place may give it meaning and ho-
shrine originated in heaven. From there it was brought to
liness. In different cultures, various kinds of places suggest
earth, to the city of Ra¯ma. Ra¯ma then gave it to a pious
the presence of deities. As has been seen, the land of Japan
demon, who wished to take it with him to his home in Sri
is holy because it is created and protected by the kami. With-
Lanka. On the way, however, he put it down near a ford on
in Japan there are particular places where the kami are mani-
the Ka¯ver¯ı (Cauvery) River, and when he tried to pick it up
festly present: Mountains, from Mount Fuji to the hills of
again he could not move it. The god of the temple then ap-
local shrines, for example, may be tokens of the presence of
peared to him and told him that the river had performed aus-
the kami. In India, rivers and confluences are sacred, for pu-
terities to keep the shrine within her bounds and that the god
rifying waters and meeting streams suggest places where gods
intended to stay there (Shulman, 1980, p. 49). The current
are present and approachable. In these cases, the shape of the
location of the temple is therefore where the god, not any
land suggests meanings to which the sacredness of the place
demon or human, chose it to be.
draws attention.
The gods may also communicate the special sanctity of
At the beginning of this section, it was stated that sacred
a place through signs. Animals often serve as messengers of
places are typically not arbitrary. But there are places of reli-
divine choice. So, for example, the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán
gious activity that are meaningful precisely because they are
was founded at the place where an eagle landed on a bloom-
arbitrary. If the tendency to institute sacred places is univer-
ing cactus, and Aeneas followed a pregnant sow to the place
sal, so also is the tendency to deny the localization of divinity.
where it farrowed and there founded Alba Longa. The search
The Indian devotional tradition, like other religious tradi-
for such signs could develop into a science of divination.
tions, is pulled in two directions: one toward divinities locat-
Chinese geomancy is just such an attempt to sort out the ob-
ed in specific places, the other toward the denial that divinity
jective qualities of a place by studying the contours of the
should be sought in any place other than within. “Why bow
land and the balance of waters, winds, and other elements.
and bow in the mosque, and trudge to Mecca to see God?
Does Khuda live in the mosque? Is Ram in idols and holy
In other cases, a location becomes holy because of reli-
ground?” asks Kab¯ır (Hess and Singh, 1983, p. 74).
giously significant events that have occurred there. From the
time of Muh:ammad, Jerusalem has been a holy place for
Mosque architecture shows the tension between the
Islam. Although various traditions were attached to the city,
sanctification of a place and the denial of any localization of
it was above all the Prophet’s journey there that established
divine presence. The mosque carries values typical of other
its sanctity. One night Muh:ammad was brought to Jerusa-
sacred places. The interior is oriented toward a holy center:
lem and to the rock on the Temple mount, and from there
The mih:ra¯b (prayer niche) directs worship toward the sacred
he ascended through the heavens to the very presence of
city of Mecca. The space of the mosque is differentiated from
God. The mosque of the Dome of the Rock and the estab-
other kinds of spaces: Persons must leave their shoes at the
lishment of Jerusalem as a place of pilgrimage both expressed
entrance. Within the area of the mosque, the holiest area, the
and intensified the sanctity of the city. That sanctity was
sanctuary (h:aram), is clearly marked from the courtyard
heightened by the discovery of tokens of Muh:ammad’s jour-
(s:ah:n). Some mosques are pilgrimage places because they are
ney: his footprints on the rock, the imprint made by his sad-
burial sites of holy men or women who endow them with
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SACRED SPACE
spiritual power. The most prominent of these is the mosque
Places of communication. First, sacred spaces are
at Medina built over the tomb of the Prophet.
places of communication with divinity, places where people
At the same time, the architecture can be read quite dif-
go to meet the gods. This function is often indicated by sym-
ferently as the meaningful negation of sacred space. The pri-
bols that represent a link between the world of humans and
mary function of the mosque is to serve as a space for com-
transcendent realms. Such symbols might be vertical objects
mon prayer. It has significance in Islam because the
that reach from earth toward heaven, such as mountains,
community gathers and worships there, not because of the
trees, ropes, pillars, and poles. North Indian temples, for ex-
character of the place. “All the world is a masjid,” a place of
ample, connect the realm of heaven, symbolized by the
prayer, says one tradition (cf. Kuban, 1974, p. 1). In Islamic
amr:takala´sa (“jar of the elixir of deathlessness”) atop the
lands the mosque often does not stand out from secondary
temple, with the plane of earth. The spires of these temples
buildings or call attention to itself as a holy place. Even the
are also architectural recapitulations of mountains, which are
dome, which typically surmounts it and which recalls the
the dwelling places of the gods. The Kaila¯sa temple, for ex-
arch of heaven, has a generalized meaning of power or place
ample, bears not only the name of the mountain on which
of assembly and does not necessarily designate a sacred place.
S´iva dwells, but even its profile. But symbols that express the
Neither is that symbolism of the sky pursued within the
intersection of realms can be of other forms as well. In By-
mosque, nor does it have liturgical significance. While the
zantine churches, to walk from the entrance toward the altar
sanctuary is oriented toward Mecca, the remaining parts of
is to move from the world of humans toward that of divinity.
the building do not have any inherent directional or axial
The doorway between these realms is the iconostasis, the
structure. Even the mih:ra¯b, which might be a place of partic-
screen between the chancel and sanctuary. As they pass
ular holiness, is kept empty, emphasizing that the deity wor-
through the doors of the iconostasis, priests become angels
shiped is not to be located there or anywhere. All this accords
moving between realms. The icons themselves provide visual
with the Islamic view that while God is the creator of the
access to heaven. In general, “the iconostasis is not a ‘symbol’
world, he is above it, not within it. The mosque is sacred
or an ‘object of devotion’; it is the gate through which this
space according to the definition of sacred space as a place
world is bound to the other” (Galavaris, 1981, p. 7).
of ritual and a place of meaning. But it is expressive, mean-
ingful space because it denies the typical values of sacred
Another way of joining gods and humans is through
places.
symbols of the gods. A sacred place may include images of
the gods or other tokens that make their presence manifest.
Similar negations of localization occur in Protestant ar-
A Hindu temple is a place of meeting because it contains a
chitecture, particularly in the Protestant “plain style.” Dur-
form in which the god has graciously consented to dwell.
ing the Reformation in Holland, for example, larger Gothic
The Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies of the Tem-
churches were not destroyed but were re-created into places
ple in Jerusalem was the throne of Yahveh, a visible sign of
of community prayer and preaching. Sculptural ornament
his presence or of the presence of his name. Shinto¯ shrines
was removed, clear glass was substituted for stained glass, the
are dwelling places for the kami, whose material form is a sa-
high altar was removed, and the chancel was filled with seats.
cred object called a “divine body” or “august-spirit substi-
In short, all the visible signs of the sacredness of a specific
tute.” It is housed within the innermost chamber of the
location were eliminated. The architecture made positive
shrine, kept from sight by doors or a bamboo curtain, but
statements as well, but statements that again located sanctity
its presence invests the shrine with the presence of divinity.
elsewhere than in place. A high pulpit was centrally situated
Similarly, a Japanese home becomes a sacred place when it
and became a focal point, but the pulpit was not itself a place
has a kamidana, which enshrines symbols of the kami, and
of divine power or presence. Rather it pointed to the holiness
a butsudan, an altar that holds both Buddha images and an-
of the word of God, which was read and preached there.
cestor tablets.
Again, these churches are sacred places by being visible deni-
als that the holiness of divinity is mediated through the sym-
Even without explicit symbols of communication or to-
bolism of space.
kens of the gods, a place may be understood as a point of
FUNCTIONS OF SACRED SPACE. The symbols that give a
contact between gods and humans. Islam strongly resists lo-
place meaning typically refer to the religious context in
calization or visible symbols of divinity. Although the KaEbah
which a people lives. This section examines the ways in
is the center toward which worship is directed, it does not
which sacred space acts to fix this context and to create inter-
house an image of God, nor is it the dwelling place of God.
action between the divine and human worlds. Three roles of
Nonetheless, Islamic interpretation occasionally character-
sacred space are especially significant, for they are widely at-
izes it as a place of particular access to divinity. A medieval
tested in religious systems and fundamental to their pur-
tradition describes the Black Stone embedded in the KaEbah
poses. First, sacred space is a means of communication with
as God’s right hand, “which he extends to his servants (who
the gods and about the gods. Second, it is a place of divine
kiss it), as a man shakes hands with his neighbors,” and a
power. And third, it serves as a visible icon of the world
1971 newspaper article urges: “When you touch the black
and thereby imparts a form to it and an organization to its
stone and kiss it—you place your love and your yearnings
inhabitants.
in it and turn it into a mailbox from which your love is deliv-
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ered to the creator of this world whom eyes cannot see” (Laz-
(“benefit”) and mukti (“salvation”). Typically, one benefit is
arus-Yafeh, 1981, pp. 120, 123). As these cases suggest, the
healing. In medieval Christianity, for example, many pil-
deity is not exactly present, yet the KaEbah does become the
grimages were inspired by a desire to witness or to experience
point of communication between God and humanity.
miraculous cures. Pilgrimage was so closely associated with
healing, in fact, that a young man of Warbleton refused to
As a place of communication with divinity, a sacred
go to Canterbury, “for I am neither dumb nor lame and my
space is typically a place of purity because purity enables peo-
health is perfectly sound.” Another person argued, “I am in
ple to come in contact with the gods. There, the imperfec-
excellent health. What need have I of St. Thomas?” (Sump-
tions and deficiencies, the “messiness” of normal life, are re-
tion, 1972, p. 78). Lourdes remains a place of pilgrimage for
duced. The sacred place reveals the ideal order of things,
millions seeking miraculous cures, though the Catholic
which is associated with the perfect realm of divinity, with
life and vitality among humans, or with the values to which
church has certified few healings as true miracles. A place
people should aspire. The Shinto¯ shrine is a place of purity,
may even specialize in its cures. As the location of a manifes-
for it is a place of the kami and it is a place that excludes pol-
tation of the god S´iva, the mountain Aruna¯cala heals espe-
lution, for pollution is decay and death. The shrine’s purity
cially lung disease and barrenness, and two S:u¯f¯ı shrines in
is expressed in the rites of approach to it. Traditionally, an
the Punjab help leprosy and leukoderma (Bharati, 1963).
open pavilion with a stone basin provides water for rinsing
The power of divinity encountered at sacred places may also
the hands and mouth, and three streams spanned by bridges
secure more general goals of physical and material well-
lead to a shrine, so that worshipers purify themselves as they
being. Success in business or in school, the birth of children,
cross these streams. Its purity also is expressed in clarity of
or simply the blessing of the deity may all be reasons to visit
definition. Torii (Shinto¯ gateways), fences, enclosed spaces,
a sacred place.
and bridges mark distinct areas and signal the approach to
Salvation can also be attained at sacred places. Accord-
the deity. Other sacred places mark the movement from a
ing to various Hindu traditions, to die at Banaras, to be cre-
zone of impurity to one of purity by defining an intermediate
mated there, or to disperse the ashes of the dead in the Gan-
space for rites of purification. Some churches, synagogues,
ges at Banaras assures salvation for the deceased. Often
and mosques have such an area at the entrance to the princi-
salvation is directly related to the purity of a sacred place and
pal space of the sacred precincts.
its ability to purify those within it. An English reformer,
A sacred place can be a place of communication not
Hugh Latimer, lamented that the sight of the blood of Christ
only with divinity but also about divinity. For example, a
at Hailes was convincing pilgrims that “they be in clean life
central paradox of religion is that if divinity is everywhere,
and in state of salvation without spot of sin” (Sumption,
then it must be somewhere. Even if the whole world is “full
1972, p. 289). The sacred place as an access to divinity thus
of God’s glory,” that glory must be manifest in some place.
also becomes a way to the perfection of human life.
This paradox is reflected in the Temple at Jerusalem, which
Places as icons of the world. Sacred space is often a vi-
contained the Ark of the Covenant, symbolizing the throne
sual metaphor for a religious world. The connection between
of Yahveh, but which enshrined no image of Yahveh. Simi-
the ordering of space and the ordering of human life is a nat-
larly, in Deuteronomic theology, Yahveh has made his name
ural one. A life without purpose or meaning is often ex-
but not his person to be present at the Temple. In their dif-
pressed in spatial metaphors: It is to be “lost,” “disoriented,”
ferent ways, therefore, both the Temple and the text sought
and “without direction.” Because they are defined spaces, sa-
to mediate the paradox of the simultaneous localization and
cred places are natural maps that provide direction to life and
universality of Yahveh. Larger Hindu temples, on the other
a shape to the world. They order space—often geographic
hand, normally have a variety of images of deities. Typically,
space, always existential space—and by ordering space, they
worshipers will see other gods and goddesses or other forms
order all that exists within it. The Lakota sweat lodge pro-
of the central divinity of the shrine, or they will worship at
vides a good example of the ordering of space in the image
shrines to other divinities in preparation for their approach
of a sacred place. The outer perimeter of the lodge is a circle.
to the central deity. A Hindu temple thus reflects Indian
Its frame is created by bending twelve to sixteen young wil-
views of a divine hierarchy, which culminates in a particular
lows from one quadrant of the circle across to the opposite
divine being. Or, again, in Renaissance churches architectur-
quadrant. According to Black Elk, “the willows are set up in
al balance and harmony reflect divine beauty and perfection.
such a way that they mark the four quarters of the universe;
In all these instances, the form of the place expresses the na-
thus the whole lodge is the universe in an image, and the
ture of the deity worshiped there.
two-legged, four-legged, and winged peoples, and all the
Places of divine power. Because it is a place of commu-
things of the world are contained in it.” A round hole, which
nication with divine beings, the sacred place is also a locus
will hold heated rocks for making steam, is dug in the center
for divine power, which can transform human life. The na-
of the lodge. This center “is the center of the universe, in
ture of this transformation varies according to the religious
which dwells Wakantanka [the Great Spirit], with his power
tradition and reputation of the sacred space. According
which is the fire” (Brown, 1971, p. 32). The center belongs
to a Hindu tradition, pilgrimage places provide bhukti
to Wakantanka, for he is the summation of all divine powers.
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SACRED SPACE
The sweat lodge, therefore, encompasses physical space and
palities outside the Ping River valley defined the second com-
draws the other realities of the Lakota world into its form.
munity, that of the Lanna Thai people. The third communi-
Its center becomes an ultimate point of reference in which
ty included all adherents of northern Thai and Lao
space, all beings, and all powers finally converge.
Buddhism, which were perceived as closely related. This
community was defined through the addition of a shrine in
Another spatial metaphor closely connected with sacred
northeastern Thailand sacred to the Lao peoples of Thailand
places is orientation. The sacred place focuses attention on
and Laos. Fourth, the addition of the Shwe Dagon shrine in
a symbolically significant region by being itself turned, or
Rangoon, Burma, identified Thai Buddhism with that of the
turning those within it, toward that region. Sacred places
peoples of lower Burma, to whom the Shwe Dagon shrine
show a variety of orientations and values of direction. First
was especially sacred. Fifth, the shrine at Bodh Gaya¯, where
Coptic and Eastern churches, and later Western churches,
the Buddha gained enlightenment, joined Northern Thai
were oriented toward the rising sun, which was the symbol
and Burmese Buddhism to the community of all Buddhists.
of the resurrected Christ. Hindu temples face various direc-
The last shrine was in the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods.
tions for various reasons. For example, the temple of
This location is still within the sphere of the worlds governed
Taraknatha at Tarakeswar faces north. The head of the mo-
by karman, and thus it defines the community of all sentient
nastic community at the temple has explained that north is
beings in heaven and earth who are subject to death and re-
particularly auspicious, first, because it is the opposite of
birth. In this way, the sacred shrines both distinguished and
south, the direction of the world of the dead; second, because
integrated the various spaces and beings of the world to
it is the direction of Mount Kailash, the home of S´iva; and
which the people of the Ping River valley were related.
third, because by beginning in the north, circumambulation
of the inner shrine first proceeds east, the direction of the sun
Similarly, in South Asia the traditional pattern of city
and of the light of knowledge (Morinis, 1984, p. 291). The
planning created a series of concentric spaces around a cen-
abbot’s explanations show the restless logic of sacred space,
tral temple in the urban heart of a region. This pattern oc-
which finds significance in its every facet. In other traditions,
curs, for example, in Kathmandu. The city is surrounded by
the cardinal directions are not the basis for orientation: Syna-
twenty-four shrines of the Ma¯tr:ka¯s, the eight mother god-
gogues traditionally are oriented toward Jerusalem, and
desses. A ritual of sequential worship at these shrines arranges
mosques toward Mecca. These places are similar not because
them into three sets of eight, which form three concentric
they express similar systems of orientation but because they
circles around Kathmandu. The widest circle encompasses
all make direction meaningful.
the area traditionally under the kings of Kathmandu. The
second encloses the valley of Kathmandu, which includes
Sacred places also create actual and functional divisions
surrounding villages and areas familiar to the urban popula-
of geographic space, divisions that are at the same time meta-
tion. The third defines the city itself. The central part of the
phors for different ways of life. In ordering the world, they
city was laid out in twelve rectangular wards centered on the
may be not only centers on which the world converges but
temple to Taleju, a goddess closely connected with the Malla
they may also mark boundaries between realms. These may
kings. The geometric clarity of the city distinguished it from
include both boundaries between visible and invisible reali-
the surrounding areas and marked it as the most sacred area
ties and geographic boundaries. The Maori latrine men-
in which the realization of divine order was most perfectly
tioned above formed the border between the world of hu-
articulated. In this way, the shrines define different levels of
mans and that of the dead, which was associated with
sanctity extending from the sacred center of the city to the
excrement. But the world of the dead was also the world of
entire kingdom.
the gods. A ritual of biting the latrine beam opened up com-
munication across this boundary. Those who wished to expel
ENCODING OF SACRED SPACE. The functions of sacred space
an unfriendly spirit bit the beam to send the spirit back to
are, in their different ways, aspects of its essential function:
its realm. Those who wished to obtain the help of the gods
to identify the fundamental symbols that create the patterns
bit it in order to establish contact with the gods. The border
of life in a culture. This section will sketch some of the sym-
formed by the latrine was thus open in both directions.
bolic systems that make sacred space meaningful. These sys-
tems are superimposed on the structure of a place and there-
Boundaries created by sacred spaces can also define the
by joined to one another and to the manifest form of that
limits of the visible world or create distinctive spaces within
place. A space can encompass, among many other things, the
it. In a northern Thai tradition, for example, a series of
human body, the cosmos, the stages in the creation of the
twelve pilgrimage shrines created a system of nested spaces.
cosmos, the divisions of time, the sacred narratives of a tradi-
Beginning from the innermost and smallest area, this system
tion, and the various spheres of human life. The more central
encompassed successively larger concentric areas and defined
a place is in the religious life of a culture, the more numerous
the successively broader communities to which the people at
the systems to which it refers.
the center belonged. These communities were seen from the
perspective of the Ping River valley, in which four of the
Body. The human body is a primary system—if not the
twelve shrines were located. These four shrines and four
primary system—through which people order and interpret
other shrines associated with the major northern Thai princi-
the world. It is itself a space, sometimes even a sacred space—
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7983
as in forms of Tantric yoga, in which the body becomes the
world: the sensuous, the formed, and the formless. The ceitya
field for the transformations effected by yoga. It also can be
not only represents these different spheres but also the possi-
a correlate of external spaces, to which it imparts a shape and
bility of ascent to full enlightenment.
character. In many instances that correlation between body
Sacred places may represent not only the vertical realms
and place is explicit. The horizontal plan of Gothic churches
of the world but one or another of its layers. As noted, the
represented not only Christ on the cross but the human form
sacred place is often the place where humans enter the realm
more generally. In the symbolism of the Byzantine church,
of the gods or, conversely, the place where the gods are
the nave represented the human body, the chancel the soul,
among humans. In either case, it becomes the place of the
and the altar the spirit. In South Asian culture areas, body
presence of divinity and therefore an image of the realm of
symbolism of sacred places is pervasive. Hindu temples, for
divinity. Through its use of simple geometric forms, propor-
example, are explicitly recapitulations of the body. The sym-
tionality, and light, for example, the Gothic cathedral was
bolic blueprint of a temple is the Va¯stupurus:a Man:d:ala, a
imagined as the image of the heavenly city. The holy cities
diagram drawn on its future site. This diagram incorporates
of Jerusalem and Banaras have heavenly prototypes, accord-
the directions, the lunar mansions, the planets, the gods,
ing to Christian and Hindu traditions, and hence they are
and the human body and symbolically transmits their forms
the forms of heaven.
to the temple rising above it. Indian architectural manuals
explicitly liken the temple to the body: The door is the
Heaven may be not only the realm of the gods but also
mouth; the dome above the spire is the head. Just as the
the exemplar of divine order and regular progression. The sa-
human skull has a suture, from which the soul at death de-
cred place may be a heaven on earth, which transposes the
parts to heaven, so also the dome is pierced with a finial; and
eternal and sanctified order of heaven onto the plane of
the inner sanctum of the temple is the place of the soul with-
earth. At the founding of cities within the Roman world, for
in the human body. “The temple,” summarizes the
instance, the augur drew a circle quartered by lines running
S´ilparatna, “should be worshiped as the cosmic man” (cf.
east-west and north-south. This diagram replicated the heav-
Kramrisch 1946, vol. 2, p. 359).
enly order and thereby established it on earth. Through ritual
formulas, the diagram was then projected onto the whole
A variety of meanings is invested in such correspon-
tract of land to be encompassed by the city, so that the pe-
dence of place and body. Both the Gothic church and the
riphery of the city reproduced the boundary of the universe.
Hindu temple are images of the cosmos as well as the body,
The east-west line represented the course of the sun; the
and thereby both portray the sympathy and parallelism be-
north-south line, the axis of the sky. The augur and the city
tween microcosm and macrocosm. The Gothic church signi-
thus stood at the crossing point of these two lines and hence
fies the body of Christ, who is the whole Christian church,
immovably and harmoniously at the center of the universe.
who is the incarnate deity, and upon whom the world and
history center. The correspondence of the church and the
Cosmogony. Sacred space may also reproduce the suc-
body of Christ thus gives visible expression to the centrality
cessive steps through which the world came into being.
of Christ in the world and his presence in the life of the com-
Again, according to Eliade’s paradigm, because the sacred
munity. Because the Hindu temple represents a human
place is the center around which the world is ordered and
body, the journey into the temple is also a journey within
the point of intersection with the realm of the divine, it is
oneself. Contact with the image of divinity in the heart of
also the point of origin. Creation began there and from there
the temple is the symbolic replication of the meeting of di-
it extended. That symbolism is apparent in the architecture
vinity within the center of one’s being. Thus, while the shape
of the Hindu temple. In the innermost shrine of the temple
of the body generally imparts meaning to space, the specific
is the dark center from which emerge the forms of the world,
meaning is developed in the context of individual religious
portrayed on the walls or gateways of larger temples. The
traditions.
naturalness of this symbolism can be illustrated by its second-
ary attachment to places whose primary meaning lies else-
Cosmos. Sacred space often imparts form to the world
where. According to Midrash Tanh:umaD, Qedoshim 10, for
by taking the form of the world. According to Mircea
example, Jerusalem and the Temple are holy because the
Eliade’s paradigm of sacred space, the major vertical divisions
Holy Land is the center of space and the Temple is the center
of the world intersect at the sacred place and are represented
of the Holy Land: “Just as the navel is found at the cen-
in it. These divisions are frequently the upperworld, the
ter of a human being, so the Land of Israel is found at the
earth, and the underworld. David D. Shulman has found
center of the world . . . and it is the foundation of the
this pattern in the temples of Tamil Nadu, which contain
world. Jerusalem is at the center of the Land of Israel. The
not only symbols that rise from earth upward but also sym-
Temple is at the center of Jerusalem. The Holy of Holies is
bols of a bila¯dvara, a doorway to the underworld. Other
at the center of the Temple. The ark is at the center of the
structures express more unique cosmological conceptions. At
Holy of Holies, and the Foundation Stone is in front of the
Wat Haripuñjaya in Thailand, for example, the ceitya, which
ark, which spot is the foundation of the world.” Such sym-
is the central structure of the sacred complex, vertically en-
bolism conveys the primacy of the place, for what is first in
compasses the three fundamental realms of the Buddhist
time is naturally first in significance.
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SACRED SPACE
Time. The divisions of time may also be represented in
Four Quarters. In it, Wheatley discusses the ceremonial com-
the sacred space, especially when time is ordered or governed
plexes that were the seed and integrating center of ancient
by the rites performed there. For example, the sides of the
urbanism. These ceremonial centers “were instruments for
mingtang, the Chinese calendar house, represented the sea-
the creation of political, social, economic, and sacred space,
sons. Each side was further divided into three positions rep-
at the same time they were symbols of cosmic, social, and
resenting the months of one season. The rituals enacted at
moral order” (Wheatley, 1971, p. 225).
the place guaranteed the orderly progression of these cycles
In Wheatley’s description, the ancient Chinese city
of time. They also guaranteed that the movement of time,
functioned in just this way to anchor the human order in the
and thus the fate of all living beings, depended upon the em-
divine. The city was laid out as an image of the universe: It
peror, who carried out these rites. A different kind of tempo-
possessed cardinal orientation and a major north-south axis
ral symbolism was connected with the brick altars created in
corresponding to the celestial meridian. The center of the
particular Vedic rites. The layers and bricks of the altar repre-
city was the most sacred spot, corresponding to the polestar,
sented the seasons, the months, the days and nights, and fi-
the axis around which the sky turned. And in the center was
nally the year, which was the symbol of the totality of time.
the royal palace. The city, therefore, re-created the celestial
The completion of the rite was the consolidation of time and
order on earth and its pivot in the ruler. As the heavens eter-
ultimately the attainment of immortality for the sacrificer.
nally moved around the polestar, so the state revolved around
Sacred narratives. Sacred space may not only bear the
the emperor. The political order was firmly established in the
imprint of the natural world but also of sacred narratives. A
objective order of the universe, which was made plain in the
particular place may be a reminder of events said to have oc-
sacred images of space.
curred there, or it may contain tokens or depictions of sacred
The ceremonial complex as cosmic center also helped
narratives which recall them to memory and reflection. At
make it an economic center. In Mesopotamia, for example,
Wat Haripuñjaya in Thailand, the walls of the viha¯ra (mo-
agricultural labor was apparently under the centralized con-
nastic compound) are adorned with illustrations that tell the
trol of the temple officials. The preeminent economic func-
lives of the Buddha in his earlier incarnations and express the
tion of the ceremonial center lay in its role as an instrument
basic moral values of Buddhism. Similarly, Christian church-
of redistribution. This could imply either storage and reap-
es of both the East and the West contain paintings and sculp-
portionment of goods or merely rights of disposal. The an-
tures depicting the history of salvation. In Eastern churches,
cient cities of Sumer, the temple cities of Cambodia, and Te-
for example, the upper part of the iconostasis contains depic-
nochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire, are all examples
tions of the twelve great events in the life of Jesus, which are
of cities whose sacredness confirmed the economic control
celebrated in the great feasts of the Christian year. Other
they exercised.
icons might depict scenes from the Bible or from the lives
of saints and martyrs, all of which recall the history of God’s
A sacred area may also project the image of the social
work in the world. Or again, the rites of the h:a¯jj move within
order. The villages of the Boróro of Mato Grosso, Brazil, for
a space that reminds the pilgrim of two critical moments in
example, were laid out in a cosmological image. The houses
Islamic sacred history: the time of Abraham, who built the
formed a rough circle around the men’s house, and this circle
KaEbah and who established monotheistic worship there; and
was divided into quarters by axes running north-south and
the time of the Prophet, whose final pilgrimage is recalled
east-west. But these divisions also governed the social life of
in rites at the plain of Arafat. In this last instance, the sacred
the village and its systems of kinship and intermarriage (cf.
place not only recalls an event but is also the location of the
Lévi-Strauss, 1973, pp. 227ff.). A sacred space may be the
event, for the Prophet gave his last sermon during his farewell
center of a system of social prestige that divides and struc-
pilgrimage at Arafat. The place removes the physical distance
tures society. In the South Indian temple town of Srirangam,
between the worshiper and the event, and in doing so, it also
the two innermost ring roads closest to the temple are inhab-
mitigates the temporal distance between the time of the
ited almost exclusively by brahmans. Other, less prestigious,
Prophet and the present. By thus collapsing space and time,
castes live farther toward the periphery.
it endows the event with an imposing reality.
In one way or another, sacred space orders space in a
Spheres of human life. In their form or function, sa-
socially meaningful way. Because a sacred place is both visi-
cred places organize human life and activity. Grounding the
ble and comprehensible, it lends concreteness to the less visi-
precarious and fluid structures of social organization in these
ble systems of human relationships and creates an identifi-
places imparts to them a sense of conformity to a system that
able center of social and political organization.
is not arbitrary but intrinsic to the very nature of things. The
sacred place often creates a vivid parallelism between the ob-
CONCLUSION. This article began with the assumption that
jective order of the universe, the eternal realm of the gods,
if a place is the location of ritual activity or its object, then
and the constructs of human relationships.
it is sacred. To designate a place as sacred imposes no limit
on its form or its meaning. It implies no particular aesthetic
This aspect of the sacred place has been investigated in
or religious response. But if sacred places lack a common
an extraordinary work by Paul Wheatley, The Pivot of the
content, they have a common role. To call a place sacred as-
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SACRED SPACE
7985
serts that a place, its structure, and its symbols express funda-
Study of West Bengal (Oxford, 1984); Jonathan Sumption’s
mental cultural values and principles. By giving these visible
Pilgrimage: An Image of Mediaeval Religion (London, 1972);
form, the sacred place makes tangible the corporate identity
Charles F. Keyes’s “Buddhist Pilgrimage Centers and the
of a people and their world.
Twelve-Year Cycle: Northern Thai Moral Orders in Space
and Time,” History of Religions 15 (1975): 71–89; Agehanan-
SEE ALSO Architecture; Basilica, Cathedral, and Church;
da Bharati’s “Pilgrimage in the Indian Tradition,” History of
Caves; Center of the World; Cosmology; Geography; Geo-
Religions 3 (Summer 1963): 135–167; Anne Feldhaus’s The
mancy; Human Body; Mosque, article on Architectural As-
Deeds of God in R:ddhipur (Oxford, 1984); and Hava Lazarus-
pects; Mountains; Orientation; Relics; Rivers; Sacred Time;
Yafeh’s Some Religious Aspects of Islam: A Collection of Articles
Temple.
(Leiden, 1981). The last has three excellent essays on both
popular and classical traditions concering Jerusalem, the h:ajj,
and the KaEbah.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
For recent scholarship, the agenda for the study of sacred space
Study of the places of worship is an engaging entry into the subject
has been largely set by Mircea Eliade. His paradigm of the
of sacred space and into history of religions generally. For
form and meaning of sacred space is presented in a number
Hinduism, the fundamental work has long been Stella Kram-
of his works, especially The Sacred and the Profane: The Na-
risch’s The Hindu Temple, 2 vols. (Calcutta, 1946). The tem-
ture of Religion (New York, 1959), pp. 20–67; Patterns in
ple is analyzed from the ground up and placed within the tra-
Comparative Religion (New York, 1958), pp. 367–387; and
dition of Brahmanic thought. David D. Shulman’s Tamil
“Centre du monde, temple, maison,” in Le symbolisme
Temple Myths: Sacrifice and Divine Marriage in the South In-
cosmique des monuments religieux, edited by Giuseppe Tucci
dian S´aiva Tradition (Princeton, 1980) draws on localized
(Rome, 1957), pp. 57–82.
traditions that explain the origins and power of shrines.
A number of scholars have made significant contributions to the
In Buddhism, one of the most richly symbolic structures is Boro-
discussion of the symbolism of space by opening up or re-
budur in central Java, and the classic study is Paul Mus’s
fashioning elements of Eliade’s paradigm. Among the most
Barabudur: Esquisse d’une histoire du bouddhisme fondée sur
thoughtful are Jonathan Z. Smith’s Map Is Not Territory:
la critique archéologique des textes, 2 vols. (Hanoi, 1935). For
Studies in the History of Religions (Leiden, 1978), esp.
more recent interpretation, see Barabud:ur: History and Sig-
pp. 88–146, and Imagining Religion: From Babylon to Jones-
nificance of a Buddhist Monument, edited by Luis O. Gómez
town (Chicago, 1982), esp. pp. 53–65. The final chapter in
and Hiram W. Woodward, Jr. (Berkeley, 1981). Borobudur
Paul Wheatley’s The Pivot of the Four Quarters: A Preliminary
is both a man:d:ala and a stupa. For the former, see Giuseppe
Enquiry into the Origins and Character of the Ancient Chinese
Tucci’s The Theory and Practice of the Man:d:ala, translated by
City (Chicago, 1971), titled “The Ancient Chinese City as
Alan H. Brodrick (London, 1969), and for the latter, The
a Cosmomagical Symbol,” pp. 411–476; Davíd Carrasco’s
Stupa: Its Religious, Historical and Architectural Significance,
“Templo Mayor: The Aztec Vision of Place,” Religion 11
edited by Anna Libera Dallapiccola, Beiträge zur Südasien-
(July 1981): 275–297; Benjamin Ray’s “Sacred Space and
forschung Südasien-Institut Universität Heidelberg, vol. 55
Royal Shrines in Buganda,” History of Religions 16 (May
(Wiesbaden, 1980). Donald K. Swearer’s Wat Haripuñjaya:
1977): 363–373; and Kees W. Bolle’s “Speaking of a Place,”
A Study of the Royal Temple of the Buddha’s Relic, Lamphun,
in Myths and Symbols: Studies in Honor of Mircea Eliade, ed-
Thailand (Missoula, Mont., 1976) shows the expression of
ited by Joseph M. Kitagawa and Charles H. Long (Chicago,
the moral, spiritual, cosmic, and social orders in the symbol
1969), pp. 127–139, are case studies that also advance the
systems of a Buddhist religious complex.
discussion of sacred space in this general line.
For the interpretation of Islamic architecture, Dogan Kuban’s
For other approaches to the meaning of architectural space, see the
Muslim Religious Architecture: The Mosque and Its Early De-
essays in Traditional Concepts of Ritual Space in India: Studies
velopment (Leiden, 1974) provides a brief introduction and
in Architectural Anthropology, edited by Jan Pieper, “Art and
a useful bibliography. See also Architecture of the Islamic
Archaeology Research Papers,” no. 17 (London, 1980), and
World: Its History and Social Meaning, edited by George Mi-
Shelter, Sign, and Symbol, edited by Paul Oliver (London,
chell (London, 1978).
1975). Kent C. Bloomer and Charles W. Moore’s Body,
The Gothic cathedral illustrates one expression of Christianity in
Memory, and Architecture (New Haven, 1977) is an especially
architecture, and its symbolism has been luminously ex-
clear introduction to meaning in architecture and the role of
plored in Otto von Simson’s The Gothic Cathedral: Origins
the body in establishing meaning.
of Gothic Architecture and the Medieval Concept of Order
Studies of the religious significance of urban space include Joseph
(New York, 1956). Harold W. Turner’s From Temple to
Rykwert’s The Idea of a Town: The Anthropology of Urban
Meeting House: The Phenomenology and Theology of Places of
Form in Rome, Italy and the Ancient World (Princeton, 1976);
Worship (The Hague, 1979) interprets the history of church
Diana L. Eck’s Banaras: City of Light (New York, 1982); and
architecture as the tension between buildings that localize the
the previously cited work by Wheatley. This essay also uti-
presence of divinity and those that serve for congregational
lized Niels Gutschow’s “Ritual as Mediator of Space: Kath-
worship. The sanctity of Eastern Christian churches is com-
mandu,” Ekistics 44 (December 1977): 309–312, and Jan
municated largely through its icons. See, for example,
Pieper’s “Three Cities of Nepal,” in Paul Oliver’s Shelter,
George Galavaris’s The Icon in the Life of the Church: Doc-
Sign, and Symbol (cited above), pp. 52–69.
trine, Liturgy, Devotion (Leiden, 1981).
For pilgrimage places and the religious definition of space, see E.
The interpretation of the Maori latrine presented in this essay fol-
Alan Morinis’s Pilgrimage in the Hindu Tradition: A Case
lows F. Allan Hanson’s “Method in Semiotic Anthropology,
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SACRED TIME
or How the Maori Latrine Means,” in his edited volume,
the lifting up of the infant from the cold earth to the warmth
Studies in Symbolism and Cultural Communication, Universi-
of a human breast. Walking into the Paraguayan forest,
ty of Kansas Publications in Anthropology, no. 14 (Law-
Chachugi knew that he had to recompose his own life in the
rence, Kans., 1982), pp. 74–89. For Black Elk’s description
wake of the birth of another. “In reality,” observed the an-
of Lakota rites and places, see The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk’s Ac-
thropologist Pierre Clastres in his Chronicle of the Guayaki
count of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux, edited by Joseph
Indians (1998, p. 37), Chachugi was “walking ahead of him-
Epes Brown (1953; Baltimore, 1971). The analysis of the
self, in quest of his own self, his own substance.”
Boróro village is found in Claude Lévi-Strauss’s Tristes
tropiques,
translated by John Weightman and Doreen
In 1881, a man wrote to the Christian Neighbor of
Weightman (New York, 1973).
South Carolina in celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of
Kab¯ır is only one of the many saints of various traditions who had
his silver watch, a watch so thick some called it a turnip. The
little use for the sacred places. For Kab¯ır as iconoclast, see
turnip had been faithful to him, and he in turn was faithful
The B¯ıjak of Kab¯ır, translated by Linda Hess and Shukdev
to the turnip, which he would never exchange for some thin
Singh, edited by Linda Hess (San Francisco, 1983).
modern gold watch. “When I do, you may set me down for
New Sources
a barbarian! Not the best gold and jewelled ‘Hunter’ in exis-
Alcock, Susan E., and Robin Osborne. Placing the Gods: Sanctu-
tence would tempt me to swap. That watch marked the time
aries and Sacred Space in Ancient Greece. Oxford, 1994.
when my children were born, and the record is set down in
Apostolos-Cappadona, Diane. “Religion and Sacred Space.” In
the family Bible.” The ticking turnip had taken his family
The Religion Factor: An Introduction to How Religion Matters,
through births and illnesses, had “marked the time when the
edited by William Scott Green and Jacob Neusner;
doctor’s medicines were to be given,” and had intimated at
pp. 213–226. Louisville, Ky., 1996.
what lay beyond death and the “many records that are fast
Brockman, Norbert C. Encyclopedia of Sacred Places. Santa Barba-
sealed up, to be opened only when another time comes.”
ra, 1997.
Mark M. Smith, who happened upon this letter while writ-
Chidester, David, and Edward Tabor Linenthal, eds. American
ing Mastered by the Clock (1997, p. 51), adds that African
Sacred Space. Bloomington, Ind., 1995.
Americans of the same era placed clocks in their burial
grounds, clocks that had been stopped at death, as former
Eckel, Malcolm David. Buddhism: Origins, Beliefs, Holy Texts, Sa-
slave Elizabeth Bunts explained (p. 147): “I would not stay
cred Place. New York, 2002.
in a house that would not stop the clock the minute the per-
Gordon, Matthew. Islam: Origins, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred
son dies, for every minute that clock runs takes the soul that
Persons, Sacred Places. New York, 2002.
much longer to cross the valley of the shadow of death alone,
Kelly, Klara B., and Harris Francis. Navajo Sacred Places. Bloom-
and if the clock is stopped he makes the crossing swiftly and
ington, 1994.
unafraid.”
Littleton, C. Scott. Shinto: Origins, Rituals, Festivals, Spirits, Sa-
When Jesuit missionaries brought European clocks to
cred Places. New York, 2002.
China in the seventeenth century, the mandarins were im-
Oldstone-Moore, Jennifer. Confucianism: Origins, Beliefs, Prac-
pressed by the intricate mechanisms but unmoved by the
tices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places. New York, 2002.
tightly wound chronology that came attached. As Erik Zür-
Prawer, Joshua, B. Z. Kedar, and R. J. Zwi Werblowsky. Sacred
cher notes in Time and Space in Chinese Culture (1995,
Space: Shrine, City, Land. New York, 1998.
pp. 148–149), the Christian arithmetic of time seemed un-
JOEL P. BRERETON (1987)
warrantably narrow to the more expansive Chinese. “Saying
Revised Bibliography
that 7000 years ago there was no world amounts to saying
that there is a today but not a yesterday,” argued the lay Bud-
dhist scholar Hsü Ta-shou, skeptical of a Creation dated no
farther back than biblical genealogies would allow, while his
SACRED TIME. Pichugi having just given birth,
fellow Buddhists operated comfortably within a cosmology
Chachugi prepared his bow for the hunt. Like all Guayaki
that extended across millions of years. “They only [use such
men, Chachugi was a hunter, but that was not why he head-
a story] to intimidate the ignorant rabble, calling [the act of
ed into the forest on this cold morning in 1963. As father
Creation] something ‘beyond human imagination’—but this
of the child, he had to go hunting because Pichugi, “letting
is like telling young children that there is a ghost in a dark
fall” this new life, had made him bayja, one who attracts liv-
room.”
ing creatures. It was a dangerous state, bayja, but a propitious
and sacred time. Dangerous, because if he failed to return
A ghost in a dark room: Not only is time differently ex-
today with the prey for which man and jaguar always com-
perienced within and across religious traditions, it is also dif-
peted, he was most at risk of becoming the prey of jaguar.
ferently conceived and formatted. These differences, debated
Propitious, because animals would be drawn to him despite
openly within traditions and operating tacitly at crossroads
the cold, leaping into the arc of his arrows. Sacred, because
between traditions, reflect the richness of the human archi-
bayja and the hunt were as much a part of the ritual of birth
tecture of time. If by sacred is meant that which marks or se-
as the taking of a bamboo knife to the umbilical cord and
cures a connection with what lasts beyond an individual life
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SACRED TIME
7987
and manifests powers beyond human agency, there is no
everywhere on the globe, and with it a conviction of
equally brief synopsis of time, a subject that engages physi-
times of transcendence. Sacred time must be that time dur-
cists and philosophers, novelists and neurobiologists, histori-
ing which people experience their lives as unbounded: during
ans and theologians, economists and environmentalists,
which they commune with ancestors or other worlds; during
poets and prophets. The conjoining of time with the sacred
which they are alert to voices and figures that call and dance
is especially contested because much about being human—
beyond our human confines; during which they learn how
possibility and purpose, faithfulness and forgetting, nostalgia
they too can escape those confines.
and regret, mortality and immortality—is at stake. In order
So, in the throes of divine possession among the Dan-
to make clear the salience and liveliness of a topic that could
hom of West Africa, Brazilian Candomblé, and Caribbean
seem forbiddingly abstruse, it is best to begin with a review
vodou, worshippers petition Legba, spirit of the open and
of different senses of sacred time, breaking from encyclope-
unforeseeable, to refrain from interrupting, but Legba’s help
dic formality into a style that embodies the heat and heart
must also be solicited as translator of messages from other
of those differences.
gods, for transcendence is as tricky as it is thrilling; so English
SHARING IN THE CONVERSATION. Here then are a dozen def-
Quakers of the late seventeenth century, German Pietists of
initions, in the colloquial, with brief examples.
the eighteenth century, and North American Swedenbor-
1. Time itself is sacred. All time is sacred time, there’s
gians and Spiritualists of the nineteenth century developed
not a minute to waste, make the seconds count. Each mo-
rules of discernment by which to know what voices were
ment must be cherished, for life is a precarious gift.
speaking to or through them, what was inspiration and what
was aspiration.
So medieval Roman Catholic bishops decried the lend-
ing of money at daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly interest
4. Sacred time is ritual time. We’re all mortal and vul-
rates, since those who profited from loans were poaching on
nerable, and unless we’re saints we can’t go around all day
God’s gift, the time of our lives; so the early Muslim scholar
feeling transcendent. If the sacred has to do only with the
and ascetic Hasan al-Basri wrote, “There is not a single day
unbounded, then it’s sheer escapism. Most days are going to
which is ushered in by its morning twilight except it calls out,
be humdrum, that’s just how it is. The sacred is the ordinary
‘O son of Adam! I am a new creature, and I am a witness
lifted into the extraordinary, which makes for a democracy
over your deeds. Therefore take your provision out of me,
of inspiration. Birth, puberty, coupling, death, those are the
for if I pass away, I shall not recur to the Day of Resur-
transfiguring times that everyone shares, and each society
rection.’”
creates rituals around them, and also for such significant re-
curring events as new moons, solstices, first rains, first fruits.
2. The sacred must be timeless. Since what’s sacred
must be what’s true and what’s true must be unchanging,
So, in the uncreated, vast but finite universe contem-
only what stands apart from time can be truly sacred. There’s
plated by the Jaina community of mendicant teacher-ascetics
no such thing as sacred time. There’s a sacred timelessness
and lay followers, for whom the soul is reborn in a succession
of which we all have inklings, but time drags everyone into
of bodies bound by the karma of past deeds and the state of
the muck of the profane: age, accidents, illness, nightmares,
mind at the instant of death, Jains perform a funeral ritual
loss, death, decay. Don’t confuse the hours you spend at
in which a new body is shaped out of symbolic balls of rice
prayer, meditation, or confession with sacred time; those are
that stand as guarantors of a swift and positive reincarnation
just hours spent in pursuit, honor, or awe of something eter-
for the departing soul, lest it be stuck in a sacred limbo.
nal that’s never within reach. Eternal is what we aren’t; you
5. Sacred time is epiphanous. It seems oxymoronic to
and I, we’re bastards of time, and time, to be blunt, is
rely upon a regular series of rituals to invite the extraordi-
trauma.
nary. Rather than exalting repetition, shouldn’t sacred time
So the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty
be the time that I hold dear precisely because it surprises me,
(1908–1961) backed into a discussion of time in his Phenom-
yielding sudden revelations? Sacred time should be like a bolt
enology of Perception through the experience of the phantom
of lightning, a moment that I keep holy through an ongoing
limb, an amputee’s continuing trauma of presence-in-
archive of those rare and astonishing insights by which I have
absence; so early Daoists struggled with the paradox of a cos-
come to know myself more acutely in this world.
mos whose origins lay in chaos, hun-tun, and whose nature
So the ninth-century Persian S:u¯f¯ı, Sahl At-Tustar¯ı, had
was infinitely chaotic, but which amounted at last to some-
theophanies, pre-visions of Allah, consistent with a theology
thing more revealing than confusion, so long as, according
that saw life unfolding as an unbroken series of instanta-
to the Zhuangzi, “The sage steers by the touch of chaos and
neous, divinely-sustained events; so among the Campa of
doubt”; so the Christian theologian Origen (c.185–c.245),
Peru and the Waiwai of the Brazilian Amazon, it is through
calling time a natural reality, resisted any imputation of sa-
song and music, at once ephemeral and memorable, that the
credness to time.
sacred enters the world of mortals.
3. Sacred time is the experience of the transcendent.
6. Time becomes sacred through neural patterning.
A belief in some sort of soulfulness can be found nearly
If the sacred is worth its salt, it has to be about more than
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SACRED TIME
suddenness and the self. Listen instead to cognitive scientists,
and personalize fortune, which leads to mystifying and per-
who tell us that humans are hard-wired to notice quantity,
sonalizing everything unique and inexplicable. But the
periodicity, and causality. Time as before/after and time as
unique and inexplicable, that’s the divine, and the divine,
repetition are built into our brains, hence into philosophy
though manifested as miracle or marvel, is hardly mystifying
and theology. Is the sacred built in too? Well, we are also
and never exclusive to an individual. Ditto for sacred time:
wired to locate patterns in our environment. Let’s hypothe-
it’s simply the time instituted for us all by the divine, inter-
size that the sacred is basically an antique expression of the
vals during which we are enabled and inspired. It’s forgivable
inborn conviction that everything we encounter is ultimately
that people confuse the time they make for the sacred with
assimilable to an overarching pattern. Sacred time, then, may
the time the divine has made for them; it’s reprehensible to
simply be the moment of the discovery or confirmation of
forget that our lives and times are always at the pleasure of
such a pattern, when opiates are released in our brains and
the divine.
we enjoy what we call an “otherworldly” satisfaction.
So after six days of offering tributes at the temples, “On
So, argued the neurophilosopher Paul Churchland in
the Seventh day as the sun declines the day is desacralized;
The Engine of Reason, the Seat of the Soul (1995, pp. 17–18),
at sunset the king is desacralized,” according to Ugaritic In-
the doctrine that human cognition resides in an immaterial
structions for the Ritual Calendar of the Month of Vintage
soul or mind looks, “to put if frankly, like just another myth,
(1500–1200 BCE), as translated by Nick Wyatt (1998,
false not just at the edges, but to the core,” but in the crafting
p. 354). “Seven times, with all his heart, the king shall speak:
of “a proper theory of brain function” he hoped for a concep-
As the sun declines the day is desacralized, at sunset the king
tual revolution that would “allow us to achieve a still higher
is desacralized. Then they shall array him in fine clothes and
level of moral insight and mutual care.”
shall wash his face. They shall return him to his palace, and
when he is there, he shall raise his hands to heaven.”
7. Sacred time is sacred because unique and inexpli-
cable. What hubris, to think that sacred time is just a field
9. Sacred time is cosmic. Beware turning sacred time
of synapses sparkling with chemically bonded ecstasy! It has
into stultifying obligation or authoritarian imposition, in
to be clear to the most bleary-eyed neuroanatomist that expe-
much the same fashion as secular society, making time ma-
riences of sacred time are triggered by what is not assimilable
chinable and merchandisable, poisons the gift of time by
to, or which exceeds our capacity for, pattern. Even should
turning it into chores and stock futures. There has to be an
we accept the materialist slant of neurobiology, there is little
appreciable gravity to sacred time that makes it worthy, com-
evidence that our opiate receptors are more indulged by per-
prehensible, and memorable. Sacred time must be that time
ceptions of pattern than by delightful encounters with the
during which people individually and collectively bear the
new and unique. Scientists themselves relish anomaly; grand
weight and fate of the cosmos. Neither that weight nor that
patterns are usually the projects of paranoiacs and megaloma-
fate can be long sustained by any one person; it must there-
niacs. The sacred need be neither surprising nor instanta-
fore be presented within a sacred theater of sacrifice and re-
neous; it must, like the best art, be irreproducible. Sacred
newal, atonement and attunement, that is undeniably mo-
time is misunderstood because by nature it’s indefinable and,
mentous. Each of us, for the well-being of the planet and our
like any unique event, can be approached only by way of in-
posterity, needs to bear the weight and fate of the cosmos,
adequate analogy. Trying to explain sacred time head-on is
if only for the briefest moment, for in that moment we learn
liking trying to explain to inveterate gamblers why odds of
what the universe requires of us lifelong.
a trillion-to-one make it unlikely that they will be the one.
So Hindi men and women throughout northern India
So in Chinese and Japanese Chan (Zen) Buddhism,
at the end of the rainy season move back and forth between
masters and students approach revelation obliquely, their sa-
participation and spectatorship in the epic play cycle of the
cred time spent “sitting straight, without any thought of ac-
Ramlila, lasting some places as long as thirty days, reenacting
quisition, without any sense of achieving enlightenment”
the life of the god Ra¯ma, his victory over the demon king
(from the thirteenth-century conversations of Do¯gen, re-
Ra¯van:a and his shattering of the great cosmic bow of S´iva,
corded by his disciple Ejo¯ in the Sho¯bu¯ genzo¯ zuimonki,
the god of devouring time; so the Mayan ball games with
pp. 98–99). In this way they prepare for the puzzle of a koan
their deadly ritual replay of the motions of the heavens, and
which liberates the mind from time-bound logic, as in this
so the human sacrifices on the Mexica (Aztec) pyramids,
eleventh-century verse appended to The Recorded Sayings of
where the years were bound together in spirals of death and
Layman P’ang by Master Fo-Jih Ta-Hui:
rebirth that encompassed people, plants, cities, kings, and
the gods themselves, eaten up by time.
The Birthless is basically wordless;
10. Sacred time is time out. Must we resort to grandil-
To speak is to fall into words.
oquence or terror to prevent sacred time from being cheap-
Kindred gather in a happy family circle;
ened? If we all had to wait upon a cosmic connection to claim
A tiger watches the water-mill turn.
sacred time, this entire entry might as well be blank. That’s
8. Sacred time is divine time. The problem with gam-
not a bad idea. . . . What’s sacred about sacred time is that
blers and riddlers is that they mystify the accidents of chance
it’s set aside from our usual course. It can be a time of rest
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or ecstasy, of silence or drumming, of solitude or commu-
GETTING SERIOUS. There’s a deadline for this essay, and
nion, as long as its rhythm is unusual and it alludes to forces
that’s no illusion, so I’d better get cracking. But that very
that ride above everyday turmoil. Other definitions suffer
“get cracking” has been at the crux of the debate over sacred
from a subtle arrogance with regard to the sacred or to time,
time between Aristotle and Augustine, the former certain of
as if we humans had a hand in running the universe. All we
the reality of time as a measure of motion and substrate of
have it in our hands to do, now and then, is to pause, dedi-
potentiality, the latter uncertain of its reality, given the flick-
cating those pauses to something beyond the immediate.
ering of human horizons and the frailty of human compre-
So Plato in his Laws called a religious holiday an ana-
hension. For both of them, though, sacred time is the bot-
paula, a breathing space, and whether as a Sabbath, a carni-
tom line.
val, a festival, a jubilee, or days added at the end of the year
LEARNING WHAT’S AT STAKE. Drama inheres in beginnings
to keep a calendar aligned with the seasons, most cultures
and endings. What lies between is as much the province of
recognize a time out; so, warned Gary Eberle more than two
Sacred Time as creation or conclusion, and what is thought
millennia later in Sacred Time and the Search for Meaning
to lie before or beyond (the Uncreated, the Prime Mover,
(2003, p. xiii), when we don’t do justice to a sabbatical, we
Eternity, the Infinite) works in tandem with each calculus
end up in an impermanent world, “untouched by anything
of the quotidian. How religions handle the less climactic in-
we might call eternity.” Whoso would know sacred time, let
tervals is key to the spiritual framing of that ongoing dailiness
them stop counting the hours.
by which human life is ordinarily lived.
11. Sacred time is spiritually receptive time. An apho-
If time has to do with instantiation, duration, sequence,
rism whose latitude erodes its attitude. Leisure time should
causality, and change, then sacred time has to do with the
not be mistaken for sacred time, lest the supramundane be-
implicit issues that make time of particular moment: pres-
come another species of the mundane. Those who take time
ence, continuity, consequence, story, and transformation.
out to meditate, to go on pilgrimage, to fast and contem-
Variably fraught and freighted, these issues may be expressed
plate, or to study scripture put themselves in a receptive
at a personal level in terms of self-identity, trust, generational
frame of mind, a heightened attention that has nothing in
bonds, memory, and hope. Either way, time is fully implicat-
common with idle relaxation. Released from the daily grind,
ed in notions and experiences of the sacred, whether time is
one ignores the pricklings of the personal in order to support
depicted as the primal ground of being or as the presiding
profound insights.
force that sustains and destroys each world; as that which is
So the Jewish qabbalist Moses ben Jacob Cordovero of
set in motion through a cosmic act of sacrifice or as that
sixteenth-century Safed wrote in his Or Ne Derav: “the time
which must be overcome on the path to enlightenment; as
that is most conducive to understand matters in depth is dur-
the slow revealer of truth, which must withstand all storms,
ing the long nights, after midnight; or on the Sabbath, for
or as the swiftness of revelation, which proves itself by the
the Sabbath itself lends predisposition to it; and similarly on
very storm of its truth; as the implacable enemy of all illu-
the eve of the Sabbath, commencing after midnight”; so
sions, eroding all disguises, or as the archetypal illusion.
Shinto¯ ceremonies incorporate the Japanese principle of ma,
Without time in its manifold senses, the experience of
interval, which opens up time as well as space, allowing for
the sacred would lack a sense of occasion (timing), urgency
the entrance of spirits on which the worshipper waits with
(timeliness), momentum (time-after-time), resolution (time-
expectant stillness.
fullness) or relief (timelessness). The secular world, of course,
12. Experiencing the sacred, time is discovered to be
may also be driven by time to such an extent that people of
an illusion. You have to realize that the closer you come to
no avowed faith upbraid themselves for “worshipping the
the sacred, the weaker is time’s grip on you, until at last time
clock” and efficiency experts, bankers, taxi dispatchers, jour-
is totally unhinged, since it is a vise of your own making with
nalists, and air traffic controllers unite in a secular priesthood
nothing absolute about it. A better aphorism might be: Sa-
of timekeepers, but these are customs and clerisies of the im-
cred time is what you make of time when time is made out
mediate, where time “saved” is hardly, in the long run, re-
to be none of your own. Once you get beyond your attach-
demptive. Those who deal in the long run—astronomers,
ments to this world, time no longer has any attachment to
mythographers, folksingers, tombstone carvers—owe their
you, and the illusion drops away.
professions rather to religion, to stories of cosmic origin and
evolution by which time is installed in the sacred and the sa-
So in the Yoga Va¯sis:t:ha, one Hindu philosophical
cred instilled with time.
school argues from the relativity of time—how, according to
one’s mental state, an instant may feel like an eon or vice
Folded into cosmology, rituals of renewal, calendars of
versa—that the object of yogic practices is to get beyond the
festivals, images of a future state heavenly or hellish, time be-
conceit of time, at best a vehicle for reincarnation, at worst
comes sacred. This at least would be the weak explanation,
a self-deception; so Buddhists of the S´a¯nyava¯da school insist
granting time and the sacred separate tracks with culturally
that time is merely a set of subjective conventions, and the
variable crossings. A stronger claim would be that time
wheel of time, the ka¯lachakra, at best a teaching tool, at worst
makes the sacred possible, since without it believers would
a prison.
be at a loss to embrace the holy in past, present, future, mem-
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SACRED TIME
ory or dream. The counterclaim here would be that the sa-
logical and psychological inconsistencies—inconsistencies
cred is time’s contractor, and that it is the first job of every
that, theoretically and experientially, are in turn projected
religion and spiritual tradition to enable time. The strongest
onto time, which is then seen as imbued with conundrum
claim would be that time and the sacred are congenital, given
and felt as happily contradictory, neutrally brutal, or fatally
that humans are temporal beings whose humanity is mani-
enigmatic. The nature of time may be as passionately disput-
fested through an intrinsic awareness of mortality and an in-
ed within as between traditions, giving rise to schools of
trinsic desire to bridge each mortal span. The strongest coun-
thought (most forcefully in Neoplatonic, Hindu, Chinese
terclaim would be that time and the sacred are accidental
Buddhist, and Protestant circles) at odds over ostensibly
categories that obscure the ultimate insignificance of human
minor points that actually feed major divergences in ap-
life, the realization of which can be the only respite from suf-
proaches to the role of ancestors, the virtue of sociopolitical
fering.
action, the chronology of grace or redemption. If, as in the
The stronger claims, speculative though they may seem,
Sikh tradition in India, time began with the divine creation
have exercised many a theologian and religious philosopher,
of an existential reality that leads through an irreversible, dy-
since agreement on sacred time appears to be vital to the con-
namically evolutionary process to the spiritual union of
duct of ceremonies and refinement of liturgies that hold
human beings with God, then history, and a believer’s place
communities together through the years. Even for those who
in history, may be active and sometimes revolutionary. If, as
do not bundle time into neat parcels of past, present, and fu-
in the Qumran community near the Dead Sea, all events
ture, or whose sagas swallow the eons in great gulps, sacred
have been prepared by God as the “master of time,” then
time must still be reckoned, and reckoned with. Although
one’s responsibility is to honor God’s decrees with the ut-
the Ainu off the coast of Northeast Asia told no tales of the
most purity and ceremonial precision, isolated from the dis-
future and counted their present not by years or months but
ruptions of larger society, “for your mighty deeds we will
by two irregular seasons and the daily barking of sled dogs
extol your splendor at every moment, and at the times indi-
at dawn, noon, and dusk, yet (through at least the 1960s)
cated by your eternal edicts, at the onset of day and at night
they understood the winter, the morning, and the first half
at the fall of evening and at dawn. For great is the plan of
of each lunar period as times for prayer, contact with good
your glory” (War Scroll, 1QM xiv 13–14).
spirits, ceremonies for the bear, and mediations with the god-
Given that time would, prima facie, make origins imag-
dess of the moon.
inable, and given that many cultures consider the original
EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES. In general, each religious group
ipso facto sacred, the sacredness of time might seem over-
determines the borders and meanings of night and day, the
determined, especially where primitivist strains (as in Ana-
seasons, childhood and adulthood, life and death. Each
baptist, Puritan, Methodist, and Iroquois revitalization
group then establishes nodes of tension and relaxation along
movements) strongly encourage a return to an earlier and un-
these divides, such that the quotidian round is structured
corrupt or incorruptible era. However, the origin of time can
through periods of preparation, consummation, and relax-
be untwinned from its essence in those traditions where time
ation whose coincidence with cycles fixed by human and ce-
is solicited primarily to initialize aging and mortality (as with
lestial bodies is notable but distinct. That is, the universals
the Iraqw of Tanzania, who have no origin or creation
of breath and digestion, of sex and death, of sunset and
myths) or to stand as guarantor for an inherent immortality
moonfall, are differently incorporated into each society and
(modern Theosophy). Time may even be circumscribed at
differently experienced through its set of observances ac-
both ends, serving primarily as a measure for the precise exe-
knowledging, praising, appraising, or acceding to sacred
cution of rituals geared fiercely to the present or to the imme-
time.
diate presence of ancestors (Ruist Confucianism, Shinto¯). In
Specifically, sacred time is shaped by five acts of defini-
cases where a culture has constructed a tight nexus between
tion that, separately or in complex conjunction, engage the
space and time (Incan cult, Tibetan Buddhist man:d:ala, Ice-
supernal. These five acts define the nature, origin, spectrum,
landic saga, the longhouses of the Pira¯-parana¯ Indians of the
power, and rhythm of time in relation to the sacred.
northwest Amazon), the origin of time and of the universe
may be so entwined that each act of memory is a sacred em-
Where, at one extreme, time is understood as an inde-
placement.
pendent ordering principle, time may be deified (Brahmanic
Hinduism, Iranian Zurvanism, Aztec and Mayan cosmolo-
The spectrum of time refers to the variety of phenomena
gy) and the five acts of definition may together constitute a
scaled by time. For some cultures, and for industrial society,
theology; where, at the other extreme, moments are experi-
maturity, adulthood, legal rights, social rank, economic
enced as parts of an indeterminate flux (early Daoism, mod-
standing, and attributed wisdom are all etched by year
ern pantheism), the five acts of definition may together con-
counts, which also guide such religious ceremonies as bap-
stitute a radical phenomenology in which the sacred becomes
tism, conversion, confirmation, circumcision, and weddings;
that alone which survives from moment to moment. Most
here the spectrum of time is short, dense, and finely
spiritual traditions plot time between the extremes of para-
notched—and would be further inflected with arrows of up-
mount coherence and particular incoherence, risking thereby
swing and downswing. For other cultures (as with the Komo
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SACRED TIME
7991
of Zaire), time as age or clock-count has little to do with
the upper case to emphasize that in this Case abstraction si-
rank, rights, or respect, but time as seasonality does demand
multaneously hypostatizes. That is to say, it is hard to write
attention for plantings or migrations and may track some
about Time without ascribing to Time an independent exis-
rites of passage; here the spectrum of time is thin and marked
tence. Not all groups welcome or understand the abstracting
at relatively long intervals—and the very notion of a spec-
of Time (indeed, degrees of abstraction or concretion are at
trum of time would be alien. For many cultures, beyond the
the nub of a controversy about notions of Time among Afri-
obvious biological, climatic, agricultural, and riverine cycles
cans and Native Americans); few societies have hypostatized
that act upon human beings, acts of prophecy, witch-
Time as thoroughly as have the countries of the industrial-
detection, mediumship, healing, and clairvoyance demon-
ized North Atlantic ecumene. The problem of abstraction
strate one’s intimacy with, if not also mastery of, time; here
should have become evident through the initial quicktime of
the spectrum of time is long and complexly indexed—and
competing definitions, some of which deny Time substance
would be reconceived in non-Euclidean intersecting parallel
or independent action, but Time has moved paragraph by
lines.
paragraph to reclaim that autonomy which often is its pre-
Power is a tortured subject. The question is, what can
eminent claim upon the Sacred.
time do? Of course, time’s nature provides part of the an-
So now the Sacred demands the upper case, as if the Sa-
swer: if time is a god, it may have diverse powers; if time is
cred were a book. Among religions that rely upon scripture,
a force, it may have one sphere of influence; if time is an illu-
Sacred time seems bound up with language and efforts to-
sion, it deceives. But the question is at root comparative:
ward the permanent inscription of truths. For religions in
What can time do that cannot be done elsewise or undone?
which the word, oral or written, is held to be creative and
What are its unique powers? Is time the sole prompter of
instrumental, the syntax of expression would seem to define
change, or is change what prompts a sensitivity to time? Does
both the scope and processes of time, even as it makes strenu-
time devour all, or do human beings fear time as a devourer
ous any clarification of time aside from language. Sociolin-
because they are flawed and fall short on their promises? Is
guists and anthropologists have sought to infer from a lan-
fate another face of time and are human fortunes inscribed
guage’s tenses, aspects, and moods that language-group’s
between time’s eyes, or is time in its expansiveness the best
experience of time. A highly conjugated matrix of predicates
assurance of free will, for otherwise an awareness of time
that finely parses the past, the progressive, the habitual, the
would be nothing but torture for all those shunted along a
punctual, the perfective, the future, the optative, and the
predestined path toward hell, karmic demotion, or the
conclusive would indicate a culture whose concept of time
wrong kind of oblivion. Is time itself a master, a mistress, or
is highly articulated and important enough to keep company
a liberator?
with the Sacred, which must inevitably address difficult is-
Everywhere, people dance to the rhythm of day and
sues of persistence and loss, order and disorder, origin and
night, lunations and tides, equinoxes and solstices. These
end. A meager inventory of temporal markers would indicate
may be celestial phenomena, but rarely are they merely astro-
a culture in which time is not key to the consideration of
nomical, considering how much they are seen to influence
those elements of life that are believed to give it depth or en-
living things through their powerfully regular rhythms. Their
during significance. At least two perilous assumptions come
repetitions and syncopations, widely taken as intimations of
into play here: assuming what (for most South American and
the divine, are refracted in human arts of time: storytelling,
many Asian traditions) remains to be proven, that time is a
fortune-telling, music-making, star-tracing, trance-dancing.
human construct rooted in language; assuming that concepts
The rhythms are captured with more subtlety in the exten-
of time, especially Sacred time, cannot be fully developed
sions and compressions of sacred calendars and their punctu-
through nonlinguistic processes such as painting, sculpture,
ation by solemn Sabbaths or mortal games, in the accordion
music, and dance (as in the “dreaming” and paintings of Aus-
of swift and slow motions throughout a complex ritual, in
tralian aborigines, the Lion Mask dances of Korean animism,
the staccato or fluid discourse of the bewitched or inspired,
the rock art of the San of southern Africa, or the gamelan
in all of the rhythms that build beyond the thumping of the
music accompanying Javanese Hindu-Buddhist plays).
heart.
This second problem has had a graphic companion in
CALL AND RESPONSE. Nature, origin, spectrum, power,
a third and more widespread problem: the frisking of reli-
rhythm: these are analytic categories that no tradition would
gions for signs of linear as opposed to cyclical time. Like the
acknowledge in this particular pen-tangle, but they do assist
desire to differentiate a tribal god of judgment from a catho-
in the unpacking of “sacred time,” a phrase with much bag-
lic god of love, the desire to differentiate the “cyclical” time
gage. They do not, unfortunately, keep the study of sacred
of archaic hunter-gatherer or agrarian societies from the “lin-
time from being knocked for a loop by a number of method-
ear” time of urban or industrial societies stemmed from Prot-
ological problems common to international baggage-
estant historians desperate to give a universal footing to their
handling.
sense of civilization’s moral advance. Denizens of “cyclical”
First, perhaps foremost, among the problems is the ab-
time were supposedly caught in a maze of their own making,
straction of Time, which for this paragraph appears alone in
resilient but condemned to traditionalist pieties and a perva-
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SACRED TIME
sive fatalism, anxious for each year to be renewed in the
in analyses of Orphism, Mithraism, and Siberian shaman-
image of the old and reluctant to plan a better world. Deni-
ism, kairos in Christian soteriology, and chronos in ancient
zens of linear time, in contrast, were supposedly politically
Egyptian royal cults and modern secularization, none of the
engaged, driven by a past that betokens a brilliant, if often
terms insists upon the subservience of the others. Rather, one
apocalyptic, future, which explains why they become reform-
can see how, as in sixteenth-century Andean syntheses of
ers, looking ever for improvement. That binary set, whether
local cults and colonial Catholicism or in the South African
in the blatant stereotype sketched here or in more sinuously
Xhosa cattle-killing movement of 1856–1857, communities
seductive versions, still rules public conversation, although
handle crises through a complex manipulation of aion,
it has been shown to be historically groundless by Jonathan
kairos, and chronos.
Z. Smith for the ancient Near East, Pierre Vidal-Naquet for
A fourth methodological problem in the study of sacred
ancient Greece, Sacha Stern for ancient Judaism, and Nancy
time (back to the lower case) derives from a misplaced devo-
Farriss for the Mayan world.
tion to chronos. Much of the scholarly corpus makes the
The same binary set, with value signs reversed, was
“time before” sacred to investigations of sacred time, seeking
adopted in the 1990s by cultural critics deploring a frenzied
intact cores of religious belief that have resisted the influence
busyness that was “bleeding meaningful time out of our
of foreign raiders and invaders, colonial powers with their
lives,” as the American philosopher Jacob Needleman had it
resident armies and missionaries, tourists, journalists, and
in his Time and the Soul (2003, p. 2). People need some of
anthropologists. Why expect sacred times to be unswerving
that old-time cycling, he wrote, to catch their breaths and
or uncontested? As the anthropologist Johannes Fabian and
find their true selves. But nearly every religious system gam-
ethnographer Nicolas Thomas have pointed out, Western re-
bols between the cyclical and the linear, because human be-
searchers have tended to regard non-Western societies (read:
ings, familiar with recurrence and adept at repetition, are also
non-white, or tribal, nomadic, primitive, even “stone age”)
fascinated by novelty and blessed with inventiveness. The
as relics. Whereas all peoples going about their business on
best one can do with the mountain of words on cyclical and
any given day are effectively coevals, once regarded as relics
linear time is to note that priestly forms of religion lean to-
they become reliquaries, appearing to hold up to the world
ward the cyclic just enough to protect the temple and its ser-
valuable remnants of ancient truths. Because sacred times
vitors from violent shifts of direction, while demotic forms
and their train of ceremonies and rites of passage are pre-
lean toward the linear just enough to keep possibilities open,
sumed to be at the core of religious life, researchers have
to make for immediate second chances, to rescue the down-
looked as much to fragments of sacred times as to ruins of
trodden from persecution, forced conversion, slavery.
sacred spaces to establish what that tradition had in mind be-
fore the incursions of strangers.
There may be more advantage to a complementary set
of terms that has been applied to Sacred Time (both now
Within and without, of course, sacred times have long
momentarily in the upper case) in cultures far removed from
been subject to renegotiation, as in the shift of Manichaean
their roots in Greece and the eastern reaches of Neoplato-
cosmology and ecclesiology under the impact of Buddhism
nism and early Christianity: aion, kairos, and chronos. Aion
in northwestern China, or the mixed discourse of Cree heav-
is time understood as a principle, and principal, of infinite,
en and Methodist Sabbath in the program of the Cree proph-
undifferentiable, unceasing time, sometimes pictured as an
et Abishabis in Ontario (Canada) in the 1840s. To expect
of any religion a resolute invariance and coherence in its con-
ouroboros, a serpent swallowing its own tail, an Egyptian
struct of sacred time is to make two idealizing mistakes, im-
symbol of renewal. Kairos is time felt and depicted as the
posing both a system and a stasis that would have turned
knife’s edge, a pregnant moment on which all hangs in sus-
such a religion into a museum piece from the start, in the
pense or, as Tukanoan tribes of the northwest Amazon mean
name of an anthropological “eternal” that has proven as diffi-
by their verb ~su? husé, that instant in which all conditions
cult to shake as the Ptolemaic astronomy of beautifully eter-
are propitious for conception. Chronos is time enumerated,
nal epicycles.
the sequence of event following event, from which proceed
schedules, chronologies, chronometers, and the raw data of
Which unearths the archeological eternal. Digging
history, but which may also mount up to a long-anticipated
through “layers of time” and walking the stone circles of
total, the Aztec calendar round of 52 years, the Qumran
Neolithic peoples or tunneling through underground burial
cycle of 294 years, the Mayan long count of 1,872,000 days,
chambers, archaeologists have found not only prehistoric
the allotted 6,000 years of Jewish messianism and Western
time-keeping but prehistoric ritual, and through prehistoric
Christian apocalyptics, the 7,000 years of Eastern Orthodox
ritual, prehistoric sacred time. Or is it vice versa: from sacred
eschatology, or the 432,000 years of the Hindu kaliyuga, last
time, ritual? Their arguments are themselves elegantly circu-
and least of the four ages of the 28th of 71 mah(yugas (four-
lar, implying that there is something irretrievably human and
age cycles) in the 7th of 14 overarching manvantaras in the
visceral to the keeping of time which, because it is inexplica-
first kalpa or eon of the second half of the life of Brahman.
bly human and visceral, must be numinous. Rather than
The virtue of the three terms is that they are neither cultural-
couching sacred time in a culture’s myths of origin, archeolo-
ly nor mutually exclusive; although aion has special potency
gists and archaeo-astronomers have often devised their own
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origin myths of sacred time for Iron and Bronze Age cultures
gued that time, belonging to no one, cannot possibly be
in England and Israel, for Old Kingdom Egypt, for Shang
given but is always the object of human desires to give of—
China, for the prehistoric Mayans—origin myths that are
and beyond—oneself, a cogent postmodern reformulation of
then embraced and elaborated by resurgent spiritual groups
sacred time. Clearly in this mode, Alfred L. Roca of the Lab-
(Druids, Hermeticists, Wiccans, Neopagans) strongly invest-
oratory of Genomic Diversity at the National Cancer Insti-
ed in the sacredness of an elemental or “natural” time.
tute in Maryland, together with seven collaborators around
the world, meant in 2004 to give a small animal, the highly-
The flip side of the archaeological eternal is “real time.”
endangered solenodon, the gift of time literally and twice
A mischievous phrase, “real time” has come to be associated
over. Demonstrating the origins of this shrew-like mammal
as much with unmanipulated media as with the honestly ex-
in a genetic divergence that occurred seventy-six million
istential. “Real time” is what is happening “as we speak”;
years ago, they hoped thereby to persuade Cuban and Hi-
what has not been edited, prerecorded, or reenacted; what,
spaniolan authorities to act to prevent the extinction of a spe-
in short, has not been tampered with. It is easy to see how
cies whose lineage, older than most mammalian orders, is an-
the premise of “real time” can result in an implicit promise
cestral to, and perhaps coterminous with, our own.
of sacred time, if one takes sacred time to be inviolate time,
a pure time “delivering the goods,” the good, the gods. Elec-
SEE ALSO Aion; Apocalypse, overview article; Birth; Calen-
tronically infused with event, contemporary society further
dars, overview article; Chronology; Consciousness, States of;
conflates aion, kairos, and chronos, identifying the eternally
Cosmology, overview article; Death; Eschatology, overview
valid with the constant repercussions of breaking news. “Real
article; Eternity; Funeral Rites, overview article; Heaven and
time” is integral to utopian premises that those who live rela-
Hell; Initiation, overview article; Inspiration; Meditation;
tively unalarmed lives (i.e., those in preindustrial, “pre-
Memorization; Millenarianism, overview article; Miracles,
contact” or monastic societies) enjoy greater access to the sa-
overview article; Morality and Religion; Phenomenology of
cred. “Real time” is prominent in dystopian premises that
Religion; Prophecy, overview article; Rites of Passage, over-
those not “in touch” with what is going on “under their own
view article; Sacred Space; Seasonal Ceremonies; Seculariza-
eyes” (because isolated, illiterate, impoverished, disabled, or
tion.
senile) cannot appreciate the meanings of their actions and
are, to put it cruelly, cut off from the sacred. “Real time” in-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
forms the documentarist premise that taking cognizance of
A full-fledged bibliography on sacred time might begin with a
any segment of life automatically unveils the sacred, as if a
quotation from the first volume of Remembrance of Things
“respectful” approach to the passage of time is all that one
Past (1913–1927), where Marcel Proust, as he is leaving
needs to access “the holy.”
church, genuflects before the altar and suddenly feels the fra-
grance of almonds steal toward him through the blossoms of
RETURNING TO “REAL LIFE” BY WAY OF HUMILITY. The
a hawthorn bush. “Despite the heavy, motionless silence of
bristling quotation marks of the paragraph above are signs
the hawthorns,” (C. K. Scott Moncrieff’s translation, New
of overprotectiveness regarding “time” and “the sacred.”
York, 1924, p. 87), “these gusts of fragrance came to me like
With or without seven thousand seven hundred words that
the murmuring of an intense vitality, with which the whole
less than one-thousandth of one percent of the billions of hu-
altar was quivering like a roadside hedge explored by living
mankind will ever read, people will surely conceive, experi-
antennae, of which I was reminded by seeing some stamens,
ence, and reconceive sacred time in their own fashion.
almost red in color, which seemed to have kept the spring-
time virulence, the irritant power of stinging insects now
AFFIRMATION AND DEPARTURE. What then is the point of
transmuted into flowers.” That intensity of sensation so
an article on sacred time? Why am I still writing? Why are
common to sacred time, that flow of memory into presence
you still reading? Wouldn’t everyone’s time be more valuably
and presence into passion, resonated with the work of
spent in working to eliminate poverty, feed the starving,
Proust’s cousin-in-law Henri Bergson, son of a Jewish musi-
comfort the suicidal?
cian and himself a philosopher alive to issues of tempo and
temporality, beginning with his first book, Essai sur les donnés
These are not rhetorical questions. Whether in the form
immédiates de la conscience (Time and Free Will, Paris, 1889),
of a liturgical calendar through which a people’s traumatic
which made of time a rich, indivisible flow. The task of reli-
memories of persecution, enslavement, and devastation are
gion, wrote Henri Hubert in 1905, using Bergson as a
at once condensed and transmuted (Jewish, Sikh, Cuban
springboard, was to endow such uncut time with a definite
Santería, the Nation of Islam); or as a formal period of wait-
rhythm of interruptions by which the sacred could be told
ing (in exile, hospital, asylum, prison) through which fanta-
from the profane. In his Étude sommaire de la représentation
sies and frustrations may merge and emerge in spiritual trans-
du temps dans la religion (Paris, 1905), available as Essay on
Time
, translated by Robert Parkin and Jacqueline Redding
formation; or as an active pursuit of the holy through fasting,
(Oxford, 1999). The young Hubert was also an obvious dis-
initiation, hallucinogenic retreat, vision quest, pilgrimage, or
ciple of the sociologist Émile Durkheim, whose Les formes
prolonged mourning, sacred time is that time during which
élémentaires de la vie religieuse (The Elementary Forms of the
the contingency of human life is confronted and one must
Religious Life, Paris, 1912) informed most subsequent Euro-
decide, again and again, how to spend one’s life and give of
pean analyses of the sacred. After the First World War and
one’s time. A philosopher of language, Jacques Derrida, ar-
its killing time in the trenches, sacred time itself suffered
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SACRED TIME
from a kind of shellshock to which Rudolf Otto’s war-
mounted special issues on time; among those most focused
stricken Das Heilige (The idea of the holy, Breslau, 1917) was
on sacred time were the American Historical Review 104, no.
incomplete antidote. It was left to Martin Heidegger, a disci-
5 (1999), Ethnohistory 47, no. 1 (2000), and International
ple of the German philosopher Edmund Husserl (an exact
Review of Sociology 11, no. 3 (2001).
contemporary of Bergson’s), to put sacred time into phe-
By the late twentieth century, time had been so enlarged as a field
nomenological perspective in his short lecture, Begriff der
of study that methodological critiques began to seem urgent.
Zeit (1924), translated by William McNeill as The Concept
Time had already been problematized in physics, vividly in
of Time (Oxford, 1992). Writing in Parisian exile in 1945
Thomas Gold, ed., The Nature of Time (Ithaca, N.Y., 1967),
with the ruins of the Second World War splayed before him,
recording the rambunctious speculations of physicists toying
the Romanian erotic novelist and scholar of Indian religions
with a phrase coined by the English physicist Arthur Edding-
Mircea Eliade chose history over fiction as a vehicle for re-
ton in 1928, the “arrow of time”—a phrase further proble-
viewing and renewing the options of sacred time in Le mythe
matized by Stephen Jay Gould in Time’s Arrow, Time’s Cycle:
de l’éternel retour: archétypes et répétition (Paris, 1949), trans-
Myth and Metaphor in the Discovery of Geological Time (Cam-
lated by Willard R. Trask as Cosmos and History: The Myth
bridge, Mass., 1987) and by Huw Price in Time’s Arrow and
of the Eternal Return (Princeton, 1954).
Archimedes’ Point: New Directions for the Physics of Time
Since then, many of the central works have not been monographs
(New York, 1996). In this context, respected models for the
but wide-ranging anthologies of essays, drawn often from
investigation of sacred time, such as E. E. Evans-Pritchard’s
conferences on the topic of time in religion or the broader
Nuer Religion (Oxford, 1956) and Clifford Geertz’s The Reli-
topic of time across cultures. These began with Henry Cor-
gion of Java (New York, 1960), were taken to task by other
bin and others, Man and Time, vol. 3 of Papers from the
anthropologists: Johannes Fabian, Time and the Other: How
Eranos Yearbooks (Princeton, N.J., 1957), but it was J. T.
Anthropology Makes Its Object (New York, 1983); Nancy
Fraser, founder of the International Society for the Study of
Munn, “The Cultural Anthropology of Time: A Critical
Time in 1966 and organizer of The Voices of Time: A Cooper-
Essay,” Annual Review of Anthropology 21 (1992): 93–123;
ative Survey of Man’s Views of Time as Expressed by the Sciences
and Nicholas Thomas, Out of Time: History and Evolution
and by the Humanities (New York, 1966), who etched the
in Anthropological Discourse, 2d ed. (Ann Arbor, 1996). Rul-
template with The Study of Time (1972–), a series of confer-
ing assumptions about cyclical and linear time were also un-
ence volumes on which he collaborated over two decades
dermined, as anticipated by Edmund R. Leach in two brief
with a number of co-editors, eventually relinquishing the se-
essays, “Cronus and Chronos,” Explorations 1 (1953): 15–
ries to other hands, as with vol. 11, Time and Uncertainty,
23, and “Time and False Noses” Explorations 5 (1955): 30–
edited by Paul Harris and Michael Crawford (Leiden, the
35, reprinted with revisions in his Rethinking Anthropology
Netherlands, 2004). Publication of similar collections accel-
(London, 1961), pp. 124–136. The critique was deepened
erated in the years leading up to 2001: Paul Ricoeur and oth-
by Pierre Vidal-Naquet, “Divine Time and Human Time,”
ers, Les cultures et le temps: études préparées pour l’UNESCO
in The Black Hunter: Forms of Thought and Forms of Society
(Paris, 1975); Tommy Carlstein and others, eds., Timing
in the Greek World, translated by Andrew Szegedy-Maszak
Space and Spacing Time, 3 vols. (London, 1978); Dorian Tif-
(Baltimore, Md., 1986), pp. 39–60; Nancy M. Farriss, “Re-
feneau, ed., Mythes et représentations du temps (Paris, 1985);
membering the Future, Anticipating the Past: History, Time
Dorothea M. Dooling, ed., “Time and Presence,” Parabola
and Cosmology among the Maya of the Yucatan,” Compara-
15 (spring, 1990), entire issue; John Bender and David E.
tive Studies in Society and History 29, 3 (1987): 566–593;
Wellbery, eds., Chronotypes: The Construction of Time (Stan-
Jonathan Z. Smith, To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual
ford, Calif., 1991); Anindita N. Balslev and J. N. Mohanty,
(Chicago, 1987); Anthony Aveni, Empires of Time: Calen-
eds., Religion and Time (Leiden, the Netherlands, 1993);
dars, Clocks, and Cultures (New York, 1989); and Alfred Gell,
Etienne Klein and Michel Spiro, eds., Le temps et sa flèche
The Anthropology of Time: Cultural Constructions of Temporal
(Luisant, France, 1994); Diane Owen Hughes and Thomas
Maps and Images (Oxford, 1992).
R. Trautman, eds., Time: Histories and Ethnologies (Ann
Given such momentum, challenges were issued as well to domi-
Arbor, Mich., 1995); Kurt Weis, ed., Was Ist Zeit?, 2 vols.
nant theories about particular religious systems—Sassanid
(Munich, 1996); Yasuhiko Nagano, ed., Time, Language and
Persia’s worship of Zurvan, originary god of time (according
Cognition (Osaka, 1998); Jeremy Butterfield, ed., The Argu-
to R. C. Zaehner), Africa’s futurelessness (according to John
ments of Time (Oxford, 1999); John B. Brough and Lester
S. Mbiti), Hopi ritual atemporality (according to Benjamin
Embree, eds., The Many Faces of Time (Dordrecht, the Neth-
Lee Whorf), the ultimate unsustainability of Hindu cosmol-
erlands, 2000); Deutschen Religionsgeschichtlichen Stu-
ogy (according to G. W. von Hegel)—by such scholars as
diengesellschaft, Zeit in der Religionsgeschichte (Münster,
Shaul Shaked, “The Myth of Zurvan: Cosmogony and Es-
Germany, 2001); and Vincianne Pirenne-Delforge and
chatology,” in Messiah and Christos, edited by Ithamar
O
˝ hnan Tunca, eds., Représentations du temps dans les religions
Gruenwald and others (Tübingen, Germany, 1992),
(Geneva, 2003, essays solicited in 2001). Meanwhile, Samuel
pp. 219–240; Peter R. McKenzie, “Sacred Time,” in his Hail
Macey, who had published at length on time and mythology,
Orisha! A Phenomenology of a West African Religion in the
enlisted a growing community of scholars in the creation of
Mid-Nineteenth Century (Leiden, 1997), pp. 154–208; Ekke-
an Encyclopedia of Time (New York, 1994), many of whose
hart Malotki, Hopi Time: A Linguistic Analysis of the Tempo-
articles set a bead on the sacred. Two new journals were also
ral Concepts in the Hopi Language (Berlin, 1983); and Gayatri
launched: Time and Society (London, 1992–) and KronoS-
Chakravorty Spivak, “Time and Timing: Law and History,”
cope: Journal for the Study of Time (Leiden, 2001–). During
in Chronotypes: The Construction of Time, edited by Bender
the centurial years 1999–2001, academic journals often
and Wellbery (Stanford, Calif., 1991), pp. 99–117.
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7995
Debate continues, with a vehemence equal to that of Hubert (who
South Asia: Jasabir Singh Ahluwalia, “Time, Reality, and Reli-
with Durkheim’s nephew Marcel Mauss published in 1899
gion,” in his The Doctrine and Dynamics of Sikhism (Patiala,
a seminal study of sacrificial rites), concerning the degree to
India, 1999), pp. 29–50; Maitreyee R. Deshpande, The Con-
which sacred time originates in, or is primitively defined by,
cept of Time in Vedic Ritual (Delhi, 2001); Werner Herzog’s
blood sacrifice as a psychic strategy of re-creation or as a
film, Rad der Zeit (Wheel of Time) (Germany, 2003, eighty
means of collective renewal. On this, see Georges Bataille,
minutes); Padmanath S. Jaini, Collected Papers on Jaina
Theory of Religion, translated by Robert Hurley (New York,
Studies (Delhi, 2000); Hari Shankar Prasad, ed., Time in In-
1992); Raimundo Panikkar, “Time and Sacrifice: The Sacri-
dian Philosophy (Delhi, 1992); Alexander von Rospatt, The
fice of Time and the Ritual of Modernity,” The Study of Time
Buddhist Doctrine of Momentariness (Stuttgart, 1995); Geshe
III, edited by J. T. Fraser (New York, 1978), pp. 683–727;
Lhundub Sopa and others, The Wheel of Time: The
Kay A. Read, whose Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos
Ka¯lachakra in Context, edited by Beth Simon (Ithaca, 1991);
(Bloomington, Ind., 1998) is also sensitive to the gendered
Thomas R. Trautman, “Indian Time, European Time,” in
aspects of sacred time, as is Johan Normark, Genderized Time
Time: Histories and Ethnologies, edited by Hughes and Traut-
and Space in Late Classic Maya Calendars, Museion Occa-
man (Ann Arbor, 1995), pp. 167–197; Peter Van Der Veer,
sional Paper No. 1 (Göteborg, Sweden, 2000). Elsewhere
“Ayodhya and Somnath: Eternal Shrines, Contested Histo-
too, attention has been called to gender: Warren L.
ries,” Social Research 59, no. 1 (1992): 85–109.
d’Azavedo, “Gola Womanhood and the Limits of Masculine
Central Asia: Mary Boyce, A History of Zoroastrianism: I. The Early
Omnipotence,” in Religion in Africa, edited by Thomas D.
Period (Leiden, the Netherlands, 1996); Hans-Joachim
Blakely and others (London, 1994), pp. 342–362; Fatima
Klimkeit, trans. and comp., Gnosis on the Silk Road (San
Mernissi, “The Muslim and Time,” in The Veil and the Male
Francisco, 1993); Samuel N. C. Lieu, Manichaeism in Cen-
Elite, translated by Mary Jo Lakeland (Reading, Mass.,
tral Asia and China (Leiden, the Netherlands, 1998); John
1991), pp. 15–24; Susan Starr Sered, “Gender, Immanence
Walbridge, Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time (Oxford,
and Transcendence: The Candle-Lighting Repertoire of
1996) on Baha’i.
Middle-Eastern Jews,” Metaphor and Symbolic Activity 6, no.
4 (1991): 293–304; Sarah Lund Skar, “Andean Women and
Western Asia and the Mediterranean Littoral: Petro B. T. Bilani-
the Concept of Space/Time,” in Women and Space, Ground
uk, “Chronos and Kairos: Secular and Sacred Time in Rela-
Rules and Social Maps, edited by Shirley Ardener, revised edi-
tion to the History of Salvation and Eternity,” Studies in
tion (Oxford, 1993), pp. 31–45; and numerous contributors
Eastern Christianity 5 (Munich, 1998) pp. 3–7; Gerhard
to Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World, ed-
Böwering, The Mystical Vision of Existence in Classical Islam
ited by Joanne Pearson and others (Edinburgh, 1998). For
(Berlin, 1980); Paul F. Bradshaw and Lawrence A. Hoffman,
a woman theologian’s perspective, see Carol Ochs, The Noah
eds., Passover and Easter: The Symbolic Structuring of Sacred
Paradox: Time as Burden, Time as Blessing (Notre Dame,
Seasons (Notre Dame, Ind., 1999); Gershon Brin, The Con-
Ind., 1991).
cept of Time in the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Leiden, the
Netherlands, 2001); Barry M. Gittlen, ed., Sacred Time, Sa-
In addition to the works already mentioned, see the following for
cred Place: Archaeology and the Religion of Israel (Winona
specific geohistorical settings:
Lake, Ind., 2002); Sylvie Anne Goldberg, La clepsydre: essai
sur la pluralité des temps dans le juda(sme
(Paris, 2000); L. E.
East Asia: Robert Eno, The Confucian Creation of Heaven: Philoso-
Goodman, “Time in Islam,” in Religion and Time, edited by
phy and the Defense of Ritual Mastery (Albany, N.Y.,1990);
Balslev and Mohanty (Leiden, the Netherlands, 1993),
N. J. Girardot, Myth and Meaning in Early Taoism: The
pp. 138–162; Richard D. Hecht, “The Construction and
Theme of Chaos (hun-tun) (Berkeley, Calif., 1983); Chun-
Management of Sacred Time and Space: Sabta Nur in the
Chieh Huang and Erik Zürcher, eds., Time and Space in Chi-
Church of the Holy Sepulcher,” in NowHere: Space, Time,
nese Culture (Leiden, the Netherlands, 1995); David N.
and Modernity, edited by Roger Friedland and Deirdre
Keightley, The Ancestral Landscape: Time, Space, and Com-
Boden (Berkeley, Calif., 1994), pp. 181–235; Yu¯suf
munity in Late Shang China (ca. 1200–1045 BC) (Berkeley,
al-Qarada¯w¯ı, Time in the Life of a Muslim, translated by Abu
Calif., 2000); Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, “Sakhalin Ainu Time
Maimounah Ahmad ad bin Muhammad Bello (London,
Reckoning,” Man 8 (1973): 285–299; Richard Pilgrim, “In-
2000); Samuel Sambursky and Shlomo Pines, The Concept
tervals (Ma) in Space and Time: Foundations for a Religio-
of Time in Late Neoplatonism (Jerusalem, 1971); Sacha Stern,
Aesthetic Paradigm in Japan,” History of Religions 25, no. 3
Time and Process in Ancient Judaism (Oxford, 2003); Robert
(1986): 255–277; and Ruth Fuller Sasaki and others, trans.,
Taft, “A Tale of Two Cities: The Byzantine Holy Week
A Man of Zen: The Recorded Sayings of Layman P’ang (New
Triduum as a Paradigm of Liturgical History,” in Time and
York, 1971).
Community, edited by J. Neil Alexander (Washington, D.C.,
Southeast Asia: Janet Hoskins, The Play of Time: Kodi Perspectives
1990), pp. 21–42; Panagio¯te¯s Tzamalikos, The Concept of
on Calendars, History and Exchange (Berkeley, Calif., 1993);
Time in Origen (New York, 1991); James C. VanderKam,
Robert McKinley, “Zaman dan Masa, Eras and Periods: Rev-
Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Measuring Time (London,
olutions and the Permanence of Epistemological Ages in
1998); Nick Wyatt, Religious Texts from Ugarit (Sheffield,
Malay Culture,” in The Imagination of Reality in Southeast
U.K., 1998); Nick Wyatt, Space and Time in the Religious
Asian Coherence Systems, edited by A. L. Becker and Aram A.
Life of the Near East (Sheffield, U.K., 2001).
Yengoyam (Norwood, N.J., 1979), pp. 303–324; Geoffrey
Europe: Guido Alliney and Luciano Cova, eds., Tempus Aevum
Samuel, “The Religious Meaning of Space and Time in
Aeternitas: La concettualizzazione del tempo nel pensiero tar-
South and Southeast Asia and Modern Paganism,” Interna-
domedievale (Florence, Italy, 2000); Eamon Duffy, The
tional Review of Sociology 11, no. 3 (2001): 395–418.
Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, c.
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SACRED TIME
1400–c.1580 (New Haven, Conn., 1992); Alex Gibson and
David Carrasco, Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire: Myths
Derek Simpson, eds., Prehistoric Ritual and Religion
and Prophecies of the Aztec Tradition, revised edition (Boul-
(Thrupp, U.K., 1998); Jacques Le Goff, Your Money or Your
der, Colo., 2000); Barbara Tedlock, Time and the Highland
Life: Economy and Religion in the Middle Ages, translated by
Maya, revised edition (Albuquerque, N. Mex., 1992); E. Mi-
Patricia Ranum (New York, 1988); Paul Ricoeur, Time and
chael Whittington, ed., The Sport of Life and Death: The Me-
Narrative, translated by Kathleen McLaughlin and David
soamerican Ballgame (New York, 2001).
Pellauer, 3 volumes (Chicago, 1984–1988), with much on
Aristotle and St. Augustine; David G. Roskies, Against the
North America: Melissa Axelrod, The Semantics of Time: Aspectual
Apocalypse: Responses to Catastrophe in Modern Jewish Culture
Categorization in Koyukon Athabaskan (Lincoln, Nebr.,
(Cambridge, Mass., 1984); Tamar M. Rudavsky, Time Mat-
1993); Edmund S. Carpenter, “The Timeless Present in the
ters: Time, Creation, and Cosmology in Medieval Jewish Philos-
Mythology of the Aivilik Eskimos” in Eskimos of the Canadi-
ophy (Albany, N.Y., 2000); Richard Sorabji, Time, Creation,
an Arctic, edited by Victor F. Valentine and Frank G. Vallee
and the Continuum: Themes in Antiquity and the Early Middle
(Toronto, 1968), pp. 39–42; Richard T. Hughes and C.
Ages (Ithaca, N.Y., 1983); and Yosef H. Yerushalmi, Zakhor:
Leonard Allen, Illusions of Innocence: Protestant Primitivism
Jewish History and Jewish Memory (New York, 1989).
in America, 1630–1875 (Chicago, 1988); Randall A. Lake,
Africa: Thomas O. Beidelman, Moral Imagination in Kaguru
“Between Myth and History: Enacting Time in Native
Modes of Thought (Washington, D.C., 1993); Thomas D.
American Protest Rhetoric,” Quarterly Journal of Speech 77,
Blakely and others, eds., Religion in Africa (London, 1994);
no. 2 (1991): 123–151; Mark M. Smith, Mastered by the
Pierre Bourdieu, “The Attitude of the Algerian Peasant to-
Clock: Time, Slavery, and Freedom in the American South
ward Time,” in Mediterranean Countrymen, edited by Julian
(Chapel Hill, N.C., 1997); Stanley Walens, “The Weight of
Pitt-Rivers (Paris, 1973), pp. 55–72; James W. Fernandez,
My Name Is a Mountain of Blankets: Potlatch Ceremonies,”
Bwiti: An Ethnography of Religious Imagination in Africa
in Celebration: Studies in Festivity and Ritual, edited by Vic-
(Princeton, N. J., 1982); David Frankfurter, ed., Pilgrimage
tor Turner (Washington, D.C., 1982), pp. 178–189.
and Holy Space in Late Antique Egypt (Leiden, the Nether-
lands, 1998); Steven Kaplan, “TeDezza Sanbat: A Beta Israel
Oceania and Australia: Bruce Chatwin, The Songlines (New York,
Work Reconsidered,” in Gilgul: Essays on Transformation,
1987); Frederick H. Damon, “Time and Values,” in From
Revolution, and Permanence in the History of Religions, edited
Muyuw to the Trobriands: Transformations along the Northern
by Shaul Shaked and others (Leiden, 1987) on the Ethiopian
Side of Kula Ring (Tucson, Ariz., 1990), pp. 16–53; Hans
Sabbath; Wauthier de Mahieu, “Le temps dans la culture
Peter Duerr, Dreamtime, translated by Felicitas D. Goodman
komo,” Africa 43 (1973): 2–17; John S. Mbiti, African Reli-
(Oxford, 1985); Barbara Glowczewski, Du rêve à la loi chez
gions and Philosophy, 2d revised edition (Oxford, 1990); J. B.
les aborigines (Paris, 1991); Lynne Hume, Ancestral Power:
Peires, The Dead Will Arise: Nongqawuse and the Great Xhosa
The Dreaming, Consciousness, and Aboriginal Australians
Cattle-Killing Movement of 1856-7 (Johannesburg and
(Carlton South, Victoria, Australia, 2002); Karen Sinclair,
Bloomington, Ind., 1989); John Parratt, “Time in Tradi-
Maori Times, Maori Places (Lanham, Md., 2003); Marilyn
tional African Thought,” Religion 7 (autumn, 1977): 117–
Strathern, “Artefacts of History: Events and the Interpreta-
126; Robert J. Thornton, Space Time and Culture among the
tion of Images,” in Culture and History in the Pacific, edited
Iraqw of Tanzania (New York, 1980).
by Jukka Siikala (Helsinki, 1990), pp. 25–44; Tony Swain
Africans in the Americas: Joseph N. Murphy, Working the Spirit:
and Garry Trompf, The Religions of Oceania (London,
Ceremonies of the African Diaspora (Boston, 1994); Anthony
1995).
B. Pinn, Varieties of African American Religious Experience
For social-theoretical contributions, see Barbara Adam, Time and
(Minneapolis, Minn., 1998); Albert J. Raboteau, Slave Reli-
Social Theory (Philadelphia, 1990); Sylviane Agacinski, Time
gion: The “Invisible Institution” in the Antebellum South (New
Passing: Modernity and Nostalgia, translated by Jody Glad-
York, 1978).
ding (New York, 2003); Éric Alliez, Capital Times: Tales
South America: Brian S. Bauer and Charles Stanish, Ritual and
from the Conquest of Time, translated by Georges Van Den
Pilgrimage in the Ancient Andes (Austin, Tex., 2001); Pierre
Abbeele (Minneapolis, Minn., 1996); James A. Beckford,
Clastres, Chronicle of the Guayaki Indians, translated by Paul
“Doing Time: Space, Time, Religious Diversity, and the Sa-
Auster (New York, 1998); Christine Hugh-Jones, From the
cred in Prisons,” International Review of Sociology 11, no. 2
Milk River: Spatial and Temporal Processes in Northwest Ama-
(2001): 371–382; Lawrence W. Fagg, The Becoming of Time:
zonia (Cambridge, 1979); Sabine MacCormack, Religion in
Integrating Physical and Religious Time (Durham, N.C.,
the Andes: Vision and Imagination in Early Colonial Peru
2003); Richard K. Fenn, Time Exposure: The Personal Experi-
(Princeton, 1991); Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff, Yuruparí:
ence of Time in Secular Societies (Oxford, 2001); Krzysztof
Studies of an Amazonian Foundation Myth (Cambridge,
Pomian, L’ordre du temps (Paris, 1984); Barry Schwartz,
Mass., 1996); Frank Salomon and George L. Urioste, eds.
Queueing and Waiting: Studies in the Social Organization of
and trans., Huarochirí Manuscript (Austin, Tex., 1991); Law-
Access and Delay (Chicago, 1975).
rence E. Sullivan, “Sacred Music and Sacred Time,” World
of Music
26, no. 3 (1984): 33–51, examples primarily from
For philosophical works cited, see Paul Churchland, The Engine
South America; William Sullivan, The Secret of the Incas:
of Reason, the Seat of the Soul (Cambridge, Mass., 1995);
Myth, Astronomy, and the War Against Time (New York,
Jacques Derrida, Given Time: I. Counterfeit Money, translat-
1996).
ed by Peggy Kamuf (Chicago, 1992); Gary Eberle, Sacred
Mesoamerica: Anthony Aveni, “Time, Number, and History in
Time and the Search for Meaning (Boston, 2003); Jacob
the Maya World,” KronoScope 1, nos. 1–2 (2001): 29–62;
Needleman, Time and the Soul (San Francisco, Calif., 2003).
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SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]
7997
For more on the solenodon, see Alfred L. Roca and others, “Meso-
According to some theories, the conception of sacrifice
zoic Origin for West Indian Insectivores,” Nature 429 (June
as gift-giving is the result of a secondary development or even
10, 2004): 649–651.
of a misunderstanding of rites that originally had a different
meaning. (On this point, see “Theories of the Origin of Sac-
HILLEL SCHWARTZ (2005)
rifice,” below.)
MORPHOLOGY (TYPOLOGY) OF SACRIFICE. The various
forms of sacrifice show some common elements that respond
SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]. The term sacri-
to the following questions: (1) Who offers the sacrifice? (2)
fice, from the Latin sacrificium (sacer, “holy”; facere, “to
What is offered? (3) What external forms belong to the act
make”), carries the connotation of the religious act in the
of offering? (4) In what places and at what times are sacrifices
highest, or fullest sense; it can also be understood as the act
offered? (5) Who is the recipient of the sacrifice? (6) For what
of sanctifying or consecrating an object. Offering is used as
reasons are sacrifices offered? The classifications implied by
a synonym (or as a more inclusive category of which sacrifice
these questions often overlap (e.g., the type of material used
is a subdivision) and means the presentation of a gift. (The
for the sacrifice may determine the rite).
word offering is from the Latin offerre, “to offer, present”; the
verb yields the noun oblatio.) The Romance languages con-
The sacrificer. Most religions allow not only sacrifices
tain words derived from both the Latin words. The German
offered by a group or community but also individual sacri-
Opfer is generally taken as derived from offerre, but some de-
fices for entirely personal reasons; in unstratified societies,
rive it from the Latin operari (“to perform, accomplish”),
therefore, everyone is in principle able to offer sacrifices. In
thus evoking once again the idea of sacred action.
fact, however, such purely personal sacrifices are rare, and as
soon as sacrifices become connected with a group, however
Distinctions between sacrifice and offering are variously
small, not every member of the group but only a representa-
drawn, as for example, that of Jan van Baal: “I call an offering
tive may offer them. The sacrificer may be the head of a fami-
every act of presenting something to a supernatural being,
ly or clan, an elder, or the leader of a band of hunters; in
a sacrifice an offering accompanied by the ritual killing of the
matrilinear societies, the sacrificer may be a woman. This is
object of the offering” (van Baal, 1976, p. 161). The latter
true especially of hunting and food-gathering cultures as well
definition is too narrow, however, since “killing” can be ap-
as nomadic pastoral cultures; even when these include indi-
plied only to living beings, human or animal, and thus does
viduals with specific ritual functions (medicine men, sorcer-
not cover the whole range of objects used in sacrifice as at-
ers, soothsayers, shamans), the function of offering sacrifice
tested by the history of religions. A truly essential element,
is not reserved to them. (In pastoral cultures we can some-
on the other hand, is that the recipient of the gift be a super-
times see that only at a secondary stage do shamans replace
natural being (that is, one endowed with supernatural
family heads for certain sacrifices.) Food-planting cultures,
power), with whom the giver seeks to enter into or remain
on the other hand, commonly have cultic functionaries to
in communion. Destruction, which can apply even to inani-
whom the offering of sacrifice is reserved (e.g., the “earth-
mate objects, is also regarded as essential by some authors but
chiefs” in West African cultures). In sacrifices occasioned by
not by all; thus, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica,
some public endeavor or concern (e.g., an epidemic, or be-
a sacrifice is “a cultic act in which objects were set apart or
fore or after a military campaign) the head of the tribe or
consecrated and offered to a god or some other supernatural
larger group is the natural offerer of sacrifice. In archaic high
power” (1977, vol. 16, p. 128b). On the other hand, it is in-
cultures the function often goes with the kingly office; fre-
deed essential to the concept that the human offerer remove
quently, however, it decreases in importance in the course
something from his own disposal and transfer it to a super-
of further development and is then discernible only in vesti-
natural recipient. The difference between the broad concept
gial form.
of offering and the narrower concept of sacrifice may be said
to reside in the fact that a rite, a more or less solemn external
The more fully articulated the divisions in a society, the
form, is part of sacrifice.
more often there is a class of cultic ministers to whom the
offering of sacrifice is reserved. In this situation, tensions and
Sacrifice differs from other cultic actions. The external
changing relations of power can arise between king and
elements of prayer are simply words and gestures (bodily atti-
priests, as in ancient Egypt. When a special priestly class ex-
tudes), not external objects comparable to the gifts of sacri-
ists, membership is either hereditary or must be earned
fice. Eliminatory rites, though they may include the slaying
through a consecration that is often preceded by lengthy
of a living being or the destruction of an inanimate object,
training, or both may be required: descent from a certain
are not directed to a personal recipient and thus should not
family, class, or caste and training that leads to consecration.
be described as sacrifices. The same is true of ritual slayings
The consecrated functionary who is an offerer of sacrifice
in which there is no supernatural being as recipient, as in
often must then submit to further special preparation
slayings by which companions are provided for the dead
(through purificatory rites, etc.) before exercising his office.
(joint burials) or that are part of the dramatic representation
A priest may have other cultic or magical functions in addi-
of an event in primordial time.
tion to that of offering sacrifice; he may, for example, act as
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SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]
oracle, exorcist, healer, or rainmaker, he may be a source of
deliverance from illnesses by depositing likenesses of the dis-
tradition and knowledge, and he may have noncultic func-
eased organs.
tions as well.
Blood offerings. When animals or human beings serve
Myths sometimes speak of the gods themselves as offer-
as the sacrificial gift, the shedding of blood may become an
ing sacrifice. Sacrifice by human beings is then simply an im-
essential part of the sacrificial action. Thus ritual slaying
itation of the primal sacrifice that played a role in the estab-
makes its appearance among cultivators and herders. (The
lishment of the cosmic order.
practice is generally not found in hunting cultures, where a
Material of the oblation. Scholars often generalize, as
small but symbolically important part of the animal slain
for example: “If we look about in the history of religion, we
during the hunt is offered; thus the slaying is not part of the
find there are very few things that have not, at some time or
sacrificial action but precedes it. The slaying by the Ainu of
in some place, served as offering” (van Baaren, 1964, p. 7).
a bear raised for the purpose is perhaps not really a sacrifice
Others will say that everything which has a value for human
but a “dismissal” rite.)
beings can be the material of sacrifice; the value may be sym-
The most extensive development of ritual slaying is
bolic and not necessarily inherent (as seen, for example, in
found among cultivators. Here blood plays a significant role
the firstlings sacrifices of food-gatherers). Perhaps we may say
as a power-laden substance that brings fertility; it is sprinkled
that originally what was sacrificed was either something liv-
on the fields in order to promote crop yield. Head-hunting,
ing or an element or symbol of life; in other words, it was
cannibalism, and human sacrifice belong to the same com-
not primarily food that was surrendered, but life itself. Yet
plex of ideas and rites; human sacrifice is also seen as a means
inanimate things were also included in the material for sacri-
of maintaining the cosmic order. The combination of blood
fice. (But do not archaic cultures regard a great deal as living
rites with magical conceptions of fertility is found more
that to the modern scientific mind is inanimate? Some schol-
among tuber cultivators than among grain cultivators (but
ars emphasize not the life but the power of the object.) Only
it is also found among maize growers, as in Mesoamerica).
by including inanimate objects is it possible to establish a cer-
The assumption that all blood sacrifices originated among
tain classification of sacrificial objects, as for example, on the
food cultivators and then were adopted at a later stage by no-
one hand, plants and inanimate objects (bloodless offerings),
madic herders is one-sided; ritual slaying probably made its
and, on the other, human beings and animals (blood offer-
appearance independently among the latter.
ings). But such a division is not exhaustive, since a compre-
hensive concept of sacrifice must include, for example, a
Blood sacrifices consist primarily of domesticated ani-
bloodless consecration of human beings and animals.
mals: among cultivators, sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, fowl;
among nomads, also reindeer, horses, and camels (whereas
Bloodless offerings. Bloodless offerings include, in the
pigs are regarded as unclean animals and not used, while fowl
first place, vegetative materials. Thus food-gatherers offer a
would not usually be kept). Dogs too may serve as sacrificial
(symbolic) portion of the foodstuffs they have collected. Cul-
animals; they are especially sacrificed to provide companions
tivators offer to higher beings (whom they may regard as in
for the dead. The offering of fish, birds other than domesti-
need of nourishment) sacrifices of food and drink: fruits, tu-
cated fowl or doves, and wild animals is rarer. The character-
bers, grains, and the foods that are made from these plants
istics of the sacrificial animal are often determined by the re-
(meal, baked goods, oil), along with drinks, especially beer
cipient; thus brightly colored animals are offered to the
and other alcoholic beverages, that are poured out as liba-
divinities of the sky, black animals to the divinities of the un-
tions. Among herders milk and milk products (e.g., koumiss,
derworld and the dead or to feared demonic beings.
a drink derived from milk and slightly fermented, used in
Inner Asia) play a similar role, especially in firstlings sacrifices
Sacrificial animals are not always killed by the shedding
(see below). In the ritual pouring (and especially in other rit-
of their blood; they are sometimes throttled (especially in
ual uses) of water, the intention is often not sacrifice but ei-
Inner Asia) or drowned in water or a bog. Furthermore, there
ther some other type of rite (lustration, purification, or expi-
is also the bloodless consecration of an animal, in which the
ation) or sympathetic magic (e.g., pouring water in order to
animal is not killed but transferred alive into the possession
bring on rain). The offering of flowers or of a sweet fragrance
of the divinity or other higher being, after which it often lives
otherwise produced (as in the widespread use of incense, or,
out its life in a sacred enclosure. Such animals can best be
among the American Indians, of tobacco smoke) also serves
described as offerings, not as victims.
to please the gods or other higher beings.
Substitutes. Blood sacrifices, especially those in which
Inanimate objects used in sacrifice include clothing,
human beings were offered, were often replaced at a later
jewelry, weapons, precious stones and precious metals, sacri-
stage by other sacrificial gifts, as, for example, “part-for-the-
ficial vessels made of metal, and, in more advanced civiliza-
whole” sacrifices, like the offering of fingers, hair, or blood
tions, coins (especially as substitutes). Also used in sacrifice
drawn through self-inflicted wounds. Some authors would
are all sorts of objects that are offered as votive gifts and are
thus classify so-called chastity sacrifices and include under
kept in a sanctuary, though it is possible that sympathetic
this heading very disparate and sometimes even opposed
magic also plays a role here, as for instance when one seeks
practices such as, on the one hand, sexual abandon (sacral
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prostitution) and, on the other, sexual renunciation, castra-
or a lifting up of the gift, without any change being effected
tion, and circumcision.
in the object. The external form of the offering is already de-
termined in many cases by the material of sacrifice; in the
Animal sacrifices can replace human sacrifices, as seen
case of fluids, for example, the natural manner of offering
in well-known examples from Greek myth, epic, and history
them is to pour them out (libation), which is a kind of de-
and in the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament; Gn. 22:1–
struction. If the gift is a living being (animal or human), the
19). This shift may also be due to the suppression of an older
destruction takes the form of killing. It is doubtful, however,
religion (e.g., of the Bon religion of Tibet by Buddhism) or
whether destruction can be regarded as an essential element
to measures taken by a colonial regime (e.g., the British rule
of any and every sacrificial rite. It is true that in many sacri-
in India) against human sacrifice. Substitute gifts for human
fices the offering is in the form of slaughter or ritual killing;
beings or animals may also be of a vegetative kind (e.g., sacri-
in others, however, the slaughter is only a necessary presup-
ficial cakes) or may consist of payments of money. Another
position or technical requirement for the act of offering as
form of substitution is that by representations, such as the
such. Thus, among the Israelites, Levitical law prescribed
clay figure substitutes for human beings that were buried
that the slaughtering not be done by the priest; the latter’s
with a high-ranking dead person and sent into the next world
role began only after the slaughtering and included the pour-
with him. Such figurines accompanying the dead are known
ing of sacrificial blood on the altar.
from ancient Egypt and China; however, it is not certain that
the practice was preceded by actual human sacrifices in these
When food as such is in principle the real object offered,
countries or that these practices are best described as sacri-
slaughter is a necessary first step if the animal sacrificed is to
fices. Other kinds of pictorial representations have also been
be in a form in which it can be eaten. When it is thought
used, including objects cut from paper. Many votive offer-
that the divinity (or, more generally, the recipient) does not
ings should probably be listed under this heading.
eat material food but simply receives the soul or life of the
That human sacrifices were replaced by other kinds of
sacrificial animal, burning may be used as a way of letting
sacrifices is certain in many instances, as in the late stage of
the soul rise up in the form of smoke (“the odor of sacrifice”;
Punic religion, when under Roman rule human sacrifices
see also, on the burning of incense, below). When blood in
were replaced by other gifts (for example, lambs), as is attest-
particular is regarded as the vehicle of life, the pouring out
ed by votive inscriptions; in other instances it is simply a hy-
of the blood, or the lifting up of bleeding parts of the victim,
pothesis that certain rites replaced human sacrifice. Thus the
or even the flow of blood in the slaughtering may be the real
so-called hair sacrifice is often a rite of initiation, sacraliza-
act of offering. Another category of blood rites serves to apply
tion, or desacralization (a rite of passage) in which the hair
the power in the blood to the offerers, their relatives, and the
is not really a sacrificial gift and need not have replaced any
sphere in which they live their life (dwelling, property); this
human sacrifice. Sacral prostitution may also be understood
application may take the form of, for example, smearing.
as a magical rite of fertility or as a symbolic act of union with
The conception that the offerers have of the recipient
a divinity, rather than as a substitute for human sacrifice.
and of his or her location also helps determine the form of
Divine offerings. In the examples given under the previ-
the rite. If the recipient is thought to dwell in heaven, then
ous heading, a sacrificial gift is replaced by another of lesser
the smoke that rises from a burning object becomes an espe-
value. The opposite occurs when the sacrificial gift itself is
cially appropriate symbol. The offerers will prefer the open
regarded as divine. This divine status may result from the
air and will choose high places, whether natural (mountains,
idea that the sacrificial action repeats a mythical primordial
hills) or artificial (roofs, temple towers), or else they will hang
sacrifice in which a god sacrificed either himself or some
the sacrificial gift on a tree or stake. Sacrifices to chthonic
other god to yet a third god. In other cases the sacrificial ob-
or underworld beings are buried, or the blood is allowed to
ject becomes divinized in the sacrificial action itself or in the
flow into a hole. For water divinities or spirits the sacrifice
preparation of the gifts. Thus among the Aztec the prisoner
is lowered into springs, wells, streams, or other bodies of
of war who was sacrificed was identified with the recipient
water (although the interpretation of prehistoric burials in
of the sacrifice, the god Tezcatlipoca; moreover images of
bogs as “immersion sacrifices” is not undisputed), or the of-
dough, kneaded with the blood of the sacrificed human, were
ferers fill miniature boats with sacrificial gifts. Sacrifices
identified with the sun god Huitzilopochtli and ritually
offered to the dead are placed on the graves of the latter, or
eaten. In the Vedic religion divinity was assigned to the in-
the blood of the victims is poured onto these graves.
toxicating drink soma, and in Iranian religion to the corre-
Finally, the intention of the offerers or the function of
sponding drink haoma or to the plant from which it was de-
the sacrifice also influences the form of the rite. If the sacri-
rived. For Christians who regard the celebration of the
fice establishes or renews a covenant or, more generally, if
Eucharist as a rendering present of Christ’s death on the
it promotes the communion or community of recipient and
cross, Christ himself is both offerer and sacrificial gift.
offerer, then a sacrificial meal is usually an indispensable part
Rite (manner and method) of sacrifice. Sacrifice in-
of the rite. This meal can be understood as sharing a meal
volves not only a visible gift but an action or gesture that ex-
with the god or, the recipient, or more rarely, as ingesting
presses the offering. This may consist of a simple deposition
the god; in this second case, the communion has a mystical
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SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]
character. In the first case, acceptance by the recipient re-
Place and time of sacrifice. The place of offering is not
moves the sacrificial gift from the profane sphere and sancti-
always an altar set aside for the purpose. Thus sacrifices to
fies it; the recipient now becomes a host and celebrates a ban-
the dead are often offered at their graves, and sacrifices to the
quet with the offerer, who thereby receives back the
spirits of nature are made beside trees or bushes, in caves, at
sacrificial gift (or at least a part of it) as a vehicle now laden
springs, and so on. Artificial altars in the form of tables are
with higher powers. Thus understood, the sacrificial meal
relatively rare; they become the normal site of sacrifice only
can be called a sacrament. The meal also establishes or
in the higher civilizations, where they are usually located in
strengthens the communion of the offerers with one another
a temple or its forecourt and are sometimes specially outfit-
when it is a group that makes the offering. More rarely, peo-
ted, as for example with channels to carry away the sacrificial
ple have believed that they eat the god himself in the flesh
blood. Far more frequently, natural stones or heaps of stones
of the sacrificial animal (as in some Greek mysteries) or in
or earthen mounds serve as altars. A perpendicular stone is
images of dough (which were sometimes mixed with the
often regarded as the seat of a divinity, and sacrifice is then
blood of sacrificed human beings, as among the Aztec). (For
offered in front of the stone, not on it. Flat roofs and thresh-
the Christian conception of the Eucharist as a sacrificial
olds can also be preferred locations for sacrifice.
meal, see below.)
With regard to time, a distinction must be made be-
Other rituals also express communion. For example,
tween regular and extraordinary (occasional or special) sacri-
part of the sacrificial blood is poured on the altar, while the
fices. The time for regular sacrifices is determined by the as-
participants are sprinkled with the rest (as in the making of
tronomical or vegetative year; thus there will be daily,
the covenant at Sinai, according to Ex. 24: 3-8). Or a person
weekly, and monthly sacrifices (especially in higher cultures
walks between the pieces of a sacrificial animal that has been
in which service in the temple is organized like service at a
cut in half.
royal court). Sowing and harvest and the transition from one
season to the next are widely recognized occasions for sacri-
In other cases the victim is completely destroyed, as in
fice; in nomadic cultures this is true especially of spring, the
a burnt offering, or holocaust, which may express homage
season of birth among animals and of abundance of milk.
or complete submission to the divinity on which the offerers
The harvest season is often marked by first-fruits sacrifices
consider themselves dependent. Total destruction often also
that are conceived as a necessary condition for the desacral-
characterizes an expiatory sacrifice, in which a sacrificial meal
ization of the new harvest, which may only then be put to
is antecedently excluded by the fact that the sacrificial animal
profane use. The date of the New Year feast is often estab-
becomes the vehicle of sin or other uncleanness and must
lished not astronomically but in terms of the vegetative year.
therefore be eliminated or destroyed (e.g., by being burned
In the life of the individual, birth, puberty, marriage, and
outside the camp).
death are frequently occasions for sacrifices. The annual
The ritual of sacrifice can take very complicated forms,
commemoration of a historical event may also become a set
especially when professionals (priests) do the offering; part
part of the calendar and thus an occasion for sacrifice.
of their training is then the acquisition of a precise knowl-
Extraordinary occasions for sacrifice are provided by
edge of the ritual. The sacrificial action is in stages: the sacri-
special occurrences in the life of the community or the indi-
ficial animal is often chosen some time in advance, marked,
vidual. These occurrences may be joyous, as, for example, the
and set aside; before the sacrificial act proper, it is ritually pu-
erection of a building (especially a temple), the accession of
rified and adorned; next comes the slaughter of the animal,
a new ruler, the successful termination of a military cam-
then the offering proper or consecration or transfer from the
paign or other undertaking, or any event that is interpreted
profane to the sacred sphere or condition. At times, signs are
as a manifestation of divine favor. Even more frequently,
heeded that are thought to show acceptance of the gift by
however, it is critical situations that occasion extraordinary
the recipient. The division of the sacrificed animal can take
sacrifices: illnesses (especially epidemics or livestock diseases)
various forms: an uncontrolled tearing apart of the victim by
and droughts or other natural disasters. Many expiatory sac-
the participants, in imitation of a dismemberment reported
rifices also have their place in this context, whether offered
in myth, or a careful dissection, as when the condition of spe-
for individuals or the community (see below).
cific organs yields omens (divination). In some sacrifices the
Van Baal (1976, pp. 168–178) distinguishes between
bones may not be broken. A special form of division is cut-
low-intensity and high-intensity rites; the former occur in
ting in two, which is practiced not only in sacrifices proper
normal situations, the latter in disasters and misfortunes,
but also in rites of purification and expiation. (See Hen-
which are taken as signs that relations with higher beings
ninger, 1981, pp. 275–285.) A sacrificial meal may conclude
have been disturbed. This division is to a great extent the
the sacrifice, but there may also be special concluding rites
same as that between regular and extraordinary sacrifices, but
for releasing the participants from the realm of the sacred.
it pays insufficient heed to the fact that joyous occasions may
It is sometimes also prescribed that nothing is to be left of
also lead to extraordinary sacrifices.
the sacrificial gift and nothing carried away from the sphere
of the sacred; any remnants must be buried or burned
Recipient of sacrifice. Many definitions of sacrifice
(though this last action is not the same as a burnt offering).
specify divine beings (in either a monotheistic or a polytheis-
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SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]
8001
tic context) as the recipients of sacrifice, but this is too nar-
tended to appease or placate. These come close to being expi-
row a view. All the many kinds of beings to whom humans
atory sacrifices (in the broadest sense of the term), insofar as
pay religious veneration, or even those whom they fear, can
the offerers intend to forestall the anger of these higher be-
be recipients of sacrifice. Such recipients can thus be spirits,
ings by a preventive, apotropaic action (protective sacrifices).
demonic beings, and even humans, although sacrifice in the
Sacrifices are also offered for highly specialized pur-
proper sense is offered to humans only when they have died
poses, for example, in order to foretell the future by examin-
and are considered to possess a superhuman power. The dead
ing the entrails of the sacrificial animal.
to whom sacrifice is offered include especially the ancestors
to whom is attributed (as in Africa and Oceania) a decisive
Expiation. In the narrow sense, expiatory sacrifices pre-
influence on human beings. Care for the dead (e.g., by gifts
suppose consciousness of a moral fault that can be punished
of food and drink) need not always indicate a cult of the
by a higher being who must therefore be placated by suitable
dead; a cult exists only when the dead are regarded not as
acts on the part of the human beings involved. But the con-
helpless and in need (as they were in ancient Mesopotamia),
cept of expiation (purification, lustration) is often used in a
but rather as possessing superhuman power.
broader sense to mean the removal or prevention of every
kind of evil and misfortune. Many authors assume that the
Intentions of sacrifice. Theologians usually distinguish
ethical concept of sin was a late development and therefore
four intentions of sacrifice: praise (acknowledgment, hom-
consider rites of purification and elimination for the removal
age), thanksgiving, supplication, and expiation; but several
of all evils (in which no relation to higher personal beings
or even all four of these intentions may be combined in a sin-
plays a part) to be the earliest form of expiation. Further-
gle sacrifice. From the standpoint of the history of religions
more, when there is a human relationship to personal beings,
this schema must be expanded somewhat, especially with re-
a distinction must be made. These beings (spirits, demons,
gard to the third and fourth categories.
etc.) may be regarded as indifferent to ethical considerations,
Praise (homage). Pure sacrifices of praise that express
unpredictable, and capricious, or even malicious, envious,
nothing but homage and veneration and involve no other in-
cruel, and bloodthirsty. In this case expiation means simply
tention are rarely found. They occur chiefly where a regular
the removal of what has roused (or might rouse) the anger
sacrificial cult is practiced that resembles in large measure the
of these beings, so that they will leave humans in peace; no
ceremonial of a royal court.
relationship of goodwill or friendship is created or sought.
On the other hand, the higher beings may be regarded as in-
Thanksgiving. Sacrifices of thanksgiving are more fre-
herently benevolent, so that any disturbance of a good rela-
quent. According to the best explanation of firstlings sacri-
tionship with them is attributed to a human fault; the nor-
fices, these, in the diverse forms they have taken in various
mal good relationship must therefore be restored by an
cultures, belong to this category. (For divergent interpreta-
expiatory sacrifice or other human action; in these cases we
tions, see “Theories of the Origin of Sacrifice,” below.) Vo-
speak of atonement, conciliation, or propitiation. The
tive sacrifices likewise belong here, insofar as the fulfillment
human fault in question may be moral, but it may also be
of the vow is an act of thanksgiving for the favor granted.
purely ritual, unintentional, or even unconscious.
Supplication. Yet more commonly found are sacrifices
Certain facts, however, render questionable the overly
of supplication. The object of the petition can range from
schematic idea of a unilinear development from a non-ethical
purely material goods to the highest spiritual blessings (for-
to an ethical conception that is connected with general theo-
giveness of sins, divine grace). The line of demarcation be-
ries on the evolution of religion. Even very “primitive” peo-
tween these sacrifices and sacrifices of expiation and propitia-
ples have ideas of higher beings that approve and keep watch
tion is often blurred.
over moral behavior. Furthermore, not only in the high cul-
Sacrifices of supplication include all those sacrifices that,
tures but in primitive religions as well, expiatory sacrifice is
in addition to establishing or consolidating the link with the
often accompanied by a confession of sins. A more highly de-
world of the sacred (which is a function of every sacrifice),
veloped form of the ideas underlying expiatory sacrifice may
are intended to have some special effect. Such effects include
be linked to the concept of representation or substitution,
the maintenance of the cosmic order; the strengthening of
especially when the role of substitute is freely accepted (self-
the powers on which this order depends (e.g., by the gift of
sacrifice). This, however, is not the proper context for specu-
blood, as in the human sacrifices of the Aztec); and the sa-
lative theories (developed especially by James G. Frazer and
cralization or consecration of places, objects, and buildings
those inspired by him) on the ritual slaying of the king, who
(construction sacrifices, dedication of boundary stones, idols,
may be replaced by a substitute; Frazer is speaking of the
temples), of individual human beings, and of human com-
magical influence of the king in his prime on the general wel-
munities and their relationships (ratification of treaties).
fare of the community, and not of disturbances of the com-
Construction activities are often thought to be an intrusion
munal order by faults for which amends must be made.
into the sphere of superhuman beings (spirits of earth and
THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF SACRIFICE. Very different an-
water, or divinities of earth and water) who may resent them;
swers have been given to the question of which of the various
for this reason, scholars speak in this context of sacrifices in-
forms of sacrifice presented above is to be regarded as the old-
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SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]
est and the one out of which the others emerged either by
appropriate for themselves through hunting and gathering.
development to a higher level or by degeneration. In each
These sacrifices consist in the offering of a portion of food
case, theories of sacrifice have been heavily influenced by
that is often quantitatively small but symbolically important.
their authors’ conceptions of the origin and development of
In nomadic herding cultures this sacrifice of homage and
religion. Scholars today generally approach all these explana-
thanksgiving takes the form of an offering of the firstlings
tions with some skepticism. A brief review of the various the-
of the flocks (young animals) or of the products of the flocks
ories is nonetheless appropriate, since each emphasizes cer-
(e.g., milk). In food-growing cultures the fertility of the soil
tain aspects of the phenomenon and thus contributes to an
is often attributed to the dead, especially the ancestors; they,
understanding of it.
therefore, become the recipients of the first-fruits sacrifice.
When this happens, however, the character of the sacrifice
Sacrifice as gift. Before the history of religions became
is altered, since the recipients now have need of the gifts (as
an independent discipline, the conception of sacrifice as gift
food) and can therefore be influenced. According to Anton
was already current among theologians; it was therefore nat-
Vorbichler (1956), what is offered in firstlings sacrifices is
ural that the history of religions should initially make use of
not food but life itself, but since life is seen as deriving from
this concept. In this discipline, however, the conception ac-
the supreme being as creator, the basic attitude of homage
quired two completely different applications: the sacrificial
and thanksgiving remains unchanged.
gift as bribe and the sacrificial gift as act of homage.
The gift as bribe. The gift theory proposed by E. B.
Schmidt’s historical reconstruction, according to which
Tylor (1871) supposes that higher forms of religion, includ-
firstlings sacrifices are the earliest form of sacrifice, has not
ing monotheism, gradually developed out of animism as the
been sufficiently demonstrated. From the phenomenological
earliest form. Since the spirits resident in nature are indiffer-
standpoint, however, this kind of sacrifice, in which the gift
ent to moral considerations and have but a limited sphere of
has symbolic rather than real value and is inspired by a con-
power, they can be enriched by gifts and thereby influenced;
sciousness of dependence and thanksgiving, does exist and
in other words, they can be bribed. Sacrifice was therefore
must therefore be taken into account in any general defini-
originally a simple business transaction of do ut des (“I give
tion of sacrifice.
so that you will give in return”), an activity without moral
Sacrifice as a (totemic) communal meal. W. Robert-
significance. Sacrifice as homage and as abnegation or renun-
son Smith (1889) developed a theory of sacrifice for the Se-
ciation developed only gradually out of sacrifice as bribe; but
mitic world that he regarded as universally applicable. He
even when it did, the do ut des idea continued to be operative
saw the weakness of Tylor’s theory, which paid insufficient
for a long time in the later stages of religion, especially wher-
heed to the sacral element and to the function of establishing
ever sacrifice was conceived as supplying the recipient with
or maintaining a community. Under the influence of J. F.
food.
McLennan, who had done pioneer work in the study of to-
Critics of this view have stressed that in archaic cultures
temism, Smith proposed a theory of sacrifice whereby the
the giving of a gift, even between human beings, is not a
earliest form of religion (among the Semites and elsewhere)
purely external transaction but at the same time establishes
was belief in a theriomorphic tribal divinity with which the
a personal relation between giver and recipient. According
tribe had a blood relationship. Under ordinary circum-
to some scholars, the giving of a gift also involves a transfer
stances, this totem animal was not to be killed, but there were
of magical power for which, in a very generalized sense, they
rituals in which it was slain and eaten in order to renew the
often use the term mana. This personal relation is even more
community. In this rite, recipient, offerer, and victim were
important when a gift is presented to superhuman beings.
all of the same nature; sacrifice was thus originally a meal in
Thus it is understandable that sacrificial gifts of little material
which the offerers entered into communion with the totem.
value can be quite acceptable; such gifts need not be inter-
As a vivid example of such a ceremony, Smith cites a story
preted as efforts to circumvent the higher beings and their
told by Nilus of a camel sacrifice offered by the bedouin of
influence. In light of this consideration, later theories of sac-
the Sinai. It was the transition to a sedentary way of life and
rifice gave the do ut des formula a deeper meaning and re-
the social changes effected by this transition that gave rise
garded the commercial understanding of it as a degenerate
to the conception of sacrifice as a gift comparable to the trib-
version.
ute paid to a sovereign, the latter relationship being taken as
model for the relation to the divinity. The burnt offering,
The gift as homage. Wilhelm Schmidt (1912–1955,
or holocaust, was likewise a late development.
1922) understood the sacrificial gift in a way completely dif-
ferent from Tylor. He took as his point of departure the prin-
Smith’s theory is valuable for its criticism of the grossly
ciple that the original meaning of sacrifice can be seen most
mechanistic theory of Tylor and for its emphasis on the com-
clearly in the firstlings sacrifices of primitive hunters and
munion (community) aspect of sacrifice; as a whole, howev-
food-gatherers. These are sacrifices of homage and thanksgiv-
er, it is unacceptable for a number of reasons. First, the idea
ing to the supreme being to whom everything belongs and
of sacrifice as gift is already present in the firstlings sacrifices
who therefore cannot be enriched by gifts—sacrifices to the
offered in the egalitarian societies of primitive hunters and
giver of foods that human beings do not produce but simply
food-gatherers; it does not, therefore, presuppose the model
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SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]
8003
of the offering of tribute to a sovereign. Second, it is doubtful
ed on a brilliant analysis of the mechanism of sacrifice, or
that totemism existed among the Semites; furthermore, to-
perhaps one should say of its logical structure, or even of its
temism does not occur universally as a stage in the history
grammar” (Evans-Pritchard, 1965, pp. 70–71).
of human development, as was initially supposed in the nine-
Sacrifice as magic. Hubert and Mauss considered the
teenth century when the phenomenon was first discovered,
recipient of sacrifice to be simply a hypostatization of society
but is rather a specialized development. Third, the intichiu-
itself. Other authors have gone even further, regarding the
ma ceremonies (increase ceremonies) of central Australian
idea of a recipient as not essential to the concept of sacrifice.
tribes are magical rites aimed at multiplying the totem ani-
They more or less explicitly presuppose that the idea of an
mal species. They were used by early theorists of totemism,
impersonal force or power, to which the name mana is given
but they do not in fact match the original model of sacrifice
more frequently than any other, is older than the idea of soul
postulated by Smith. Finally, the supposed account by Nilus
or spirit as understood in animism. For this reason, the idea
is not a reliable report from a hermit living in the Sinai Pen-
insula but a fiction whose author is unknown; it shares with
of sacrifice as a purely objective magical action (the triggering
the late Greek novel certain clichés used in depicting barbar-
of a magical force that is thought to be concentrated especial-
ians and cannot be regarded as a reliable historical source (see
ly in the blood), accomplished by destruction of a sacrificial
Henninger, 1955). Smith’s theory of sacrifice also contribut-
gift (e.g., the slaying of an animal), must be the basic form,
ed to Freud’s conception of the slaying of the primal father,
or at least one of the basic forms, of sacrifice. Sacrifices of
which Freud saw as the origin of sacrifice and other institu-
this kind are said to be “predeistic.” Expressions such as this,
tions, especially the incest taboo; this conception is therefore
which imply a temporal succession, are also used by phenom-
subject to the same criticisms.
enologists, who claim in principle to be simply describing
phenomena and not asserting any kind of development. In
A link between the profane and sacral worlds. Henri
this view the concept of sacrifice as gift is a secondary devel-
Hubert and Marcel Mauss (1899) rejected Tylor’s theory be-
opment in which gifts to the dead played an important role
cause of its mechanistic character. They also rejected Smith’s
(Loisy, 1920). According to Gerardus van der Leeuw (1920–
theory because it arbitrarily chose totemism as a universally
1921), sacrifice conceived as gift constitutes a transfer of
applicable point of departure and reconstructed the develop-
magical force; the do ut des formula describes not a commer-
ment of the forms of sacrifice solely by analogy and without
cial transaction but the release of a current of force (do ut pos-
adequate historical basis and, further, because offering is an
sis dare, “I give power to you so that you can give it back to
essential element in the concept of sacrifice. Hubert and
me”). The recipient is strengthened by the gift; the two par-
Mauss themselves begin with an analysis of the Vedic and
ticipants, deity and human beings, are simultaneously givers
Hebraic rituals of sacrifice and, in light of this, define sacri-
and receivers, but the central role belongs to the gift itself and
fice as “a religious act which, by the consecration of a victim,
to the current of force that it sets in motion. This theory,
modifies the condition of the moral person who accomplish-
then, combines to some extent the gift theory and the com-
es it, or that of certain objects with which he is concerned”
munion theory, but it does so from the standpoint of magic.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1977, vol. 16, p. 129a). The vic-
tim is not holy by nature (as it is in Smith’s theory); the con-
There do in fact exist rituals of slaying and destruction
secration is effected by destruction, and the connection with
in which no personal recipient is involved and that are re-
the sacral world is completed by a sacred meal. Implied here
garded as operating automatically; there is no evidence, how-
is the view (which goes back to Émile Durkheim) of the
ever, that such rituals are older than sacrifice in the sense de-
French sociological school that the sacral world is simply a
scribed earlier. The examples constantly adduced come to a
projection of society. “Gods are representations of communi-
very great extent from high cultures (e.g., Roman religion).
ties, they are societies thought of ideally and imaginative-
An especially typical form occurs in Brahmanic speculation,
ly. . . . Sacrifice is an act of abnegation by which the indi-
where sacrifice is looked upon as a force that ensures the con-
vidual recognizes society; it recalls to particular consciences
tinuation of a cosmic process to which even the gods are sub-
the presence of collective forces, represented by their gods”
ject. Other examples come from food-growing peoples.
(Evans-Pritchard, 1965, p. 70).
When human beings contribute by their own activity to the
production of food, their consciousness of dependence on
The objection was raised against this explanation that
higher powers is less than in an economy based on the appro-
conclusions universally valid for the understanding of sacri-
priation of goods not produced by humans. Thus it is easier
fice as such, especially in “primitive” societies, cannot be
to adopt the idea that the higher powers can be influenced
drawn from an analysis of two highly developed forms of sac-
and even coerced by sacrifices and other rites. For this reason,
rifice, even if the two differ among themselves. Thus E. E.
the firstlings sacrifices of hunters and food-gatherers do not
Evans-Pritchard, having called the work of Hubert and
fit in with speculations that give priority to magic, nor do
Mauss “a masterly analysis of Vedic and Hebrew sacrifice,”
such speculations take account of such sacrifices, and thus
immediately adds: “But masterly though it was, its conclu-
the full extent of the phenomenon of sacrifice is lost from
sions are an unconvincing piece of sociologistic metaphys-
view. Sacrifice and magic should rather be considered as phe-
ics. . . . They are conclusions not deriving from, but posit-
nomena that differ in nature; they have indeed influenced
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8004
SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]
each other in many ways, but neither can be derived from
sacrilege, which explains the rites of Siberian peoples that
the other. The personal relation that is established by a gift
seek a reconciliation with the slain animal and a repudiation
is fully intelligible without bringing in an element of magic
of the killing. For cultivators the sacrilege consists in the vio-
(see van Baal, 1976, pp. 163–164, 167, 177–178).
lation of the earth, which is the dwelling of the dead, by the
cultivation of the soil; they feel anxiety at the thought of the
Sacrifice as reenactment of primordial events. Ac-
dead and worry about future fertility, even if the harvest is
cording to Adolf E. Jensen (1951), sacrifice cannot be under-
a good one. It is a secondary matter whether the symbolic
stood as gift; its original meaning is rather to be derived from
destruction of the gain is accomplished by offering food to
certain myths found in the cultures of cultivators, especially
a higher being or by simply doing away with a portion of it.
in Indonesia and Oceania. These myths maintain that in pri-
mordial time there were as yet no mortal human beings but
Critics of the psychopathological explanation have
only divine or semi-divine beings (dema beings); this state
pointed out the essential differences between the behavior of
ended with the killing of a dema divinity from whose body
neurotics and the religious behavior exhibited in firstlings
came the plants useful to humans. The ritual slaying of hu-
sacrifices. In the psychically ill (those who are defeated by
mans and animals, headhunting, cannibalism, and other
success), efforts at liberation are purely individual; they are
blood rites are ceremonial repetitions of that killing in pri-
not part of a historical tradition, are not organically integrat-
mordial time; they affirm and guarantee the present world
ed into a cultural setting, and do not lead to inner deliver-
order, with its continuous destruction and recreation, which
ance. In religious life, on the contrary, efforts to surmount
would otherwise be unable to function. Once the myth had
a crisis are organically inserted into tradition and culture,
been largely forgotten or was no longer seen to be connected
tend to restore psychic balance, and in fact achieve such a
with ritual, rites involving slaying were reinterpreted as a giv-
balance. For this reason the “primitive” peoples in question
ing of a gift to divinities (who originally played no role in
are not defeated by life, as neurotics are; on the contrary,
these rites, because the primordial divine being had been
their way of life has stood the test of ages. Whatever judg-
slain); blood sacrifices thus became “meaningless survivals”
ment one may pass on the value or nonvalue of the underly-
of the “meaningful rituals of killing” of the earlier food-
ing religious views and modes of behavior of these peoples,
growing cultures. Magical actions are likewise degenerate
one cannot characterize them as pathological; for this reason
fragments of the originally meaningful whole formed by the
a psychopathological explanation of sacrifice must also be re-
mythically based rituals of killing.
jected. This is not to deny that fear or anxiety plays a signifi-
This theory has some points in common with Freud’s
cant part in certain forms of sacrifice; such feelings result pri-
theory of the murder of the primal father and with the theory
marily from the ideas of the offerers about the character of
according to which sacrifice originated in the self-sacrifice of
the recipient in question (see Henninger, 1968, pp.
a divine being in the primordial time of myth. The common
176–180).
weakness of all these theories is that they take account only
Sacrifice as a mechanism for diverting violence.
of blood sacrifices. These, however, developed only in food-
Whereas Jensen derived rituals involving killing, which were
growing and even later cultures, whereas in the firstlings sac-
subsequently reinterpreted as “sacrifices,” from certain myths
rifices of hunters and food-gatherers there is no ritual killing,
of food-growing cultures, René Girard (1977, 1978) has pro-
and bloodless offerings are widespread in many other cul-
posed a more comprehensive theory that explains not only
tures as well.
sacrifice but the sacred itself as resulting from a focusing of
Sacrifice as anxiety reaction. In the theories discussed
violent impulses upon a substitute object, a scapegoat. Ac-
thus far, except for the theory of sacrifice as a gift in homage,
cording to Girard, the peaceful coexistence of human beings
firstlings sacrifices receive either inadequate attention or
cannot be taken for granted; when the desires of humans fas-
none at all. Vittorio Lanternari (1976), on the other hand,
ten upon the same object, rivalries arise and with them a ten-
provides a formal discussion of these, but gives an interpreta-
dency toward violence that endangers the existing order and
tion of them that is completely different from that of
its norms. This tendency can be neutralized, however, if the
Schmidt. Lanternari’s point of departure is the analysis of a
reciprocal aggressions are focused on a marginal object, a
certain form of neurosis provided by some psychologists; ac-
scapegoat. The scapegoat is thereby rendered sacred: it is seen
cording to this analysis, this kind of neurosis finds expression
as accursed but also as bringing salvation. Thus the focusing
in the undoing of successes earlier achieved and is at the basis
of violence on an object gives rise to the sacred and all that
of certain religious delusions. Lanternari maintains that a
results from it (taboos, a new social order). Whereas the vio-
similar psychic crisis occurs among “primitives” when they
lence was originally focused on a randomly chosen object,
are confronted with success (hunters after a successful hunt,
in sacrifice the concentration takes a strict ritual form; as a
food cultivators after the harvest) and that this crisis leads
result, internecine aggressions are constantly being diverted
them to undertake an at least symbolic destruction of what
to the outside and cannot operate destructively within the
they had gained. For Lanternari, then, a firstlings sacrifice is
community. At bottom, therefore, sacrifice lacks any moral
the result of anxiety, whereas for Schmidt it is an expression
character. Eventually it was eliminated by the critique of sac-
of gratitude. Hunters feel the slaying of the animal to be a
rifice that began in the Hebrew scriptures and, most fully,
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SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]
8005
by the fact that Jesus freely made himself a “scapegoat” and
1968, pp. 334–348; see also pp. 348–371 on the treatment
in so doing transcended the whole realm of sacrifice. Girard
of the dead).
supports his thesis by appealing to the phenomenon of blood
Sacrifice is also found in all the types of nonliterate cul-
sacrifice, which (especially in the form of human sacrifice)
tures made known to us by ethnologists. It is not detectable,
is a constant in the history of religions, and by citing the evi-
however, among some primitive hunters and food-gatherers,
dence of rivalry and violence, leading even to fratricide, that
for example, in Australia; whether it was present there at an
is supplied by the mythical traditions (especially myths of the
earlier time is uncertain. On the other hand, it is amply at-
origin of things) and also by history (persecution of minori-
tested among nomadic shepherds in both Asia and Africa,
ties as scapegoats, etc.).
and among food-growing peoples, from primitive tuber cul-
A critique of this theory can in part repeat the argu-
tivators down to the most highly developed grain growers,
ments already advanced against Jensen. Apart from the fact
who themselves mark a transition to the high cultures (as for
that it does not distinguish between sacrifice and eliminatory
instance the ancient rice-growing cultures of Japan and
rites, Girard’s concept of sacrifice is too narrow, for he sup-
China). It is typical of many food-growing cultures (e.g., in
ports it by reference solely to stratified societies and high cul-
Africa) that, while they believe in a supreme creator god, they
tures. It could at most explain blood sacrifices involving kill-
assign him hardly any role in cult. Sacrifices are offered pri-
ing, but not sacrifice as such and certainly not the sacred as
marily or even exclusively to lesser divinities, spirits of na-
such, since the idea of the sacred exists even among peoples
ture, and ancestors who in some instances are regarded as
(e.g., in Australia) who do not practice sacrifice. As was
mediators and intercessors with the supreme creator god.
pointed out earlier, firstlings sacrifices (of which Girard does
Historical high cultures. In Shinto¯, the ancient nature
not speak) have intellectual and emotional presuppositions
religion of Japan, sacrifices were offered to the divinities of
far removed from Girard’s key concepts of “primal murder”
nature and to the dead; these were in part regularly recurring
and “scapegoat mechanism.”
sacrifices determined by the rhythm of the agricultural year
and in part sacrifices of supplication or sacrifices in fulfill-
The value of the theories here reviewed is that each of
ment of vows made under extraordinary circumstances.
them highlights a certain aspect of sacrifice. It is unlikely that
While originally offered simply by individuals, sacrifice even-
we will ever have a sure answer to the question of whether
tually became the concern of the community and was there-
there was a single original form of sacrifice or whether, on
fore offered by the emperor or by priests commissioned by
the contrary, various forms developed independently.
him. Human sacrifices also occurred.
SACRIFICE IN HISTORY. It will never be possible to write a
In China the sacrifice that the emperor offered to heav-
complete history of sacrifice. In any case, sacrifice is found
en and earth at the time of the winter solstice had an impor-
in most of the religions known to us. The extent to which
tant function. In addition to sacrifices determined by the ag-
the human mind has taken the phenomenon of sacrifice for
ricultural year, sacrifices especially to the ancestors played a
granted is clear, for example, from the role it plays in many
large part in the life of the people. These were offered at the
myths dealing with primordial time. Probably to be grouped
graves of the dead, in the clan’s hall of the ancestors, or be-
with these sacrifices is the sacrifice that Utanapishtim, the
fore the family’s ancestral tablets. The emperor sacrificed to
hero of the Mesopotamian flood story, offers after the flood,
his ancestors in temples erected especially in their honor.
as well as the one that Noah offers in the biblical flood story
For ancient Egypt, the archaeological, epigraphical, and
(Gn. 9:20–21). Even earlier, the Bible tells of the sacrifices
literary evidence points to a strictly ritualized sacrificial cult,
offered by Cain the farmer and Abel the shepherd (Gn.
administered by a highly organized priesthood and including
4:3–5); these are expressly said to be firstlings sacrifices. Aris-
daily sacrifices in the temples, where the divinity was treated
totle, too, was of the opinion that the sacrifice of firstlings
like a sovereign in his palace.
(of field and flock) is the oldest form of sacrifice. As we know
today, these sacrifices were also performed by peoples—
The same was true of ancient Mesopotamia, where the
hunters and food-gatherers—whose economy was of a purely
Sumerians already had a professional priesthood and a rather
appropriative kind.
full calendar of feasts with accompanying obligatory sacri-
fices. Both priesthood and calendar were to a very large ex-
Archaic cultures. Scholars disagree on whether there
tent taken over and developed still further by the invading
are unambiguous indications of sacrifice in the Paleolithic
Semites. The ritual and therefore the sacrificial cult of the
period. On the basis of a comparison with the practices of
Hittites were strongly influenced by the pre-Indo-European
more recent hunting peoples, various authors have interpret-
population of Anatolia (whose language also continued to be
ed the burial of the skulls and long bones of cave bears as
largely used in ritual), but were also influenced by Mesopota-
part of firstling sacrifices; this view, however, has met with
mia. Mythological and ritual texts from Ugarit give evidence
strong criticism. Nonetheless, Hermann Müller-Karpe
of a sacrificial cult that in part was influenced by Mesopota-
(1966, pp. 224–229) insists that there is clear evidence of
mia and in part showed peculiarly Canaanite characteristics;
sacrifice in the early Paleolithic period. There is undisputed
some of the terms connected with sacrifice are related to He-
evidence of sacrifice in the Neolithic period (Müller-Karpe,
brew terms.
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SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]
The evidence for the other Semites is sketchy. In the
The sacrifices known from the Hebrew scriptures (Old
high cultures of southern Arabia, which are known to us
Testament) are, in their external form, largely the same as
from inscriptions dating from as far back as the first millen-
those found in the surrounding world, especially among the
nium BCE, the sacrificial cult was administered by a profes-
Canaanites. As far as ritual was concerned, a distinction was
sional priesthood and was offered mainly to the three major
made chiefly between the burnt offering, or holocaust
astral divinities (Sun, Moon, Venus). Documentation for
( Eolah), in which the sacrificial animal was completely
northern and central Arabia begins at a later time; apart from
burned up, and the sacrifice of salvation or peace (zevah:
rock inscriptions containing scattered details about religion,
shelamim). In the latter, only certain parts of the sacrificial
the chief sources are literary, mostly from the Islamic period,
animal were burned; the blood, regarded as the vehicle of life
and provide rather sparse information about pilgrimages to
and therefore not to be consumed by humans, was poured
the shrines of local divinities and the sacrifices offered there.
out (in many sacrifices it was smeared on the altar), and the
In Vedic and later Hindu religion, sacrifice, which was
rite ended with a sacrificial meal. Expiatory sacrifices consti-
controlled by the brahmans, was ritualized down to the smal-
tuted a special category comprising asham, “guilt sacrifice,”
lest detail and given a comprehensive speculative theological
and h:at:Dat:, “sacrifice for sin,” the distinction between which
explanation. In the horse sacrifice (the A´svamedha) and in
is not entirely clear. In these sacrifices the animal had to be
other cultic practices, as, for example, the sacrifice of butter
burned up, probably because it had become the vehicle of
and of the sacred intoxicating drink soma, there are elements
impurity. Minh:ah meant a bloodless sacrifice (of vegetables),
common to the Indo-Iranian world, but after the immigra-
but the term was also used in a broader sense. There were,
tion of the Aryans into India, these were to some extent
in addition, incense sacrifices and libations. The sacrificial
amalgamated there with pre-Aryan rites. Buddhism, on the
cult was ritualized in great detail, especially in the period
other hand, rejected sacrifice in principle; tendencies to a
after the Babylonian exile. In this ritual the three major
spiritualization of sacrifice and its replacement by asceticism
feasts, those involving a prescribed pilgrimage to the central
are also found in some currents of Hinduism.
sanctuary, were marked by extensive sacrifices. In addition,
there were daily sacrifices in the temple. There were also indi-
Animal sacrifices were also practiced in the oldest form
vidual occasions for sacrifice, some of them prescribed, oth-
of Iranian religion, where they were inherited from the Indo-
ers inspired by freely made vows. After the destruction of the
Iranian period. During his reform, Zarathushtra (Zoroaster)
Second Temple in 70 CE, the sacrificial cult ceased and was
abolished these practices. In later times such sacrifices again
replaced by other religious activities.
made their appearance to some extent; they were offered,
however, not to Ahura Mazda¯ but to subordinate heavenly
Islam is in principle opposed to sacrifice. “It is not their
beings. Bloodless sacrifices, involving especially the sacred in-
flesh and blood [i.e., that of sacrificial animals] that reaches
toxicating drink haoma, remained especially important.
God but the piety of your heart” (QurDa¯n, surah 22:38). Sac-
Historical Greek religion combined the religion of the
rifice thus has no place in official worship. Pre-Islamic blood
Indo-European invaders with that of the pre-Indo-European
sacrifices live on, in external form, in the great slaughters that
population; the same combination marked the sacrificial
take place as part of the pilgrimage ritual at Mount Arafat
cult. There were bloodless sacrifices of food and drink. In
near Mecca, and similarly in almost all the countries of the
blood sacrifices a distinction was made, as far as objects and
Islamic world, on the tenth day of the month Dhu¯ al-H:ijjah.
ritual were concerned, between those offered to the ouranic
These are interpreted, however, as commemorations of the
gods (hiereia, thusiai), which culminated in a sacrificial meal,
sacrifice of Abraham and as almsgiving, inasmuch as the flesh
and those offered to the chthonic gods (sphagia), in which
is given to the poor or to anyone who wants it. Blood sacri-
there was no sacrificial meal and the victim was often com-
fices (and bloodless ones as well) are also part of popular
pletely cremated or buried (sacrifices of destruction). Pigs
piety, especially of veneration of the saints; but these are not
and cattle were sacrificed to the ouranic gods, while inedible
sanctioned by orthodox Islam.
animals (horses, asses, dogs) were the chief offerings to the
According to New Testament teaching, which is devel-
chthonic gods. Human sacrifice was later replaced by other
oped especially in the letter to the Hebrews, the sacrifices of
sacrifices. The sacrificer was the ruler in the earliest period;
the Old Testament were only provisional and had to cease
later on there were professional priests.
under the new covenant. The self-giving of Jesus in his death
In its earliest form, before intensive contact with Greek
on the cross is understood as the definitive and perfect sacri-
religion, Roman religion was pronouncedly agrarian. Occa-
fice that has the power in itself to effect expiation and re-
sions for sacrifices were therefore determined primarily by
demption and that therefore makes all earlier sacrifices super-
the agricultural year, and only later by special occasions in
fluous. In the Roman Catholic church and the Eastern
civic life. Etruscan influence shows in the divination
churches the celebration of the Eucharist is regarded as a ren-
(haruspicia) that was connected with sacrifice; the animals
dering present (not a repetition) of the sacrifice of the cross,
sacrificed were chiefly pigs, sheep, and cattle (suovetaurilia).
and therefore itself constitutes a real sacrifice in which Jesus
Like Roman religion generally, the sacrificial cult had a
Christ the high priest, using the ministry of the ordained
marked juridical character.
priests who represent him, offers himself as the perfect sacri-
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SACRIFICE [FIRST EDITION]
8007
ficial gift. The sixteenth-century reformers rejected the offi-
but also the necessity of a self-surrender that finds external
cial priesthood and the sacrificial dimension of the Eucharist
expression in other ways as well; thus, even in the New Testa-
(Calvin took the most radical position on this point); the cel-
ment, prayers, hymns of praise, good works, and especially
ebration of the Lord’s Supper thus became simply a com-
love of neighbor are described as “sacrifices.” These tenden-
memoration of Jesus and, though a sacrament, had no sacrifi-
cies became particularly strong in Protestantism, which no
cial character. In recent times, there has been a tendency in
longer acknowledged the Eucharist to be a sacrifice.
the Lutheran church to confer to some degree a sacrificial
Finally, the idea of renunciation, which is connected
character on the Lord’s Supper. Even more explicit however
with the offering of a gift, was especially emphasized in
is the emphasis placed on the sacrificial character of the
Christianity, so that every kind of asceticism and self-
Lord’s Supper by the Anglican church. In Protestantism gen-
abnegation came to be called sacrifice (there is a similar de-
erally the term sacrifice refers to a purely interior attitude.
velopment in Buddhism). A one-sided emphasis on this as-
CONCLUSION. In the course of its history, which can be
pect led finally to a very broad and metaphorical use of the
traced through several millennia, sacrifice has undergone
term sacrifice. Thus an abandonment of possessions and a
many changes, and this in all its aspects: changes in the mate-
personal commitment to an idea or to the attainment of cer-
rial of sacrifice (occasioned by economic changes but also by
tain goals, especially if this commitment demands costly ef-
ethical considerations, e.g., in the suppression of human sac-
fort, is described as sacrifice in the active sense of the term.
rifice); changes with regard to place and time (centralization
We also speak of the victims of wars, epidemics, natural di-
of cult, regulation of feasts and thereby of the occasions for
sasters, and so on with a sense that they are, in a passive sense,
sacrifice); changes in the offerer (the rise of classes of official
sacrificial victims. Thus the word sacrifice ultimately became
sacrificers); and changes in ritual and motivation. These de-
very much a secular term in common usage; yet the origins
velopments do not, however, reflect a one-directional “ad-
of sacrifice in the religious sphere remain evident.
vance.” Egoistic and magical motives were not always elimi-
SEE ALSO Atonement; Blood; Cannibalism; Gift Giving;
nated by higher motives; in fact, they often asserted
Human Sacrifice; Magic; New Year Festivals; Scapegoat;
themselves even more strongly in connection with manifesta-
Seasonal Ceremonies.
tions of religious degeneration. In the same context a quanti-
tative increase in sacrifices is also often to be seen; thus in
BIBLIOGRAPHY
some late cultures the number of human sacrifices became
Baal, Jan van. “Offering, Sacrifice and Gift.” Numen 23 (Decem-
especially extensive (e.g., among the Punics and the Aztec).
ber 1976): 161–178.
Baaren, Th. P. van. “Theoretical Speculations on Sacrifice.”
Disapproval and criticism of sacrifice might spring from
Numen 11 (January 1964): 1–12.
a skeptical, antireligious attitude that condemned sacrifice as
meaningless waste. However, it could also be motivated by
Bertholet, Alfred. Der Sinn des kultischen Opfers. Berlin, 1942.
a more profound reflection on the meaning of sacrifice in the
Closs, Alois. “Das Opfer in Ost und West.” Kairos 3 (1961):
light of religious interiority, leading to an emphasis on inner
153–161.
conviction, the self-giving of the human being to the divini-
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. Theories of Primitive Religion. Oxford,
ty, which finds symbolic expression in sacrifice, and without
1965.
which the external rite has no religious value. This cast of
Faherty, Robert L. “Sacrifice.” In Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th
mind could lead to the complete abolition of the external
ed. Chicago, 1974.
rite, but also to a consciously established accord between ex-
Girard, René. Violence and the Sacred. Translated by Patrick Greg-
ternal action and interior attitude.
ory. Baltimore, 1977.
Girard, René. Des choses cachées depuis la fondation du monde.
Tendencies to the spiritualization and ethicization of
Paris, 1978.
sacrifice were already present in Indian religion, where they
Gray, Louis H., et al. “Expiation and Atonement.” In Encyclo-
produced a mysticism of sacrifice; in the philosophers of clas-
paedia of Religion and Ethics, edited by James Hastings, vol.
sical antiquity, who regarded ethical behavior as of highest
5. Edinburgh, 1912.
value; and above all in the biblical religions. Early in the He-
Heiler, Friedrich. Erscheinungsformen und Wesen der Religion. Vol.
brew scriptures the idea was expressed that obedience to
1 of Die Religionen der Menschheit. Stuttgart, 1961.
God’s commandments is better than sacrifice (1 Sm. 15:22),
Henninger, Joseph. “Ist der sogenannte Nilus-Bericht eine
and the prophetic criticism of sacrifice was directed at an
brauchbare religionsgeschichtliche Quelle?” Anthropos 50
outward cult unaccompanied by interior dispositions and
(1955): 81–148.
ethical behavior. The wisdom literature, too, repeatedly
Henninger, Joseph. “Primitialopfer und Neujahrsfest.” In An-
stresses the superior value of religious dispositions and moral
thropica. Studia Instituti Anthropos, vol. 21. Sankt Augustin,
behavior. This outlook became even more pronounced in
West Germany, 1968.
postbiblical Judaism, once the destruction of the Second
Henninger, Joseph. Les fêtes de printemps chez les Sémites et la
Temple in 70 CE had put an end to the sacrificial cult. From
Pâque israélite. Paris, 1975.
the beginning, Christianity emphasized not only the contin-
Henninger, Joseph. Arabica Sacra: Aufsätze zur Religionsgeschichte
uance of cultic sacrifice in the celebration of the Eucharist
Arabiens und seiner Randgebiete. Fribourg, 1981.
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SACRIFICE [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
Hubert, Henri, and Marcel Mauss. “Essai sur la nature et la fonc-
meanings, and conundrums of these types of violent, sym-
tion du sacrifice.” L’année sociologique 2 (1899): 29–138. An
bolic practices. New studies of human sacrifice, bloodletting,
English translation was published in 1964 (Chicago): Sacri-
biblical sacrifices, animal sacrifices, and the role of women
fice: Its Nature and Function.
and gender in sacrifice have been carried out. The rise in ter-
James, E. O. Sacrifice and Sacrament. London, 1962.
rorism with its various forms of martyrs has also led to new
James, E. O., et al. “Sacrifice.” In Encyclopaedia of Religion and
reflections on the meaning of sacrifice. As one scholar, con-
Ethics, edited by James Hastings, vol. 11. Edinburgh, 1920.
cerned about whether the origin of violence in human beings
Jensen, Adolf E. Myth and Cult among Primitive Peoples. Translat-
is to be located in biology or culture, writes, “The one thing
ed by Marianna Tax Choldin and Wolfgang Weissleder.
that cannot be denied is that violence is ubiquitous and tena-
Chicago, 1963.
cious and must be accounted for if we are to understand hu-
Kerr, C. M., et al. “Propitiation.” In Encyclopaedia of Religion and
manity” (Hamerton-Kelly, 1987, p. vi). In what follows, we
Ethics, edited by James Hastings, vol. 10. Edinburgh, 1918.
will review a handful of more recent studies on sacrifice that
have tried to “account” for the ubiquity, tenacity, and mys-
Lanternari, Vittorio. ‘La Grande Festa’: Vita rituale e sistemi di
tery of ritual violence and its creative and destructive powers
produzione nelle società tradizionali. 2d ed. Bari, 1976.
in human society.
Leeuw, Gerardus van der. “Die do-ut-des-Formel in der Opfer-
theorie.” Archiv für Religionswissenschaft 20 (1920–1921):
One of the most fascinating studies of sacrifice has come
241–253.
from the historian of Greek religion, Walter Burkert, in his
Leeuw, Gerardus van der. Religion in Essence and Manifestation
Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial
(1938). 2 vols. Translated by J. E. Turner. Gloucester, Mass.,
Ritual and Myth (1972). Burkert sought to understand the
1967.
persistence of archaic survivals of religion, especially sacrifice,
Loisy, Alfred. Essai historique sur le sacrifice. Paris, 1920.
in Greek culture. Noticing on the one hand that sacrificial
myth and ritual accompanied many major religious dimen-
Müller-Karpe, Hermann. Handbuch der Vorgeschichte. 2 vols. Mu-
sions of Greek culture (e.g., oracles, games, cults, mysteries,
nich, 1966–1968.
drama, funerals, and royal ceremonies), while on the other
Le sacrifice, I–V. Nos. 2–6 of Systèmes de pensée en Afrique noire.
that the handling of bones of animal victims mirrored that
Ivry, France, 1976–1983.
of the practices of Paleolithic hunters, the author developed
Schmidt, Wilhelm. Der Ursprung der Gottesidee. 12 vols. Münster,
a theory of religion and ritual, based in large part on the
1912–1955. See especially volume 6, pages 274–281, 444–
hunt. In his view, the hunt was a supremely collective, dra-
455; volume 8, pages 595–633; and volume 12, pages 389–
matic experience that demanded disciplined behavioral codes
441, 826–836, and 845–847.
(rituals) which channeled unwieldy human aggressions to-
Schmidt, Wilhelm. “Ethnologische Bemerkungen zu theologisc-
ward new definitions and practices of shared territory, food
hen Opfertheorien.” In Jahrbuch des Missionshauses St. Ga-
distribution, mating, and reproduction. Critical in his view
briel, vol. 1. Mödling, 1922.
was the capacity of the hunting cultures to ritualize immense
Smith, W. Robertson. Lectures on the Religion of the Semites: The
human aggressions by focusing them away from other hu-
Fundamental Institutions (1889). 3d ed. Reprint, New York,
mans and refocusing them onto the prey, which became a
1969.
kind of organizing symbol that opened up new social possi-
Tylor, E. B. Primitive Culture (1871). 2 vols. Reprint, New York,
bilities as a result of the kill. In Burkert’s view, the dramatic
1970.
scenes and emotions associated with the killing of animals
Vorbichler, Anton. Das Opfer auf den uns heute noch erreichbaren
after careful planning and intense physical and mental exer-
ältesten Stufen der Menschheitsgeschichte: Eine Begriffsstudie.
tions resulted in new processes of perception and reflection
Mödling, 1956.
or the creation of mythologies about the events. The kill, the
Widengren, Geo. Religionsphänomenologie. Berlin, 1969.
planning and the success of the hunters, and the body,
Additional literature is found in the works cited in the article, es-
power, and beauty of animals stimulated the human capacity
pecially those by Hubert and Mauss, Loisy, Schmidt, Bertho-
for ritual and myth into a creative nexus or religion. In other
let, van der Leeuw, Henninger, Lanternari, Heiler, James,
words,
and Widengren, as well as in Le sacrifice, especially volume
The hunting ritual gave rise to the full range of articula-
1.
tions that we understand to be mythic or symbolic, ar-
JOSEPH HENNINGER (1987)
ticulations characteristic of religion. The naming of the
Translated from German by Matthew J. O’Connell
‘Master of the Animals’, the songs and ‘prayers’ that ad-
dress the prey, the gestures surrounding the kill, the
care of the bones, the narration of the ritualized hunt
as a sequence of events (myth), and the eventual articu-
SACRIFICE [FURTHER CONSIDERA-
lation of social codes and honors, including honors due
TIONS]. Since Joseph Henninger’s outstanding summary
the Master of the Animals (‘worship’), all are found to
of the literature and practices of sacrifice in world religions,
be generated by the complex experience of the act of
scholars have continued to explore the sacrificial practices,
killing. Thus a theory of the ritualization of the hunt
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SACRIFICE [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8009
becomes a theory of the origin of religion. (Mack, 1987,
tion of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity (1993),
p. 26.)
Davíd Carrasco’s City of Sacrifice: The Aztec Empire and the
Role of Violence in Civilization
(1999), and The Cuisine of
In this theory of religion and sacrifice, the effectiveness and
Sacrifice Among the Greeks (1989), edited by Marcel Detien-
emotionality of the kill, as well as its intense planning and
ne and Jean-Pierre Vernant. Valeri’s detailed anthropological
coordination, is not only the dramatization of a new social
work gives new emphasis to the significance of social and cos-
ordering—it actually restructures society for the satisfaction
mological hierarchies associated with royal sacrifices that
of basic human needs.
serve as mirrors of the major concepts of pre-Western Ha-
A new, evocative approach to sacrifice was put forth by
waiian society. Sanday’s work takes up the difficult topic of
Nancy Jay in her Throughout Your Generations Forever: Sacri-
ritual cannibalism in a number of tribal societies and shows
fice, Religion, and Paternity (1992), which surveys Greek, Is-
how cultural “selves,” cosmological order, and a cannibalistic
raelite, Roman, Nuer, Hawaiian, Lugbara, and Ashanti sacri-
consciousness combined to control the vitality of the world
fice. Jay’s work also looks at the Christian Eucharist as
and the reproduction of human society. Levenson shows
sacrifice and proceeds from two powerful observations, al-
how the story of the miraculous liberation of a beloved son
most always ignored by other scholars. First, “in no other
from the sacrificial knife is a powerful, shared theme in both
major religious institution is gender dichotomy more consis-
Christianity and Judaism, which sets the stage for new kinds
tently important, across unrelated traditions, than it is in sac-
of comparisons. Carrasco argues that sacrifices, and especially
rifice.” The exclusion of women and the repeated father-son
human sacrifices, become social forces largely through the
relations in sacrificial rituals have gone largely unremarked
construction of monumental ceremonial centers that func-
upon, and Jay’s work illuminates this lacuna and begins to
tion as theatres for the remembering and re-experiencing of
fill it up with new meanings. Her second observation is that
both mythic episodes and other human sacrifices. The work
the literature reveals a consistent opposition between blood
of Detienne and Vernant, emerging from the Center for
sacrifice and childbirth or between male sacrificers and child-
Comparative Studies of Ancient Societies in Paris, is a mul-
bearing women. She notes that while women sometimes par-
tidisciplinary and detailed analysis of how the sacrifice, cook-
ticipate in sacrifices, mothers never do and she wants to
ing, and eating of animals functioned in Greek society to tie
know why.
humans to the gods but also to insure that social relatedness
on all political levels was rejuvenated. As one author states,
Jay’s work brought gender and feminist studies into the
“political power cannot be exercised with sacrificial practice”
scholarship on sacrifice by making two claims that have re-
(Detienne and Vernant, 1989, p. 3).
cently undergone critical examination and appreciation. She
states that sacrifice is “at home,” that is, sacrifice thrives and
While new studies of sacrifice and its social, religious,
has historical continuity in social settings that require inter-
cultural, and political significance continue to be produced,
generational continuity to facilitate inheritance of power,
perhaps the best model for real dialogue, theoretical advance,
property, and prestige. This means that sacrifices serve to as-
and understanding appeared in Violent Origins: Walter Bur-
sist in the selective continuity between males and not fe-
kert, René Girard, and Jonathan Z. Smith on Ritual Killing
males. In other words, “ancestor worship” involves sacrifices
and Cultural Formation. This book, edited by Robert
designed to favor one gender of ancestors. Secondly, Jay ar-
Hamerton-Kelly and published in 1987, came from a confer-
gues that sacrifices are valuable because of their unexpected
ence that involved papers, conversations, and responses from
social achievement. Sacrifices give to males the mysterious
Girard, Burkert, Smith, Renato Rosaldo, and Burton Mack.
powers that are akin to those that women have in childbirth.
Interested readers will see how this event and its publication
Just as women bring new beings into the world in childbirth,
explored the tantalizing possibility that understanding
males recreate their lines of descent as authoritative social
human violence against animals and other humans is one
structures through sacrifice. Descent through males is not
major source for developing persuasive theories about the na-
naturally given but socially achieved through ritual violence.
ture of religion and culture. In this constructive sense, Bur-
kert’s claim and invitation seem highly relevant to the con-
Jay’s work is worth attention for at least two reasons. It
temporary situation. “More can be said for the thesis that all
is the first study to place a broad range of scholarship about
orders and forms of authority in human society are founded
ritual violence under serious feminist scrutiny and interpreta-
on institutionalized violence.”
tion. Secondly, it applied rigorous anthropological interpre-
tations to biblical texts about violence and then placed them
BIBLIOGRAPHY
in a fresh comparative perspective by looking at other cul-
Burkert, Walter. Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek
tures with similar practices.
Sacrificial Ritual and Myth. Translated by Peter Bing. Berke-
ley, 1983.
Other works that have made their mark include Valerio
Carrasco, Davíd. City of Sacrifice: The Aztec Empire and the Role
Valeri’s Kingship and Sacrifice: Ritual and Society in Ancient
of Violence in Civilization. Boston, 1999.
Hawaii (1985), Peggy Reeves Sanday’s Divine Hunger: Can-
Detienne, Marcel, and Jean-Pierre Vernant, eds. The Cuisine of
nibalism as a Cultural System (1986), Jon Levenson’s The
Sacrifice Among the Greeks. Translated by Paula Wissing.
Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transforma-
Chicago, 1989.
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8010
SACRILEGE
Hamerton-Kelly, Robert G., ed. Violent Origins: Walter Burkert,
rately describe religious realities. The sacred and profane are
René Girard, and Jonathan Z. Smith on Ritual Killing and
flexible, fluid categories that frequently overlap, distort, and
Cultural Formation. Stanford, Calif., 1987.
transform. For Smith, a central religious problem is adapting
Jay, Nancy. Throughout Your Generations Forever: Sacrifice, Reli-
sacred ideals to the messy reality of lived experience. Thus
gion, and Paternity. Chicago, 1992.
sacrilege is also a situational interpretive frame that must
Levenson, Jon. The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The
continually adapt to its context. What is clear, however, is
Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity.
that sacrilege is essentially concerned with the boundaries of
New Haven, 1993.
the sacred.
Mack, Burton. “Introduction: Religion and Ritual.” In Violent
The sacred is constituted by a perimeter, a differential
Origins: Walter Burkert, René Girard, and Jonathan Z. Smith
limit. Sacrilege is the violation or rupture of sacred bounda-
on Ritual Killing and Cultural Formation, edited by Robert
G. Hamerton-Kelly, pp. 1–72. Stanford, 1987.
ries. “Theft from the sacred” and “violation of the sacred”
are reciprocal actions. They consist of either bringing the
Robbins, Jill. “Sacrifice.” In Critical Terms for Religious Studies,
profane into or the taking the sacred out of its established
edited by Mark C. Taylor, pp. 285–297. Chicago, 1998.
limits. In either case the sacred comes into contact with the
Sanday, Peggy Reeves. Divine Hunger: Cannibalism as a Cultural
profane and the order and purity of the sacred is disturbed.
System. Cambridge, U.K., 1986
There are two distinct forms of sacrilege: interreligious and
Valeri, Valerio. Kingship and Sacrifice: Ritual and Society in Ancient
intrareligious. Violations committed by religious outsiders,
Hawaii. Translated by Paula Wissing. Chicago, 1985.
or interreligious violations, are frequently described as “dese-
DAVÍD CARRASCO (2005)
cration” and will be discussed in the section below. Sacrilege
typically refers to intrareligious violations, or violations by
religious insiders, which will be the focus of the remainder
of this section.
SACRILEGE is typically defined as “violation or theft of
the sacred.” It originates from the Latin sacrilegium or sacer
Although its etymological roots are in pagan Rome, sac-
(sacred) and lego (to gather or to steal). In addition to the
rilege, particularly in its connotation of unorthodoxy, is a
literal theft of sacred objects or the violation of sacred places,
Christian concept (and to a lesser degree an Abrahamic con-
sacrilege connotes violation of sacred practices (orthopraxy)
cept) whose greatest cultural impact occurred during the
and sacred beliefs (orthodoxy). Because the concept of sacri-
Middle Ages and continued throughout the eighteenth cen-
lege is founded upon the distinction between sacred and pro-
tury. Since the eighteenth century, its theological importance
fane, this entry will begin with a brief overview of the aca-
has waned, as a subject search in any academic library clearly
demic distinction between those two terms and their
demonstrates. Its Christian context is important because
relationship to sacrilege. An overview of different religious
wide application of the concept requires the type of hierar-
approaches to the problem of sacrilege and transgression will
chical organizational structure that was characteristic of
follow.
Christendom during that period. Broad accusations, prose-
cutions, and actions of sacrilege require the broad agreement
Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) argued that sacred and
upon definitions of orthodoxy and unorthodoxy that only
profane are distinct categories defined only by their absolute
a hierarchical religious organization can bring to bear. When
opposition. The sacred is that unique category circumscribed
localized religious subgroups control definitions and conse-
by boundaries that differentiate it from ordinary, or profane,
quences of sacrilege, its coercive power is significantly dimin-
reality. However, Durkheim claimed, the sacred is a category
ished. The definition of sacrilege is thus conceptually con-
created by humans and not unique in and of itself: anything
strained in Jewish and Islamic communities, where the local
can potentially be set aside and distinguished as sacred. Mir-
community by and large sets its own criteria for transgressive
cea Eliade (1907–1986), on the other hand, argued that the
behavior.
sacred was an essential experiential category. From his per-
spective, the sacred is qualitatively different from ordinary,
If sacredness is inherently dualistic, in that its definition
profane reality. While a sacred object may be physically iden-
requires the profane, then sacrilege or transgression are also
tical to a profane object, they are not interchangeable because
inherent and essential to sacredness. However, this dualistic
the sacred object has a special quality that the profane object
boundary can be drawn more or less boldly. The more abso-
does not have. Physically identical profane objects, on the
lute and impermeable the boundary is between the sacred
other hand, are also qualitatively identical and interchange-
and the profane, the more rigid and inflexible the concept
able. Mary Douglas (1921–), argues that the distinction be-
and consequences of transgression will be. In the Abrahamic
tween sacred and profane is a distinction between order and
traditions, dualism is essential to creation, good and evil are
disorder. From her perspective, sacrilege means disturbing or
irreconcilable, and the boundary between the two is concep-
disrupting the established order of the sacred. Contemporary
tually impermeable. Non-Abrahamic traditions, such as
scholars of religion, such as Jonathan Z. Smith (1938–),
Buddhism and Hinduism, on the other hand, conceive of an
argue that the definitions put forth by Durkheim, Eliade,
underlying unity behind duality. Consequently, the bounda-
and Douglas, while helpful, are too rigid and do not accu-
ry between sacred and profane is more lightly drawn, and
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8011
both traditions include antinomian sects that employ trans-
on the site because according to Hindu belief the site was the
gression as a means of transcending duality and dissolving
birthplace of Ra¯ma, the iconic hero of the 2,500-year-old
the boundary between sacred and profane.
Hindu epic, the Ra¯ma¯yan:a. A new temple honoring Ra¯ma
was begun immediately after the destruction of Babri Masjid.
Sacrilege and transgression are problematic because the
Rather than an isolated incident, the Ayodhya¯ dispute is but
sacred and profane inevitably come into contact during the
one symptom of centuries-old tensions between Hindu and
messy reality of lived experience. Absolute conceptual and
Muslim communities in northern sections of the Indian sub-
physical limits invite and require human transgression. The
continent. While the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan
heart of the sacred lies at its edges, not at its center. It is in
was an attempt to resolve such longstanding Hindu-Muslim
the encounter with boundaries, and their transgression, that
conflicts, at the beginning of the twenty-first century rela-
we experience the sacred. The Abrahamic concept of sacri-
tions have arguably deteriorated to the lowest level since par-
lege calls for retribution in so far as it maintains rigid bound-
tition.
aries. As rigid hierarchical boundaries lessen so too does the
need for retributive sacred justice. The transgression of
Desecration is frequently directed at sacred sites such as
boundaries understood as sacred does not destroy the sacred,
temples and cemeteries, but can also include sacred texts and
rather, it heightens awareness of those sacred boundaries
ritual objects. Like the Ayodhya¯ incident, desecration is not
where human desire for the sacred meets the mortal, trans-
simply the result of conflicting claims to coextensive sacred
gressive reality of human life.
territory. In most cases, including seemingly inadvertent des-
ecration (discussed below), it is a strike against the legitimacy
DESECRATION. Interreligious sacrilege consists of actions by
of the particular religious identity itself. Desecration occurs
members of one religious group that violate the sacred
within the context of complex social, economic, and political
boundaries of another religious group. Such destruction or
tensions. Because religion and its demarcations of sacrality
damage by outsiders inflicted upon temples, shrines, and
are so closely tied to individual and community identity, des-
other sacred places, as well as upon sacred objects or beings,
ecration is frequently linked to intolerance and hatred of re-
is commonly characterized as desecration, in contradistinc-
ligio-ethnic groups. Desecration is a symbolic negation of the
tion to intrareligious, or insider, sacrilege. In the case of sa-
targeted religious group.
cred violation resulting from sectarian disputes, either term
Surprisingly, seemingly inadvertent desecration can also
may apply, although sectarian conflicts inherently redefine
be understood as religious intolerance and negation. In 1990
former insiders as outsiders.
the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
While intentional desecration has a long history, it is a
(NAGPRA) was signed into U.S. law. The NAGPRA was an
particularly pressing issue at the beginning of the twenty-first
attempt to address Native American concerns about the his-
century. Because of the increasing religious plurality of many
toric and ongoing collection of native remains. Since death
societies in the so-called global village, and the resulting con-
and the disposal of human remains are the object of intensive
tact between members of different religious traditions, inter-
religious activity, disturbance of the dead constitutes desecra-
religious friction and tension with the potential for sacred vi-
tion, particularly when it involves intentional abuse of the
olation and violence will continue to increase. The sacred
burial site or remains. Because many contemporary Native
boundaries, both physical and ideological, of multiple reli-
Americans experience collection and disturbance of ancestral
gions can be, and frequently are, coextensive. When sacred
remains as desecration, archeological excavation of historical-
boundaries overlap in physical, ideological, or social spaces,
ly remote but potentially native remains has emerged as a se-
competing sacred claims can result in volatile confrontations
rious controversy.
from which desecration may result.
Is it fair to use the term desecration when actions do not
appear to intentionally target religious identity? After all, the
Most acts of desecration are the result of interreligious
object of collecting native remains is scientific knowledge,
contestation over sacred territory. It is an assertion of the pri-
not the violation of sacred space. However, the historical
macy of one territorial claim over conflicting sacred claims.
context tells a different story. Anthropological study of Na-
Desecration disrupts, destroys, and denies the claims of other
tive American culture during the nineteenth century led to
religious communities to the sanctity of their sacred territory.
a frenzied collection of human remains, ritual objects, and
As such it is an inherent attack upon the validity of those sa-
secret ceremonial practices of those supposedly dying cul-
cred claims and the very identity of the competing religious
tures. The alienation of remains and ritual objects, as well
group.
as the revelation of ritual knowledge, was, and is, a literal
The Ayodhya¯ dispute is one example of contested claims
theft of the sacred. Most of the collection was illegitimate be-
to sacred space that led to desecration. In 1992, Hindu dem-
cause objects and ceremonies were sold by native individuals
onstrators destroyed the 464-year-old Babri Masjid Mosque
who had no right to sell communal property, and others were
located in Ayodhya¯, India, about one hundred miles north
simply taken without permission. All of these actions were
of Banares. The territorial dispute can be traced to 1528,
desecration because they inevitably denied and negated Na-
when a Hindu temple on the site was destroyed to make way
tive American control of sacred possessions and, ultimately,
for the mosque. The earlier Hindu temple was constructed
the religious identity of those communities.
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Such seemingly inadvertent desecration results from an
In the Jewish tradition the chosen people maintain the
underlying conflict over the right and ability of competing
sacredness of creation through the keeping of the covenant.
communities to designate sacrality itself. While there are
Without deliberate human action, the sacred aspect of cre-
clearly cases of errant violations of sacrality, apparent igno-
ation and humans is profaned. The sacred is sustained
rance of the designation “sacred” more frequently results
through intentional human action. When humans fail to
from an underlying challenge to the legitimacy of that desig-
keep the covenant, they lose sight of the divine origin of cre-
nation. One community simply asserts and forcibly imposes
ation. The material world becomes simply the material
its values or desires upon another community, irrespective
world, and human beings become simply flesh and blood.
of the second community’s sacred designations. The inher-
When the divine origin of creation is forgotten, God’s cre-
ent statement is that those other religious values do not mat-
ation is stolen from God. Keeping the Torah requires re-
ter and are unworthy of recognition. Like intentional dese-
membering that creation is more than simply the world we
cration it is a symbolic (and actual) negation of the religious
see; it means awareness that behind what we see is the sacred
identity of the other community.
mystery of God. In the Jewish tradition sacrilege is stealing
the creation from its source and reducing it to merely the dirt
Because religious claims, by definition, supercede all
of materiality.
other claims, interreligious contact can potentially lead to
acts of desecration whenever two or more religious claims are
Jews who profane the sacred origin of creation lose their
in opposition. Since secular values tend to dismiss the ulti-
claim to the world to come. Only a life lived with full aware-
macy of religious claims, particularly when those claims are
ness for the divine aspect of humanity and its environment
made by a less powerful or minority community, contact be-
is worthy of the immortal life of the human spirit. A life gov-
tween secular and religious communities can also potentially
erned by the covenant is one that continually reflects upon
lead to acts of desecration. The twentieth century, like previ-
the fact that humans are created in the image of God. Sacri-
ous centuries, witnessed horrible acts of desecration. The
lege amounts to renouncing the knowledge of the divine
twenty-first century will be no different, unless or until indi-
breath that sparks human life and thereby cutting oneself off
vidual religious communities find other means to live coex-
from God. Sacrilege is the grave loss suffered by those who
tensively with other communities whose religious claims and
lose sight of their intimate connection to the divine creative
values conflict with their own religious claims and values.
force inherent to all that exists. Moreover, the failure to rec-
ognize the image of God in others is equally problematic. All
JEWISH SACRILEGE. In order to understand sacrilege in the
creation, including oneself and other humans, should be un-
Jewish tradition, it is first necessary to appreciate the signifi-
derstood as an inherently sacred aspect of God’s continually
cance of the fact that, for Jews, God is the sole genesis of all
unfolding creation.
that exists. Because all of creation originates from God, all
of creation must be considered of divine origin and, there-
The sum result of profaning the sacred is to lose one’s
fore, sacred. Moreover, the first humans were created in the
claim to the world to come. Full awareness of having been
image of God and became living beings only when God
created in the image of God is necessary to claim immortal
breathed life into them. Thus all of creation, including
life for the spirit. Sacrilege means cutting oneself off from the
human beings, is of divine origin and is sacred. However,
image of God and thereby forfeiting an intimate connection
even though humans are made in the image of god, they are
to God. God established the Torah to promote conscious-
formed out of the earth, and this earthly component, insofar
ness of the sacred, divinely created aspect of humanity and
as it is derivative of God, is the impure, transgressive quality
the rest of the physical world. Transgression is essentially any
that leads to human mortality. Insofar as creation and hu-
violation of the Torah. There are consequences for this, but
mans find their genesis in God, they are sacred, but insofar
reconciliation is always possible with sincere atonement. Be-
as creation and humans become separate and independent
cause of our earthly aspect, humans are naturally transgres-
from God, they are profane. Transgression, from this per-
sive. Orthopraxis (correct practice) brings humans into
spective, is simply separation and independence from God.
union with God, as partners in the maintenance of the sacred
essence of creation. God created the Torah because it makes
But God made a covenant with Abraham that was
it possible to mitigate or manage human transgression.
sealed by Moses and that bound the Hebrew people to God.
Or, to put it a little differently, the purpose of the covenant
In the Jewish tradition the primary transgression is idol-
was and is to bind the Hebrew people to God. How does
atry. Idolatry violates the entire Torah because it negates
it accomplish this? The covenant is the means by which
God’s genesis of creation and renders it profane. Public pro-
God’s chosen people are to honor and remember the sacred
faning of God’s name can result in excommunication. How-
genesis of creation and themselves. For example, the keeping
ever, other than violation of the Torah, there is no uniform
of the Sabbath is nothing less than the ritual remembrance
code of transgression in the Jewish tradition. Transgression
of the divine origin of creation. Keeping the covenant in-
and its consequences are determined by the local community
volves maintaining connection to and awareness of the sa-
to which one belongs. Different communities establish dif-
credness of God’s creation. Failure to keep the covenant is
ferent standards and may not recognize the determinations
a transgression against God; it is a sacrilege.
of other communities. Thus it is apparent that the Torah
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8013
creates and maintains the worldwide Jewish community as
against the Armenian Adoptionists in 719. Now the target
a sacred community. Following the Torah sets Jews apart
was the heretics of Orleans (1022), who were said to recite
from the surrounding secular community. The community
a litany of demons, renounce Christ, spit upon his image, en-
is differentiated through its self-conscious spiritual identity.
gage in sexual orgies, sacrifice children, and practice canni-
For example, the laws of purity situate the community as
balism. At the end of the century (1076–1096), the priest
having a different orientation than surrounding communi-
Alberic of Brittany was convicted of sacrilege for having
ties. Transgression of these laws separates the individual from
smeared the crucifix with excrement and poured animal
both God and the community. Maintaining the Torah estab-
blood upon the altar. He was further accused of selling this
lishes one’s life and community within a world that is sacred
blood to the people as relics.
through an intentional acknowledgement of the givenness of
By 1150 to 1160, a group of heretics in Germany had
God throughout all creation. Sacrilege is turning one’s back
been accused of offering solemn sacrifices to the Devil, prac-
on the sacred and thereby dwelling in the world of the undif-
ticing incestuous intercourse, and ridiculing the celebration
ferentiated profane.
of the nativity on Christmas Eve when, in mockery of the
CHRISTIAN SACRILEGE. The history of heresy, inquisition,
Christian kiss of peace, their priest allegedly uncovered his
and witchcraft in the Christian church has been the subject
backside to be kissed by the congregation. This is perhaps
of an enormous body of scholarship. The picture presented
the earliest testimony concerning the osculum infame (kiss of
here is far from complete, and the reader should be on guard
infamy). In 1182, Walter Map mentioned the kiss of infamy
against easy or fashionable generalizations. In the history of
as being practiced upon the backside, the genitals, or the paw
the concept and pattern of sacrilege in Europe, one is con-
of a huge cat. Down to the mid-fifteenth century, the new
fronted with striking paradoxes: it is often the case that sacri-
conventicles of the alleged worshipers of Satan were called
lege was neither invented nor spread by those one would
synagogues (later sabbat, a term also used in reference to
have at first suspected. Sometimes the very forces that were
witches), a clear reference to a group to whom sacrilegious
responsible for the prosecution of sacrilege were the ones that
activities of the most extreme kind were attributed, namely
prevented such prosecution from being effective. If trials for
the Jews. Sexual intercourse with the Devil is mentioned for
sacrilege finally came to an end, this did not happen accord-
the first time in 1275, when a woman in Carcassonne,
ing to any known law of human progress. A thorough inves-
France, was burned at the stake for this sacrilege.
tigation of this phenomenon, as of any other phenomenon
in history, will show that whenever human consciousness, re-
Inquisitorial and criminal procedure to the four-
flection, and intentionality are involved, things are far from
teenth century. The relationship between ecclesiastic and
being simple.
criminal justice forms one of the most fascinating chapters
in the history of European civilization. Without some
The Roman Empire. In the Roman Empire, sacrilege
knowledge of this relationship, it is impossible to understand
was considered to be a crime carrying the penalty of death,
such a fundamental phenomenon as the witch craze. It is im-
and torture was sometimes used to extort confession. The
portant to establish two facts: first, that this relationship un-
persecution of Christians, in particular, was justified by a
derwent constant changes; second, that it varied from coun-
pattern of defamation: besides their sacrilegious practices, the
try to country.
Christians were represented as murderers of infants and as
engaged in promiscuous sexual intercourse.
In the early Middle Ages, religious offenses in Germany
were prosecuted by the secular authorities. The accusation
This basic pattern of defamation, analyzed historically
had to be proved, and thus the accuser risked greater dam-
by Norman R. C. Cohn in his influential book Europe’s Inner
ages than the accused. In Spain under the Visigoths, by con-
Demons (1975), was then taken over by the victorious church
trast, religious offenses were, according to the juridical for-
and applied to several of its enemies, both external and inter-
mula, mixti fori, that is, they belonged both to the
nal. The revival of Roman criminal law in the eleventh cen-
ecclesiastical and to the lay authorities. In Italy, according to
tury provided the legal procedures for the conduct of the
Langobardic law, the crime of maleficium fell under secular
Christian Inquisition. These procedures were in turn copied
jurisdiction. In northern Italy, under French influence, the
by the lay authorities of Europe at the time of the witch craze
episcopal inquisition was in place after 800. Indeed, in the
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By this time the
Frankish Empire, justice in religious matters was assured by
Inquisition itself had adopted a skeptical attitude that in
episcopal visitation and inquisition (Latin inquisitio, “inves-
some cases prevented abuses by the secular powers.
tigation”), the bishop being supported by the landlord as de-
fensor ecclesiae
(this is the oldest form of local justice, the jus-
The eleventh to thirteenth century. The revival of
tice seigneuriale). After the fall of the Frankish Empire,
Roman criminal law in the eleventh century seems to have
however, the institution of royal justice became increasingly
been accompanied by a revival of the ancient Roman pattern
important, having been taken as a model by the local land-
of the defamation of Christians, used this time, however, by
lords.
the Christians themselves against enemies of their own. This
was not entirely new. Augustine had used these tactics
The procedures of the episcopal inquisition were intro-
against the Manichaeans, and John of Odzun had used them
duced by the church in 1184. A further step was taken by
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SACRILEGE
Gregory IX (1227–1241), who created the papal Inquisition
The second assertion of the Shaha¯dah is “Muh:ammad
as a central institution staffed by the Dominicans and the
is his prophet.” (Muh:ammad rasu¯l – Alla¯h). This statement
Franciscans and directed from Rome. Torture, sporadically
legitimizes Muh:ammad as a prophet among other prophets
employed since the eleventh century, was expressly recom-
of the Abrahamic traditions. It is also understood to establish
mended for inquisitorial procedures against heretics by Inno-
Muh:ammad as the final prophet, the last of Alla¯h’s messen-
cent IV in 1252. The death penalty, in accordance with
gers, who seals, or completes, all revelations from God to hu-
Roman law, had been applied since the eleventh century in
mans. As the last prophet, the message revealed to
the French and German territories, but not in southern Eu-
Muh:ammad supercedes all other prophets, including both
rope. Starting in 1197, the death penalty for heretics upon
Moses and Jesus. As a result of having brought divine revela-
relapse was decreed in Aragon, France, Lombardy, Sicily, and
tion to an end, worship of Alla¯h in a consecrated temple is
Germany. In 1232 it became effective for the entire Holy
no longer necessary. Muh:ammad’s message includes the rev-
Roman Empire. In 1198, Innocent III had recommended
elation that the entire earth can now be a place of worship
execution upon relapse in instances when excommunication
and purification. This is relevant to discussion of sacrilege
had proved ineffective. By the fifteenth century, witches were
because sacred space is transformed. Prayer in a state of im-
burned as heretics upon first conviction rather than after a
purity simply makes the prayer invalid. Pollution of sacred
relapse.
space is of lesser concern than the ritual purity of the individ-
ual who offers prayer to Alla¯h. After Muh:ammad brings the
ISLAMIC SACRILEGE. Because the Islamic tradition does not
revelation, violation of sacred space is no longer universally
have a central hierarchical authority structure, the generally
understood as sacrilege. Prayer that takes place within a pol-
accepted definition of sacrilege is relatively narrow. Trans-
luted context is simply invalid.
gression of the first and foundational pillar of Islam, the
Shaha¯dah, is the tradition’s only unforgivable sin. While a
Muh:ammad is the preeminent human, but human
Muslim is obligated to fulfill all the five pillars of Islam, sin-
nonetheless. His humanity and mortality are essential be-
cere and devout recitation of the Shaha¯dah is the sole re-
cause he in absolutely no way resembles the singular divinity
quirement for becoming a Muslim. The Shaha¯dah is the de-
of Alla¯h. On the other hand, Muh:ammad is the foremost ex-
ceptively simple statement: “There is no God but Alla¯h, and
emplar of human behavior. His speech and character are
Muh:ammad is his prophet.” The first of two assertions in
models of perfection. Thus the sunnah, the historical record
the statement is that there is no God but Alla¯h (La¯ ila¯ha illa¯
of Muh:ammad’s words and deeds, is considered the second
Alla¯h). There is only one God, and that God is known as
most sacred text in Islam. Because of Muh:ammad’s unique
Alla¯h. The Arabic word translated as God, ila¯h, means one
exemplary status, he is worthy of obedience and the utmost
who is worshiped, one who has the greatness and power wor-
respect. Any statements or action that impugn Muh:ammad
thy of worship. It also implies the Islamic principle of
in any way are without a doubt sacrilegious. Salmon Rush-
tawh:¯ıd, the absolute oneness and unity of God. The first
die’s Satanic Verses (1988) was condemned by the Islamic
principle of Islam is a radical, or absolute, monotheism.
community precisely because it characterized the prophet in
Alla¯h is one all-powerful harmonious being. Alla¯h is not and
derogatory and offensive ways. Rushdie’s book provoked
cannot be a multiplicity.
outrage because it profaned the sacred name and character
of the prophet.
In addition to the unity of Alla¯h, the statement “there
The divine origin of the QurDa¯n is implicit in the state-
is no God but Alla¯h” necessarily requires that Alla¯h is not
ment that Muh:ammad is Alla¯h’s prophet. Islamic tradition
a physical being. Alla¯h is the powerful and mysterious being
understands the genealogy of the QurDa¯n as having been
behind all other powers in creation. As such, Alla¯h cannot
transmitted directly from Alla¯h to the angel Gabriel, who
possibly be a physical being. Shirk, idolatry, is the worship
brought Alla¯h’s message to Muh:ammad. The QurDa¯n is
of anything less than the all-encompassing unity of Alla¯h.
nothing less than the divine speech of Alla¯h. The QurDa¯n, in
Alla¯h is the limitless power concealed beyond the human or
its original Arabic, is not created nor interpreted by
material world, indeed Alla¯h is beyond human understand-
Muh:ammad or any other human. Because it is an exact repli-
ing altogether. Focusing one’s care and attention upon any
cation of divine speech, the QurDa¯n is unique among all other
worldly power, such as wealth, fame, sex, and even nature,
texts. Both the oral recitation and the written text (in Arabic)
is shirk, just as much as the worship of an idol is shirk. Both
are considered sacred and should be treated reverently. Con-
the denial of the unity of Alla¯h and idolatry are sacrilege in
sequently, physical mistreatment, misrepresentation, or
the sense that they lessen and thereby violate the essential sa-
mockery of the Arabic QurDa¯n is considered extremely sacri-
cred qualities of Alla¯h.
legious. Questioning the validity or truth of the QurDa¯n is
Like idolatry, apostasy is a transgression against
equally transgressive. Scholarly investigation of the literary
Shaha¯dah. Abandonment or renunciation of the Islamic faith
and historical origin of the QurDa¯n, in itself, would amount
amounts to the repudiation of the Shaha¯dah. Like religious
to sacrilege precisely because it undercuts its foundational
conversion, apostasy repudiates the divinity and unity of
claim to authority by presupposing human authorship.
Alla¯h. Thus, either apostasy or conversion amount to trans-
HINDU SACRILEGE. There are two areas in Hinduism where
gressions against the sacrality of Alla¯h.
concerns similar to the Abrahamic concept of sacrilege arise.
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SACRILEGE
8015
One area of primary concern would be na¯stika, unorthodox
While the precise meaning and implications of ana¯tman are
interpretation of the Vedas. Religions derived from Hindu-
beyond the scope of this entry, the general idea is that wrong
ism, such as Buddhism and Jainism in particular, constitute
actions stem from the normal human illusion of possessing
the unorthodox insofar as they are a rejection of the authority
a permanent self. From this illusion, self-serving and self-
of the Vedas. For example, rejection of the principle of
interested behaviors necessarily follow. The Buddhist view
sam:sa¯ra, the ongoing cycle of rebirth, would be an extreme
is that the individual self is impermanent in the sense that
form of unorthodoxy worthy of censure. The second concern
it is in a constant state of flux. Furthermore, duality, the per-
is the so-called laws of purity. While purity concerns vary by
ception of self and other as discrete entities, is also an illusion
caste, there are general principles governing purity and pollu-
that leads to actions harmful to both self and other. Because
tion. The near universal prohibition against sexual contact
the two are inextricably linked through the chain of causality,
with menstruating women also holds in the Hindu tradition.
self-interested actions that negatively impact the other will
Intercaste sex or marriage, like all intercaste contact, is also
inevitably impact the self negatively.
subject to regulation. Included in such prohibitions would
be objects and food handled by those of a low caste. Finally,
Because Buddhism understands that duality and wrong
contact with excrement and dead animals or humans, as in
action are illusions, sacrilege is both the result of individual
many cultures, is a source of pollution that must be ritually
illusions and, ultimately, also an illusion itself. However,
regulated.
there are boundaries of moral transgression. There are five
moral precepts that all Buddhists are expected to uphold: no
Va¯ma¯ca¯ra, left-handed conduct, refers to ritual Tantric
killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no mistruth, and
practice of traditionally prohibited behavior involving sex, al-
no intoxication. Violations of these precepts (or the violation
cohol, dead bodies, and so on. Savism is the best known form
of any other vow) constitute the primary “sins” of Buddhism.
of Hindu Tantrism; it refers the ritual practices of devotees
During the lifetime of the Buddha, members of the sam:gha
of the deity S´iva. S´iva is the destroyer, but he is also a creator,
(the religious community) could also be expelled for lying
in that he destroys the cosmos at the end of its cycle, making
about spiritual achievements. During this time, the five
way for creation anew. A common depiction is of S´iva danc-
worst transgressions were patricide, matricide, killing a
ing within a ring of fire. The fire represents both the destruc-
monk, wounding the Buddha, and causing dissent in the
tion of ignorance and the fire of cremation. S´iva is the first
community. Even so, when the Buddha’s cousin, Devadatta,
of all yogis, demonstrating sensual experience and the free-
tried to kill the Buddha several times and sought to under-
dom of nondualistic awareness. S´iva exists in the particular
mine his leadership, the Buddha reacted to these grave trans-
and subsumes all duality—creation and destruction, good
gressions with equanimity and compassion, and Devadatta
and evil, bodily eroticism and supreme consciousness.
was never punished for his actions. The Buddha’s action, or
more accurately, nonaction, set the precedent that transgres-
Left-handed Savism exploits the embodied, erotic aspect
sions should be handled with compassion precisely because
of S´iva in order to attain to the nonduality of S´iva. Like all
the transgressors are already enduring the suffering that inev-
Hindu gods, S´iva is powerless without S´akti, the feminine
itably arises from the illusion of self and other.
power that animates all things. S´iva and S´akti together are
the combination of consciousness and power. The union of
Buddhist Tantrism was derived from Hindu Tantrism;
S´iva and S´akti is the model for Tantric sexual ritual. Through
both are widely known antinomian traditions. Tantra (to
sexual union with the active principle of the woman, the pure
weave) refers to ritual instructions opposed to su¯tra, a dis-
consciousness of the male yogi is liberated from the opposi-
course of the Buddha. Originating from Bengal, Buddhist
tions of the material world. The devotee becomes oblivious
Tantra developed within the Vajraya¯na tradition (diamond
to everything but divine unity. At this point, the categories
vehicle) of Tibet in the tenth and eleventh century CE. The
of purity and impurity are also destroyed. Tantric ritual also
Tantras are ritual instructions and practices for visualizing
employs other ostensibly sacrilegious practices, such as con-
buddhas and bodhisattvas with the express intent of bringing
tact with death or prohibited castes, in order to merge the
the practitioner into transcendent union. The goal is to re-
S´akti power of impurity with yogic consciousness. Such le-
move karmic defilements and the illusion of self, and thereby
gitimized sacrilegious behavior is powerful precisely because
experience the supreme reality of nonduality that underlies
it transgresses the opposition of purity and impurity, expos-
the perceptual world. The goal is nothing less than achieving
ing them as products of dualistic consciousness, and thereby
the union of sam:sa¯ra and nirva¯n:a; that is, to experience non-
paving the way to liberation from the body and to unified
duality while still living within the illusionary world of suf-
consciousness beyond opposition. This is an example of
fering and duality.
when ostensibly sacrilegious behavior is legitimized within a
Tantrism is best known in the West for the practice of
sect but condemned by the orthodox tradition.
imagining or actually engaging in sexual union as the culmi-
BUDDHIST SACRILEGE. The Buddhist perspective is that all
nation of disciplined spiritual practice. The underlying
transgressions arise from one source: fundamental ignorance
premise is that the lesser pleasure of sexual union is linked
about the nature of the self and the world. Ana¯tman (no per-
to the superior pleasure of the transcendental union that oc-
manent self) is a foundational principle of Buddhist thought.
curs when the illusion of duality is overcome. This premise
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SACRILEGE
is based on three observations. First, sexual union gives rise
and social conservatism—is expected. At the heart of the
to desire and is extremely pleasurable. Second, sexual union
Zuni value system is conformity to traditional mores. The
is the union of the male-female dyad, and thus an experience
individual is taught from an early age to avoid either devia-
of nonduality. Third, the pleasure of sexual union is a minute
tion or notoriety. Public display of inappropriate behavior
fraction of the pleasure of transcendental union. The Tantric
is highly censored. Expressions of sexuality, such as kissing
insight is that sexual desire can be employed as the means
or touching; smoking (for women); or any hint of immoder-
to overcome the desires that bind one to the duality of
ation or disrespect is considered deeply disgraceful. Secrecy,
sam:sa¯ra.
not only in relation to people outside the pueblo but also in
The Tantra adept is supervised by a guru¯ who has mas-
regard to intra-Zuni behavior, is therefore highly regarded
tered the Tantric rituals and teachings. While Tantrism is
and always an ideal. For the Zuni, transgressions of such tra-
thought to be the fast way to enlightenment, traditional Bud-
ditional mores, and of prescribed ritual responsibilities and
dhist practices, such as meditation, must be mastered prior
restrictions, are treated seriously and subject to a range of so-
to Tantric practice. When the guru¯ determines the adept has
cial and ritual sanctions.
demonstrated the spiritual discipline needed to experience
During many Zuni rituals, divine beings arrive at Zuni
transcendental union, the practitioner is instructed to focus
and dance in the plaza at the center of town. These divine
upon the previously cultivated experience of nonduality dur-
beings, kachinas, are present in the form of masked members
ing sexual intercourse, rather than upon sexual desire. It is
of Zuni religious societies. During kachina dances the plaza
thought that the pleasure of sexual union will be experienced
exists within sacred space and time, and it represents the ide-
as inferior to the much greater ecstasy of the spiritual union
alized spiritual life. However, in the midst of the ritual dance,
of opposites. Sexual desire will in turn be diminished because
masked clowns inevitably arrive and disrupt the proceedings
it will be eclipsed by the desire to experience complete non-
with antics that transgress proper social and sacred behavior.
duality, rather than the experience of limited nonduality of
These ritual clowns may engage in simulated copulation, sex-
sexual union.
role reversal, gluttony, backward behavior, smearing of ashes
Other Tantric practices include the eating of meat, sex
(associated with witchery and death), and other disgraceful
with low-caste women, and meditation in cemeteries or
behaviors, including mockery of either audience members or
upon corpses. All of these practices are intended to overcome
the kachinas themselves. What do these ritual clowns, who
sam:sa¯ra in its most polluted form so as to experience the
are brought into divine presence and sacred space and time,
blissful spiritual reality that underlies it. Intimate contact
teach about the transgression of the sacred?
with a corpse, for example, is an experiential lesson in the
transitory nature of bodily life. Tantric practice seeks to ex-
The actions of Zuni ritual clowns draw attention to and
ploit transgression by putting it into direct relationship with
reflect upon the progress of the kachina ritual. When the
the transcendental union of opposites. In this sense, Tantric
clowns disrupt the ritual, the contrast between sacred and
practice articulates and explores the boundaries of Buddhist
profane behavior heightens. The actions of the clowns clearly
transgression. Tantrism exaggerates and underscores the very
delineate the boundary and distance between the clowns and
behaviors that transgress the boundaries of traditional Bud-
the kachinas. The role of the clown is to stand in and act as
dhist mores; as such it provides an inverted image of Bud-
the agent of the ordinary human members of the audience.
dhist sacrilege.
The clowns remind the Zuni that in the face of the sacred
Z
all humans are transgressive, all humans are clowns who can-
UNI PEOPLE AND SACRILEGE. The concept of sacrilege is
not indigenous to the Zuni people; however, actions and
not control themselves and who do everything backward.
things that do not conform to their conservative social and
The clowns are funny and entertaining, but they also prod
religious norms make the problem of transgression a central
the people to reflect upon the incongruence of their own be-
concern. Traditional Zuni society is highly structured, as it
havior with their spiritual aspirations.
is among other tribes in the Pueblo cultural group. Member-
The ritual clowns’ bodily humor and mockery of spiri-
ship in Zuni society brings specific rights, privileges, and du-
tual solemnity during sacred rituals is often perplexing to
ties. All Zuni are expected to actively participate in religious
Euro-American observers. However, the clowns perform a
societies and perform the accompanying ceremonial duties.
profoundly moral role in Zuni cosmology. The clowns, in
Their ceremonies are organized according to a rigid agricul-
fact, are one manifestation of the Zuni attempt to mediate
tural cycle, and individual participants are often required to
duality. The clowns, continually “in process,” weave together
undergo exacting preparations and ritual restrictions. Failure
the sacred and the profane, the people and the deities, such
to perform ceremonies to traditional standards or individual
that the ritual performance brings bodily, material life into
failure to carry out ritual privations brings great danger to
the realm of eternal truth. Rather than profaning the sacred,
both individuals and the group. The ceremonial responsibili-
the ritual clowns express the sacred potential of the profane.
ties of the Zuni are among the most exacting in the world.
Through attention to these two essential, but opposite, poles,
Individual behavior is closely monitored, and conformi-
the delicate balance of cosmic duality is maintained and af-
ty to group values—including hard work, good manners,
firmed.
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8017
The clowns remind the Zuni people that the ideal spiri-
Maimonides, Moses. The Guide for the Perplexed. Translated by
tual life is ultimately incongruent with their everyday pro-
M. Friedlander. New York, 1904.
fane lives. And yet their spiritual aspirations require that they
Malkani, K. R. The Politics of Ayodhya and Hindu Muslim Rela-
bring their transgressiveness into the presence of the kachi-
tions. New Delhi, India, 1993.
nas’ sacred dance. The ritual clowns dissolve the absolute dis-
Muller-Ortega, Paul E. “Aspects of Jivanmuki in the Tantric Savia
tinction between sacred and profane, creating a permeable
Traditions.” In Living Liberation in Hindu Thought, edited
boundary that welcomes human contradictions and trans-
by Andrew Fort and Patricia Y. Mumme, pp. 187–217. Al-
gressions into the sacred dance of life. However, the tension
bany, N.Y., 1996.
between human transgressions and spiritual ideals is height-
Neusner, Jacob; Alan J. Avery-Peck; and William Scott Green;
ened, not erased, especially when the clowns are eventually
eds. Encyclopedia of Judaism. 3 vols. New York, 1999.
disciplined by the kachinas for their behavior. Here then is
Ortiz, Alfonzo. New Perspectives on the Pueblos. Albuquerque, N.
what the clowns teach: that human appetites and desires, and
Mex., 1972.
the transgressions to which they give rise, need not be elimi-
nated prior to contact with the sacred. When transgression
Ray, Reginald A. Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism
is recognized as the place where the human and sacred meet,
of Tibet. Boston, 2001.
incongruity is not eliminated but does become manageable.
Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Witchcraft in the Middle Ages. Ithaca,
N.Y., 1972.
SEE ALSO Blasphemy; Heresy, overview article; Inquisition,
Smith, Jonathan Z. Map Is Not Territory: Studies in the History of
The, article on The Inquisition in the Old World; Taboo.
Religions. Leiden, Netherlands, 1978.
B
Stallybrass, Peter, and Allon White. The Politics and Poetics of
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priests served throughout First and Second Temple times,
the conclusion that Sadducees had their own methods of bib-
except when foreign worship was brought into the Temple
lical exegesis and accordingly derived laws that were different
and when the Hasmoneans took control of the high priest-
from those of the Pharisees and their supporters.
hood. Sources mentioning the Sadducees are Josephus, the
The Sadducean party cannot be said to have come into
New Testament, rabbinic literature, and the Dead Sea
being at any particular point. The priestly aristocracy, which
Scrolls; there are no primary sources written by the Saddu-
traced its roots to First Temple times, had increased greatly
cees themselves.
in power in the Persian and Hellenistic periods, since the
The Sadducees rejected the “tradition of the fathers”
temporal as well as spiritual rule of the nation was in their
that the Pharisees considered as law. For this reason the later
hands. Some of these priests had been involved in the ex-
rabbinic sources picture them as rejecting the oral law. The
treme Hellenization leading up to the Maccabean revolt, but
notion of some Church Fathers that the Sadducees accepted
most of the Sadducean lower clergy had remained loyal to
only the Torah as authoritative, rejecting the prophets and
the Torah and the ancestral Jewish way of life.
the emerging corpus of writings, is unsubstantiated by any
In the aftermath of the revolt, a small and devoted group
earlier sources. The New Testament maintains that Saddu-
of these Sadducean priests probably formed the group that
cees did not believe in resurrection. Josephus writes that they
eventually became the Dead Sea sect. They were unwilling
rejected personal immortality, reward and punishment after
to tolerate the replacement of the Zadokite high priest with
death, and determinism, but that they believed strongly in
a Hasmonean in 153–152 BCE, and they disagreed with the
absolute free will.
Jerusalem priesthood regarding matters of Jewish law. Soon
The Sadducees differed in matters of Jewish law from
after the Hasmonean takeover of the high priesthood, this
the Pharisees, according to rabbinic sources. The Sadducees
group repaired to Qumran on the shore of the Dead Sea. The
required compensation for injuries done by a person’s ser-
Dead Sea Scrolls refer to the early leaders of the sect as “sons
vant, whereas the Pharisees required it only in the case of
of Zadok,” testifying to some connection with the Sadduce-
one’s animals, according to their interpretation of Exodus
an tradition. Other moderately Hellenized Sadducees re-
21:32, 35–36. The Sadducees required that false witnesses
mained in Jerusalem, and it was they who were termed Sad-
be executed only when the accused had already been put to
ducees in the strict sense of the term by Josephus in his
death because of their testimony (Dt. 19:19–21). The Phari-
descriptions of the Hasmonean period and by the later rab-
sees imposed this penalty only when the accused had not
binic traditions. They continued to be a key element in the
been executed. The Sadducees criticized the inconsistencies
Hasmonean aristocracy, supporting the priest-kings and
in Pharisaic interpretations of the purity laws, and the Phari-
joining, with the Pharisees, in the gerousia. After dominating
sees regarded Sadducean women as menstrually impure. In
this body for most of the reign of John Hyrcanus I and that
general, the Sadducees saw the purity laws as referring to the
of Alexander Janneus, the Sadducees suffered a major politi-
Temple and its priests, and saw no reason for the extension
cal setback when Queen Salome Alexandra (r. 76–67 BCE)
of these laws into the daily life of all Israel, a basic pillar of
turned thoroughly to support the Pharisees. Thereafter the
the Pharisaic approach.
Sadducees returned to greater power in the Herodian era,
when they made common cause with the Herodian dynasty.
A fundamental question is why the Sadducees disagreed
In the end, it would be a group of lower Sadducean priests
so extensively with the Pharisaic tradition. Later Jewish tradi-
whose decision to reject the sacrifice offered for the Roman
tion claimed that all differences revolved around the Saddu-
emperor set off the full-scale revolt of the Jews against Rome
cean rejection of the oral law. Based on this assumption,
in 66
modern scholars argued that the Sadducees were strict literal-
CE.
ists who followed the plain meaning of the words of the
Closely allied to the Sadducees were the Boethusians.
Torah only. Yet such an approach would not explain most
Most scholars ascribe the origin of the Boethusians to Sime-
of the views regarding legal matters attributed to the
on ben Boethus, appointed high priest by Herod in 24 BCE
Sadducees.
so that he would have sufficient status for Herod to marry
his daughter Mariamne (II). This theory is completely un-
Recent discoveries from the Dead Sea caves have illumi-
proven, and certain parallels between Boethusian rulings and
nated Sadducean law. One particular text (4QMMT), writ-
material in the Dead Sea Scrolls argue for a considerably ear-
ten in the form of a letter purporting to be from the founders
lier date. There certainly were some differences between the
of the Dead Sea sect (who were apparently closely related to
Sadducees and the Boethusians, but the latter appear to have
the Sadducees) to the leaders of the Jerusalem establishment,
been a subgroup or an offshoot of the Sadducean group.
lists some twenty-two matters of legal disagreement. Com-
parison of these matters with the Pharisee-Sadducee disputes
The most central of the disputes recorded in rabbinic
recorded in rabbinic literature has led to the conclusion that
literature as having separated the Boethusians from the Phar-
the writers of this “letter” took the view attributed to the
isees was that of the calendar. The Boethusians held that the
Sadducees while their opponents in the Jerusalem priestly es-
first offering of the Omer (Lv. 23:9–14) had to take place
tablishment held the views attributed later to the Pharisees.
on a Sunday, rather than on the second day of Passover. Such
Examination of this document and related materials leads to
a calendar, similar to that known from the Dead Sea sect and
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SA¯DHUS AND SA¯DHV¯IS
8019
the Book of Jubilees, was based on both solar months and
The Hindu religious explanation for taking sam:nya¯sa
solar years. If so, the Sunday in question would be that after
and becoming initiated as a sa¯dhu is to “realize God” or ob-
the seventh day of Passover (most interpreters have taken it
tain liberation (moks:a), an objective considered to be difficult
as referring to the intermediate Sunday of the festival). Fol-
in worldly life. While some sa¯dhus claim to have experienced
lowing this calendar, the holiday of Shavuot (Pentecost)
a direct religious calling to renounce—occasionally in old
would always fall on a Sunday. While this approach seemed
age—others become sa¯dhus to escape legal, financial, person-
to accord better with the literal interpretation of the words
al, or family problems. In some instances an orphan is adopt-
“on the morrow of the Sabbath” (Lv. 23:11), the Pharisees
ed and raised by sa¯dhus, and sa¯dhv¯ıs are not infrequently be-
could accept neither this innovative calendar (the biblical cal-
reaved. Renunciate practices range from a primarily
endar was based on lunar months) nor the interpretation on
devotional approach to liberation—through reciting mantras
which it was based. To them, “Sabbath” here meant festival.
or chanting and singing the names and praises of a personal
(Attribution of this Boethusian calendric view to the Saddu-
deity—to a path of austerities and asceticism (tapas, literally
cees by some scholars results from confusion in the manu-
“heat”) that may involve meditation and yoga. Within the
scripts of rabbinic texts.)
Hindu mythological world, the practice of asceticism, which
The approach of the Sadducees certainly had a major
may range from dietary restrictions to extreme forms of mor-
impact on the political and religious developments in Juda-
tification, is also believed to produce powers (siddhis) of a su-
ism of the Second Temple period, including the formation
pernatural kind, which are feared and considered to be real
of the Dead Sea sect. There is evidence that some Sadducean
at a popular level. Sa¯dhus are revered almost as forms of a
traditions remained in circulation long enough to influence
deity in some areas of north India.
the medieval literalist sect of the Karaites that arose in the
After performing the sam:nya¯sa rite, the lifestyle of the
eighth century CE. Yet otherwise, with the destruction of the
sa¯dhu is, traditionally, thereafter that of a wandering mendi-
Temple in 70 CE, the Sadducees ceased to be a factor in Jew-
cant. However, the rite also simultaneously constitutes an
ish history. The sacrificial system in which they played so
initiation into the renunciate sect to which the initiating guru
leading a role was no longer practiced. Their power base, the
belongs. An initiate receives a new name, a new religious
Jerusalem Temple, was gone, and their strict construction-
identity, and enters the network of an alternative social
ism augured poorly for the adaptation of Judaism to its new
world, with its own hierarchies and implicit codes of behav-
circumstances.
ior. The names of renunciates are usually recorded by an offi-
SEE ALSO Dead Sea Scrolls; Jerusalem, overview article.
cial from the sect into which the candidate is initiated. Al-
though most sa¯dhus live simply—some in remote places—
BIBLIOGRAPHY
from alms or local produce, an initiate into a renunciate
LeMoyne, Jean. Les Sadducéens. Paris, 1972.
order also has potential access to a network of a¯´sramas and
Schiffman, Lawrence W. Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls: The His-
mat:has (monasteries), which can be extensive for the larger
tory of Judaism, the Background of Christianity, the Lost Li-
sects. These institutions often provide food and shelter for
brary of Qumran. Philadelphia, 1994. See pages 83–89.
both resident sa¯dhus and those on pilgrimage to holy places.
Schürer, Emil. The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus
Many of even the largest a¯´sramas have developed over time
Christ (175 BC–AD 135). Edinburgh, 1979. See pages 404–
from a simple dwelling constructed by a sa¯dhu who settled
414.
somewhere, frequently after traveling for many years on pil-
LAWRENCE H. SCHIFFMAN (2005)
grimage throughout the Indian subcontinent.
There are currently around sixty Hindu (or semi-
Hindu) renunciate sects of sa¯dhus in India and Nepal. Or-
SA¯DHUS AND SA¯DHV¯IS. The term sa¯dhu (femi-
ders of sa¯dhus (or their equivalent) are also a constituent of
nine, sa¯dhv¯ı) derives from the Sanskrit root sa¯dh (meaning
several of the other religious traditions currently represented
“accomplish”) and also has the general sense of “a good or
in India. They are to be found amongst Muslims, where, ac-
virtuous person.” More specifically, within the Hindu reli-
cording to some schemata, there are fourteen orders of Su¯f¯ıs
gious tradition a sa¯dhu or sa¯dhv¯ı (a sa¯dhv¯ı is also referred to
(also referred to as fak¯ır); amongst Sikhs (in the Uda¯sin and
as mai and “Ma¯ta¯j¯ı”) is someone who, under a guru, has un-
Nirmala orders); and also amongst Jains, where sa¯dhv¯ıs sig-
dergone a ritual of renunciation known as sam:nya¯sa and for-
nificantly outnumber sa¯dhus. Within the Jain tradition there
mally abandoned family life and conventional worldly means
is a closer relationship between the sa¯dhu and lay communi-
for making a livelihood. The sam:nya¯sa rite, which is preceded
ties than in other Indian renunciate traditions. Buddhist
by a preliminary initiation rite, is usually performed at a
monks, who are not very numerous in India, are represented
Kumbha Mela¯, the preeminent festival for sa¯dhus. The rite
in a few regions, but they are almost exclusively attached to
is assisted by a guru and several Brahmin pan:d:its, thereby re-
monasteries.
lieving the initiate’s family of any future responsibility in that
regard. Sa¯dhus are usually buried in a seated position when
All renunciate sects trace their origin to a revered found-
they die, in distinction from the traditional Hindu practice
ing guru, the sectarian identity of members being exhibited
of cremation.
by a variety of means. These include specific ash or paste
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8020
SA¯DHUS AND SA¯DHV¯IS
marks on the face and body, the kinds of beads or seeds used
is maintained. However, a wide range of practice is evident
for a necklace (ma¯la¯), accoutrements (such as a particular
both between and within the various renunciate sects. Being
kind of staff), and also the type and color of clothing, which
a renunciate does not necessarily entail asceticism, and limit-
is frequently scant. Sa¯dhus of some orders, particularly na¯ga¯s
ed regimens of asceticism are not infrequently practiced by
(who are traditionally naked, fighting ascetics), cover their
householders. Some sects—notably those of the vais:n:ava
entire body with ashes. Sa¯dhus have their head fully shaved
devotees of Vallabha (1479–1531 CE), Caitanya (1486–1533
during initiation, but some subsequently grow dreadlocks.
CE), and Da¯du
¯ (1544–1604 CE)—have both celibate and
Amongst Hindus, while there are several relatively small
married initiates. Managers of one of the larger sa¯dhu
sects of Tantric/´sa¯kta sa¯dhus, whose main deity is a form of
a¯´sramas have significant responsibilities for the maintenance
the goddess (dev¯ı), most Hindu renunciate sects are primari-
of buildings, observance of temple activities, the welfare of
ly vais:n:ava or ´saiva in orientation, and their main deity is
visitors, and administrative affairs, which may include in-
a form of, respectively, Vis:n:u or S´iva. The two largest sects
come derived from land-holdings. There is generally a hierar-
of sa¯dhus—with several hundred thousand initiates—are the
chy of authority and responsibility within the renunciate or-
vais:n:ava sect of Ra¯ma¯nanda (known as Ra¯ma¯nand¯ıs or
ders, with posts for cooks, security officers, secretaries, and
vaira¯g¯ıs) and the ´saiva sect of sam:nya¯s¯ıs (or Da´sana¯m¯ıs,
property managers. Titular heads of monasteries may wield
meaning “ten names”), founded, according to their respec-
considerable influence, not only locally but even at the na-
tive traditions, by Ra¯ma¯nanda in the fourteenth century and
tional level, as in the case of the S´an:kara¯ca¯ryas, who head the
the advaita (nondual) philosopher S´an˙kara¯ca¯rya in the ninth
Da´sana¯m¯ı order. There are also instances of renunciates tak-
century.
ing political office, a prominent example being U
¯ ma Bha¯rat¯ı,
a sam:nya¯sin who became a politician, and who was subse-
According to traditional Brahmanical norms, women
quently sworn in, on December 8, 2003, as the first woman
are ineligible for sam:nya¯sa. However, there is considerable
chief minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh. While, at one
historical evidence of ascetic women renunciates, and some
end of the spectrum, sa¯dhus may be strict vegetarians who
women ascetics may be found in nearly all renunciate sects.
avoid all forms of intoxication, at the other end of the spec-
Currently, more than 90 percent of sa¯dhus are men, though
trum, some few sa¯dhus of the most radical orders, the
government census data from the early twentieth century in-
Aghor¯ıs, and some Na¯ths and Tantrics, may inhabit grave-
dicate that at that time women sa¯dhv¯ıs comprised up to 40
yards and exhibit extreme antinomian behavior, eating from
percent of the renunciate population in some areas of India.
human skulls and even consuming human flesh. Sa¯dhus of
It is not uncommon for women renunciates to have suffered
the more radical orders often consume alcohol and also large
bereavement and to have become sa¯dhv¯ıs to escape the diffi-
quantities of cannabis, which is either smoked with tobacco,
cult circumstances often experienced by widows in South
or eaten or drunk in the form of bha¯n˙g, a prepared form of
Asia.
the leaves of the plant.
In most instances, women renunciates are initiated by
Scholars still do not agree on when ascetic renunciates
male preceptors and do not have their own institutions
first emerged on the religious landscape of South Asia. Some
wherein there is a lineage of authority transmitted from a fe-
believe that semi-shamanic ascetics date back to the Indus
male guru to a female successor. However, in a few orders
Valley civilization (2500–1800 BCE) or even earlier, and may
there are branches that have their own female gurus. For ex-
be seen as the yati or muni, semi-mythological characters
ample, amongst Da´sana¯m¯ıs—nominally an orthodox sect—
who appear in the R:gveda (c. 1200–1400 BCE). This charac-
there is a division of around a thousand mais who are na¯ga¯
terization is disputed by other scholars, who maintain that
and are affiliated to the Ju¯na¯ akha¯d: (see below) but live en-
during the so-called axial age (fifth–sixth centuries BCE), eco-
tirely separately from their male counterparts. Similarly,
nomic and social developments provided the context for the
there are two communities of women renunciates (the S´r¯ı
development of a new worldview, the notion of renuncia-
S´a¯rada¯ Mat:ha and the S´a¯rada¯ Ra¯makr:s:n:a [Ramakrishna]
tion, and the institution of renunciate religious sects, such
Mission) who are devotees of the nineteenth-century Bengali
as the A¯j¯ıvika, Jain, and Buddhist orders. One of the earliest
saint, Ra¯makr:s:n:a Paramaham:sa, and his wife, S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı.
available reports of a foreigner visiting India is that of Megas-
However, unlike the Da´sana¯m¯ı na¯ga¯ women who occasion-
thenes (fourth century BCE), who like many other visitors,
ally travel to pilgrimage sites and attend festivals such as the
records the activities of ash-covered philosophers (gymnoso-
Kumbha Mela¯, the women renunciates of the orders affiliat-
phists), some of whom were capable of extreme feats of en-
ed to the Ra¯makr:s:n:a Mission reside most of the time in mo-
durance. Around this time were produced the earliest San-
nastic institutions. As most renunciate orders have an ambiv-
skrit texts to include sections detailing the way of life of the
alent attitude toward female ascetics, it is also not
renunciate sam:nya¯sin as being within the scope of the dharma
uncommon for women renunciates to become independent
(religious rules and practices) of orthodox Brahmanical cul-
gurus, some of whom attract a considerable lay following.
ture. Several of these texts, the Dharma-su¯tras, provide rules
According to the traditional Hindu ideal, renunciates
and procedures for those wishing to take sam:nya¯sa, and re-
undertake austerities of some kind or other to purify the
nounce Brahmanical ritual life and the daily religious activi-
mind and body, food is collected by begging, and celibacy
ties—based on the Veda—incumbent upon all members of
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SA¯DHUS AND SA¯DHV¯IS
8021
ancient Brahmanical society. Whatever the origins of Brah-
many instances as part of a regularly paid standing army of
manical religious asceticism, by around the beginning of the
several thousand troops in service to ma¯hara¯ja¯s of Jodhpur,
Common Era, sam:nya¯sin had become the term generally
Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Udaipur, Baroda, Marwar (west-
used by the Brahmanical tradition to designate those who
ern Madhya Pradesh), and Bhuj (the capital town of Kacch,
had renounced ritual life, preferably in the fourth and last
Gujarat). At the height of their careers in the late eighteenth
stage (a¯´srama) of life.
century, three prominent Da´sana¯m¯ı na¯ga¯ sam:nya¯s¯ıs, namely
Rajendra Giri Gosain (d. 1753 CE) and his cela¯s (disciples),
However, it appears that it was not only older people
the brothers Anu¯p Giri Gosain (Himmat Baha¯du¯r, 1730–
who had retired from Brahmanical ritual life who became as-
1804 CE) and Umrao Giri Gosain (b. 1734 CE), commanded
cetic renunciates. Perhaps the earliest reference to sectarian
forces of up to forty thousand horse and foot soldiers. They
asceticism in South Asia is by the grammarian Pa¯n:ini (fourth
were highly regarded by the British as a fighting force, ranked
century BCE), who refers to ´saiva ascetics. These ascetics were
alongside the Afghans and Sikhs, and were particularly re-
most probably Pa¯´supatas, renowned for their antisocial be-
nowned for their nighttime guerrilla operations. These na¯ga¯s
havior. They are the earliest known sect of “Hindu” ascetics,
fought many campaigns, mostly on behalf of Mughal re-
who survived into the fourteenth century. The earliest
gents, but changed allegiances several times over the decades.
known monasteries (mat:ha) for Hindu renunciate orders
date from the eighth century
There are currently thirteen akha¯d:s extant in India;
CE, and were of ´saiva orders,
namely the Ka¯pa¯likas (the predecessors of the Aghor¯ıs) and
seven are Da´sana¯m¯ı, three are Ra¯ma¯nand¯ı, and three are
the (less radical) Ka¯la¯mukhas, both of which superseded the
Sikh-related, namely the Nirmala and two Uda¯sin akha¯d:s.
Pa¯´supatas. Mat:has of the influential S´aiva-Siddha¯nta order
The na¯ga¯ members of the akha¯d:still train for fighting, but
appear to have been first founded in the tenth century.
after the imposition of British rule in India their military op-
S´an:kara¯ca¯rya is reputed to have founded the first order
erations were almost entirely curtailed. As a consequence of
of orthodox Brahmanical ascetics, the ´saiva
their mercenary activities many gosains became wealthy, ac-
Da´sana¯m¯ı-Sam:nya¯s¯ıs, though recent research casts some
quiring substantial property and trading enterprises. By the
doubt on this. Several of the most important orthodox
1780s gosains had become the dominant moneylenders and
vais:n:ava orders, which also have renunciate initiates, have
property-owners in Allahabad, Banaras, Mirzapur, Ujjain,
preceptors dating to the early centuries of the first millenni-
and Nagpur, and they were major brokers in Rajasthan and
the Deccan at places such as Hyderabad and Pune. Their in-
um CE: the S´r¯ı samprada¯ya (order/sect) of the devotional phi-
fluence declined during the nineteenth century, and since the
losopher Ra¯ma¯nuja (traditionally dated to 1017–1137 CE),
beginning of the twentieth century, nearly all renunciate in-
and the samprada¯yas of Madhva (1238–1317 CE) and
stitutions, including most of the akha¯d:s, have been actively
Nimba¯rka (twelfth century). Several more vais:n:ava
engaged in educational and social welfare programs through-
samprada¯yas with both householder and renunciate initiates
out India. Being Hindu institutions, renunciate sects have
arose during the next few centuries. A number of sects were
also been periodically vocal in the politics of India. This was
also established that have a partially vais:n:ava religious cul-
particularly evident during the 1990s, when the leaders of
ture, but whose adherents worship a formless (nirgun:¯ı) god.
several renunciate institutions became more closely involved
One of the best known of these sects is the panth (sect) of
with the ruling, nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Kab¯ır (c. 1450–1525 CE). In distinction from nearly all ´saiva
and most vais:n:ava sa¯dhus, renunciates of some vais:n:ava sects
In several regions of South Asia there are castes of
do not perform the sam:nya¯sa rite, but undergo a parallel rite
Sam:nya¯s¯ıs, Na¯ths, and other renunciate sects, who exhibit
whereby a special relationship is established between the re-
some of the customs of the sect to which their ancestors were
nunciate and the deity of the sect.
members, but having married and settled, are otherwise inte-
grated into worldly society amongst a general hierarchy of
Besides the monastic traditions of the renunciate sects,
castes.
which have produced innumerable scholars and philoso-
phers, sa¯dhus have also been periodically engaged in signifi-
SEE ALSO Asceticism; Ashram; Guru¯; Kab¯ır; Kumbha Mela¯;
cant military and mercenary activities. Although as early as
Madhva; Moksa; Nimba¯rka; Nuns, overview article; Ordi-
the eighth century Pa¯´supata ascetics were armed by guilds to
nation; Ra¯ma¯nuja; Saivism, overview article; Sam:nya¯sa;
protect trade, it was during the late sixteenth and seventeenth
S´an˙kara; Sa¯ra¯da Dev¯ı; Vais:n:avism, overview article.
centuries that na¯ga¯ (naked) ascetics from the Na¯th,
Da´sana¯m¯ı-Sam:nya¯s¯ı (also called gosain), Vaira¯g¯ı (Baira¯g¯ı),
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Da¯du¯-panth, Nimba¯rk¯ı (N¯ıma¯vat), and Ra¯dhavallabh¯ı sects
Although a considerable number of articles related to specific re-
first became organized as fighting units (akha¯d:, literally
nunciate sects have been published, relatively few general
“wrestling ring”), primarily owing to state patronage. Initia-
studies of sa¯dhus and sa¯dhv¯ıs have appeared since the late
tion as a na¯ga¯ into an akha¯d:is nearly always performed sub-
1970s.
sequent to the sam:nya¯sa rite. During the latter half of the
Burghart, Richard. “Renunciation in the Religious Traditions of
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries—a time of great
South Asia.” Man (New Series) 18 (1983): 635–653. This
political instability in north India—na¯ga¯s were employed in
article provides a useful critique of a still prevalent anthropo-
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8022
SAED¯I
logical notion of a “lone” casteless ascetic, illustrating hierar-
White, David Gordon. The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in
chies and marriage status amongst various renunciant sects.
Medieval India. Chicago, 1996. This book provides a com-
Clementin-Ojha, Catherine. “Feminine Asceticism in Hinduism:
prehensive account of Na¯ths/siddhas in the medieval period,
Its Tradition and Present Condition.” Man In India 61, no.
illustrating their complex roles in society.
3 (1981): 254–285. Having surveyed the historical situation
MATTHEW CLARK (2005)
of women sam:nya¯sin¯ıs, Clementin-Ojha presents three
women renunciate gurus who have followers and a¯´s ramas in
Banaras.
Gross, Robert Lewis. The Sadhus of India: A Study of Hindu Asceti-
SAED¯I (AH 597?–690/1200?–1291 CE), pen name of Abu¯
cism. Jaipur, India 1992.
EAbd Alla¯h Musharrif (al-D¯ın) ibn Mus:lih: al-D¯ın SaEd¯ı-yi
Hartsuiker, Dolf. Sa¯dhus: Holy Men of India. 2d ed. London,
Sh¯ıra¯z¯ı, Islamic Persian belletrist, panegyrist, and populariz-
1993. Hartsuiker’s book contains many excellent photos and
er of mystically colored poetry. His exact name (other than
a good introductory account of sa¯dhus.
the universally used nom de plume) and his precise birth and
Khandelwal, Meena. Women in Ochre Robes: Gendering Hindu Re-
death dates have been much disputed, and he has often been
nunciation. Albany, N.Y., 2004. This is one of the few
credited with longevity of well over a century. He was born
studies on Hindu women renunciates. It focuses primarily on
and died in the south Iranian capital of Shiraz, but allegedly
two Da´sana¯m¯ı women living in Haridwar, and relates their
spent some half of his life elsewhere, partly perhaps to escape
daily lives.
the Mongol invasions and the constant petty warfare within
Lester, Robert C. “The Practice of Renunciation in
Iran itself. His wanderings fall into three categories: study,
S´rivais:n:avism.” Journal of Oriental Research, Madras (Dr. S.
most importantly at Baghdad; pilgrimages to the holy cities
S. Janaki Felicitation Volume) 1986–1992, vols. 61–72
(1992): 77–95. Lester’s article is an informative survey of the
of Islam (Mecca and Medina); and general drifting, as he
history and practices of the renunciate sect whose preceptor
claims, all over the Islamic world and beyond.
is Ra¯ma¯nuja.
At one point, so he relates, he was a prisoner of war of
Lorenzen, David N. “Warrior Ascetics in Indian History.” Journal
the Crusaders and was set to hard labor until ransomed into
of the American Oriental Society 98, no. 1 (1978): 61–75.
an unfortunate marriage. Some time around the second and
This article provides a compact, general survey of the topic.
major Mongol invasion of the Middle East in the late 1250s,
Miller, David M., and Dorothy C. Wertz. Hindu Monastic Life:
he seems finally to have retired to his native city—Shiraz was
The Monks and Monasteries of Bhubaneswar. Montreal, 1976.
somewhat off the beaten track for the Mongols, as it
This study examines twenty-two monasteries of various sects
proved—and established himself as a man of letters and a
in the city.
sort of court-holding sage. The detailed facts of SaEd¯ı’s life
Olivelle, Patrick, ed. and trans. Sam:nya¯sa Upanis:ads: Hindu Scrip-
are almost as much disputed as his full name and dates, for
tures on Asceticism and Renunciation. New York, 1992. A
most of the information derives from, or depends heavily on,
comprehensive historical introduction to the development of
his own avowedly “poeticized” writings. However, along
the Brahmanical institution of sam:nya¯sa precedes Olivelle’s
with his acknowledged stature as a writer, certain features of
translation of a corpus of texts on asceticism and renuncia-
tion produced during the first millennium
his career are hardly open to doubt: his hard-won erudition,
CE.
his urbane and even cynical world experience, and his famil-
Olivelle, Patrick, ed. and trans. Rules and Regulations of Brahmani-
iarity with all aspects of the dervish way of life, both practical
cal Asceticism: Yatidharmasamuccaya of Ya¯dava Praka¯´sa. Al-
bany, N.Y., 1995. Olivelle provides a useful introduction
and theoretical.
and a translation of the earliest-known Brahmanical text
SaEd¯ı’s writings, most of which are poetry, fall into vari-
(twelfth century CE) devoted exclusively to renunciation.
ous categories and are often published in one large volume
Sinha, Surajit, and Baidyanath Saraswati. Ascetics of Kashi.
as Kull¯ıya¯t (Collected works). Once again, there is much
Va¯ra¯n:as¯ı, India, 1978. Based on anthropological fieldwork
controversy as to the period of his life to which some items
carried out in Banaras in the 1970s, this book (somewhat dif-
belong, but the two longest and most significant can be fairly
ficult to obtain), on the various sa¯dhu sects and institutions
specifically dated. These are the Bu¯sta¯n (Herb garden), com-
of the city, is one of the most generally informative.
pleted at some time in late autumn of 1257, and the Gulista¯n
Thiel-Horstmann, Monika. “On the Dual Identity of Na¯ga¯s.” In
(Rose garden), published in the spring of 1258. In the few
Devotion Divine: Bhakti Traditions from the Regions of India,
months between these two dates there occurred one of the
edited by Diana L. Eck and Françoise Mallison,
most traumatic events, at least from the psychoreligious
pp. 255–272. Groningen, Germany, and Paris, 1991. This
point of view, in the history of Islamic society: the sacking
article surveys the history and religious practices of na¯ga¯s of
the Da¯du¯ panth.
of the capital city of Baghdad and the extinction of the vener-
able Abbasid caliphate. Yet if the onrushing storm is nowhere
Tripathi, B. D. Sadhus of India: The Sociological View. Bombay,
1978. Tripathi was initiated into both Da´sana¯m¯ı and
presaged in the former work, its aftermath—at only some
Nimba¯rk¯ı sects, and secretly undertook surreptitious socio-
eight hundred kilometers’ distance—is equally passed over
logical fieldwork in the state of Uttar Pradesh in the 1960s.
in silence in the latter. There could be several plausible rea-
He gives an insider’s view and some interesting, though per-
sons to account for this idyllic detachment on the part of one
haps partial, statistics.
of Iran’s great commentators on life: one is that (other argu-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SAGAS
8023
ments notwithstanding) SaEd¯ı might have been a Sh¯ıE¯ı, and
only in the sense that the age was (and the culture still is)
no sorrier than Nas:¯ır al-D¯ın T:u¯s¯ı to see the symbol of per-
deeply permeated by the matter of religion.
ceived Sunn¯ı usurpation so drastically defaced. Certainly,
despite one or two brief and formal elegies elsewhere on the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
passing of the old order, he would soon come to offer pane-
The literature on SaEd¯ı is enormous, but most of it (apart from
gyrics to the new rulers.
articles in the standard histories of Persian literature and sim-
ilar reference works) is still not available in Western lan-
The Bu¯sta¯n is a work of some 4,100 lengthy couplets,
guages, and nearly all of it is long out of print. The standard
divided into ten unequal sections, the rich content of which
monograph, which reviews virtually everything worthwhile
is only approximately indicated by such general titles as “On
prior to its own date, is Henri Massé’s Essai sur le poète Saadi
Humility,” “On Contentment,” and so forth. Though clear-
(Paris, 1919).
ly grounded in a rather humane, mystically tinged Islamic,
Editions of SaEd¯ı’s works in Persian are countless; practically none
and even pre-Islamic, tradition, it is ethical, moralistic, and
of them are in any sense critical. As to translations, few of
edifying rather than religious in any strict sense. An element
the individual poems have been satisfactorily rendered into
of entertainment, rarely missing from such works in Persian
any Western languages. There are, however, reliable and re-
at any time, is provided by frequent variation of matter, style,
cent English renderings of the two major works: the Bu¯sta¯n,
and pace, and by the inclusion of some 160 illustrative stories
which I have translated with an introduction and notes as
Morals Pointed and Tales Adorned (Toronto, 1974), and The
(some quite short and not designated as such). At the same
Gulista¯n or Rose Garden of Sa Ed¯ı, translated by Edward Re-
time, the poem is not merely exhortatory, but reflective and
hatsek (1888), which I have revised with an introduction
in places almost ecstatic. Yet if it achieves a beneficial moral
(New York, 1965). Both of these contain further biblio-
effect, it does so primarily through its incomparable style and
graphical information.
narrative power: at virtually all points throughout its lengthy
sweep, it is fluent, elegant, graphic, colorful, witty, paradoxi-
New Sources
Daniel, Marc. “Arab Civilisation and Male Love.” In Reclaiming
cal, and above all epigrammatic.
Sodom. Edited by Jonathan Goldberg. New York, 1994.
The Gulista¯n, SaEd¯ı would have us believe, is a hasty
Murray, Stephen O., and Will Roscoe, eds. Islamic Homosexuali-
compound of material left over from the Bu¯sta¯n. Superficial-
ties: Culture, History, and Literature. New York, 1997.
ly, it is certainly quite similar in subject matter, but it is
Roth, Norman. “Fawn of My Delights: Boy-Love in Hebrew and
much more obviously a work of art and light entertainment.
Arabic Verse.” In Sex in the Middle Ages, edited by Joyce E.
Arranged in eight main sections, again of considerable vague-
Salisbury. New York, 1991.
ness as to central theme, it is primarily a collection of stories,
Schmitt, Arno, and Jehoeda Sofer, eds. Sexuality and Eroticism
told in exemplary (often rhyming) Persian prose with verse
among Males in Moslem Societies. New York, 1991.
embellishments in both Persian and Arabic. The general tone
Wilson, Peter Lamborn. Scandal: Essays in Islamic Heresy. New
is much less lofty than that of the Bu¯sta¯n; indeed, it is fre-
York, 1988.
quently quite worldly, even cynical and flippant. Despite
this, it has always been the more popular of the two in both
G. M. WICKENS (1987)
Revised Bibliography
East and West, though manuscripts and editions of both
have been reproduced beyond counting, so quintessentially
Persian are they held to be.
S:ADR AL-D¯IN SH¯IRA¯Z¯I SEE MULLA¯ S:ADRA¯
Apart from a few prose essays, the rest of SaEd¯ı’s writings
consists largely of monorhyming poems of two kinds: the
long qas:¯ıdah (some forty double lines or more) and the
SAGAS are long prose narratives in Old Norse written pri-
shorter, more lyrical ghazal (of a dozen double lines or so).
marily in Iceland between approximately 1180 and 1500.
These poems are usually classified in various arbitrary ways
They are generally categorized by their subject matter. The
having little or nothing to do with their essential character.
kinds of sagas important for the study of Norse paganism are
Quite a few are circumstantial and panegyric, and some (not
the kings’ sagas, which are biographies of Scandinavian kings
included in most editions) are downright obscene. Excepting
(related sagas are about the Scandinavian earls of the Ork-
a few in Arabic, nearly all of them are in SaEd¯ı’s native Per-
neys and the Faeroes); family sagas (or “sagas of the Iceland-
sian, and the great majority anticipate H:a¯fiz: (d. 1389?) in
ers”), which recount the histories of Iceland and Greenland
ambiguously using the language of earthly love for mystical
from their settlement in the ninth and tenth centuries up to
statement or vice versa. SaEd¯ı was a complex character, clearly
about 1030 (a related text is Landnámabók [Book of the
vain of his own literary skill and disingenuous about his loy-
Land-Takings], an account of the settling of Iceland, which
alties, and his allegedly religious utterances, however sub-
began around 870); and mythical-heroic sagas, which describe
lime, can rarely be taken at simple face value. Indeed, he
adventures taking place in Scandinavia before the settlement
often warns his readers against taking any of his words too
of Iceland. All three groups of texts contain material relating
literally. His supreme achievement was to speak with the
to Scandinavian paganism, mythology, and other non-
voice of his age and his culture, and his writings are religious
Christian beliefs and practices.
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8024
SAGAS
The kings’ sagas about Olaf Tryggvason and Olaf Ha-
Þórr’s shrine in Norway, marking his boundaries with fire,
raldsson describe their efforts to convert Norway and Iceland
and building a new temple near his home. The association
to Christianity in the period from 995 to 1030, including
of Þórr with the land, with the choice of a sacred field for
their encounters with pagan gods, temples, idols, and believ-
the Law Assembly, and the taking of oaths on a sacred ring
ers. The legendary history of the early kings presents the
appears authentic. The mythical-heroic saga Gautreks saga
Swedish royal family as the descendants of Freyr and wor-
(Saga of Gautrek) describes Starkaðr the Old, a famous war-
shippers of Óðinn. It also includes myths not found else-
rior renowned for the talents Óðinn bestowed on him. His
where, some of which (such as the story that the giantess
mother dedicated him to the god before birth in return for
Skaði married Óðinn after she separated from Njörðr) may
help in a brewing contest, and when he grew to manhood,
be medieval inventions. Family sagas contain characters who
Óðinn was compelled by Þórr’s curse to cause Starkaðr to
are pagan priests, seeresses, witches, and sorcerers, and they
commit terrible deeds, such as the sacrificial death (by hang-
describe rituals such as fortune-telling, “baptism,” funerals,
ing and stabbing with a spear) of the king he served. One
sanctifications of land and temples, oath-taking, and sacri-
version of the king’s saga about Olaf Tryggvason includes a
fices. Mythical-heroic sagas, some of which draw on pagan
tale about a fugitive Icelander who joined the priestess of
myth and legend, treat all of the above, although their setting
Freyr as she traveled from farm to farm in Sweden in a chari-
in the legendary past and their cast of heroes, gods, and mon-
ot with a statue of Freyr; this was believed to bring good har-
sters make their accounts of paganism seem less realistic than
vests. The young man soon substituted himself for the statue,
those of the other kinds of sagas, which tend to a more factu-
and when the priestess became pregnant the people took it
al-seeming style.
as a sign of divine favor. Although this episode is probably
Although this material may possibly be accurate, some-
intended to mock paganism, the practice it describes is con-
how preserved by oral tradition, the saga authors are general-
firmed from other sources, such as Tacitus’s description of
ly writing long after the fact and are interpreting (if not in-
the procession of Nerthus.
venting) the tale for reasons of their own and according to
Two priestesses are mentioned in Landnámabók; these
their Christian worldview. For example, authors of the fami-
Icelandic women are also distinguished by being related to
ly sagas often wanted to show that the beliefs and social insti-
the local chieftains. One was the wife of Þorvaldr Koðráns-
tutions of pagan Icelanders prefigured those of a fully Chris-
son, and the story goes that, during the efforts to spread
tian society. A later saga author could also borrow from an
Christianity in Iceland, Þorvaldr was assisting in the preach-
earlier saga, so the existence of some element of paganism in
ing at the Assembly but his wife remained at home, offering
more than one saga is not necessarily proof of its origin in
a sacrifice at a temple. When considering such a report, it
the shared pagan heritage. It is just as likely to derive from
must be remembered that medieval Christianity associated
vague memories and popular tradition, deliberate antiquari-
the male with the spiritual and the female with the carnal,
an reconstruction, or the writer’s own suppositions as to
and the sagas therefore contain many episodes in which a
what the old religion was like. For instance, the account in
woman promoting or defending paganism is defeated by a
the family saga Hrafnkels saga (Saga of Hrafnkell) of a sacred
man’s efforts to promote Christianity. In the family saga
horse shared by the hero with the god Freyr, which he swore
Njáls saga (Saga of Njál), it is a woman who forcefully de-
that no man should ride, on pain of death, is now generally
fends the pagan faith and even attempts to convert King Olaf
recognized as a late and fictitious presentation of heathen be-
Tryggvason’s missionary, the priest Þangbrandr. The king’s
liefs and practices unlikely to have been part of pagan cul-
saga about Olaf Haraldsson includes a tale in which a farm-
ture. Similarly, the description of a heathen temple in the
wife has her household worshipping a preserved horse’s
family saga Eyrbyggja saga (Saga of the People who Lived at
penis; when King Olaf hears of this, he travels to their remote
Eyr) is now considered a learned reconstruction. Nonethe-
district and preaches Christianity to them in person. Another
less, traces of the old heathen religion and its rituals are pre-
female-led ritual practice that occurred within the household
served in the sagas, and increasingly reliable the lower the re-
was seiðr, a kind of divination that, according to myth, was
ligious plane, as simple magical practices that surely
taught by Freyja, the Vanir goddess of love. It could be used
continued to be performed into the Christian era.
for black magic, but its purpose in several sagas is to predict
The sagas attest to a belief in landvættir (land spirits),
the future and men’s fates. A famous description of it is in
who can bring luck in farming and fishing, and they depict
the family saga Eiríks saga rauða (Erik the Red’s Saga), where
pagans devoting themselves to Þórr (a protector against bad
a famine in Greenland prompts one of the leaders of the
weather at sea and the god who supports order in the com-
community to invite a seeress to a feast. She wears special
munity), Óðinn (a sower of strife but also the god who en-
clothing and is fed special food. The next day she obtains the
dows poets with the valuable power over words), and Freyr
help of another woman who knows the right chant; this
(the bringer of good harvests). Eyrbyggja saga chronicles the
draws many spirits to the circle of women, and the seeress
arrival from Norway of Þórólfr, a devout worshipper of Þórr
is able to forecast the end of the famine, predict famous prog-
who settles in western Iceland. He is shown choosing his land
eny for the woman who sang, and answer questions put by
at the prompting of the god, setting up pillars brought from
various individuals.
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SAGAS
8025
In contrast to the mythic origin of this practice, Landná-
Scandinavia and Anglo-Saxon England, with their well-
mabók and the king’s saga about Harald Fairhair of Norway
developed towns and trade routes, to the unique North At-
refer to seiðr and magic being learned from the Sámi or Lapps
lantic society of Iceland, which for its first four hundred years
in northern Norway. (Not quite a saga is the Norwegian Hi-
was a commonwealth of farm-based chieftains, with neither
storia Norwegiae [History of Norway], written circa 1178 to
king nor any urban center. The religion and rituals of these
1220, which gives a Latin account, purportedly based on the
cultures also varied, as do the reflexes of them found in the
testimony of a Christian eyewitness, of two Sámi shamans
sagas. In addition to the beliefs and practices that the sagas
who attempt to retrieve the missing life-soul of a woman
depict as beliefs and practices, there are also episodes that ap-
struck unconscious by an unknown adversary.) Like the cate-
pear to derive from rituals, although the saga author seems
gory of the female, the Sámi are generally deployed in the
to be unaware of their special nature. These are found in
sagas as a “cultural other,” that is, a group that is used to de-
mythical-heroic sagas based on Migration Age legends, such
fine Norse society by being the group that the Norse are not.
as Völsunga saga (Saga of the Völsungs) and Hrólfs saga kraka
Thus, both women’s magic and Sámi shamanism can, from
(Saga of Hrólf Kraki). Primarily they involve initiation cere-
the perspective of the sagas, easily be interpreted as witchcraft
monies used to mark (or make) the change of boys into
and sorcery, although witchcraft, strictly speaking, is a phe-
young warriors.
nomenon of Christian Europe. Eiríks saga’s account of the
seeress’s garb includes the detail of her cat-fur gloves, which
A thousand years later, these tribal practices had faded
is more reminiscent of European witchlore than Finno-Ugric
from memory, but knowledge of the Old Norse mythic
shamanism. The saga authors probably saw little difference
world was still a cultural resource of the Icelanders, and with-
between the seiðr of the past and thirteenth-century notions
out it the sagas cannot be fully understood. It was not the
of witches.
only cognitive category they possessed—Christianity was an-
other—but it was one means by which they could communi-
The biases just described, however, were not universal,
cate a wide range of concepts and ideas that were integral to
and several Icelandic men of good reputation are depicted
their culture. Nonetheless, the saga authors and audiences
as involved in divination and manipulative magic. The king’s
were Christians, and their use of paganism as a theme and
saga about Olaf Tryggvason includes a tale about an Iceland-
the old myths as narrative patterns was, on the largest scale,
er who can see the future, including the imminent death of
subsumed within a Christian worldview in one of several
his best friend’s son, soon to be killed by malevolent dísir,
ways—for example, by considering the age of paganism to
female spirits associated with his family, who are angry that
be the Scandinavian equivalent of the “old dispensation” (the
the family will abandon them for a new faith. The family
period before the old law of the Jews was replaced by the new
saga Egils saga Skallagrímssonar (Saga of Egill, Son of Bald
law of Christ). Paganism and pagan associations, such as
Grímr) describes one incident in which Egill cures a woman
Odinic characters, are deployed according to the Christian
who was sickened by the improper use of runes, which had
author’s view of the past or agenda for his history. Snorri
been cut into a stick that was then put into her bed. Because
Sturluson (1179–1241) emphasizes the Odinic allegiances of
the carver of the runes was incompetent, his runes made her
Earl Hákon, who is the opponent and pagan counterpart of
ill instead of infatuated. Egill cuts away the runes, burns the
King Olaf Tryggvason, the Christian who must assert politi-
shavings, and cuts new runes into the stave that restores the
cal control over his new kingdom and begin its conversion.
woman to health.
The family saga Víga-Glúms saga (Saga of Killer-Glúmr) de-
scribes an Icelandic intercult rivalry between Freyr and
Another aspect of Germanic paganism that does not in-
Óðinn. The author implies that such a proud and vengeful
volve the gods is a belief that the dead were conscious inhabi-
society can only escape its failings by accepting Christianity.
tants of their graves. A related belief, documented in Landná-
Pagan behaviors are thus shown to be embodiments of Chris-
mabók as well as Eyrbyggja saga, held that the dead spent the
tian sin. Eyrbyggja saga’s Þórólfr establishes the authority of
afterlife with their ancestors in a nearby mountain. The latter
his temple through demanding tributes from neighboring
says that the Þórr-worshipper Þórólfr brought the tradition
farms, and similar characteristics are found in the figure of
with him from Norway, and he and his son Þorsteinn are
Hrafnkell, who is deeply affectionate towards the stallion he
said to retire after their death to a certain mountain, where
has dedicated to Freyr and is kind to his own supporters,
they feast in the company of their ancestors. Helgafell (“Holy
though he forces others to become his supporters and does
Mountain”), the familial mountain in western Iceland, is
not treat them fairly. In these sagas, the oppression exercised
guarded from being defiled by bloodshed or excrement, and
by these priests probably signifies the spiritual burden and
no one is allowed to look at it without being washed. (Inter-
evil nature of paganism.
estingly, Helgafell became a thriving monastic center by the
thirteenth century.) Landnámabók notes that the descen-
dents of Auðr, a Christian settler of Iceland, reverted to Holy
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mountain worship after her death.
Many sagas are available in English translation from Penguin. The
Complete Sagas of Icelanders, 5 vols., edited by Viðar Hreins-
Pagan Germanic cultures varied widely, from the war-
son (Reykjavík, 1997), contains all the family sagas and
rior tribes known to the Romans through the kingdoms of
many related medieval tales. Stephen A. Mitchell provides a
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8026
SAHAK PARTHEV
list of English translations of the mythical-heroic sagas on
In the mid-430s, while Sahak was still alive, the canons
pages 188–190 of his Heroic Sagas and Ballads (Ithaca, N.Y.,
of the councils of Nicaea and Ephesus were brought to Ar-
1991). Lee M. Hollander translated Snorri Sturluson’s
menia and translated into Armenian, probably by Sahak
Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway (Austin, Tex.,
himself. There are also canons attributed to Sahak that are
1964; reprint, 1991). For a survey of scholarship on the
probably not authentic that are from a later period predating
sagas, see Old Norse—Icelandic Literature: A Critical Guide,
the eighth century.
edited by Carol Clover and John Lindow (Ithaca, N.Y.,
1985). Further references are found in John Lindow’s Scan-
Koriwn states that Sahak translated and adapted the
dinavian Mythology: An Annotated Bibliography (New York,
Greek liturgical texts for practical use. The exact nature of
1988). Margaret Clunies Ross treats the Norse myths and
his influence on the present-day liturgical books has still not
their reception in medieval Iceland in the two volumes of
been carefully studied. There are also hymns ascribed to him
Prolonged Echoes: Old Norse Myths in Medieval Northern Soci-
that bear the stylistic marks of later centuries. The earliest
ety (Odense, Denmark, 1994 and 1998). Thomas A. Du-
translations of the Fathers, however, were made under his su-
Bois’s Nordic Religions in the Viking Age (Philadelphia, 1999)
pervision, according to the trustworthy testimony of Koriwn.
investigates the dynamic relationship between Christianity,
Norse paganism, and the Balto-Finnish and Sámi religions.
Sahak died on September 7, 439, and was buried in
The use of saga information about pagan rituals is discussed
Ashtishat. Soon thereafter a martyrium was built over his
by Jens Peter Schjo⁄dt and Margaret Clunies Ross in Old
grave, and he was venerated as a saint. In his youth he had
Norse Myths, Literature and Society, edited by Margaret Clu-
married and fathered a daughter, who became the mother of
nies Ross (Odense, Denmark, 2003), pp. 261–299.
Vardan Mamikonian, the commander-in-chief of the Arme-
ELIZABETH ASHMAN ROWE (2005)
nian army. Sahak was the last of the bishops of Armenia who
were of the lineage of Gregory the Illuminator. He is greatly
venerated by the Armenians as a saint and honored, with
Mesrop MashtotsE, as the cofounder of the Armenian literary
SAHAK PARTHEV (d. 439) was chief bishop of Arme-
tradition.
nia from circa 387 to 439. Sahak, son of Nerses the Great,
is surnamed Parthev, or PartDew (“the Parthian”), because of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
his descent from Gregory the Illuminator and the Armeno-
Conybeare, F. C. “The Armenian Canons of Saint Sahak Catholi-
Parthian Arsacid dynasty. There is very little information
cos of Armenia.” American Journal of Theology 2 (1898):
about his early years and the first two decades of his pontifi-
828–848.
cate. The fifth-century Armenian historians Koriwn and
Garitte, Gérard, ed. La narratio de rebus Armeniae. Louvain, 1952.
Lazar of PDarpi speak for the most part about his role in the
Koriwn. Vark E Mashtots Ei. Yerevan, 1941. Translated into English
cultural movement at the time of the invention of the Arme-
by Bedros Norehad as Koriun: The Life of Mashtots (New
nian alphabet in 404 CE. Sahak, who presided over the Per-
York, 1964).
sian sector of Armenia, patronized the educational, mission-
Lazar of PDarpi. Patmut Eiwn Hayots (1763). Tbilisi, 1904. Trans-
ary, religious, and literary activities of Mesrop MashtotsE, the
lated into French by P. S. Ghésarian as “Lazare de Pharbe,
inventor of the Armenian alphabet. Sahak was instrumental
Histoire d’Arménie,” in Collection des Historiens de l’Arménie,
in the spread of literacy in the royal central provinces of Ar-
edited by Victor Langlois, vol. 2 (Paris, 1869).
menia; he personally revised the Armenian version of the
Tallon, Maurice. Livre des lettres. Beirut, 1955.
scriptures on the basis of the Septuagint and translated sever-
al works of the Fathers from Greek, a language in which he
KRIKOR H. MAKSOUDIAN (1987)
was proficient.
In 420 Sahak went to the Persian court in Ctesiphon
(near present-day Baghdad), where he intervened on behalf
SAI BABA MOVEMENT. The Sai Baba movement
of the Persian Christians who were being persecuted. In 428,
is perhaps the most popular modern South Asian religious
when the Sasanids put an end to the Arsacid dynasty of Ar-
movement. It owes its origin to Shirdi Sai Baba (d. 1918).
menia, Sahak was removed from office, since he was of Arsa-
Through one of the inheritors of his charisma, Sathya Sai
cid lineage. He was replaced by southern and Syriac bishops,
Baba (b. 1926), the movement became a transnational phe-
but evidently continued to exercise authority in spiritual
nomenon in the late twentieth century.
matters.
While most of the available literature is hagiographical
Sahak is well known for his correspondence with Patri-
in nature, scholars have studied some aspects of the move-
arch Proclus of Constantinople (434–446) and Bishop Aca-
ment, including the figures of Shirdi Sai Baba and Sathya Sai
cius of Melitene concerning the “heretical” teachings of The-
Baba, the middle-class constituency of Sathya Sai Baba, and
odore of Mopsuestia. Contact with these bishops led Sahak
the movement’s pedagogical innovations. In addition, Shirdi
to banish Theodore’s works from Armenia. A part of Sahak’s
Sai Baba has been identified with certain S:u¯f¯ı orders in Ma-
letter to Proclus was officially read during one of the sessions
harashtra and Karnataka (Shepherd, 1985), the medieval fig-
of the Second Council of Constantinople in 553.
ure of Kab¯ır (Rigopoulos, 1993), and the protean Indian
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SAI BABA MOVEMENT
8027
deity, Datta¯treya (Rigopoulos, 1998). Rigopoulos points out
About 1908, other devotees transformed the early indi-
that the “syncretistic quality of Kab¯ır’s life and teachings”
vidual worship of Shirdi Sai Baba into a congregational form
seems to have been Sai Baba’s model (1993, p. 305), and that
along the lines of the worship at Pandharpur in Maharashtra,
on one occasion Shirdi Sai Baba stated that his “religion” was
one of the most important pilgrimage centers of Hindu de-
Kab¯ır. Datta¯treya’s “interreligious eclecticism” is found in
votionalism in the region. Around this time, Shirdi Sai Baba
the Sai Baba movement: Shirdi Sai Baba was believed by his
gave up begging, and the food brought by his devotees would
devotees to be an incarnation of Datta¯treya, and Sathya Sai
be distributed after he blessed it. In 1912, certain devotees
Baba has presented himself as an incarnation of the same fig-
decided to hold a Ra¯ma Navami festival (to celebrate the
ure (Rigopoulos, 1998, p. 251). An early ethnographic study
birth of the Hindu deity, Ra¯ma) along with the urs, and this
of the Sathya Sai Baba movement by Lawrence Babb (1986)
became an annual festival at Shirdi, with Shirdi Sai Baba ac-
focuses on miracles as central moments that make the world
tively participating. In 1918, Baba had an attack of fever and
of the devotee seem like an enchanted place. While the mira-
passed away. A dispute arose as to where he should be buried.
cles of both Shirdi Sai Baba and Sathya Sai Baba (healing;
The Muslim devotees wished to lay their saint in an open
appearing in dreams to foretell the future or provide guid-
piece of land in Shirdi, while the Hindu worshipers wished
ance; producing substances, such as ash, that have sacred and
him to be buried in a building where a Kr:s:n:a image was to
salutary effects; etc.) are certainly significant, this entry ex-
have been placed. Eventually a plebiscite settled the matter
amines specific institutions, processes, texts, and practices in
in a way favorable to the Hindus.
the growth of the Sai Baba movement.
By 1918, Shirdi Sai Baba’s constituency had become in-
The authoritative account of Shirdi Sai Baba’s life, Shri
creasingly urban and his S:u¯f¯ı practices became more overlaid
Sai Satcharita, states that he arrived as a tall lad of about six-
with those identified with sectarian Hinduism. When Baba
teen in Shirdi, a small village in Maharashtra, India (Gunaji,
passed away, he had no property, while all the paraphernalia
1972, p. 20). The majority of the population there were
of worship came to be vested in the Sai Sansthan trust in
Hindu peasants, and Muslims worked mainly as artisans or
1922. The Sai Sansthan today is a vast organizational net-
agricultural laborers. He stayed for three years in Shirdi, then
work, with hotels, rooms for pilgrims, a magazine, and other
disappeared, only to return in 1858 when he began to reside
publications to cater to thousands of devotees. The sacred
in a dilapidated mosque, his belongings limited to a pipe, to-
fire still burns in Shirdi, a site that links devotees to the mem-
bacco, a tin pot, a long white robe, and a staff. He sat in front
ory of Shirdi Sai Baba and his life, and sacrificial fees are
of a sacred fire (dhuni) to ward off the cold. He never used
often collected at the temple where his tomb lies, dominated
his own name but was referred to by others as “Sai Baba.”
by his imposing white marble image. Shirdi is on the pil-
Rigopoulos suggests that Sai means “holy one” or “saint,”
grimage route for many Hindus and Muslims who regard
while Baba literally means “father” (1993, p. 3). Shirdi Sai
him as a saint who still speaks from the tomb. Today, the
Baba often used the term mendicant (fakir or faqir) when re-
devotion of Shirdi Sai Baba is a national and transnational
ferring to either himself or God. Initially, few people came
phenomenon with devotees around the world. There are
to him: the incident that transformed him almost overnight
temples dedicated to Shirdi Sai Baba in virtually every major
from a mad mendicant to a holy saint was a miracle in which
city in India and in many overseas; several popular films
he apparently converted water to oil.
about his life have been made; and while traveling in auto-
rickshaws in India, one comes across pictures of Shirdi Sai
Shirdi Sai Baba adopted modes of oral and scriptural in-
Baba pasted near the handlebars of the vehicle, alongside
struction for his followers. To some, he recommended the
those of other deities, the QurDa¯n, and movie stars.
reading of such scriptures as the Ra¯ma¯yan:a and the
Bhagavadg¯ıta¯, or he recommended simply chanting the sa-
Shirdi Sai Baba’s reassurances that even after his death
cred names of Ra¯ma, Vis:n:u, or Alla¯h. He sent other followers
he would continue to help his devotees led to the belief
to various temples, with gifts to other saints, and explained
among some that he would be reincarnated. While a number
to them the meaning of certain sacred verses, concepts, or
of persons subsequently posed as Baba reborn, the most fa-
texts, either personally or in dreams. At first, Shirdi Sai Baba
mous claim of reincarnation is that of Sathya Sai Baba, born
was worshiped through individual offerings of sandal paste
on November 23, 1926, as Sathyanarayana Raju to a peasant
and flowers. With Baba’s permission, around 1897, one of
family in Puttaparthi, a village in a drought-prone region of
his devotees (who had been blessed with a child through his
Andhra Pradesh. Sathya seems to have had a fairly normal
intervention) began the practice of holding a festival com-
early life, although biographers and oral accounts claim a
memorating the death of a Muslim saint (urs) in Shirdi. To-
number of mysterious events at the time of his birth, includ-
wards the end of the nineteenth century, Shirdi Sai Baba
ing a snake lying under his bed (interpreted as an indication
began the practice of collecting sacrificial fees (dakshina)
of the deity S´iva’s presence) and the sound of musical instru-
from the hundreds who began to flock to Shirdi. The com-
ments playing. As a child, Sathya would produce countless
plement of this was the sacred ash (udi) that Baba collected
articles from a bag for his playmates, and he also seems to
from burning logs in his sacred fire, for use in all manner of
have possessed intuitive powers. In his early teens he went
cures.
through a prolonged period of “illness” and erratic behavior
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8028
SAI BABA MOVEMENT
after apparently being stung by a black scorpion. He refused
would be reborn a few years after his passing away. The re-
to speak for long periods and would break into weeping and
casting of the memory of Shirdi Sai Baba and the prediction
song, sometimes reciting Sanskrit verses. The family took
of another incarnation, Prema Sai Baba, signaled the begin-
him to various doctors and even an exorcist, but to no avail.
ning of a massive organization and a pan-Indian and interna-
According to the official biography by N. Kasturi, on May
tional role for Sathya Sai Baba. The first all-India conference
23, 1940, Sathya announced his spiritual genealogy to be in
of Sai organizations was held in Madras in 1967, and the first
the lineage of two Indian sages, A¯pastamba and Bha¯radvaja,
world conference at Bombay in 1968. Sathya Sai Baba left
and declared that he was Sai Baba (Kasturi, 1968,
for a tour of East Africa, his first and only foreign trip, the
pp. 42–43). A few months later, he cast off his school books
same year. The year 1968 was important in other ways:
and said that his devotees were calling him.
Sathya Sai Baba established an arts and sciences college for
women in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh (a similar institu-
At first, Sathya Sai Baba resided in the garden of an ex-
tion was founded in 1969 in Bangalore for men). In 1981
cise inspector’s bungalow and taught what is considered his
Sathya Sai Baba established the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of
first devotional song (bhajan), singing that meditating on
Higher Learning, which eventually achieved university sta-
one’s spiritual preceptor (guru¯) could take one across the dif-
tus. He later inaugurated two “super-specialty” medical insti-
ficult sea of existence. He lived in the house of a Brahman
tutes in Puttaparthi (1990–1991) and Bangalore (2000).
woman named Subbamma till about 1944 or 1945, and then
One of the most ambitious of Baba’s projects provides drink-
he relocated to a building constructed for him by a group
ing water for Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh—a proj-
of devotees. By 1950 a hermitage called Prasanthi Nilayam
ect completed in 1996, after only one year of work.
was completed on the outskirts of Puttaparthi. Witnesses
carefully recorded the details of his maturing ministry: he
Apart from the central hermitage in Puttaparthi, there
performed miracles, granted boons to devotees who gravitat-
is a second center of the Sathya Sai Baba movement in Ban-
ed towards Puttaparthi, and visited towns and cities in south
galore called Brindavan, and Baba also maintains residences
India. The appearance of Sathya Sai Baba in dreams, the ap-
in Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai. Four main festivals
pearance of sacred ash and honey on photographs of Sathya
have been celebrated at these centers since the early years:
Sai Baba and other holy figures in homes, reports of healings,
Sathya Sai Baba’s birthday, S´ivaratri in February/March
and so on, formed an ever-growing fund of folklore; Sathya
(dedicated to S´iva), Guru¯ Pu¯rn:ima¯ in July (dedicated to
Sai Baba himself has referred to these as his “calling cards.”
one’s spiritual preceptor), and a nine-day autumn festival
The watershed in his career occurred in 1957, when he left
called Dasara. Today, a number of other holidays—for ex-
for his first tour of northern Indian cities and sacred sites;
ample, Christmas, Buddha’s birthday, New Year festivals,
thereafter his public role came to be voiced distinctly. He
and so on—have been added to the list, and the older festi-
spoke at gatherings of devotees and at temples, hospitals,
vals have become more elaborate. Thousands travel to Putta-
schools, and language associations, sharing platforms with
parthi to celebrate Sathya Sai Baba’s birthday and to partici-
government ministers, educators, and other religious leaders.
pate in other festivals.
Sathya Sai Baba has categorized his life in terms of three
There is a vast and growing corpus of literature on
time periods. He stated as far back as 1953 (Sathya Sai Baba,
Sathya Sai Baba. Apart from accounts of devotees’ experi-
1999, p. 3) that the first sixteen years of his life were a period
ences, the official biography, and publications of the Sathya
of childhood miracles and divine sport. The second period
Sai Central Trust, Baba’s own discourses and works are cen-
witnessed the centrality of divine miracles, and after his thir-
tral to the movement. The first category within them is a set
ty-second year the task was spiritual instruction and the guid-
of books that are discourses called “streams” (vahini) on spe-
ing of humanity back to the path of truth (sathya), righteous-
cific themes, such as meditation, peace, knowledge, and so
ness (dharma), peace (shanthi), and love (prema). Sathya Sai
on, aimed at the clarification of spiritual truths. The second
Baba was using the term incarnation (avatar) at least as early
category includes his exegeses on different scriptures. Sathya
as 1955 to describe himself and his mission to reform hu-
Sai Baba is an indefatigable public speaker—he speaks main-
manity. He also declared a disinterest in creating a new reli-
ly in Telugu—and he gives lectures to devotees, students, vil-
gious path, for the divine had a million names and forms
lagers, and other religious organizations. Summer Showers in
leading to God. The giant architectural symbol of this uni-
Brindavan are speeches given by him to college students dur-
versalism is the Sarva Dharma Stupa, an enormous pillar in
ing courses held for them. The newsletter, Sanathana Sarathi
his hermitage with symbols from five “world” religions—
(“The eternal charioteer,” a reference to Kr:s:n:a), devoted to
Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Zoroas-
the moral and spiritual awakening of humanity, was inaugu-
trianism.
rated in 1958. Many of Sathya Sai Baba’s speeches find their
way into Sanathana Sarathi. Others have been collected in
Although Sathya Sai Baba had earlier indicated that he
more than thirty volumes titled Sathya Sai Speaks.
was the incarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, on Guru¯ Pu¯rn:ima¯
day in 1963 he made the startling announcement that he was
A central aspect of the Sathya Sai Baba movement is the
the divine bi-unity of S´iva and S´akti (male and female princi-
casting of the relationship between ancient values and mo-
ples of divinity). He also announced that a third Sai Baba
dernity in terms of the Sai golden age, a millenarian process
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SAICHO
¯
8029
in which all followers have a role to play. The path laid down
Rigopoulos, Antonio. Datta¯treya, the Immortal Guru, Yogin, and
by Sathya Sai Baba for devotees comprises three sets of activi-
Avata¯ra: A Study of the Transformative and Inclusive Charac-
ties: (1) spiritual activities, including devotional singing,
ter of a Multi-Faceted Hindu Deity. Albany, N.Y., 1998.
study circles of Sai teachings, and meditation; (2) education-
Sathya Sai Baba. Sathya Sai Speaks, vol. 1: 1953–1960. Prasanthi
al activities, including a program in human values for chil-
Nilayam, India, 1999.
dren; and (3) service activities, including the organizing of
Shepherd, Kevin. Gurus Rediscovered: Biographies of Sai Baba of
medical camps, blood donations, the feeding of the poor,
Shirdi and Upasni Maharaj of Sakori. Cambridge, U.K.,
emergency relief, and adoption of underdeveloped villages.
1985.
The devotional songs are essentially utterances of the names
Srinivas, Smriti. “The Brahmin and the Fakir: Suburban Religiosi-
of God, and they form the spiritual center of the movement
ty in the Cult of Shirdi Sai Baba.” Journal of Contemporary
and a devotee’s everyday life. Every week, men and women
Religion 14, no. 2 (1999): 245–261.
may gather to sing for about an hour in front of pictures of
Srinivas, Smriti. “The Advent of the Avatar: The Urban Following
Sathya Sai Baba (and sometimes, Shirdi Sai Baba, Jesus, Bud-
of Sathya Sai Baba and Its Construction of Tradition.” In
dha, and others, depending on the constituency) and an
Charisma and Canon: Essays on the Religious History of the In-
empty chair that signifies his presence. The Human Values
dian Subcontinent, edited by Vasudha Dalmia, Angelika
program for children is meant to create a firm spiritual basis
Malinar, and Martin Christof, pp. 293–309. Delhi, 2001.
for future society by focusing on the moral education of chil-
Swallow, D. A. “Ashes and Powers: Myth, Rite, and Miracle in
dren. Members are also enjoined to engage in service to soci-
an Indian God-Man’s Cult.” Modern Asian Studies 16
ety, a reflection of Baba’s philosophy that devotion and ser-
(1982): 123–158.
vice are intertwined practices and that the body is the site for
White, Charles. “The Sai Baba Movement: Approaches to the
realizing the self. Practices such as devotional singing, medi-
Study of Indian Saints.” Journal of Asian Studies 31 (1972):
tation, or social service become the path by which the self
863–878.
is realized.
SMRITI SRINIVAS (2005)
The Sathya Sai centers, or samitis, were instituted by
Sathya Sai Baba to be the main venue for these activities. The
first was registered in 1965 in Mumbai. By 2002 there were
8,447 centers in India and about 9,000 in other parts of the
SAICHO
¯ (767–822), also known by his posthumous title
world. The main function of the centers is to undertake spiri-
Dengyo¯ Daishi; founder of Japanese Tendai, a sect derived
tual, educational, and service activities under the inspiration
from the teachings and practices of the Chinese Tiantai
and guidance of Sathya Sai Baba and the Sri Sathya Sai Seva
school.
Organization’s 1981 charter. The organization is meant for
LIFE. Saicho¯ was born into a family of devout Buddhists. At
all and does not recognize any distinctions based on religion,
the age of twelve he went to study at the provincial temple
caste, color, or creed. Its fundamental objective is to awaken
in O
¯ mi. There he studied under Gyo¯hyo¯ (722–797), a disci-
the awareness of inner divinity by propagating through prac-
ple of Daoxuan (702–760), the Chinese monk who had
tice and example the basic principles emphasized by Sathya
brought Northern School Chan, Kegon (Chin., Huayan)
Sai Baba.
teachings, and the Fanwang precepts to Japan in 736.
Saicho¯’s studies of meditation and Kegon “one-vehicle”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(Skt., ekaya¯na; Jpn., ichijo¯) doctrines during this period in-
Babb, Lawrence A. Redemptive Encounters: Three Modern Styles in
fluenced his lifelong doctrinal predilections. Shortly after he
the Hindu Tradition. Berkeley, Calif., 1986.
was ordained in 785, he decided to climb Mount Hiei. He
Gokak, V. K. Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba: An Interpretation.
remained there for approximately a decade to meditate and
New Delhi, 1989.
study. During his retreat, Saicho¯ read about Chinese Tiantai
meditation practice in Kegon texts and managed to obtain
Gunaji, N. V. Shri Sai Satcharita. Adapted from the original by
Govind Raghunath Dabholkar. 6th ed. Shirdi, India, 1972.
several Tiantai texts that had been brought to Japan by Jianz-
hen (Ganjin, 688–763) in 754 but had subsequently been
Kasturi, N. Sathyam Sivam Sundaram. Part I. 7th ed. Prasanthi
ignored by Japanese monks.
Nilayam, India, 1968.
Kasturi, N. Sathyam Sivam Sundaram. Part II. Prasanthi Nilayam,
The capital of Japan was moved from Nara to Nagaoka
India, 1968.
in 784, and then to Kyoto in 795. Mount Hiei was located
to the northeast of Kyoto, a direction considered dangerous
Kasturi, N. Sathyam Sivam Sundaram. Part III. Bombay, 1972.
by geomancers, but Saicho¯’s presence on the mountain pro-
Kasturi, N. Sathyam Sivam Sundaram. Part IV. Prasanthi
tected the new capital and brought him to the attention of
Nilayam, India, 1980.
the court. In addition, the court was interested in reforming
Klass, Morton. Singing with Sai Baba: The Politics of Revitalization
Buddhism by patronizing serious monks without political as-
in Trinidad. Boulder, Colo., 1991.
pirations and by supporting those teachings that would
Rigopoulos, Antonio. The Life and Teachings of Sai Baba of Shirdi.
bridge the traditional rivalry between the Hosso¯ (Yoga¯ca¯ra)
Albany, N.Y., and Delhi, 1993.
and Sanron (Madhyamaka) schools. Soon various court no-
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SAICHO
¯
8030
bles, especially those of the Wake clan, began to show an in-
positions at court. Two texts, the Sange gakusho¯ shiki (Rules
terest in Saicho¯. With court support, Saicho¯ traveled to
for Tendai students) and the Kenkairon (Treatise elucidating
China in 804 to obtain Tiantai texts and to study with Chi-
the precepts) concern Saicho¯’s proposals on administration
nese teachers. During his eight months there, he received ini-
and monastic discipline.
tiations into a variety of Buddhist traditions, including the
In addition, Saicho¯ criticized the Sifenlu (Dharmagup-
Tiantai school, Oxhead Chan, the Fanwang precepts (a set
taka Vinaya) precepts, which traditionally had been con-
of fifty-eight Mahayana disciplinary rules), and Esoteric
ferred at ordination in China and Japan. He argued that the
Buddhism.
Sifenlu were H¯ınaya¯nist rules that would cause the recipient
Upon his return to Japan in 805, Saicho¯ discovered that
to retrogress, not progress, in his religious practice. The
his brief studies of Esoteric Buddhism attracted more atten-
Sifenlu precepts were to be replaced with the Fanwang pre-
tion than his mastery of Tendai teachings. Saicho¯’s major pa-
cepts, a set of Mahayana precepts traditionally used in East
tron, Emperor Kammu (r. 781–806), was ill, and Saicho¯
Asia to inculcate Mahayana attitudes in monks, nuns, and
used Esoteric rituals in an attempt to restore Kammu’s
lay believers, but not to ordain laypeople as monks or nuns.
health. Shortly before Kammu died the court awarded
The adoption of the Fanwang precepts was intended to
Saicho¯ two yearly ordinands, one in Tendai and one in Eso-
strengthen monastic discipline on Mount Hiei by providing
teric Buddhism. This event marked the formal establishment
the monks with a more relevant guide to conduct than the
of the Tendai school.
Sifenlu precepts. After the yearly ordinands had completed
Saicho¯ spent the next few years studying Esoteric Bud-
their twelve years on Mount Hiei, many of them were to re-
dhism, but his efforts were overshadowed by the return of
ceive official appointments as administrators of monastic af-
Ku¯kai (774–835) from China in 806. Ku¯kai’s knowledge of
fairs in the provinces. During their terms, they were to de-
Esoteric Buddhist practice and doctrine was clearly superior
vote much of their time to projects that would benefit the
to that of Saicho¯. Although Saicho¯ and some of his disciples
populace. Saicho¯ expected these activities to contribute to
went to study with Ku¯kai and borrowed Esoteric texts from
the spread of Tendai influence.
him, by 816 irreconcilable differences on doctrinal issues, a
Saicho¯’s proposals were vehemently opposed by the
dispute over the loan of certain Esoteric texts, and the defec-
Hosso¯ and other Nara schools because their approval would
tion of Taihan (778–858?), one of Saicho¯’s most able disci-
have entailed implicit recognition of Saicho¯’s criticisms of
ples, ended Saicho¯’s hopes of mastering Esoteric Buddhism.
Hosso¯ doctrine and practice. In addition, the proposals
During the years that Saicho¯ studied Esoteric Bud-
would have removed Tendai monks from the supervision of
dhism, more than half of the Tendai yearly ordinands left
the Office of Monastic Affairs (Sogo). The court, not wish-
Mount Hiei. Many of them defected to the Hosso¯ school;
ing to become involved in disputes between schools, hesitat-
others departed in order to study Esoteric Buddhism with
ed to act on Saicho¯’s proposals. As a result, Saicho¯ died with-
Ku¯kai or to support their ailing mothers. It became clear that
out seeing his reforms approved; however, one week after
if Tendai were to survive, Saicho¯ would have to retain many
Saicho¯’s death the court approved the proposals as a posthu-
more of his students on Mount Hiei. During the last five or
mous tribute.
six years of his life, Saicho¯ strove to secure the place of Ten-
THOUGHT. Most of Saicho¯’s works were polemical and de-
dai within Japanese Buddhism, and in the process composed
signed either to prove that Tendai doctrine and practice were
almost all of his major works.
superior to that of any of the other schools of Japanese Bud-
Saicho¯’s activities during this period can be divided into
dhism or to argue that the Tendai school should be free of
two categories. First, he defended Tendai doctrines and med-
any supervision by other schools. In his defense of Tendai
itation practices against attacks by the Hosso¯ monk Tokuitsu
interests, Saicho¯ discussed a number of issues that played im-
(d. 841?). Two of Saicho¯’s major works, the Shugo kokkaisho¯
portant roles in later Japanese religious history.
(Essays on protecting the nation) and the Hokke shu¯ku (Ele-
Saicho¯ had an acute sense of the flow of Buddhist histo-
gant words on the Lotus Su¯tra) were written during this peri-
ry. The teachings of the Lotus Su¯tra, the text that contained
od. Saicho¯ argued that everyone could attain Buddhahood
the Buddha’s ultimate teaching according to the Tendai
and that many could do so in their present lifetime through
school, had been composed in India and then transmitted
Tendai and Esoteric practices. He firmly rejected the Hosso¯
to China. Japan, Saicho¯ believed, would be the next site for
argument that the attainment of Buddhahood required aeons
the rise of the “one-vehicle” teachings propagated by Tendai.
of practice and that some people would never be able to at-
Saicho¯ was conversant with theories on the decline of Bud-
tain it. Second, Saicho¯ proposed major reforms in the Tendai
dhism and believed that he was living at the end of the Period
educational system, in monastic discipline, and in the ordi-
of Counterfeit Dharma (zo¯matsu), described as an era in
nation system. Saicho¯ suggested that Tendai monks be or-
which many monks would be corrupt and covetous.
dained on Mount Hiei, where they would be required to re-
main for the next twelve years without venturing outside the
Although Saicho¯ believed major changes were needed
monastery’s boundaries. Ordinations were to be supervised
in Japanese Buddhism, he did not use theories on the decline
by lay administrators (zoku betto¯) who also held important
of Buddhism to justify doctrinal innovations, as did some of
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SAID, EDWARD W.
8031
the founders of the Kamakura schools. Rather, Saicho¯ argued
teachings to the faculties of the religious practitioner so that
that because Buddhism in the capital had declined, monks
enlightenment could be rapidly attained.
should retreat to the mountains to practice assiduously.
SEE ALSO Mappo¯; Shingonshu¯; Tendaishu¯.
Many of Saicho¯’s doctrinal innovations were based on
his belief that the religious aptitude of the Japanese people
as a whole had matured to the point where they no longer
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Saicho¯’s works have been collected in Dengyo¯ Daishi zenshu¯, 5
needed any form of Buddhism other than the “perfect teach-
vols. (1926; reprint, Tokyo, 1975). Important collections of
ings” (engyo¯) of the Tendai school. Earlier Buddhist thinkers
Japanese scholarship are Dengyo¯ Daishi kenkyu¯, 5 vols.
had also been interested in the manner in which the religious
(Tokyo, 1973–1980), and Shioiri Ryo¯do¯’s Saicho¯ (Tokyo,
faculties of people matured, but had usually discussed the
1982). For studies in English, see the following:
process in terms of individuals rather than Religious training
Abé, Ryu¯ichi. “Saicho¯ and Ku¯kai: A Conflict of Interpretations.”
for people with “perfect faculties” (enki, i. e., those whose re-
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 22.1–2 (1995): 103–137.
ligious faculties respond to the “perfect teachings”) was based
Groner, Paul. Saicho¯: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai
on the threefold study (sangaku) of morality, meditation, and
School. Honolulu, 2000.
doctrine. Saicho¯ believed that Tiantai teachings on medita-
tion and doctrine were adequate, although they could be
Groner, Paul. “The Lotus Su¯tra and Saicho¯’s Interpretation of the
Realization of Buddhahood with This Very Body.” In The
supplemented by Esoteric Buddhism. However, he was dis-
Lotus Su¯tra in Japanese Culture, edited by George Tanabe
satisfied with the traditional Tiantai position on morality,
and Willa Tanabe, pp. 53–74. Honolulu, 1989.
which maintained that a monk could follow the Sifenlu pre-
cepts with a Mahayana mind. Saicho¯ argued that adherence
Tamura, Ko¯yu¯. “The Doctrinal Dispute Between the Tendai and
the Hosso¯ Sects.” Acta Asiatica 47 (1984): 48–81.
to the Sifenlu would cause a monk to retrogress toward
H¯ınaya¯na goals. Tendai practices could be realized only by
PAUL GRONER (1987 AND 2005)
using the Mahayana Fanwang precepts for ordinations and
monastic discipline.
Chinese Tiantai had been a syncretistic tradition, partic-
SAID, EDWARD W. (1935–2003) is best known as
ularly at the Tiantai Yuquan monastery. Chinese monks had
the author of the influential and widely read Orientalism
been interested in Chan and Esotertic Buddhism as well as
(1978), a study of the modes of thought and writing which
in the Sifenlu and Fanwang precepts. Saicho¯ inherited this
have created a Manichean and essentialist divide between
tradition, but developed certain aspects of it in innovative
“the Orient” and “the Occident” since the eighteenth centu-
ways. For example, Saicho¯ considered Esoteric Buddhism to
ry. In his introduction to the book Said argues that one must
be essentially the same as Tendai (enmitsu itchi) and thus
grasp the remarkable consistency of thought and method
awarded Esoteric Buddhism a more central place in the Ten-
which underpins Western representations of the Arab Mus-
dai tradition than it had been given by most Chinese monks.
lim world across the centuries if one is to understand proper-
Like Ku¯kai, Saicho¯ emphasized the importance of striving
ly “the enormously systematic discipline by which European
for enlightenment as an immediate goal to be attained in this
[and later American] culture was able to manage—and even
existence (sokushin jo¯butsu). Tendai and Esoteric practices,
produce—the Orient politically, sociologically, militarily,
he felt, provided a direct path (jikido¯) to enlightenment,
ideologically, scientifically, and imaginatively during the
whereas the teachings of the Nara schools required aeons to
post-Enlightenment period” (p. 3). No other single work has
bring the practitioner to enlightenment.
had a greater formative influence than Orientalism on de-
The Chinese Tiantai systems for classifying teachings
bates about the representation of non-Western cultures with-
(kyo¯han) developed by Zhiyi (538–597) had been designed
in the discourses of the West, on the historical and theoreti-
to demonstrate how the “perfect teachings” of the Lotus
cal understanding of the dynamics of culture and power
Su¯tra revealed the ultimate meaning of all other Buddhist
between center and periphery in colonial and postcolonial
traditions and could be used to unify and interpret various
contexts, or, more specifically, on the ways in which knowl-
Buddhist doctrines. Later, as the competition between
edge of Islam and the Arab Muslim world has been shaped
Tiantai and other schools intensified, Tiantai scholars such
or misshaped in Europe and America.
as Zhanran (711–782) developed classification systems that
But Said’s writing career was a long and productive one
demonstrated the complete superiority of the Lotus Sutra
and his intellectual interests were marked by a rare and im-
over other teachings. Saicho¯’s rejection of Hosso¯ doctrine
pressive range. He wrote with authority and passion on liter-
and the Sifenlu precepts was based on the later Tiantai classi-
ature, politics, and Western classical music; and he worked
fication systems. Saicho¯ also developed his own systems,
with equal ease and effectiveness in academia as well as in the
which emphasized the importance of relying on the Bud-
world of the popular media. Diverse as the books, collections
dha’s words from such texts as the Lotus Sutra, rather than
of essays, newspaper articles, reviews, and interviews are, a
on the commentaries (´sa¯stras) used by the Hosso¯ and Sanron
number of common threads tie them together. Said was con-
schools. In addition, he stressed the importance of matching
cerned throughout his career with the nature and function
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SAID, EDWARD W.
of secular criticism (and so also with its religious opposite),
ical certainties. As William D. Hart has pointed out in his
with the relationship of knowledge to power, of culture to
important Edward Said and the Religious Effects of Culture
imperial histories, with the experience of exile and diaspora
(2000), Said’s defense of secular criticism is necessarily
within modernity, and above all with the role of the intellec-
haunted by the specter of the religious, understood in both
tual in the contemporary world. His forceful defense of secu-
the literal and the figurative senses. Quoting Said himself,
lar humanism and of the public role of the intellectual, as
Hart notes that “the object of Said’s critique, and what he
much as his trenchant critiques of Orientalism and his unwa-
holds to be distinctive of religious discourse, is the appeal to
vering advocacy of the Palestinian cause, made Said one of
‘the extrahuman, the vague abstraction, the divine, the eso-
the most internationally influential cultural commentators
teric and the secret’” (p. 10). Just as some critics have rightly
writing out of the United States in the last quarter of the
argued that Orientalism has a tendency to create a monolithic
twentieth century.
version of Western discourse lacking an adequate sense of
Said was born into an extremely well-to-do Christian
historical and individual variation, so Hart is also right to
family in Jerusalem in 1935. His father, Wadie, a Protestant,
suggest that Said has a tendency to slip into antireligious cli-
had immigrated to the United States before the First World
ché and that he does not fully acknowledge the ways in
War and had returned to the Middle East with American cit-
which religious practices can become “a site of hegemonic
izenship after volunteering for service in France. Upon his
struggle by subaltern classes (the ruled) against the ruling
return he had married the daughter of a Baptist minister. Out
class” (p. 37).
of Place (1999), a memoir of Said’s years of childhood in Pal-
If the idea of the religious was a constitutive deep struc-
estine, Cairo, and Lebanon, describes his sense of distance
ture in Said’s thought, the actual religion of Islam, the cul-
from his disciplinarian father and his lonely retreat into the
world of novels and classical music. The Cairo School for
ture that it has produced, and the reception of that culture
American Children and Victoria College were among the
in the West also preoccupied Said. Of central importance
schools Said attended as a boy. When he was expelled from
here is the trilogy of books which perhaps more than any
Victoria College in 1951, his parents decided to send him
others define the key concerns and methods of Said’s post-
to Mount Hermon, a preparatory school in the United
1967 career: Orientalism, The Question of Palestine (1979),
States.
and Covering Islam (1981; revised 1997). Where Orientalism
provides a sweeping literary and cultural survey, The Ques-
Said was an accomplished student and pianist and spoke
tion of Palestine is concerned with the immediacy of contem-
several languages. He went on to graduate from Princeton,
porary politics and attempts to offer an account of the emer-
to gain a Ph.D. from Harvard, and, in 1963, to join the fac-
gence of Palestinian nationhood in its confrontation with
ulty at Columbia University in New York, where later he be-
Zionism and Israel. Covering Islam offers yet another per-
came a professor of English and comparative literature.
spective on the relationship of the Arab Muslim world and
Though he seemed confidently embarked on what promised
the West by providing a scorching account of the representa-
to be a successful career as a literary scholar, Said was jolted
tion of Islam and the Muslim world in the Western media.
by the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, the Arab defeat, and what
It is the argument of Covering Islam that the indiscriminate
he saw as the almost universal pro-Israeli stance in the United
use of the label “Islam” to explain almost everything that
States, into a newly politicized sense of his own Palestinian
happens in the Arab world is a violent but persistent simplifi-
and exilic identity and of Palestinian and Arab history. How-
cation. This label of “Islam,” writes Said in the revised edi-
ever, as important as 1967 proved to be, one should not for-
tion, “defines a relatively small proportion of what actually
get that the focus of Said’s Ph.D. is Joseph Conrad (1857–
takes place in the Islamic world, which numbers a billion
1924), himself an exile and among the most incisive analysts
people, and includes dozens of countries, societies, tradi-
of the imperial project in modern literature—and a touch-
tions, languages, and, of course, an infinite number of differ-
stone for Said throughout his career.
ent experiences” (p. xvi). For Said, the label also obscures the
Said’s first book was Joseph Conrad and the Fiction of Au-
fact that it is “secularism, rather than fundamentalism”
tobiography (1966), and his second major work was Begin-
which has “held Arab Muslim societies together” (p. xxvi).
nings (1975), an ambitious attempt to examine the notion
It was Said’s aim to use “the skills of a good critical reader
of the point of departure in literature. Later works on litera-
to disentangle sense from nonsense” and to ask “the right
ture developed more political and historical perspectives.
questions”: “At that point humanistic knowledge begins and
Culture and Imperialism (1993), a sequel of sorts to Oriental-
communal responsibility for that knowledge begins to be
ism, examines the constitutive role of empire in major works
shouldered” (p. lix). Few intellectuals have done more to ad-
of Western literature and music. The World, the Text, and
vance this project.
the Critic (1983), which outlines some key theoretical foun-
dations of Said’s work, insists on the worldliness of the text,
Edward Said died at the age of sixty-seven on September
and argues for the necessity of a properly “secular criti-
25, 2003.
cism”—which is to say a criticism free from the priestly spe-
cializations of academic discourse and the dangers of ideolog-
SEE ALSO Orientalism.
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SAINTHOOD
8033
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SAINTHOOD. Saint is a designation that Christianity
Selected works by Said
has used to recognize individuals deemed to have lived lives
Beginnings: Intention and Method. New York, 1975.
of heroic virtue and who, as a result, dwell eternally with
Orientalism. New York, 1978.
God. They therefore may be venerated in a public cult. His-
The Question of Palestine. New York, 1979.
torians of religion have liberated the category of sainthood
Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We
from its narrower Christian associations and have employed
See the Rest of the World. New York, 1981; revised 1997.
the term in a more general way to refer to the state of special
The World, the Text, and the Critic. Cambridge, Mass., 1983.
holiness that many religions attribute to certain people. The
Jewish h:asid or tsaddiq, the Muslim wal¯ıy, the Zoroastrian
Musical Elaborations. New York, 1991.
fravashi, the Hindu r:s:i or guru, the Buddhist arahant or bo-
Culture and Imperialism. New York, 1993.
dhisattva, the Daoist shengren, the Shinto¯ kami, and others
The Politics of Dispossession: The Struggle for Palestinian Self-
have all been referred to as saints.
Determination, 1969–1994. London, 1994.
Representations of the Intellectual: The 1993 Reith Lectures. Lon-
THE CATEGORY OF SAINTHOOD. The problem for the histo-
don, 1994.
rian of religions is whether the term sainthood so broadly ap-
Peace and Its Discontents: Essays on Palestine in the Middle East
plied retains any meaning. Can a category that grows out of
Peace Process. New York, 1996.
one religion be properly and usefully extended cross-
Out of Place: A Memoir. New York, 1999.
culturally? William James described universal saintliness in
The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After. New York, 2000.
psychological terms, while Joachim Wach defined the saint
as a particular type of religious authority alongside the
Reflections on Exile and Other Literary and Cultural Essays. Lon-
founder, the reformer, the priest, the prophet, and others.
don, 2000.
But sainthood may embrace persons of diverse psychological
Power, Politics, and Culture: Interviews with Edward W. Said. New
constitutions and religious offices. Fundamentally, then,
York, 2001. An important collection of interviews.
sainthood may be described as a religion’s acclamation of a
Humanism and Democratic Criticism. New York, 2004.
person’s spiritual perfection, however that perfection is de-
Selected works on Said
fined. Persons so acclaimed exemplify the religion’s highest
Ansell-Pearson, Keith, Benita Parry, and Judith Squires, eds. Cul-
values and thus function as models for others to follow. At
tural Readings of Imperialism: Edward Said and the Gravity
the same time, the special holiness that inheres in such peo-
of History. New York, 1997.
ple endows them with supernatural powers that their devo-
Aruri, Naseer, and Muhammad A. Shuraydi, eds. Revising Culture,
tees may call upon in their own spiritual quests. These figures
Reinventing Peace: The Influence of Edward W. Said. New
may serve as wonder-workers, helpmates, or intercessors. In
York, 2001.
other words, saints are recognized by their religions as both
Ashcroft, Bill, and Hussein Kadhim, eds. Edward Said and the
subjects for imitation and objects of veneration. The tension
Post-Colonial. Huntington, N.Y., 2001.
between imitability and inimitability, between likeness to
Ashcroft, Bill, and Pal Ahluwalia. Edward Said: The Paradox of
humans and otherness than humans, lies at the core of the
Identity. London, 1999; revised 2001. A useful short intro-
duction to Said’s career.
saint’s identity. While the extent to which particular saints
or classes of saints are either emulated or worshiped varies
Barsamian, David. Culture and Resistance: Conversations with Ed-
ward W. Said. London, 2003.
greatly within and among religions, all saints attract some
measure of both imitation and veneration.
Bové, Paul A., ed. Edward Said and the Work of the Critic: Speak-
ing Truth to Power. Durham, N.C., 2000.
Usually sainthood is a posthumous phenomenon.
Hart, William D. Edward Said and the Religious Effects of Culture.
While recognition and proclamation of a person’s exemplary
Cambridge, U.K., 2000. A serious and sustained examina-
virtues and exceptional powers may begin during his or her
tion of the place of the religious in Said’s thought; wide-
lifetime, a saint is one who stands the test of time. Indeed,
ranging and balanced in its contextualization of Said.
a saint’s exemplariness and powerfulness must transcend his
Hussein, Abdirahman A. Edward Said: Criticism and Society. Lon-
or her death and be available to those who did not know him
don, 2002. A full-length biography arguing for an intellectu-
or her in the flesh. Thus, those who function as saints after
al unity in Said’s diverse body of work.
their deaths may have been priests or prophets, activists or
Kennedy, Valerie. Edward Said: A Critical Introduction. London,
ascetics, rulers or the simple pious during their lifetimes.
2000.
Sainthood, so understood, may embrace the holders of any
Marrouchi, Mustapha. Edward Said at the Limits. Albany, N.Y.,
number of religious offices but depends more on personal
2004.
charisma than on religious status. Some religions even spon-
Sprinker, Michael. Edward Said: A Critical Reader. Oxford, 1992.
sor mythical saints, legendary people who lived long ago or
Walia, Shelley. Edward Said and the Writing of History. Cam-
dwell anonymously in the present world but who function
bridge, U.K., 2001.
for their followers much the same as do the historical human
SHAMOON ZAMIR (2005)
beings more commonly deemed saints.
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SAINTHOOD
Saints, however, should probably be distinguished from
Indeed, after the establishment of Christianity as the state re-
founders, the initiators of religious insights and religious
ligion in the fourth century diminished persecution, the mar-
communities. While founders may also be imitated and ven-
tyr was seen less as a paradigm and more as a hierophant.
erated posthumously, as are, for instance, Jesus of Nazareth
With martyrdom on the wane, confessors, those who
and Gautama Buddha, they occupy a position of uniqueness
suffered but did not die for the faith, joined the ranks of the
in the structure of their religions that no saint can claim.
saints, as did ascetics, solitaries, and monks. By suffering vol-
Saints often imitate a founder, devoting themselves to living
untarily these saints imitated Christ and separated them-
in his or her image. They may “translate” the founder’s life
selves from the world in order to know God better. They re-
and teachings for their own time and place. Saints come in
nounced food, money, marriage, human company, and even
quantity, collectively mapping out a topography of holiness
their own free will in order to discipline themselves for the
that renders accessible the founder’s example and power.
contemplative life. In Eastern Orthodox Christianity the life
SAINTHOOD IN MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS. Sainthood, as
of contemplation came to be the quintessential model of ho-
here typified, does not exist universally. Not all religious
liness. In the West in the thirteenth century, the mendicant
communities acclaim holy individuals as both paradigms to
orders, such as the Franciscans and Dominicans, promoted
be imitated and intercessors to be venerated. Classic rabbinic
the contrasting saintly ideal of active service in the world.
Judaism, for instance, stressed the redemption of the entire
The image of Francis of Assisi overflowing with love for all
Jewish people rather than individual salvation. Thus personal
creation balances the specter of pathological self-torture attri-
intercessors had little function in the religion. Furthermore,
buted to so many other Christian saints.
Judaism forbids the worship of human beings. Protestant
Although martyrdom was clearly believed to transport
Christianity, while emphasizing individual salvation, repudi-
a person to heaven and sainthood, other forms of superlative
ated the Catholic cult of saints, finding in God’s grace alone
piety required the evidence of miracles to substantiate post-
the key to redemption. Yet some forms of both Judaism and
humous heavenly domicile. Thus the miraculous element in
Protestantism recognize saints: The Besht (YisraDel ben
the lives of the saints was increasingly stressed: Saints healed,
EliEezer), spiritual leader of Hasidism, and Mary Baker Eddy,
exorcised, prophesied, and mastered the elements of nature.
founder of the Christian Science church, for example, are
Although the Roman Catholic church insists upon the moral
given the status of sainthood by their followers. Archaic and
quality of a candidate for sainthood, only miracles constitute
primitive religions tend to associate holiness more with cer-
absolute proof that the candidate is in heaven and thus can
tain offices, such as shaman or medicine man, than with
intercede for those on earth.
unique individuals.
Saints, especially monks and royal figures, are also cen-
Christianity. The recognition of the special holiness of
tral to the piety of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Saints are
certain people began early in the history of Christianity.
venerated in icons, elaborated and stylized pictures, not only
Under the Roman persecution that began in the first centu-
found in churches but also prominently displayed in homes.
ry, many Christians gave up their lives rather than renounce
These pictures aim to show the power that emanates from
their faith. These martyrs became the first persons to be
union with Christ and to depict graphically the unity of the
given the title hagios (“saint”), though earlier the word had
church by linking the dead with the living.
been used in the plural to designate the faithful in general.
A martyr’s willing renunciation of life demonstrated to other
In the sixteenth century Martin Luther attacked the
Christians his or her superhuman strength and convinced
Catholic cult of saints, which then included a huge traffic in
them that this person had conquered death. By the third cen-
relics. He ridiculed the veneration of saints as idolatry, for
tury, commemorations in Rome marked the anniversaries of
like the old pagan gods, many saints had special realms of
these deaths and celebrated the martyrs’ rebirth into heavenly
expertise and particular places from which they could be in-
lives. Meanwhile the power of dead martyrs in drawing the
voked. While maintaining a belief in the exemplary value of
faithful to their cemeteries had attracted the attention of the
some saints, Luther denied their intercessory efficacy. Protes-
bishops, who made altars of their tombs and claimed them
tant Christianity on the whole follows his lead, although
as their heavenly patrons. Christian officialdom thus em-
some groups, such as the Mormons and the Christian Scien-
braced the popular veneration of martyrs and made it the
tists, tend to revere their founders as saints.
cornerstone of ecclesiastical power.
Islam. The monotheistic religion preached by
At first the martyrs were remembered primarily as wit-
Muh:ammad and exhibited in the QurDa¯n abhorred and for-
nesses, examples to encourage others in times of persecution:
bade the association of anything or anyone with God. Even
Other Christians were urged to follow their model of imitat-
Muh:ammad himself was seen only as God’s spokesman. The
ing Christ by submitting to death. But at the same time, be-
Arabic term generally translated as “saint,” wal¯ı (pl.,
cause they had transcended death and dwelled in heaven,
awliya¯ D), is used in the QurDa¯n to refer both to God and to
martyrs possessed extraordinary powers, which the faithful
God’s “friends,” that is, pious people in general. Those who
could summon. At martyrs’ tombs one could pray for cures
obey God are awliya¯ D and God acts as wal¯ı to them. Never-
of ills, for forgiveness of sins, or for protection from enemies.
theless, popular Islam came to understand the wal¯ı as a par-
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SAINTHOOD
8035
ticular kind of friend of God, one whose special closeness to
and bestow blessings through their descendants, some of
divinity mediated between the ordinary faithful and that all-
whom will in turn become saints. Through the marabout,
powerful and distant deity. Islam embraced and sanctified
it is believed, the barakah of the Prophet directly touches the
charismatic sons and daughters in its vast empire as vehicles
common person.
for the popular transmission of the scriptural faith. These
If saints play an important but unofficial role in Sunn¯ı
awliya¯ D personalized and localized the stern and austere faith
Islam, they lie at the very heart of Sh¯ıD¯ı orthodoxy. In Sh¯ıD¯ı
of Muh:ammad.
Islam the term wilaya¯h denotes not sainthood in general but
No formal canonization process, as exists in Roman Ca-
rather the position of authority of the imam who claims di-
tholicism, determines who is to be wal¯ı. According to Islamic
rect descent from the Prophet. This imam alone knows the
beliefs, a saint is made not by learning, asceticism, or piety
esoteric interpretation of the QurDa¯n, and he alone sustains
but rather through a spontaneous enrapturing by God.
the world. For one group of Sh¯ıD¯ıs, the Twelvers, the last
Saints know who they are and may even proclaim their own
imam went into occultation (hiding) centuries ago but con-
sainthood. Together they form a single hierarchy headed by
tinues to exert cosmic influence. For another group, the
the qut:b, the pillar or axis, a legendary figure who dwells at
IsmaEiliyah, the contemporary Aga Khan IV is the latest in
the center of the universe and sustains it. Despite their
an unbroken chain of imams who embody holiness for their
power, saints occupy a lower spiritual rank than prophets,
followers.
persons who bear special messages from God. Islamic theolo-
Judaism. Although classic rabbinic Judaism gave no
gians and jurists were forced by popular consensus to recog-
sanction to hagiography or hagiolatry, it revered a whole gal-
nize saints and to acknowledge their miracles, but they did
axy of exemplary figures. Biblical heroes such as Abraham
protest against pilgrimages to saints’ graves and the practice
and Moses, rabbinic sages such as Hillel and MeDir (of the
of cultic activities there.
first and second centuries, respectively), and martyrs such as
The figures who best illustrate the saint as imitated and
EAqivaD ben Yosef (also of the second century) all displayed
venerated holy person are the S:u¯f¯ı masters. Sufism, the gen-
imitable virtues commended to the faithful in the legends of
eral term for Islamic mysticism, traditionally traces its origins
the Talmud and Midrashic literature. Martyrs were especially
to Muh:ammad himself, for his reception of revelation is seen
sacred to a people so often persecuted; their sacrifices were
as a mystical experience. Ascetic tendencies among individu-
believed to atone for the community’s sins, and as a group
als who sought to interiorize their Islamic faith had led by
they were remembered in various liturgies. Generally speak-
the twelfth century to the formation of S:u¯f¯ı brotherhoods.
ing, however, rabbinic Judaism honored above all others the
In these associations disciples were expected to submit to the
scholar who through learning, righteousness, and piety sanc-
way of the master like, it was said, a corpse in the hands of
tified himself and the community at large.
an undertaker. The S:u¯f¯ı shaykh modeled the mystical path
If the rabbis of the Talmud never countenanced the ven-
for his disciples and guided them along its stages. The stages
eration of human beings alive or dead, popular sentiment
of this path are epitomized in a Turkish saying:
was often otherwise. Reputed graves of biblical and rabbinic
Shar¯ı Eah (“law”): Yours is yours and mine is mine.
worthies, for instance, were the objects of pilgrimages in an-
Tar¯ıqah (“way”): Yours is yours and mine is yours too.
cient and medieval days, and among Middle Eastern Jews
Ma¯ Erifah (“gnosis”): There is neither mine nor thine.
they still are. Mystical groups have been especially prone to
lionize their founders. Yehudah ben ShemuDel, leader of a
Veneration of a S:u¯f¯ı master continued posthumously at his
medieval German ascetic and pietistic movement, was trans-
tomb, especially on the anniversary of his birth. In Tanta,
formed into a wonder-worker in later legends, while among
Egypt, for instance, the autumn mawlid (“birthday”) of Sidi
Spanish qabbalists the second-century rabbi ShimEon bar
Ah:mad, the founder of a S:u¯f¯ı order, is celebrated as a huge
Yoh:Dai was considered a patron saint. The sixteenth-century
agricultural fair. The present head of the order, the caliph,
mystic Isaac Luria, of Safad, Palestine, called a tsaddiq (“just
bestows Sidi Ah:mad’s blessings during a long parade to the
man”) by his followers, saw himself as a reincarnation of
tomb-mosque complex, where prayers, sermons, and circum-
ShimEon bar Yoh:Dai and “discovered” the graves of other an-
cision rituals take place. Relics of S:u¯f¯ı saints, such as their
cient sages, with whom he communed. His teachings and
clothes and utensils, are often preserved by their orders.
habits were reverently preserved by his disciples and had
great influence on later Jewish mysticism.
Not all Muslim saints are S:u¯f¯ıs, however. Even an out-
spoken opponent of the cult of saints, the jurist Ibn
In eighteenth-century Poland the pietist wonder-worker
Taym¯ıyah (of the thirteenth to fourteenth century), who
YisraDel ben EliEezer, called the Besht—an acronym of BaEal
championed the equal access of all Muslims to superlative
Shem Tov (Master of the Name [of God])—initiated the
piety, was venerated after his death by those who sought his
modern revivalist movement of Hasidism, which focused on
intercession and barakah (“spiritual power”). In Morocco,
the intercessory powers of the tsaddiqim. This movement ap-
marabouts (warrior-saints), who claim descent from the
pealed to Jews who were repelled by rabbinic elitism and
Prophet and possession of thaumaturgic powers, are believed
learning. The tsaddiqim—the Besht, certain of his disciples,
to preside after death over the territory around their tombs
and certain of their descendants—functioned for their fol-
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8036
SAINTHOOD
lowers as living, personal embodiments of Torah (law). In
Indian religious ideals and employed them to work for the
the “court” of the tsaddiq the h:asid (disciple) found a warm
cause of Indian nationalism. In so doing he became a “guru”
and fervent piety and a man who understood his innermost
for social justice movements in the West.
thoughts and needs. The tsaddiq could intercede with God
Buddhism. The two major divisions of Buddhism,
on behalf of his followers and raise them to higher spiritual
Therava¯da and Maha¯ya¯na, have different understandings of
achievement. Thus the tsaddiq represents the clearest speci-
sainthood. The Therava¯da, whose adherents live primarily in
men of contemporary Jewish sainthood.
Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, acclaim the arahant as the
Hinduism. The boundary between humanity and di-
acme of human perfection. The arahant achieves the final
vinity is far more fluid in Hinduism and in Eastern religions
stage of the monastic quest for release from suffering and re-
generally than it is in the monotheistic faiths. Thus devotees
birth. The seeker begins by renouncing the householder’s life
do not always distinguish human saints from divine incarna-
in favor of homelessness and then passes countless lifetimes
tions. Hindu deities are regularly described anthropomor-
pursuing the “three trainings” in higher morality, higher
phically, and highly spiritual humans manifest divinity. The
concentration, and higher wisdom. At the end the arahant
god Kr:s:n:a, for instance, appears in the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯, Hindu-
achieves the destruction of the asavas, the wrong mental
ism’s most popular text, as both instructor and object of de-
states that bind one to kamma (Skt., karman) and rebirth.
votion to the young warrior Arjuna, while the sixteenth-
He declares, “Destroyed is rebirth, lived is the higher life,
century Bengali teacher Caitanya is sometimes deified by his
done is what is to be done; there is no further becoming for
followers as an incarnation of the same Kr:s:n:a.
me.” The numerous legends of the arahants in the Pali canon
Classic Vedic religion focused on the elaborate priestly
complement the descriptions of the path by relating stories
performance of the sacrifice rather than on individual per-
about the previous lives of the arahants, the ways they attain
sonalities; yet the ancient r:s:is, legendary composers of Vedic
wisdom, their virtues, and their miraculous powers.
hymns and renowned wonder-workers, and ´sramanas, self-
Remote from the ordinary person, the arahant provokes
mortifying ascetics, were highly revered. As the Vedic heri-
veneration rather than imitation. Indeed, few arahants have
tage was criticized and reinterpreted, human exemplars came
been recognized since the time of Gautama Buddha. Yet a
more to the fore. The first famous historical model and
person can and should imitate the developing arahant as he
teacher was S´an˙kara (788–838), whose monist philosophy
is portrayed in the stories about his previous lives. By making
revitalized orthodoxy and in the twelfth century provoked
offerings at pagodas containing the arahants’ relics, the
the dualist response of the equally revered Ramanuja.
householder purifies his own mind and earns merit. More-
But it was the bhakti (“devotion”) movements, focused
over, by providing food, clothing, and housing to monks,
on the worship of theistic gods, principally Vis:n:u and S´iva,
laymen enable them to pursue enlightenment while, at the
in which the guru (“preceptor”) as saint became prominent.
same time, accruing merit for themselves.
In literature as early as the Upanisadic texts the guru was seen
While Therava¯da Buddhism idealizes the world-
not only as a teacher of the Vedas but also as a model whose
renouncing saint who follows the Buddha’s reported last
daily habits pointed the way to spiritual liberation. The stu-
words to “seek your own salvation with diligence,” Maha¯ya¯na
dent not only learned from his master but also served him
schools, dominant in East Asia, stress the power of saints to
by attending to his sacred fire, his cattle, and his other priest-
aid ordinary laymen to attain enlightenment. The bodhisatt-
ly needs. In the bhakti tradition, however, the guru was hon-
va (lit., “Buddha-to-be”) is a saint who has postponed his
ored not because of his knowledge or birth but because of
complete enlightenment in order to help others along the
the wholehearted devotion to his god that he manifested.
path. He emulates the compassion of the Buddha by nurtur-
The guru’s experience of liberation (moks:a) became his disci-
ing the seeds of enlightenment that are present in all beings.
ples’ goal. The tenth-century poet Jñanesvara described the
total fulfillment that he experienced in the worship of his
The bodhisattva path is open to all people. Those who
guru Nivritti to be like bathing in all the holy waters of the
after many lifetimes have reached the stage of “arousing the
world. In the Vais:n:ava and S´aiva sects the gurus were consid-
thought of enlightenment” (bodhicitta) resolve to work for
ered divine incarnations and were worshiped with incense
the welfare of others. Through the practice of the six perfec-
and offerings.
tions (pa¯ramita¯s)—giving, morality, patience, vigor, medita-
tion, and wisdom—bodhisattvas overcome their self-
In modern times gurus have continued to be an impor-
motivated behavior. By imitating the virtues of a bodhisattva
tant force in Hindu religion, and some have found substan-
and having faith in his compassion, a person can be assured
tial followings beyond India. The gentle and sensitive Rama-
of eventual enlightenment. The bodhisattva is capable of
krishna Paramahamsa (1836–1886) came to the attention of
transferring his own merit to the sincere seeker and thus di-
the West through the efforts of his disciple Vivekenanda,
rectly speeding his progress.
who spread his teaching worldwide. Similarly, the teachings
of Caitanya are continued in the International Society for
The most advanced bodhisattvas are mythical figures
Krishna Consciousness. The most famous modern Hindu
who became venerated as divine saviors. Closely related are
saint, Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948), exemplified ancient
the celestial Buddhas, counterparts of Gautama Buddha ex-
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SAINTHOOD
8037
isting in other worlds. In China and Japan devotion to the
bliss. Among Christian saints chastity divided the world of
Buddha Amita¯bha, for instance, assures one of rebirth in the
spirit from the world of flesh. Eradicating bodily desires and
Pure Land. There the hindrances on the way to enlighten-
mortifying the flesh, the Christian ascetic sought to remove
ment are far fewer than they are in this world.
the impediments that blocked his or her total communion
with God. Similarly, for the Therava¯da Buddhist monk the
Tibetan Buddhists venerate the lama (“preceptor”), who
renunciation of the household life and the taking up of the
may be either a scholar-monk or a wonder-worker like the
begging bowl represent sacrifice of self-interest in the pursuit
most popular lama, Mi la ras pa (Milarepa) (1040–1123).
of enlightenment. Martyrdom represents the most extreme
The most famous saints of Tibet are the Dalai Lamas, incar-
form of volitional control, a sure path to heaven in Christian-
nations of the celestial bodhisattva Avalokite´svara. Upon the
ity and Islam.
death of a Dalai Lama, the incarnation passes to an infant
born forty-nine days later, who must be discovered and prop-
Other saints pursue an intellectual road to sanctity. Ex-
erly raised for his exemplary and yet inimitable role.
ercising the mind to know deeply oneself, the world, and ul-
timate reality has often been deemed a saintly vocation. The
Confucianism. As one of the several religious compo-
Confucian sage seeks the correlation between his inner self
nents of precommunist China, Confucianism offers a dis-
and the structure of the world outside, while the Jewish mys-
tinct notion of sainthood. For Confucius (551–479 BCE, as
tical sage aims to discover in Torah, God’s revelation, the se-
recorded in the Analects, the ideal humans were the sage-
crets of creation itself. For both, the mind is the road to
kings, the legendary ancient rulers who disclosed the ways
truth. Judaism and Islam especially emphasize mastery of the
of Heaven to humans and ruled in accord with those ways.
written divine law as the prerequisite for further spiritual
Mengzi, a late fourth-century BCE follower of Confucius, did
pursuits. On the other hand, education alone cannot make
not restrict the sheng (“sage”) to antiquity but recognized the
a saint. Religions typically emphasize supernatural intellectu-
ongoing possibility of such exemplars. For Mengzi the sage
al qualities such as intuition, clairvoyance, and prophecy
was by nature the same as other people, so through learning
when elaborating sagely wisdom. The saint in this category
and self-cultivation anyone could aspire to sagehood.
rarely rests in his wisdom but reaches out instead as a teacher
The Neo-Confucians worked out the ways to this goal.
to share his wisdom with others. The master or preceptor
The school of Principle stressed the effort and discipline nec-
type of saint, the Muslim shaykh or the Hindu guru, for in-
essary to investigate li, the moral order in oneself and other
stance, aims to guide others. Less by communicating objec-
things, while the school of Mind insisted that the highest
tive knowledge than by teaching a way to live, the master ex-
good is waiting within to be uncovered and brought to fru-
emplifies wisdom for his disciples.
ition. For both, sagehood consists of the full realization of
one’s nature or mind and the sense of oneness with all things.
The third path to sainthood is the way of the emotions,
A sage can be recognized by his peacefulness, warmth, hones-
the perfecting of the heart to love unqualifiedly. Mystics of
ty, and empathy for all beings. Sagehood thus became a
all religions are great lovers, and those acclaimed as saints
reachable even if rarely realized goal.
have expressed that love in ways that inspire others to love.
The Christian saint Bernard of Clairvaux and the Muslim
As saint the sage is not only exemplary but also venerat-
saint Ra¯biEah al-EAdaw¯ıyah did not hesitate to express their
ed. When, during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), Con-
love for God in frankly erotic terms. Perfected love overflows
fucianism became the official state religion, temples devoted
into love for other human beings; thus saints are acclaimed
to Confucius and noteworthy Confucians proliferated. Even
for their healing and redeeming actions. The modern Jewish
in modern times the Wenmiao (Temple of Learning) was the
H:asid who experiences the love of his tsaddiq is elevated to
site of sacrificial rites to Confucius. Such devotion arose out
new levels of holiness and feels all his earthly cares melt away
of respect for Confucian teaching, however, and not from
in the master’s presence. The typical wal¯ı can be depended
the desire to seek intercession from Confucian masters. In
on to listen to the prayers of barren women, paralytics, and
the official religion the heroes were not deified. Yet in more
the poverty-stricken and to respond compassionately. The
popular circles Confucius was taken up as a deity in family
quintessential lovers are the bodhisattvas, who aid their fellow
shrines, along with ancestors, Buddhas, and popular gods.
creatures on the road to enlightenment. By assuming the suf-
PATHS TO SAINTHOOD. Recalling that the most diverse types
ferings of others they advance all beings toward final peace.
of people have been acclaimed as saints, as individuals both
Finally, special note must be taken of the woman’s path
imitable and inimitable, one can nonetheless identify three
to sainthood, for it often varies from that of her male co-
broad paths to sainthood: moral, intellectual, and emotional.
religionists. In general women have not had equal access to
The moral path is followed by those who seek to control
sainthood, especially in Judaism, Hinduism, and Confucian-
and purify their will in order to do but one thing well: Serve
ism. Still, the cults of Hindu goddesses such as Ka¯l¯ı and pop-
their god or realize ultimate truth. The spiritual soldier is one
ular Chinese heroine-goddesses such as Mazi are likely func-
who cultivates discipline in order to do his duty. Frequently
tional equivalents to the veneration of established, male
that duty demands asceticism: By denying himself the ordi-
saints. Elsewhere, the ways to sainthood for women seem
nary pleasures of life, the ascetic reaches for extraordinary
more rigid than those for men. In Roman Catholicism
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

8038
S´AIVISM: AN OVERVIEW
women are far more dependent upon supernatural powers
New Sources
to establish their holiness than are men and, as female nur-
Abou-El-Haj. The Medieval Cult of Saints: Formations and Trans-
turers, constitute a high proportion of the helping and heal-
formations. Cambridge, U.K., 1997.
ing saints. Their stories also typically feature penitential acts
Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Renate, and Timea Szell, eds. Images of
especially aimed at obliterating their debilitating sexuality.
Sainthood in Medieval Europe. Ithaca, N.Y., 1991.
The Maha¯ya¯na bodhisattva ideal, although asexual, requires
Cushing, Kathleen. “Events that Led to Sainthood: Sanctity and
of women, more so than men, a purge of their sexuality. In
the Reformeo in the Eleventh Century.” In Belief and Cul-
many cases a woman must undergo a sexual transformation
ture in the Middle Ages. Edited by Richard Gameson and
in either this or a future life in order to become a bodhisattva,
Henrietta Leyser. New York, 2001.
although some celestial bodhisattvas do retain their femi-
Dempsey, Corinne. Kerala Christian Sainthood: Collisions of Cul-
ninity.
ture and Worldview in South India. New York, 2001.
Ewing, Katherine. Arguing Sainthood: Modernity, Psychoanalysis,
SEE ALSO Bodhisattva Path; Cult of Saints; Hasidism;
and Islam. Durham, N.C., 1997.
Imamate; Martyrdom; Merit; Miracles; Perfectibility;
Kieckhefer, Richard. “The Holy and the Unholy: Sainthood,
Sufism.
Witchcraft, and Magic in Late Medieval Europe.” Journal of
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
24 (fall 1994): 355–385.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schulenberg, Jane Tibbets. Forgetful of their Sex: Female Sanctity
A fine survey using sainthood as a category in world religions is
and Society ca. 500–1100. Chicago, 1998.
provided by the essays in Sainthood: Its Manifestations in
Sticco, Sandro, ed. Saints: Studies in Hagiography. Medieval and
World Religions, edited by George D. Bond and Richard
Renaissance Texts and Studies series. Binghamton, N.Y.,
Kieckhefer (Berkeley, Calif., 1988). Very different in ap-
1996.
proach is the suggestive philosophical analysis of three mod-
ROBERT L. COHN (1987)
els of spiritual perfection by Robert C. Neville, Soldier, Sage,
Revised Bibliography
Saint (New York, 1978).
For a classic psychological perspective on saintliness, see William
James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience (New York,
S´AIVISM
1902). Brief taxonomical discussions of the saint are found
This entry consists of the following articles:
in Gerardus van der Leeuw’s Religion in Essence and Manifes-
AN OVERVIEW
tation: A Study in Phenomenology, 2 vols., translated by J. E.
S´AIVA SIDDHA¯NTA
Turner, incorporating additions of the 2d German ed.
V¯IRAS´AIVAS
(Gloucester, 1967), and Joachim Wach’s Sociology of Religion
NA¯YANA¯RS
¯
(1944; reprint, Chicago, 1962).
KRAMA S´AIVISM
TRIKA S´AIVISM
To explore sainthood in more depth one must consult works on
S´AIVISM IN KASHMIR
the specific religions. The novelty and centrality of Christian
PRATYABHIJÑA¯
PA¯S´UPATAS
sainthood in the context of late antiquity is the subject of
KA¯PA¯LIKAS
Peter Brown’s masterful work, The Cult of the Saints (Chica-
go, 1981). A fascinating sociological study of Christian saints
is Donald Weinstein and Rudolph M. Bell’s Saints and Soci-
S´AIVISM: AN OVERVIEW
ety: The Two Worlds of Western Christendom, 1000–1700
S´aivism and Vais:n:avism form the two principal religious cur-
(Chicago, 1982). For a critique and reappraisal of the mean-
rents of classical and modern Hinduism. S´aivism centers on
ing of Christian sainthood for today, see Lawrence S. Cun-
the worship of the god S´iva and Vais:n:avism on that of Vis:n:u.
ningham’s The Meaning of Saints (San Francisco, 1980). Of
In classical Hindu mythology S´iva is the god of destruction,
the many studies on Islamic saints, the classic is Ignácz
generally portrayed as a yogin who lives on Mount Kaila¯sa
Goldziher’s “Veneration of Saints in Islam,” in Muslim
in the Himalayas. His body is smeared with ashes, his hair
Studies, vol. 2, edited by S. M. Stern and C. R. Barber (Chi-
cago, 1973). Most valuable on Sufism is Annemarie Schim-
piled up in matted locks. He wears an animal skin and carries
mel’s Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill, N. C.,
a trident. A cobra often serves as his garland and the crescent
1975). Some discussion of Jewish mystical saints is found in
moon as his hair ornament. He has a third eye, kept closed,
Gershom Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941;
in the middle of his forehead. He may be surrounded by his
reprint, New York, 1961). A summary of the role of the guru
beautiful wife, Pa¯rvat¯ı, and their two sons, the six-faced
in Hinduism is Joel D. Mlecko’s “The Guru in Hindu Tradi-
Skanda and the elephant-headed Gan:e´sa.
tion,” Numen 29 (July 1982): 33–61. For Buddhism, a stan-
The migration of bands of people called Aryans into the
dard introduction with a good discussion of the bodhisattva
is Richard H. Robinson and Willard L. Johnson’s The Bud-
northwest of the Indian subcontinent initiates the Vedic pe-
dhist Religion: A Historical Introduction, 2d ed. (Encino,
riod (c. 1200–600 BCE), known through the religious texts
Calif., 1977). On women saints in Buddhism, see Diana Y.
called Vedas, Bra¯hman:as, and Upanis:ads. In them the minor
Paul’s Women in Buddhism: Images of the Feminine in Maha-
god Rudra serves as a prototype of the later S´iva. The two
yana Tradition (Berkeley, Calif., 1979).
gods, each with his own varied forms and names, are identi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

S´AIVISM: AN OVERVIEW
8039
fied with each other in the classical Hindu tradition repre-
Indus religion and later Hinduism. With less caution, R. N.
sented by the Sanskrit texts known as the Maha¯bha¯rata (300
Dandekar (1967, 1971) speaks of the religion of the Vedas
BCE–300 CE) and the Pura¯n:as (200–1300 CE). Beginning in
as an “interlude” between protohistorical and historical Hin-
about the second century of the common era, a number of
duism. However this case may be, Dandekar also makes the
important S´aiva sects appear, each with its own texts and
important observation that Vedic mythology is an “evolu-
doctrines. Many worshipers of S´iva belong to such sects, but
tionary mythology,” one that evolves in accordance with the
the majority simply count themselves as Hindus who believe
ethos of a historical period and with the changing conditions
in this god over all others.
of life.
Discussions of S´aivism traditionally begin with an ex-
It is now clear that there was a gap of five hundred years
amination of the so-called proto-Pa´supati seals of the ancient
or more between the end of the mature phase of the Indus
pre-Aryan civilization centered in the Indus Valley of Paki-
Valley civilization (c. 1800 BCE) and the hymns of the R:gveda
stan. The most interesting of these seals depicts an anthropo-
(c. 1200 BCE). It is also evident that Hinduism, as opposed
morphic and apparently ithyphallic figure seated on a low
to Vedism, grew up—together with Buddhism, Jainism, and
dais in a yogalike position with his heels meeting in the peri-
other non-Vedic cults—in the Ganges River valley (Uttar
neal region, the hands of his extended and braceleted arms
Pradesh and Bihar). The rise of these new movements corre-
resting on his knees, and his head—which may or may not
sponds to the transition from an economy based on pastoral-
be triple-faced and/or bovine—bearing a horned headdress.
ism mixed with shifting cultivation to one based on seden-
Surrounding this figure are small representations of a rhinoc-
tary grain production, and to the political transition from
eros, a buffalo, a tiger, and an elephant. Under the dais are
migratory tribal oligarchies to kingships with clearly demar-
two goats or deer. The seal also bears a seven-sign inscription.
cated territories. These historical changes imply the existence
of dramatic cultural and religious changes as well, changes
Starting from the hypothesis of the archaeologist
that did not derive from the influence of the ancient and dis-
George Marshall, most scholars have accepted the identifica-
tant civilization of the Indus Valley. Elements of the new re-
tion of this figure as the precursor of the god S´iva in his
ligions may ultimately be traced to that civilization—and to
Pa´supati, or Lord of Animals, form. The most important dis-
the little-known culture of the early non-Aryan inhabitants
sent from this consensus was made by D. D. Kosambi, who
of the Ganges Valley—but the new religions as systems
pointed out that the horns of the figure were those of a buffa-
should be considered new creations arising in conjunction
lo and not of a bull (the latter being the animal most closely
with the new and radically changed economic and political
associated both with the Vedic Rudra and the later S´iva). Ko-
conditions.
sambi further proposed a historically improbable identifica-
The Vedic Rudra is a fierce and terror-inspiring god of
tion of the proto-Pa´supati figure with the buffalo demon
storms, disease, and the untamed aspects of nature. He is ex-
named Mahis:a¯sura (which dates at least 1,500 years later)
clusively invoked in only four of the 1,028 hymns of the
and through this demon back to S´iva. Until further evidence
R:gveda, although he is frequently mentioned in it as the fa-
or an accepted reading of the Indus script becomes available,
ther of the Maruts, gods of the winds, and as one of the
it seems best to suspend judgment on the whole problem.
vi´svadevas, or All-Gods. The hymns contain only brief allu-
Still, the discussion clearly bears directly not only on the
sions to the mythology of Rudra, but the epithets he receives
question of the historical origins of S´iva, the god of S´aivism,
and the attitude with which he is invoked give a clear picture
but also on that of the transition from the minor Vedic god
of his basic character. The name Rudra itself is traditionally
Rudra to the major post-Vedic S´iva. Among the varied hy-
derived from the known root rud, meaning “cry” or “howl,”
potheses on these questions, several basic tendencies can be
and is evidently related to his association with storms. An al-
distinguished. A. B. Keith (1925) suggests that the attempt
ternative derivation from a postulated root *rud, meaning
to distinguish Aryan and non-Aryan elements in Rudra-S´iva
“be red” or “shine,” can be connected with a proposed deri-
is basically fruitless. The character of the god develops
vation for the name S´iva (“auspicious”) from a Dravidian
through a constant process of accretion resulting from the
word meaning “red.” In the hymns the poets implore Rudra
identification of other minor gods, both Aryan and non-
to be “compassionate” and “easy to invoke,” not to kill cows
Aryan, with the Vedic Rudra. Jan Gonda (1970) prefers to
or men, and to keep men “prosperous and free from disease.”
see a fundamental continuity between the Vedic Rudra and
He is frequently described as a “bull,” as being “brown,” and
post-Vedic S´iva, and between Vedic and post-Vedic religion
as “terrible.” He possesses a “sharp weapon,” a “thunder-
in general. He regards the lack of reference to many aspects
bolt,” and “swift arrows.” He wears “braided hair” (kapardin)
of the god in Vedic literature as due in large part to the class
and brings a “cooling [?] medicine.” Although in two hymns
bias of the priestly authors, who ignored or excluded many
he is associated with Soma, god of the intoxicating sacrificial
of the god’s more popular traits. Louis Renou (1953), on the
drink, his principal association in Vedic literature as a whole
other hand, suggests that there was a decisive break between
is with Agni, the god of fire, with whom he is already identi-
Vedism and Hinduism. He notes the absence of any obvious
fied once in the R:gveda and several times in the Bra¯hman:as.
connection between the Veda and the earlier Indus civiliza-
In the Yajurveda Rudra is invoked at length in the sec-
tion and accepts the possibility of some connection between
tion called the S´atarudriya. Among the noteworthy epithets
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8040
S´AIVISM: AN OVERVIEW
he receives in this text are “mountain dweller,” “lord of cat-
Long, and others, using methodologies influenced by the
tle” (pa´su¯na¯m: patih:), “wearer of an animal hide,” “blue-
theories of Mircea Eliade and Claude Lévi-Strauss. The re-
necked,” “ruddy,” and the names or seminames Kapardin,
sulting emphasis on symbolic archetypes and on thematic
S´arva, Bhava, S´ambhu, S´an˙kara, and S´iva. His prowess as an
structures and motifs has provided a clearer idea of the men-
archer is repeatedly mentioned, as is his association with the
tal structures and contents of the myths, but it has also tend-
untamed aspects of nature and with hunters, thieves, and
ed to exaggerate their consistency and to isolate them from
brigands.
their sociohistorical contexts.
An important passage in the Atharvaveda (15.5.1–7)
In classical Hindu mythology Brahma¯, Vis:n:u, and S´iva
closely associates seven apparently independent gods, all of
are linked together as the gods of creation, preservation, and
whom early become identified as names or forms of
destruction, respectively. In the varied S´aiva versions of the
Rudra-S´iva, with the enigmatic vratyas, a class or group
myths, however, S´iva is generally portrayed as the one God
of religious officiants who were only partly aryanized. These
over all, who is ultimately responsible for creation and pres-
gods are Bhava, S´arva, Pa´supati, Ugra, Rudra, Ma¯hadeva,
ervation as well as destruction. Vais:n:ava versions do the same
and ¯I´sa¯na. Each is associated with a particular region. Quite
for Vis:n:u. This informal monotheism takes more systematic
similar lists appear in the Bra¯hman:as and other later Vedic
forms in the theological works of the S´aiva and Vais:n:ava
texts, with the addition of an eighth name, A´sani or Bh¯ıma
sects.
(and in one text the names Hara, Mrda, S´iva, and S´an˙kara
Many of the main episodes in the S´aiva myth cycle re-
as well). In post-Vedic Hindu texts the same eight names of
volve around the dynamic tension between S´iva as the god
S´iva are sometimes listed, but more important are the five
equally of asceticism and eroticism, a master of both yogic
forms or faces of the god: Sadyoja¯ta, Va¯madeva, Aghora,
restraint and sexual prowess. This tension is frequently ex-
Tatpurus:a, and ¯I´sa¯na.
pressed in terms of the image of castration: the real castration
A key theme that first appears in later Vedic literature
of the god himself and symbolic castrations (loss of eyes or
is the god’s rather ambiguous relation to the sacrificial obla-
teeth, beheading) of his opponents.
tions and offerings. Originally Rudra seems to have been at
S´iva destroys Ka¯ma, the god of erotic love, with the fire
least partly excluded from orthodox Vedic sacrifices and thus
from his third eye when Ka¯ma attempts to disturb his ascetic
has to demand his share of the offerings, sometimes de-
trance. Subsequently Pa¯rvat¯ı, daughter of the Himalaya,
scribed as the share that is “left over” (ucchis:t:a). In the classi-
wins S´iva’s love through her own ascetic penance and per-
cal mythology of Hinduism, this theme is incorporated into
suades him to revive Ka¯ma in disembodied form. For his visit
S´iva’s conflict with his father-in-law, the brahman named
to the pine forest S´iva wears the guise of a naked, ash-
Daks:a, whose sacrifice S´iva destroys because he was not invit-
smeared ascetic, but he uses the occasion to seduce, or to at-
ed to it. S´iva beheads Daks:a and then replaces the head with
tempt to seduce, the wives of the forest sages. As a result ei-
that of a goat, the sacrificial animal. This myth again suggests
ther of the sages’ curse or of his own action, S´iva is castrated
popular, nonhieratic origins for the god.
and his phallus, or lin˙ga, becomes fixed in the earth. The styl-
ized stone lin˙ga, mounted on an equally stylized vulva, or
The god Rudra-S´iva appears for the first time as the ob-
yoni, has become the central image of S´aiva worship and
ject of monotheistic devotion rather suddenly in the
serves as the dual symbol of the god’s creative and ascetic
S´veta¯´svatara Upanis:ad, a text often described as a S´aiva
power.
Bhagavadg¯ıta¯. The S´veta¯´svatara is one of the later of the early
Upanis:ads, possibly dating from about the sixth century BCE,
By chopping off the fifth head of the god Brahma¯, S´iva
and clearly illustrates how these texts mark the historical
is charged with the major sin of the murder of a brahman
transition from Vedism to Hinduism. It refers explicitly to
and must undertake the penance, or Great Vow (ma¯havrata),
important aspects of Sa¯m:khya metaphysics and Yoga prac-
of the Skull-Bearer (kapa¯lin), an ascetic who wanders about
tice. Its own metaphysical position is not entirely consistent,
with a skull as a begging bowl. This Great Vow becomes the
but it bears some resemblance to the later system of “quali-
archetypal basis of the ascetic sect of the Ka¯pa¯likas or
fied monism” (vi´sis:t:a¯dvaita) propounded by Ra¯ma¯nuja
Maha¯vratins, who are equally noted for their indulgence in
(twelfth century). In the Upanis:ad, Rudra is described as the
orgiastic rites of Tantric character.
“one God” (eka deva), the ruler and cause of all, the brahman
The complicated myth of the birth of the six-faced
itself, and he is addressed as Hara, ¯I´sa, Maha¯purus:a, ¯I´sa¯na,
Skanda, a son of S´iva, exists in a number of very different
Bhagavat, S´iva, and Mahe´svara.
versions. In part, Skanda is the son of S´iva and Pa¯rvat¯ı, but
Between the Upanis:ads and the Maha¯bha¯rata epic,
he is at the same time the son of Agni and of the six Kr:ttikas.
chronologically the next major source for knowledge of S´iva,
His role is to destroy the terrible demon Ta¯raka. In South
there appears to be a gap of several hundred years in the
India, the Dravidian god Murukan was early identified with
¯
course of which Vedism is replaced by an already mature
Skanda and contributed to the historical development of his
Hinduism. In recent years the classical mythology of S´iva in
mythology.
the Maha¯bha¯rata and in the later Pura¯n:as has been extensive-
The three sons of Ta¯raka later establish the mighty triple
ly analyzed by Wendy O’Flaherty, Stella Kramrisch, J. Bruce
city of the demons, which S´iva eventually destroys with a sin-
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S´AIVISM: AN OVERVIEW
8041
gle arrow from his bow, Pina¯ka. Another demon, named An-
movement centered in the Cauvery River basin of the south-
dhaka, the blind son of S´iva and/or of the demon
east and led by the S´aiva Na¯yana¯rs (Na¯yanma¯r), poet-saints
Hiran:ya¯ks:a, lusts after Pa¯rvat¯ı but is defeated and reformed
¯
¯
of the seventh to tenth centuries whose devotional hymns
by S´iva. S´iva beheads his son Gan:e´sa, whom he has never
composed in Tamil even today occupy a central place in S´iva
met, when Gan:e´sa tries to prevent the apparent stranger
worship in this region. The sect is still active and has pro-
from entering the room of Pa¯rvat¯ı, S´iva’s wife and Gan:e´sa’s
duced, or appropriated to itself, an extensive literature in
mother. S´iva then replaces his son’s head with that of an ele-
both Sanskrit (the twenty-eight S´aiva¯gamas) and Tamil (the
phant with one broken tusk, just as he once replaced Daks:a’s
twelve Tirumurai and the fourteen Meykan:t:a´sa¯stras).
head with that of a goat. Historically, Gan:e´sa was perhaps
¯
The Pa¯´supatas, Ka¯la¯mukhas, and S´aiva Siddha¯ntins all
originally an independent elephant god. As part of S´iva’s
maintain monotheistic theological systems in which the
family he serves as the god of obstacles and hence of luck,
grace (prasa¯da) of God and devotion (bhakti) to him play es-
to be invoked at the beginning of any undertaking.
sential roles in attaining personal salvation. All accept an on-
The existence of an extensive mythology of S´iva in the
tological distinction between God (pati), the individual per-
Maha¯bha¯rata suggests the existence of an important cult
son (pa´su), and mundane existence (pa¯´sa).
dedicated to the god by about the beginning of the common
era. Unfortunately, direct historical evidence for the cult be-
The Pa¯´supata and Ka¯la¯mukha sects are now extinct. In
fore that date is not plentiful. Megasthenes, a Greek ambas-
the Karnataka region they gave way to another S´aiva sectari-
sador to the court of Candragupta Maurya (c. 324–300
an movement known as the V¯ıra´saivas or Lin˙ga¯yats. This
BCE),
mentions the presence in India of worshipers of Herakles and
sect, especially in its initial stages, has been noted for its ad-
Dionysos. These two gods are usually identified as Kr:s:n:a and
vocacy of social reforms, including attacks against casteism
S´iva, respectively. The early grammarian Patañjali (c. 150
and the subjugation of women. Its metaphysics is less dualis-
tic than that of the other southern sects, though it also stress-
BCE) mentions S
´iva Bha¯gavatas who carry iron lances. These
must be S´aiva ascetics. The earliest example of a S´iva lin˙ga
es the importance of devotion and God’s grace. The most
seems to be the large, realistic stone lin˙ga from Gud:imallam
important literature of the sect consists of devotional hymns
in southeastern India, estimated by some to date from the
composed in Kannada by various inspired devotees begin-
first or second century
ning with Basava (c. 1150), often considered the founder of
BCE.
the sect. Many of the hymns are collected in the
Coins and inscriptions that give evidence of S´aiva wor-
S´unyasam
˙ pa¯dane.
ship are plentiful from the period of the Kushans (first and
second centuries CE) and, more important, that of the Gup-
In the north, the S´aiva sect known as the Trika or Kash-
tas (300–550 CE). Although the Gupta emperors mostly pre-
miri school became important from about the ninth century.
ferred Vais:n:avism, they also sponsored temples of S´iva. The
It incorporated Tantric and Buddhist influences and adopt-
kings of the contemporary Va¯ka¯t:aka dynasty were mostly fol-
ed a monistic metaphysical position similar to that of nondu-
lowers of S´iva, as were those of the slightly later Maukhari
alist (advaita) Veda¯nta. The extensive literature of the sect
dynasty. From about the seventh century, S´aivism became
is divided into the categories of A¯gama S´a¯stra, Spanda S´a¯stra,
the dominant religious current in the south, largely replacing
and Pratyabhijña S´a¯stra. Its greatest thinker was Abhinavag-
the Jains and Buddhists and competing successfully with the
upta (c. 1000).
Vais:n:avas. The southern dynasties of the Pallavas, Co¯las,
¯
Tantric influences have been strong in S´aivism since
and Ca¯lukyas were all patrons of S´aivism.
about the end of the Gupta period, when this religious cur-
The age of the Guptas seems to mark the beginning of
rent first became important. Tantrism blended with yoga,
distinct S´aiva sects. Except for the Pa¯´supatas these sects do
particularly hat:hayoga, forms the doctrinal basis of the medi-
not appear in the Maha¯bha¯rata, but they become prominent
eval S´aiva sect of the Na¯ths, also called Siddhas and
in the Pura¯n:as. The sects are made up chiefly of ascetics but
Ka¯nphat:a Yogis. This group emphasizes yogic control over
also have some sort of lay following. The Pa¯´supata sect was
mind and body, including the winning of magical powers
founded by Lakul¯ı´sa, who was born near Broach in western
(siddhis), and aims at spiritual enlightenment through the
India about the beginning of the second century. Lakul¯ı´sa
domination of the inner “serpent power” (kun:d:alini), which
is already regarded as an incarnation of S´iva in several
lies trapped within the veins or nerves (na¯d:¯ıs) and centers,
Pura¯n:as, and the Pa¯´supata sect became important, particu-
or ganglia (cakras), of a supraphysical yogic anatomy. A few
larly in southern India, from about the seventh to the four-
Nath Yogis still exist, although the influence of the sect con-
teenth century. The Ka¯lamukhas, a closely related sect, were
tinues mainly through the diffusion of hat:hayoga into the
influential in the Karnataka region of the south during much
mainstream of Hinduism and beyond.
the same period. Another early S´aiva sect, of considerable
During the past few centuries the worship of Vis:n:u and
symbolic interest but uncertain historical importance, was
his avata¯ras has proved to be more adaptable to the emotion-
that of the Ka¯pa¯likas.
al devotionalism of modern Hinduism than has the worship
A fourth early sect is that of the S´aiva Siddha¯ntins, often
of S´iva. S´aivism, however, still claims many millions of devo-
simply called S´aivas. This sect grew out of a devotional
tees. Most of them are not followers of specific sects, nor
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8042
S´AIVISM: S´AIVA SIDDHA¯NTA
even necessarily exclusively devoted to S´iva. They patronize
Religionum, edited by C. Jouco Bleeker and Geo Widengren,
S´iva temples and make offerings of flowers, sweets, coconuts,
vol. 2, Religions of the Present (Leiden, 1971), pp. 237–345.
and money to the god and his priests. The holy city of the
New Sources
Hindus, Banaras, is the city of S´iva, and the temple of S´iva
Chitgopekar, Nilima. Encountering Sivaism: The Deity, the Milieu,
Vi´sve´svara there is one of the chief pilgrimage sites of all
the Entourage. New Delhi, 1998.
India. Similarly, in Hindu mythology the holy river Ganges
Tagare, Ganesh Vasudeo. Saivism, Some Glimpses. New Delhi,
is portrayed as a goddess who descends to earth through
1996.
S´iva’s matted hair.
DAVID N. LORENZEN (1987)
The priests of S´iva temples often belong to the nonsec-
Revised Bibliography
tarian, orthodox tradition of the Sma¯rtas, who practice the
worship of five shrines (pañca¯yatana-pu¯ja¯) dedicated to the
gods Vis:n:u, S´iva, Su¯rya, Gan:e´sa, and Du¯rga¯. This Sma¯rta
S´AIVISM: S´AIVA SIDDHA
¯ NTA
tradition is compatible with a variety of metaphysical posi-
S´aiva Siddha¯nta is an important medieval system of S´aiva
tions, but is often linked with the nondualist (advaita) theol-
thought. The term technically refers to a set of S´aiva theolo-
ogy derived principally from S´an˙kara¯ca¯rya (c. 700–750).
gies written in Sanskrit and Tamil in South India, although
According to tradition, S´an˙kara¯ca¯rya was a devotee of
this classification need not be considered a rigid one. While
S´iva and composed a number of devotional hymns dedicated
S´aiva Siddha¯nta differs in many ways from the theologies
to this god. Although his authorship of these hymns has
presented by Kashmir S´aivism (most particularly in its asser-
often been disputed, the orthodox monastic sect of the
tion that the world and individual souls are real entities and
Da´sana¯m¯ıs, which he is said to have founded, retains this
that final release depends on the grace of S´iva, in contrast to
S´aiva influence. Today the monks (samnyasins) and abbots
Kashmiri idealistic and monistic ontologies and soteriolo-
of the Da´sana¯m¯ı monasteries are the dominant arbiters of
gies), both schools accept as canon the Vedic Sam:h:itas and
theological orthodoxy and socioreligious tradition
Upanis:ads as well as the twenty-eight Sanskrit S´aiva and
(varn:a¯´srama-dharma). Through them S´iva has come full cir-
Raudra A¯gamas, which date to the seventh century CE. The
cle from his role as the heretical outsider of Daks:a’s sacrifice
S´aiva Siddha¯nta distinguishes itself from other S´aiva systems,
to that as the patron deity of Hindu orthodoxy.
however, in that along with these literatures it accepts as
scriptural authority the twelve Tirumurai and the fourteen
¯
B
Meykan:t:a´sa¯stras.
IBLIOGRAPHY
The most useful general survey of S´aivism is still R. G. Bhandar-
The Tirumurai consist of devotional poems written in
kar’s Vais:n:avism, S´aivism and Minor Religious Systems (1913;
¯
Tamil in South India by S´aiva mystics and gathered in the
reprint, Varanasi, 1965). It has been partly superseded by Jan
latter part of the tenth century by Nampi A¯n:t:a¯r Nampi. The
Gonda’s Vis:n:uism and S´ivaism (London, 1970). A well-
Meykan:t:a´sa¯stras are doctrinal works written in Tamil in the
documented summary of the “proto-Pa´supati” controversy,
thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries by S´aiva theolo-
expressing a view similar to Kosambi’s, is Alf Hiltebeitel’s
gians, the most influential of whom was Meykanta Tevar
“The Indus Valley ‘Proto-S´iva,’” Anthropos 73 (1978): 767–
797. For S´aiva mythology, the best work is Wendy Doniger
(Meykantar), a su¯dra who lived to the north of Madras in
O’Flaherty’s S´iva: The Erotic Ascetic (London, 1981), a re-
the thirteenth century. Meykan:t:a Te¯var’s important work
print of Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of S´iva
known as Civañana¯po¯tam (Instructions on the knowledge of
¯
(1973); but most should find the treatment in her Hindu
S´iva) consists of Tamil translations of twelve su¯tras from the
Myths (Baltimore, Md., 1975) entertaining and sufficient. A
Raurava A¯gama, a seventh-century Sanskrit S´aiva work, to
very personal interpretation, packed with information, is
which he added Tamil commentaries and analogic interpre-
Stella Kramrisch’s The Presence of S´iva (Princeton, N.J.,
tations. The system he taught became known as the S´aiva
1981). My own study The Ka¯pa¯likas and Ka¯la¯mukhas
Siddha¯nta, the “doctrine of the followers of S´iva.”
(Berkeley, 1972) can be consulted on these sects and on the
Pa¯´supatas. Mariasusai Dhavamony’s Love of God According
The S´aiva saints portray a vivid personal experience of
to “S´aiva Siddha¯nta” (Oxford, 1971) is essential for that sect.
God (S´iva), the fundamental theme of which is expressed by
No really satisfactory work exists on the Vira´saivas or on
Tirumu¯lar: “The ignorant say that God and love are differ-
Kashmir S´aivism, but some Vira´saiva hymns have been beau-
ent; when they know that love and God are the same, they
tifully translated by A. K. Ramanujan in Speaking of S´iva
rest in God’s love.” Elsewhere Tirumu¯lar writes, “They have
(Harmondsworth, 1973). For Tantrism, Yoga, and the
no love for God who have no love for all mankind.” Appar
Naths, the best source is the classic of Mircea Eliade, Yoga:
(seventh century) speaks of the man who has unshakable be-
Immortality and Freedom, 2d ed. (Princeton, 1969). Discus-
lief in God’s mercy and love. S´iva indwells every creature in
sions of the evolution of Rudra´siva can be found in Arthur
Berriedale Keith’s The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and
a subtle form and manifests himself to his devotees. All that
Upanishads, 2 vols. (1925; reprint, Westport, Conn., 1971),
is required to be saved is to attune one’s mind to S´iva and
in Louis Renou’s Religions of Ancient India (London, 1953),
to be intent on his love and service. Inward and spiritual wor-
in R. N. Dandekar’s Some Aspects of the History of Hinduism
ship is the essence of religion, according to Appar. Without
(Poona, 1967), and in Dandekar’s “Hinduism,” in Historia
love for S´iva, the knowledge of scriptures, external rituals,
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S´AIVISM: V¯IRAS´AIVAS
8043
and asceticism are of no avail for salvation. Campantar (sev-
Dhavamony, Mariasusai. Love of God According to S´aiva
enth century) and Cuntarar (ninth century) stress the need
Siddha¯nta: A Study in the Mysticism and Theology of S´aivism.
of bhakti (love of God) in order to be freed from fetters. The
Oxford, 1971.
mystic formula “Namo S´iva¯ya,” which represents the essence
Nallaswami Pillai, J. M. Studies in Saiva Siddhanta. Dharmapura
of the four Vedas and the essence of S´iva’s name, when pro-
Adhinam, 1962.
nounced with true devotion, saves even nonmystics.
Paranjoti, Violet. S´aiva Siddha¯nta. 2d ed. London, 1954.
Ma¯n:ikkava¯cakar (ninth century) describes in his Tiru-
Piet, John H. A Logical Presentation of the S´aiva Siddha¯nta Philoso-
va¯cakam the progress of a soul out of the bondage of igno-
phy. Madras, 1952.
rance and passion to the liberty of light and love. The main
Schomerus, H. W. Der Çaiva-Siddha¯nta, eine Mystik Indiens.
themes of this work are strong monotheism; infinity of bliss
Leipzig, 1912.
in S´iva alone; the purification, by grace, of the soul from de-
New Sources
lusion, as a preparation for eternal fellowship and commu-
Gangadharan, S. Saiva Siddhanta with Special Reference to Siva-
nion with S´iva; prayers for forgiveness of sin; and enthusias-
prakasam. Madurai, 1992.
tic love of God. Great prominence is given to the working
Nandimath, S. C. Theology of the Saivagamas: A Survey of the Doc-
of divine grace in S´aiva Siddha¯nta. Arul: (grace) is the remedy
trines of Saiva Siddhanta and Veerasaivism. Thiruva-
against irul: (ignorance). The illuminating grace takes the
nanthapuram, 2001.
form of divine and mystical knowledge by which the soul,
Schomerus, Hilko Wiardo. Saiva Siddhanta: An Indian School of
liberated from darkness, realizes its oneness with S´iva.
Mystical Thought Presented as a System and Documented from
According to the S´a¯stras, there are three eternal and real
the Original Tamil Sources. Delhi, 2000.
substances: God (pati), souls (pa´su), and bondage (pa¯´sa).
Singaravelu, C. N. Glimpses of Saiva Siddhanta. Madras, 1992.
God (S´iva) is immanent in everything and yet transcends ev-
Soni, Jayandra. Philosophical Anthropology in Saiva Siddhanta:
erything. He is pure being, pure consciousness, and pure
With Special Reference to Sivagrayogin. Delhi, 1989.
bliss. He is the efficient cause, and his ´sakti, composed of
MARIASUSAI DHAVAMONY (1987)
knowledge, action, and desire, is the instrumental cause of
Revised Bibliography
the world and of souls. He stands in relation to the universe
as the soul to the body. As eyes cannot see but for the light
of the soul, the soul cannot know but for the light of God.
S´AIVISM: V¯IRAS´AIVAS
God and souls are one in the sense that they cannot be dis-
The Indian religious movement of the V¯ıra´saivas (“heroic
joined; they exist and function together. Advaita means in-
S´aivas”)—also known as Lin˙ga¯yats (“bearers of a
separability, not identity; hence souls preserve their distinct
lin˙ga¯”)—appeared as a reformist S´aiva sect in Hinduism
character even in the final state of liberation.
probably in the middle of the twelfth century in the border
Souls are endowed with knowledge, volition, and the
regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Its founder is said to
ability to act, but they are bound by the fetters of a¯n:ava (ig-
have been a brahman named Basava or Basavanna (1106–
norance), karman (the effects of action), and ma¯ya¯ (changing
1167), though the main reformist role may have been that
reality), and therefore they experience themselves as indepen-
of Ekantada Ramayya, a contemporary of Basava. The
dent of God. S´iva imparts to the soul instruments of empiri-
V¯ıra´saiva doctrine was probably further elaborated in the fol-
cal knowledge when it is in the kevala state (the state of the
lowing centuries.
soul only with a¯n:ava) and illuminating knowledge when it
The sect now has about six million adherents, mostly
is in the sakala (embodied) state. Empirical knowledge leads
in Karnataka, where, though officially classified as “back-
to good and evil acts, and the result is the rebirth of the soul
ward,” they are a not unimportant group. V¯ıra´saivism may
in different states. The three paths of salvation are those of
have appeared as a reaction of Dravidians against Brahmanic
service (carya¯), worship (kriya¯), and meditation (yoga), all of
(and therefore Aryan) domination. Temple worship, sacri-
which should be animated by the love of God. All these ways
fice, and pilgrimages are condemned as useless. The caste sys-
dispose the soul to receive gratuitously from S´iva divine
tem is rejected, the sexes are declared equal, child marriage
knowledge (patijña¯na), by which is realized perfect union
is forbidden, and widows are allowed to remarry. Caste dis-
with S´iva in supreme love. This divine knowledge is im-
tinctions tended, however, to reappear in the course of time.
parted to souls either directly through intuition in the case
There are, for instance, hereditary priests, the jan˙gamas,
of advanced souls or through a S´ivaguru to the less advanced.
while the sect itself is regarded as a caste.
SEE ALSO Ma¯n:ikkava¯cakar; Meykan:t:a¯r; Uma¯pati S´iva¯ca¯rya;
All V¯ıra´saivas must belong to a group connected with
Tamil Religions.
one of the sect’s five main religious centers or mathas (Ke-
darnath, S´r¯ısaila, Balehalli, Ujjain, Varanasi). All must have
B
a guru, undergo initiation, and carry a small lin˙ga¯ in a tube
IBLIOGRAPHY
Devasenapathy, V. A. S´aiva Siddha¯nta as Expounded in the
fastened to the neck or arm (hence the name Lin˙ga¯yat). The
S´ivajña¯na-Siddhiyar and Its Six Commentaries. Madras,
sect mark is a white dot on the forehead. The dead are bur-
1960.
ied, not cremated.
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S´AIVISM: NA¯YA¯NA¯RS
¯
Though they condemn all ritual, V¯ıra´saivas still admit
ized saints of the Tamil S´aivas, a Hindu sect that commands
some rites, but these are performed by jan˙gamas, not
a large following in the Tamil linguistic area of South India.
bra¯hman:as, the main rite being initiation (d¯ıks:) of male
Along with the Vais:n:ava A¯lva¯rs, the Na¯yana¯rs were among
children. They must also pay homage at least twice per day
¯
¯
the first saints of a regional, vernacular bhakti (devotional)
to the small lin˙ga¯ they wear. Fundamental to their religion
tradition in Hinduism.
and deemed indispensable for salvation are the so-called
Preeminent among the Na¯yana¯rs are Ña¯nacampantar
eight covers (as:t:a¯varan:a): the guru, who is even more revered
¯
¯
(also called Tiruña¯nacampantar or Campantar; c. 650),
than God; the lin˙ga¯; the jan˙gamas; holy water (padodaka); re-
¯
Tiruna¯vukkaracar (also called Appar; c. 580–670) and
turned offerings (prasa¯da); holy ashes (vibhu¯ti); the rosary
Cuntaramu¯rtti (also called Nampi A¯ru¯rar; seventh to eighth
(rudra¯ks:a); and the mantra “Naman: S´iva¯ya.” V¯ıra´saivas be-
century), authors of the Tamil hymns of the T¯eva¯ram, which
lieve in reincarnation, except for those who attain a certain
form the first seven books of the Tamil S´aiva canon, and are
degree of holiness in this life.
sung during temple rituals. Ma¯n:ikkava¯cakar, author of the
The metaphysical creed of the V¯ıra´saivas is “qualified
Tiruva¯cakam (c. ninth century), is revered as the fourth
dualism” (vi´ses:a¯dvaita), a S´aiva variant of Ra¯ma¯nuja’s doc-
saint-teacher (camayakuru) of the tradition, although he is
trine, from which it may derive. S´iva acts through his energy
not included among the Na¯yana¯rs. Next in popularity to the
(´sakti), which divides itself into the Lord as manifested in the
¯
four poet-saints are the woman hymnist Ka¯raikka¯l Ammaiya¯r
guru and the lin˙ga¯ and into all individual souls (an˙gas). Ma¯ya¯
(c. 550–600), Tirumu¯lar (c. eighth century), author of the
is the cause and origin of the material world. Liberation from
mystical text Tirumantiram, and the legendary figures
this world is gained by devotion to God and through a six-
Kan:n:appar and Can:t:e¯car.
fold practice, the six phases (sthalas) of which will eventually
The contributions of Ña¯nacampantar, Appar, and
bring the devotee to union with S´iva (united with S´akti), a
¯
Cuntaramu¯rtti are embodied in their hymns, which Tamil
union that is not, however, complete identity with God.
S´aivas consider equal to the Vedas, holiest of Hindu scrip-
The literature is in Sanskrit, Kannada, and Telugu. That
tures. In the Tamil hymns—the first vernacular religious
in Sanskrit is mostly doctrinal; some A¯gamas include
texts in Hinduism—the saints eloquently express emotional
V¯ıra´saiva elements. The most important and popular texts
love for a personal God (S´iva), a form of religiosity new to
are in Kannada, the main part being made up of vacanas
Hinduism. The three Na¯yana¯rs traveled to 260 shrines of
(“sayings”). These are sermons, poems, and mystical utter-
¯
S´iva in Tamil country and celebrated his presence in these
ances of the great V¯ıra´saiva saints and masters (Basava, Kasi-
places. The saints’ emphasis on Tamil cultural elements,
mayya, Maha¯de¯viyakka, Allamaprabhu). This literature, in
such as emotional love in the setting of particular places, en-
which bhakti and Tantric elements combine to form a very
deared their religion to the Tamils. The T¯eva¯ram helped to
remarkable synthesis, is often of great poetic beauty.
drive Buddhism and Jainism out of the Tamil region and to
establish Tamil S´aivism as the national religion of the Tam-
SEE ALSO Ra¯ma¯nuja.
ils, patronized by the kings and practiced by the masses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In his Tamil work Periyapura¯n:am (The great history),
For the doctrine and practices of the V¯ıra´saiva, and historical
the hagiographer Ce¯kkila¯r (c. 1135) narrates the lives of
facts, any of the good histories of Indian religions may be
¯
Cuntaramu¯rtti and the sixty-two historical and legendary
consulted, for instance Jan Gonda’s Die Religionen Indiens,
saints named in a hymn (T¯eva¯ram 7.39). The Na¯yana¯rs came
vol. 2, Der jüngere Hinduismus (Stuttgart, 1963). The best
¯
from all segments in Tamil society. The majority were from
introduction to the subject is probably Speaking of S´iva,
the upper castes and classes—kings, brahmans, cultivators—
translated with an introduction by A. K. Ramanujan (New
but the list also includes a hunter, a low-caste musician, and
York, 1973), a short but excellent anthology with very useful
and perceptive commentaries. A vast collection of vacanas in
even an untouchable. In contrast to the traditional Hindu
the original text and English translation, S´u¯nyasampa¯dane, 5
caste hierarchy, the saints formed an ideal society, a spiritual-
vols., edited and translated by S. S. Bhoosnurmath et al.
ly egalitarian community of devotees of S´iva. The extreme
(Hubli-Dharwar, 1965–1972), is interesting but difficult to
acts of Kan:n:appar, who dug out his own eyes to replace the
find.
miraculously bleeding eyes of the linga image of S´iva that he
New Sources
was worshiping, and of Cirutton:t:ar, who upon request
¯
Nandimath, Sivalingayya Channabasavayya. Theology of the Saiva-
cooked and served his own son to a S´aiva devotee, are dra-
gamas: A Survey of the Doctrines of Saiva Siddhanta and Veera-
matic yet typical examples of the pattern of the saints’ lives.
saivism. Thiruvananthapuram, 2001.
At the end of such episodes, S´iva reveals himself, commend-
ANDRÉ PADOUX (1987)
ing the saint as an exemplary “servant” (at:iya¯r). The lives of
Revised Bibliography
the Na¯yana¯rs articulate the Tamil S´aiva view of devotion as
¯
love of God expressed with intensity; as emotional poetry;
and as ritual service (ton:t:u) to God and service to his devo-
S´AIVISM: NA
¯ YA¯NA¯RS
tees, rendered with total and selfless love. To this day, Tamil
¯
The sixty-three Na¯yana¯rs (c. 500–750 CE) are the early lead-
S´aivas celebrate the saints by worshiping their images, sing-
¯
ers (Tam., na¯yana¯r, “lord, leader”; pl., na¯yanma¯r) and canon-
ing their hymns, and retelling their lives.
¯
¯
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S´AIVISM: KRAMA S´AIVISM
8045
SEE ALSO Ma¯n:ikkava¯cakar; Poetry, article on Indian Reli-
The branch of Krama scriptures that originated in
gious Poetry; Tamil Religions.
Ud:d:iya¯na (of these, manuscripts survive of the
Dev¯ıpañca´sataka, Kramasadbha¯va, Dev¯ıdvyardha´satika¯, and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yonigahvara Tantra) has assimilated Kaulism and so profess-
There is no comprehensive work on the Tamil S´aiva Na¯yana¯rs.
es to have distanced itself from this Ka¯pa¯lika background.
¯
Translation of the major texts relating to these saints—the
Nonetheless, several Krama gurus in Kashmir, though they
Periyapura¯n:am, the T¯eva¯ram and the Tirumantiram
followed these scriptures, were Ka¯pa¯lika ascetics, while in the
remains a desideratum, as does a systematic study of the role
other major scriptural source of the Krama, the Kashmirian
of the sixty-three saints in the tradition.
Jayadrathaya¯mala, the reforming influence of Kaulism is ab-
Among the few translations available of the T¯eva¯ram hymns,
sent and the Ka¯pa¯lika context of the Krama is vividly de-
Francis Kingsbury and Godfrey E. Phillips’s Hymns of the
scribed. Here it is seen that the Krama arose within a tradi-
Tamil S´aivite Saints (New York, 1921) remains the best to
date; though only 79 of the 8,273 verses in the T¯eva¯ram have
tion of Kali worship principally concerned with Ka¯pa¯lika
been translated in this book, the selections are representative,
rites of spontaneous and controlled possession. The concept
accurate, poetic, and readable. H. W. Schomerus’s S´ivaitische
of possession developed into that of an enlightenment in
Heiligenlegenden, Periyapura¯n:a und Tiruva¯tavu¯rar Pura¯n:a:
which social individuality, with its constituent belief in a
Aus dem Tamil übersetzt (Jena, 1925) contains a careful trans-
world of external powers and in the objectivity of Brahmani-
lation of the excellent prose summary of the Periyapura¯n:am
cal criteria of purity, is displaced by the radiant expansion
hagiography done by the Jaffna Tamil scholar
of Ka¯l¯ı from within as an impersonal, value-free, and infinite
A¯rumukana¯valar (1822–1879). M. A. Dorai Rangaswamy’s
¯
power of consciousness that projects and resorbs the universe
The Religion and Philosophy of T¯eva¯ram, with Special Refer-
within itself.
ence to Nampi A¯ru¯rar (Sundarar), 4 vols. in 2 (Madras,
1958–1959), is a comprehensive study of the life and hymns
All forms of the Krama ritual are designed to induce this
of Cuntaramurtti, and also includes a general discussion of
liberating intrinsicism through assimilative worship of Ka¯l¯ı
Tamil S´aiva devotion and the lives of the sixty-three
(the true Self) in and as a “sequence” (krama) of sets of divine
Na¯yana¯rs. The sheer bulk and detail of this erudite study ren-
¯
powers. This “sequence” embodies all the phases through
der it more useful to the scholar than to the general reader.
Kamil Zvelebil has provided a stimulating and insightful
which this cyclical dynamism manifests itself in the micro-
analysis of the lives of the Na¯yana¯rs and of the hymns of the
cosm of the individual’s cognition, as it fills and empties it-
¯
four poet-saints as religious literature in The Smile of
self from moment to moment in the flux of experience. Thus
Murukan: On Tamil Literature of South India (Leiden,
in its commonest form the Krama ritual culminates in the
¯
1973), chap. 12, “S´aiva Bhakti: Two Approaches,”
worship of a sequence of deities that successively encodes the
pp. 185–206. Two other recent essays of interest are George
projection of content, immersion in content, retraction of
W. Spencer’s “The Sacred Geography of the Tamil Shaivite
content into the state of latent impression within the subject,
Hymns,” Numen 17 (December 1970): 232–244, and my
and finally the dissolution of these subjective impressions in
article “Singing of a Place: Pilgrimage as Metaphor and
the implosion of consciousness into its pristine, nondiscur-
Motif in the T¯eva¯ram Songs of the Tamil Saivite Saints,”
sive potentiality. In some traditions, pure luminosity (bha¯sa¯)
Journal of the American Oriental Society 102 (January–March
1982): 69–90. The former explores the political, cultural and
is worshiped as a fifth phase englobing these four as its cre-
historical dimensions of the travels of the saints, while the
ative vibrancy. Fortifying this gnostic ritual with the expan-
latter offers translations of hitherto untranslated T¯eva¯ram
sive joy of caste-free sexual union and the consumption of
hymns and assesses the contribution of each of the three
wine, flesh, and the impurities of the body, the initiate pene-
poet-saints to Tamil religion and culture.
trates through the inhibition of external values and the re-
New Sources
birth-generating bondage of self-awareness that this inhibi-
Dehejia, Vidya. Slaves of the Lord: The Path of the Tamil Saints.
tion entails, thereby attaining the conviction that his
New Delhi, 1988.
individualized consciousness is but the spontaneous play of
these universal powers. No longer enslaved by the appear-
INDIRA VISWANATHAN PETERSON (1987)
Revised Bibliography
ance of subjection to the not-self in consciousness, he
achieves liberation within the very flow of extroverted
cognition.
S´AIVISM: KRAMA S´AIVISM
This neo-Ka¯pa¯lika mysticism of the Krama reached its
The term Krama S´aivism refers to a number of closely related
highest theoretical and liturgical coherence in Kashmir in the
mystical cults of the goddess Kali and her emanations, which,
preceptorial lineage of Jña¯nanetranatha (fl. c. 850–900).
originating in Ud:d:iya¯na (Swat) and Kashmir before the
Emerging out of the Krama of Ud:d:iya¯na, the outstanding
ninth century, propagated an idealist metaphysics that exert-
works of this Kashmirian tradition are three texts, each enti-
ed a decisive influence on the Trika and thence on the
tled Maha¯nayapraka¯´sa (Illumination of the Great Doctrine),
S´r¯ıvidya¯. The Krama rituals and their wild, skull-decked,
one anonymous (between 1000 and 1200) and the others by
often theriomorphic deities place them within the Ka¯pa¯lika
Arn:asim:ha (fl. c. 1050–1100) and S´itikan:t:ha (fifteenth cen-
culture of the cremation grounds.
tury?). While remaining a distinct sectarian tradition, 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

8046
S´AIVISM: TRIKA S´AIVISM
Krama strongly influenced the Trika, the other major S´aiva
and the Tantrasadbha¯va Tantra. These Tantras lack the exe-
soteriology in Kashmir. Krama deities were incorporated
getes’ doctrine that the world is the projection in and of con-
into the core of the Trika pantheon in the second phase of
sciousness, and their liturgies and yogic systems share the ab-
Trika, and in its third phase the gurus who propagated the
sence of the goddess Ka¯l¯ı/Ka¯lasam:kars:in:i, whose cult was
Pratyabhijña¯ (in the tenth century) took initiations in the
later central to the Trika.
lineage of Jñananetrana¯tha. It is probable that this Krama
In the earlier period (probably before 800 CE) Trika
background inspired their idealist nondualism. Among them
S´aivism is defined by a system of ritual whose goal is the as-
Abhinavagupta contributed to the literature of the indepen-
similation of the power of a “triad” (trika) of goddesses, Para¯,
dent Krama, while his better-known exegesis of the Trika at-
Para¯para¯, and Apara¯, the first benevolent, the other two wild
tempts to show that the Trika’s categories contain the Krama
and terrifying, garlanded with skulls and brandishing the
as their essence. The independent Krama, influenced in turn
khatva¯n˙ga, the skull-topped staff of the Ka¯pa¯likas. Associated
by the Pratyabhijña¯, spread in the twelfth century to the
with the cult of these sect-defining deities was that of the
S´aiva centers of the far South. Of this phase there are the
eight mother goddesses and their embodiments in “clans”
Maha¯rthamañjar¯ı (Flower-cluster of the Great Doctrine) by
(kula) of yoginis. The latter are both supernatural apparitions
Mahe´sva¯rananda of Cidambaram (fl. c. 1175–1225) and the
and human females considered to be permanently possessed
Cidgaganacandrika¯ (Moonlight of the sky of consciousness)
by the mother goddesses. They were to be invoked and/or
by S´r¯ıvatsa, probably of S´uc¯ındram (between 1075 and
placated with offerings of blood, flesh, wine, and sexual flu-
1150).
ids by power-seeking adepts whose affinity with one or other
Apart from these Kashmirian and southern develop-
of these clans was divined at the time of initiation.
ments, forms of the Krama flourished outside Kashmir as the
This cult of supernatural power through the manipula-
basis of the cult of the goddess Guhyaka¯l¯ı. The earliest and
tion of impurity incorporated Ka¯l¯ı in the second phase of its
richest work of this tradition is the Ka¯l¯ıkulakrama¯rcana of
development, first alone, as the transcendental goddess im-
Vimalaprabodha (before 1000), drawing on both the tradi-
manent in the original three as her emanations (this is
tion of Ud:d:iya¯na and that of the Jayadrathaya¯mala. Many
seen in the Devya¯ya¯mala Tantra and in parts of the
liturgical texts of this branch of the Krama survive in the
Jayadrathaya¯mala Tantra), and then accompanied by the
Kathmandu valley, where the cult of Guhyaka¯l¯ı (often iden-
pantheon of Krama S´aivism’s cycle of cognition, as in
tified with Guhye´svar¯ı, the principal local goddess) has con-
the Trikasadbha¯va Tantra and Trikahr:daya Tantra. Since the
tinued into modern times. It is also to the S´aiva Newars of
Krama originated in the far Northwest, it is probable that
Nepal that is owed the preservation of manuscripts of the
this second phase of the Trika developed in Kashmir.
Krama scriptures, which are mentioned and quoted by the
early authors of Kashmir but have not survived there.
The third phase of the Trika (from c. 900 CE), repre-
sented principally by the Tantra¯loka, Ma¯lin¯ıvijayava¯rtika,
SEE ALSO Abhinavagupta.
and Para¯trim:´sika¯vivaran:a of Abhinavagupta, shows the tra-
dition competing with the S´aiva Siddha¯nta for authority
BIBLIOGRAPHY
within the mainstream of Kashmirian S´aivism. Equipped in
Rastogi, Navjivan. The Krama Tantricism of Kashmir, vol. 1.
the Pratyabhijña¯ with a respectable metaphysics, it distanced
Delhi, 1979.
itself from the visionary, power-orientated world of the early
Silburn, Lilian, trans. Hymnes aux Ka¯li: La roue des énergies divines.
Trika. Its sect-defining rituals are directed inward to self-
Publications de l’Institut de Civilisation Indienne, fasc. 40.
contemplation in unmotivated performance, so that in prin-
Paris, 1975.
ciple they can be abandoned when gnostic self-cultivation no
Silburn, Lilian, trans. La Maha¯rthamañjar¯ı de Mahe´svara¯nanda,
longer requires their support.
avec des extraits du Parimala. Publications de l’Institut de
Behind this level of Tantric ritual, which gave the sect
Civilisation Indienne, fasc. 29. Paris, 1968.
its broad base in the S´aiva community, this phase of the
ALEXIS SANDERSON (1987)
Trika preserved, as the cult of the virtuosi, a variety of the
erotico-mystical Kaulism associated with the perhaps mythi-
cal saint Macchanda (also known as Matsyendrana¯tha). This
tradition had its roots in the cult of the clans of the eight
S´AIVISM: TRIKA S´AIVISM
mother goddesses seen in the first phase of the Trika, in relat-
The S´aivas of the Trika tradition were the principal propaga-
ed S´aiva cults (e.g., that of the Picumatabrahmaya¯mala Tan-
tors of the nondualist idealism that flourished in Kashmir
tra), and in Buddhist adaptations in the Heruka Tantras, but
from about 900 CE. Although all the known exegetical litera-
broke away from this substratum by rejecting the external as-
ture of the Trika is Kashmirian or inspired by Kashmirian
pects of the culture of the cremation grounds. This trend to-
authors, there are reasons to doubt that the tradition was
ward mystical interiorization is extremely marked in the
Kashmirian in origin. The earliest and probably pre-
Trika Kaulism of Abhinavagupta, who propagated a meta-
Kashmirian phase of its development is seen in the
aesthetics in which orgasm with the consecrated female part-
Siddhayoge´svar¯ımata Tantra, the Ma¯lin¯ıvijayottara Tantra,
ner or “messenger” (du¯t¯ı)—the key moment of higher Kaula
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S´AIVISM: S´AIVISM IN KASHMIR
8047
practice—was to reveal the all-containing dynamism of the
radically opposed schools: on the one hand, a group of non-
absolute self radiating in blissful consciousness as the reality
dualistic traditions, principally the Trika and the Krama, and
embodied and less directly perceived in the structure of its
on the other, the dualistic S´aiva Siddha¯nta. The nondualists,
divine powers worshiped by lesser adepts in the Tantric and
upholding the doctrine that the world and persons are no
preliminary Kaula rituals.
more than the play of the power of a universal consciousness-
Distinctive of the third phase of the Trika are (1) the
self, operated from within transgressive cults “tainted” by the
doctrine of the co-essentiality of the “triad” (trika) of the in-
Ka¯pa¯lika culture of the cremation grounds and the erotico-
dividual (an:u or nara), cosmic power (´sakti), and the ground
mystical soteriology of the Kaulas. The Kashmirian S´aiva
of ´sakti, S´iva; (2) the equation of the worship of the three
Siddha¯nta sealed itself off from these “impure,” visionary tra-
goddesses in their Kali-ground with liberating awareness of
ditions. It sustained a “pure” cult of S´iva, based on the twen-
the unity in pure consciousness of (a) precognitive impulse,
ty-eight A¯gamas, with a soteriology that subordinated gnosis
cognition, and action, (b) object, medium, and agent of cog-
to the ritual praxis of indissolubly individual agents, claim-
nition, and (c) projection of, immersion in, and retraction
ing, moreover, that this praxis was entirely compatible with
of content in consciousness; (3) the ascent through the three
orthodox Brahmanical duty and caste purity.
means of salvation: the a¯n:ava (through action, both ritual
The outstanding authors of this conservative S´aivism
and yogic), the ´sa¯kta (through the gradual intensification of
were Na¯ra¯yan:akan:t:ha (fl. c. 950–1025 CE) and his son
a purely intellectual representation of reality toward its self-
Ra¯makan:t:ha. The most outstanding work is the latter’s
transcendence in nondiscursive revelation), and the
Nare´svarapar¯ıks:a¯praka¯´sa. The rise of the nondualist theolo-
´sa¯mbhava (self-realization unmediated by thought, in the
gy that opposed the S´aiva Siddha¯nta began with Vasugupta
inner vibrancy of the precognitive impulse); (4) the hierarchy
and his pupil Kallat:a (fl. c. 850–900), was philosophically
of seven levels of the contraction of the self, from the
refined by Soma¯nanda (fl. c. 900–950) and his pupil Ut-
S´iva-mode to that of the individual; and (5) the claim to
paladeva, and culminated in the monumental works of Ab-
catholicity: The third phase of the Trika claims to be the
hinavagupta and his pupil K´semara¯ja (fl. c. 1000–1050).
summation of and key to all S´aiva traditions, both “ortho-
This tradition also sought to accommodate orthodox life, but
dox” (i.e., S´aiva Siddha¯nta) and “heterodox” (i. e., the
by a different route. While the dualists adapted S´aivism to
Bhairavatantras, Kaulism, and the Krama). After Abhinavag-
the orthodox view of the castebound ritual agent, the nondu-
upta and his pupil Ks:emara¯ja, the third phase of the Trika
alists offered the initiate an esoteric self concealed within his
spread to the Tamil country. There it provided the theoreti-
perceived individuality, a blissful, transindividual conscious-
cal basis for and influenced the form of the cult of S´r¯ıvidya.
ness which, being the cause and substance of all phenomena,
could be seen as freely assuming the appearance of his limita-
SEE ALSO Abhinavagupta.
tion by an “outside world” and its values, as though it were
an actor playing a role. Behind this outer conformity the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
S´aiva householder initiated into the Trika could experience
Abhinavagupta. Tantraloka. Translated by Raniero Gnoli as Luce
the power of transcendence through contemplative worship
delle sacre scritture—Tantraloka. Turin, 1972.
that involved not only consumption of meat and wine but—
Abhinavagupta. Tantrasara. Translated by Raniero Gnoli as Essen-
in the case of the elite of v¯ıras (“heroes”)—sexual inter-
za del Tantra. Turin, 1979.
course.
Padoux, André. Recherches sur la symbolique et l’énergie de la parole
This nondualistic tradition with its relatively sect-
dans certains textes tantriques. Publications de l’Institut de
neutral metaphysics has generally been called Kashmir
Civilisation Indienne, fasc. 21. Paris, 1963.
S´aivism. This term, however, obscures the fact that in the
Sanderson, Alexis. “Man:d:ala and Agamic Identity in the Trika of
tenth and eleventh centuries, the period of most of the exist-
Kashmir.” In Mantras et diagrammes rituels dans
ing S´aiva literature, it was the S´aiva Siddha¯nta that was the
l’hindouisme, edited by André Padoux. Paris, 1986.
dominant S´aiva doctrine (jña¯na) in Kashmir, whereas the
A
principal S´aiva cult in that region was then, as it has re-
LEXIS SANDERSON (1987)
mained, neither that of the S´aiva Siddha¯nta nor that of the
Trika or Krama. Rather it was the worship of Svacchandab-
hairava and his consort Aghore´svar¯ı, a form of S´aivism that
S´AIVISM: S´AIVISM IN KASHMIR
falls between these two extremes. Naturally, the two schools
From the second half of the ninth century CE, Tantric
competed for authority over this middle ground. The S´aiva
S´aivism in Kashmir advanced in various forms into the front
Siddha¯nta had propagated a dualistic and socially conserva-
line of Brahmanical thinking. Learned authors superimposed
tive exegesis of its principal scripture, the Svacchanda Tantra,
upon roughly homogenous groups of scriptural traditions
which K´semara¯ja countered from within the newly consoli-
uniform systems of metaphysics and soteriology that could
dated nondualism in his own, subsequently authoritative
be defended not only against each other but also against the
commentary.
major non-S´aiva doctrines of the time. By the tenth century
The new nondualism also entered the Kaula cult of the
the S´aiva scene was dominated by the confrontation of two
goddess Tripurasundar¯ı, or S´r¯ıvidya¯, which rose to eminence
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S´AIVISM: PRATYABHIJÑA¯
8048
in Kashmir during the eleventh century. This Kashmirian
S´aivism that flourished approximately between the ninth and
tradition of the S´r¯ıvidya¯, which by the twelfth century had
thirteenth centuries in Kashmir and other parts of northern
spread to the Tamil country, came to be adopted in Trika
India but also elsewhere. The importance of the Pratyabhijña¯
circles with the result that the Trika became less a system of
in nondualist S´aivism is underscored by the fact that
Tantric worship than a matrix of metaphysics and soteriolog-
Ma¯dhava (fourteenth century), in the Sarvadar´sanasam:-
ical theory. Outstanding representatives of this Trika-based
graha, a classical work on Indian religious and philosophical
S´r¯ıvidya¯ in Kashmir were Jayaratha (fl. c. 1225–1275), Sa¯hib
systems, describes this school as Pratyabhijña¯. The doctrine
Kaula (b. 1629), S´ivopa¯dhya¯ya (fl. c. 1725–1775), and
was first formulated systematically by Soma¯nanda (ninth
Harabhat:t:a (1874–1951). The cult of Tripurasundar¯ı also
century?) in his S´ivadr:s:t:i, then by his disciple Utpaladeva in
permeated the worship of the local family goddesses of Kash-
the ¯I´svarapratyabhijña¯ka¯rika¯ (Verses on the Recognition of
mir (Jva¯la¯mukh¯ı, S´a¯rika¯, Ra¯jñ¯ı, Ba¯la¯, etc.). Indeed, she was
God) and in a subsequent commentary (Vr:tti) on them. It
generally seen as the archetype and source of all the goddesses
was further elaborated by Abhinavagupta (tenth to eleventh
enshrined in the valley.
century) in two important commentaries, the ¯I´svara-
Although Trika ritual seems largely to have been re-
pratyabhijña¯ Vimar´sin¯ı and the ¯I´svarapratyabhijña¯ Vivr:tti-
placed by that of the S´r¯ıvidya¯, that of the Krama retained
vimar´sin¯ı. Abhinavagupta’s disciple Ks:emara¯ja gave a short
its vigor, being preserved in such late texts as the
and clear exposition of this doctrine in the Pratyabhij-
Maha¯nayapraka¯´sa of S´itikan:t:ha, the Chummasam:prada¯ya,
ña¯hr:daya. These treatises, all from Kashmir, rank among the
and the S´ivara¯trirahasya of Nityasvatantra, in which Krama
main Indian philosophical works.
ritual is seen to play an important role in the annual S´ivara¯tri
The term pratyabhijña¯ is usually translated as “recogni-
festival. It is also probable that a related tradition based on
tion.” The word has been explained as knowledge (jña¯na) of
the Ma¯dhavakula of the Jayadrathaya¯mala Tantra and wor-
an object to which one turns back (prati) and which then
shiping Ka¯l¯ı as the consort of Narasim:ha, the man-lion in-
faces (abhi) the knower. It is the knowledge regained of the
carnation of Vis:n:u, survived into the late Middle Ages. At
identity of the individual self and of the world with the Su-
present, nondualist S´aiva doctrine and some techniques of
preme Source of all.
meditation continue to be accessible to the brahmans of the
valley, but the tradition of Tantric ritual maintained by the
For this school, to quote Ks:emara¯ja, “it is the divine
priests (go¯rini) through the centuries of Muslim rule has de-
Consciousness alone, self-shining absolute free will, that
clined to such an extent that it faces imminent extinction.
flashes forth in the form of the multitudinous universe”: It
is the unique cause, the inner reality and the substratum of
SEE ALSO Abhinavagupta; Tantrism.
cosmic manifestation, which it projects as a shining forth
(a¯bha¯sa) on itself as on a screen. This consciousness, S´iva, is
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the one absolute reality. The world is insubstantial—though
Abhinavagupta. Tantra¯loka. Translated by Raniero Gnoli as Luce
not illusory, for it is, in its ultimate nature, of the same stuff
delle sacre scritture—Tantra¯loka. Turin, 1972.
as consciousness, from which it has evolved and with which
Pandey, Kanti Chandra. Abhinavagupta: An Historical and Philo-
it remains merged. But this identity is hidden because of the
sophical Study. 2d ed., rev. & enl. Varanasi, 1963.
action of ma¯ya¯´sakti, the limiting and obnubilating power of
S´iva. The world, in such a vision, exists only as a kind of cos-
Sanderson, Alexis. “Purity and Power among the Brahmans of
Kashmir.” In The Category of the Person, edited by Michael
mic oblivion of reality, hence the role of recognition through
Carrithers, Steven Collins, and Steven Lukes. Cambridge,
which the “forgotten” truth is rediscovered. Pratyabhijña¯ is
1986.
not remembrance, however. It does not result from memory,
despite the important metaphysical role of remem-
New Sources
brance—smaran:a—in nondualist S´aivism, but from a syn-
Dehejia, Harsha V. Parvatidarpana: An Exposition of Kasmir Sai-
vism through the Images of Siva and Parvati. Delhi, 1997.
thetic activity of the mind that destroys the misconceptions
veiling the real nature of the supreme Self and finally brings
Muller-Ortega, Paul Eduardo. The Triadic Heart of Siva: Kaula
one to realize the truth: “I am S´iva, the only true conscious-
Tantricism of Abhinavagupta in the Non-Dual Shaivism of
Kashmir
. Albany, 1989.
ness, omniscient, the only active power of the universe.”
Pandita, Balajinnatha. History of Kashmir Saivism. Srinagar, Kash-
This knowledge, brought about by intense spiritual con-
mir, 1989.
centration (bha¯vana¯) and with the necessary help of God’s
A
grace (anugraha or ´saktipa¯ta, the “descent of divine energy”),
LEXIS SANDERSON (1987)
Revised Bibliography
is attained by the yogin after having reached the state of
sama¯dhi, where the yogin experiences a merging with
(sama¯ve´sa) or a unifying contemplation of (sama¯patti) the
Supreme. It is said to shine as an intuitive vision (pratibha¯),
S´AIVISM: PRATYABHIJÑA
¯
destroying all illusion. When this state becomes permanent,
The Pratyabhijña¯ system of thought is part of what is called
the yogin is freed from all bondage and is totally identified
Kashmir S´aivism, a name applied to nondualist forms of
with S´iva, master of the whole cosmic process. The highest
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S´AIVISM: KA¯PA¯LIKAS
8049
cosmic bliss (jagada¯nanda) is then experienced while one is
According to the Pa¯´supata Su¯tra, the doctrine of the sect
still in life (j¯ıvanmukti); it is a state in which empirical aware-
is based on the analysis of five major topics: effect (ka¯ran:a),
ness and perfect transcendental consciousness coincide.
or the created universe; cause (ka¯rya), namely God; union
(yoga), the purposeful association of the individual soul with
SEE ALSO Abhinavagupta.
God; observance (vidhi), ascetic and devotional practice; and
end of sorrow (duh:kha¯nta), or salvation. The Gan:aka¯rika¯ de-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A short and useful book on the subject is Ks:emara¯ja’s
scribes five different stages (avastha¯) in the adept’s spiritual
Pratyabhijña¯hr:dayam, Sam:skr:ta Text with English Translation
progress, each connected with a particular place, strength,
and Notes, 2d ed., edited and translated by Jaideva Singh
impurity, purification, procedure, attainment, and aspect of
(Delhi, 1977). Abhinavagupta’s ¯I´svarapratyabhijña¯vimar´sin¯ı
initiation. In the first, “marked” (vyakta) stage, the adept
has been translated “in the light of the Bha¯skar¯ı”—that is,
stays with his guru in a temple. In an act typical of S´aiva as-
in the spirit of a later commentary, by one Bha¯skara—by
cetics he daily “bathes” in ashes and offers six different acts
Kanti Chandra Pandey in Bha¯skar¯ı, vol. 3 (Lucknow, 1954).
of worship dedicated to S´iva. In the second, “unmarked”
ANDRÉ PADOUX (1987)
(avyakta) stage, he leaves the temple to live among ordinary
people and engages in the curious practices called “doors”
(dva¯ra), the aim of which is to earn the active contempt of
S´AIVISM: PA
¯ S´UPATAS
the uninitiated populace. These practices include walking
The Pa¯´supatas were possibly the earliest, and certainly one
about as if sick or crippled, making “amorous” gestures to-
of the most influential, of the Hindu religious sects dedicated
ward women, and acting and talking as if without any wits.
to the god S´iva. The probable founder of this sect was called
The ascetics thereby pass their own bad karman to their un-
Lakul¯ı´sa, meaning “the lord [¯ı´sa] with the club [lakula].”
suspecting revilers while at the same time absorbing these re-
According to several of the Pura¯n:as, and other sources as
vilers’ good karman. The remaining three stages are basically
well, Lakul¯ı´sa was an incarnation of S´iva, who entered a
progressive levels of spiritual enlightenment unrelated to ex-
human body in the village of Ka¯ya¯vataran:a or Ka¯ya¯rohan:a,
ternal behavior.
located in western India near the city of Broach. He had four
As in the possibly related doctrine of the Saiva Siddhan-
disciples named (with variants) Ku´sika, Ga¯rgya, Kaurus:a,
tins, the Pa¯´supatas make an ontological distinction between
and Maitreya. Each of them established an important geneal-
the individual soul (pa´su), God (pati), and the fetters of this
ogy of religious preceptors. An inscription from Mathura of
world (pa¯´sa). Their basic metaphysical position is thus both
380 CE mentions a S´aiva guru who was tenth in descent from
dualist and monotheistic. The grace of God is believed to be
Ku´sika. Assuming that this Ku´sika was his direct disciple,
essential for salvation, which is conceived of as an intimate
Lakul¯ı´sa must have lived in about the first half of the second
association of the soul with S´iva (Rudra¯sayujya). Several
century.
Pa¯´supata theologians were renowned as logicians
The Pa¯´supata sect seems to have died out by about the
(naiya¯yikas).
end of the fifteenth century. Nonetheless, its doctrines and
practices are reasonably well known from two surviving
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pa¯´supata texts: the Gan:aka¯rika¯, attributed to Haradatta,
A documented review of modern scholarship on the Pa¯´supatas is
with a commentary attributed to Bha¯sarvajña (tenth centu-
found in my study The Ka¯pa¯likas and Ka¯la¯mukhas: Two Lost
ry), and the Pa¯´supata Su¯tra, with the commentary of
S´aivite Sects (Berkeley, Calif., 1972). See also The
Kaun:d:inya. Both of these texts are cited by Sa¯yan:a-Ma¯dhava
Pa¯´supata-su¯tram with Pañcha¯rtha-Bha¯s:ya of Kaun:d:inya,
translated by Haripada Chakraborti (Calcutta, 1970). The
(fourteenth century) in the chapter on this sect in his
critical translation by Minoru Hara of the Pa¯´supata chapter
Sarvadar´sanasam:graha. The influence of the Pa¯´supatas is evi-
of Sa¯yan:a-Ma¯dhava’s Sarvadar´sanasam:graha in Indo-Iranian
dent in several S´aiva Pura¯n:as and in the late Atharva´siras
Journal 2 (1958): 8–32, is excellent on Pa¯´supata doctrine and
Upanis:ad, but the Pa¯´supata doctrines and practices described
practice.
in these works differ considerably from those of the
New Sources
Gan:aka¯rika¯ and Pa¯´supata Su¯tra.
Hara, Minoru. Pasupata Studies. Publications of the De Nobili
The Pa¯´supatas were quite influential over much of
Research Library v. 30. Vienna, 2002.
South India from about the seventh to fourteenth centuries.
DAVID N. LORENZEN (1987)
The Ka¯lamukhas, a closely related sect that also traced its
Revised Bibliography
foundation to Lakul¯ı´sa, controlled many temples and
monasteries in the Karnataka region of the South during
much of the same period. The ascetics of both sects actively
participated in the revival of S´aivism that virtually eliminated
S´AIVISM: KA
¯ PA¯LIKAS
Jainism and Buddhism from South India and competed suc-
In the South Indian text Periya Pura¯n:am by Cekkilar (c.
cessfully with the rival Hindu Vais:n:avas as well. As a result,
1100), a S´aiva ascetic visits the home of a seventh-century
even today S´iva remains the principal god of the Hindus of
householder-saint, one of the sixty-three Na¯yana¯rs, and de-
this region.
¯
mands to be fed with the flesh of the saint’s only son. With
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8050
SAKA RELIGION
limitless devotional zeal, the saint promptly beheads his
Maha¯vratin (Follower of the Great Vow). The penance is
young son, helps his wife prepare a curry of their son’s flesh,
eventually completed in Banaras, the holy city of S´iva, at the
and finally agrees even to join the ascetic in the gruesome
sacred bathing place (t¯ırtha) on the Ganges called
feast. At the last moment the cruel guest disappears and the
Kapa¯lamocana, where the skull finally falls from his hand.
sacrificed son returns to life. The ascetic reveals himself to
The descriptions of human Ka¯pa¯lika ascetics likewise
be none other than the god S´iva come to test his devotee.
conform to those of the Kapa¯lin form of S´iva. They wander
This legend is typical of those associated with the Ka¯pa¯likas,
about with a skull begging-bowl, their bodies smeared with
or Bearers of the Skull (kapa¯la), a heterodox S´aiva sect often
ashes, wearing bone or skull ornaments and loincloths of ani-
accused of both necrophilic and orgiastic practices.
mal skin, with their hair in matted locks. They sometimes
The true character of the Ka¯pa¯lika sect is difficult to de-
carry a special club called a khat:va¯n˙ga, consisting of a skull
termine since it is known almost exclusively from the text of
mounted on a stick.
its opponents, especially from dramatic works such as the
In none of this is there any suggestion of orgiastic be-
Prabodhacandrodaya of Kr:s:n:ami´sra (c. 1050–1100) and the
havior. Nonetheless, the more heterodox S´aiva sects generally
Mattavila¯sa of Mahendravarman (c. 600–630), and from
are associated with the religious current known as Tantrism,
the hagiographies of the great theologian S´an˙kara¯ca¯rya writ-
which does feature rites that break, either symbolically or in
ten by Ma¯dhava¯ca¯rya (c. 1700?), Ananta¯nandagiri (c.
fact, orthodox socioreligious injunctions concerning both
1400?), and others. It is even possible to suppose that the
food and sex. The best known of such rites is that of the five
Ka¯pa¯lika sect has been created by these authors to personify
ma sounds (pañcamaka¯ra) in which the devotee partakes of
the varied groups of unorthodox and Tantric ascetics who
liquor (madya), meat (ma¯m:sa), fish (matsya), parched grain
worshiped the god S´iva. There does, however, exist sufficient
(mudra¯), and coition (maithuna). Ka¯pa¯lika ascetics are fre-
evidence to indicate the probable historical reality of a specif-
quently regarded as libidinous hypocrites who practice the
ic Ka¯pa¯lika sect between about the fifth and fifteenth centu-
Tantric reversals of conventional morality on a daily basis.
ries CE.
In Tantric cults, salvation (mukti) is often imagined as
First, the Ka¯pa¯likas, sometimes also called Kapa¯lins or
a state of bliss homologous to the bliss of the sexual union
Maha¯vratins, are frequently mentioned as one of the four
of S´iva and Pa¯rvat¯ı. The doctrine of the Ka¯pa¯likas is usually
principal religious sects dedicated to the god S´iva. The his-
called Soma Siddhanta, a term that is traditionally explained
torical existence and importance of the others—the
as the doctrine (siddha¯nta) of S´iva united with his wife Uma
Pa¯´supatas, Ka¯la¯mukhas, and S´aiva Siddha¯ntins—is beyond
(sa-uma¯).
doubt. Second, two inscriptions from western India, dating
BIBLIOGRAPHY
from the seventh and eleventh centuries, record donations
My study The Ka¯pa¯likas and Ka¯la¯mukhas: Two Lost Saivite S´ects
to what must have been Ka¯pa¯lika ascetics. In the first inscrip-
(Berkeley, Calif., 1972) attempts a full reconstruction of
tion the recipients of the gifts are described as Maha¯vratins
Ka¯pa¯lika history, practice, and doctrine. An excellent treat-
who reside in the temple of Ka¯pa¯le´svara, Lord of the Ka¯pa¯las;
ment of the myth of S´iva-Kapa¯lin is found in Wendy
in the second the recipient is described as a Maha¯vratin ascet-
Doniger O’Flaherty’s The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology
ic who is “like the Kapa¯lin S´an˙kara in bodily form.” This
(Berkeley, Calif., 1976).
Kapa¯lin is none other than S´iva in the form of a Ka¯pa¯lika
DAVID N. LORENZEN (1987)
ascetic. The myth of S´iva-Kapa¯lin is the third and most im-
portant basis for supposing the existence of a specific
Ka¯pa¯lika sect, since this myth evidently serves as the arche-
SAKA RELIGION SEE SCYTHIAN RELIGION
typal model for the religious practices of the ascetic members
of the sect. The myth is not clearly referred to in texts earlier
than the Pura¯n:as (c. 200–1300), but it is indirectly linked
S´AKTI SEE KUN:D:ALIN¯I; TANTRISM
to the early Vedic myth of the conflict between the gods
Praja¯pati and Rudra and to the Maha¯bha¯rata myth of Ra¯ma
Ra¯ghava and the sage Mahodara.
SAKYA PAN:D:ITA (SA SKYA PAN:D:ITA)
The Puranic myth of S´iva-Kapa¯lin begins with an argu-
(1182–1251). The religious culture of Tibet came to be char-
ment between S´iva and the creator god, Brahma¯. The upshot
acterized, from the thirteenth century on, by a remarkable
of the dispute is that S´iva removes one of the five heads of
emphasis not just upon Buddhist thought and practice, but
Brahma¯ and thereby is afflicted with the sin of brahmahatya¯,
also upon a broad range of Indian learning sometimes only
the killing of a brahman. To free himself from this sin, sym-
indirectly related to the study of Indian Buddhism per se. The
bolically represented by the skull of Brahma¯ sticking to his
broadening of Tibetan cultural horizons that this entailed
left hand, S´iva must undertake a twelve-year penance, wan-
may be traced directly to the considerable influence of the
dering about in the guise of a Ka¯pa¯lika ascetic who uses the
renowned monastic scholar Sa skya Pan:d:ita.
skull as a begging bowl. This penance is known as the Great
HIS LIFE. Sa skya Pan:d:ita (the “pan:d:it from Sa skya”), whose
Vow (maha¯vrata), and S´iva consequently becomes a
proper name was Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan (Kunga Gyaltsen),
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SAKYA PAN:D:ITA (SA SKYA PAN:D:ITA)
8051
was born in 1182 as the son of Dpal chen ’od po, a scion
fectively to negotiate Tibet’s submission. Traveling with his
of the ruling ’Khon family of the principality of Sa skya in
young nephews, ’Phags pa (Phagpa, who would later become
southwestern Tibet. During the preceding century, his fore-
the preceptor of Khubilai Khan) and Phyag na, he arrived
bears had already established a reputation for Sa skya as an
in Liangzhou (in modern Gansu) in 1246 and met the Khan
important seat of Buddhist learning and a major center for
early the following year. Tibet, as a result, became one of the
the promulgation of the esoteric system of the Tantras. He
few lands to enter into the Mongol empire through negotia-
was accordingly educated in these traditions under the tute-
tion, without subjection to the horrors of invasion, the Sa
lage of his uncle, Grags pa rgyal mtshan (Trakpa Gyaltsen,
skya pa emerging as Tibet’s rulers for the century that fol-
1147–1216), a renowned lay scholar and adept. During his
lowed. These developments, however, occurring gradually
mid-teens, he came to be regarded as a master of the familial
over roughly two decades, were not the immediate outcome
legacy and, advised by his uncle, left Sa skya to continue his
of Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s mission to Godan Khan, which never-
studies under a variety of masters of the major Indian Bud-
theless provided a precedent for the Sa skya pa-Mongol
dhist philosophical and doctrinal treatises, concentrating in
alliance.
particular upon epistemology and Madhyamaka dialectical
thought.
Sa skya Pan:d:ita passed away in Liangzhou in 1251. Be-
sides the fame he enjoyed among later generations of Tibet-
In 1204 the Kashmiri master S´a¯kya´sr¯ıbhadra (d. 1225)
ans, the Mongolian peoples have also honored him as one
arrived in Tibet accompanied by an entourage of Indian
of the first Buddhist masters to introduce them to the faith
scholars. Sa skya Pan:d:ita was one of a number of up-and-
that in later times they adopted.
coming Tibetan clerics who were inspired by this opportuni-
M
ty to learn directly from knowledgeable Indian teachers and
AJOR WRITINGS. Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s writings are known
today primarily through the standard, Sde dge (Derge) xylo-
he invited one of them, Sugata´sr¯ı, to return with him to Sa
graphic edition of his collected works in three volumes, pub-
skya. For a period of three years (1205–1207), Sa skya
lished during the mid-1730s and containing a total of over
Pan:d:ita applied himself to mastering Sanskrit grammar and
one hundred individual texts ranging from short poems to
other aspects of Sanskrit linguistic and literary learning, a
extended systematic treatises. Though by no means a large
training that would lend a notably “Indological” perspective
corpus for an important Tibetan author, Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s
to his scholarship in later years. In 1208 he again met
oeuvre is nevertheless noteworthy for the diversity of the sub-
S´a¯kya´sr¯ıbhadra and received the full monastic ordination of
jects treated, as for the unusual influence his major writings
a bhiks:u from him, an event that traditionally is held to mark
have had throughout much of Tibetan intellectual and liter-
the inception of the Sa skya pa as a properly monastic order.
ary history. Recent Tibetan bibliographical scholarship has
For the next five years he continued to study a broad range
revealed some additional works preserved only in manuscript
of Buddhist textual traditions under S´a¯kya´sr¯ıbhadra and the
that may be securely attributed to Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s author-
other members of his entourage. Following the death of his
ship, while at the same time a number of texts included in
uncle Grags pa rgyal mtshan in 1216, Sa skya Pan:d:ita came
the Sde dge edition have been shown to be pseudepigraphi-
to be recognized as the leading successor within the religious
cal. Most notorious among the latter is a substantial work,
tradition of Sa skya.
the Gzhung lugs legs bshad (Excellent exposition of textual
For the three decades that follow, the exact chronology
traditions), that appears to have been inserted in the standard
of Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s life is obscure, though it is clear that it
edition on the mistaken assumption that it was to be identi-
was during this time that he was most active as a teacher and
fied with Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s still lost treatise on Buddhist
author, achieving widespread fame in Tibetan learned circles.
philosophical systems.
At some point—it remains unclear just when—he traveled
to the Tibet-Nepal frontier, where he is said to have engaged
Among the many notable writings that are presently
in debate and soundly defeated a Hindu ascetic named Hara-
available, it is the Mkhas pa ’jug pa’i sgo (Scholar’s gate) that
nandin. The story of their dispute, though only thinly docu-
comes closest to setting forth a general program representing
mented in early sources, later became a popular tale of magi-
Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s ideals of Sanskritic learning. He presents
cal warfare in which Sa skya Pan:d:ita had to call upon the
here the exposition of a trivium based upon the mastery of
services of a Rnying ma (Nyingma) pa sorcerer in order to
composition, rhetoric, and debate, and in the first chapter,
vanquish his opponent, who was about to fly miraculously
on composition, he supplies a series of short, fine surveys of
into Tibet.
the elements of grammar and poetics, including the theory
of designation and meaning, and a relatively detailed intro-
A real threat to Tibet, however, did emerge during the
duction to the topics of aesthetic sentiment and poetic orna-
last years of Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s life: the Mongol descendants
ment. His promulgation in Tibet of Indian literary conven-
of Chinggis Khan, having conquered much of Eurasia, began
tions is further represented by his Legs bshad rin chen gter
to direct their armies toward Tibet, where an incursion was
mdzod (Jewel mine of aphorisms), perhaps his most famous
made in 1239. Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s preeminence came to the
work, a collection of short verses, many of which were culled
attention of the Mongol ruler Godan Khan not long after
from Indian books of ethical and political admonition. Sa
this, and in 1244 the latter summoned him to the court, ef-
skya Pan:d:ita’s pithy Tibetan renditions have achieved pro-
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8052
SAKYA PAN:D:ITA (SA SKYA PAN:D:ITA)
verbial status and even today are frequently cited from
meneutics of the Buddhist religion. With variations, these
memory.
guiding ideas would be taken up by later generations of Ti-
betan scholars, so that, for the most part, Tibetan learning
Indian traditions of logic and epistemology (prama¯n:a)
from the late thirteenth century on distinctly bears Sa skya
figured prominently among his major concerns. Among his
Pan:d:ita’s imprint.
key contributions here was the final redaction of the Tibetan
translation of Dharmak¯ırti’s masterwork, the Prama¯n:a-
Specifically, his interest in Sanskrit poetics provoked a
va¯rttika, henceforth the basis for all Tibetan scholarship in
virtual revolution in Tibetan literary style. Following the Ti-
this field. His own synthesis of Indian Buddhist epistemolo-
betan translation by his disciple, Shong ston Rdo rje rgyal
gy, the Tshad ma rigs gter (Treasury of epistemic reason), en-
mtshan (Shongtön Dorje Gyaltsen, fl. late thirteenth centu-
joys a singularly extensive commentarial tradition in later Ti-
ry), of such Sanskrit literary classics as Ka¯lida¯sa’s famed
betan scholasticism and is said to have been the sole Tibetan
Meghadu¯ta (Cloud messenger) and Dan:d:in’s Ka¯vya¯dar´sa
philosophical work ever translated into Sanskrit (though no
(Mirror of poetics), the stylistic emulation of Sanskrit poetic
proof of this has so far emerged).
ornament became a fundamental feature of Tibetan compo-
sition. Though contemporary critics have sometimes lament-
Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s Buddhist doctrinal writings are repre-
ed the privileging of such work over and against more charac-
sented by his Thub pa dgongs gsal (Clarification of the sage’s
teristically indigenous Tibetan modes of expression, echoes
intention), providing a comprehensive guide to the path of
of Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s Sanskritizing voice may be found even
the bodhisattva according to the major scriptures and treatises
among today’s young Tibetan authors.
of the Indian Maha¯ya¯na. His Sdom gsum rnam dbye (Analysis
of the three vows) is perhaps his most controversial work, in
The emphasis on the full range of Indian learning that
which he sets forth trenchant criticisms of doctrinal and exe-
Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s project entailed found perhaps its greatest
getic developments in Tibet, organized according to the
exemplification in the work of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama
three major Buddhist ethical and disciplinary codes, those of
(1617–1682) and his regent Sde srid Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho
the monastic Vinaya, the path of the bodhisattva, and the es-
(1653–1705), whose extensive efforts to codify in detail the
oteric Tantras. His foremost target, considered in others of
full range of the arts and sciences (rig gnas; Skt., vidya¯stha¯na)
his writings as well, was the notion of an “immediate entry”
known in Tibet explicitly acknowledge the contributions of
(cig car ’jug pa) into enlightenment, which he often charac-
Sa skya Pan:d:ita as their precedent.
terized as the “Chinese Great Perfection” (Rgya nag Rdzogs
chen), referring to the Chan traditions attributed to the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
eighth-century Heshang Moheyan. His remarks about this,
Bosson, James. Treasury of Aphoristic Jewels. Bloomington, Ind.,
together with his frequent critical asides, have earned Sa skya
1969. Annotated translation of the Tibetan and Mongolian
Pan:d:ita something of the reputation of a pugnacious author
versions of Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s renowned collection of gnomic
of polemics. Nevertheless, given the restraint and the aesthet-
verse.
ic refinement characterizing much of his writing, such an as-
Canzio, Ricardo. “On the Way of Playing Drums and Cymbals
sessment appears overly to exaggerate the importance of just
Among the Sakyas.” In Tibetan Studies in Honour of Hugh
one aspect of his work.
Richardson, edited by Michael Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi,
pp. 62–72. Warminster, U.K., 1980. Includes remarks on
The diversity of Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s interests is reflected
the Rol mo’i bstan bcos.
by his Rol mo’i bstan bcos (Treatise on music), a rare example
Jackson, David. The Entrance Gate for the Wise (Section III): Sa
of musicological writing by a Tibetan Buddhist author. Its
skya Pan:d:ita on Indian and Tibetan Tradition of Prama¯n:a
discussions of the Buddhist ritual use of the drum may offer
and Philosophical Debate. 2 vols. Vienna, 1987. Textual
some insights into now otherwise lost Indian Buddhist litur-
study, introduced with important surveys of Sa skya
gical music. Others among his works offer contributions to
Pan:d:ita’s life, work, and legacy.
Sanskrit lexicography and poetic meter, Tantric ritual and
Jackson, David. “Sa-skya Pan:d:ita the ‘Polemicist’: Ancient De-
meditation, as well as several epistles responding to particular
bates and Modern Interpretations,” Journal of the Interna-
queries on the part of Tibetan contemporaries.
tional Association of Buddhist Studies 13, no. 2 (1990): 17–
INTELLECTUAL LEGACY. Sa skya Pan:d:ita influenced the later
116. On the contestatory dimension of Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s
development of Tibetan culture significantly. His studies of
work.
Sanskrit and Indian linguistic and literary learning convinced
Jackson, David. Enlightenment by a Single Means. Vienna, 1994.
him, on the one hand, that there was an intrinsic value to
On the Tibetan debates concerning immediate realization,
such studies, which formed the basis of a classical Indian ed-
with particular reference to Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s contributions.
ucation. On the other hand, he believed that the Tibetans
Kapstein, Matthew T. The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism: Con-
frequently erred in their understanding of Indian Buddhist
version, Contestation, and Memory. Oxford, 2000. Includes
works in Tibetan translation precisely because they had lost
an analysis of Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s methods of argument as rep-
site of the cultural and linguistic context of the originals.
resented in the Tshad ma rigs gte.
Sanskritic learning, in short, was to be valued for its roles
Kapstein, Matthew T. “The Indian Literary Identity in Tibet.” In
both in the cultivation of personal refinement and in the her-
Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia,
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SALANTER, YISRADEL
8053
edited by Sheldon Pollock, pp. 747–802. Berkeley, Calif.,
ing of others. His independent spirit and his moral authority
2003. Surveys his contributions to Sanskrit literary culture
in the community are illustrated by an incident in which Sa-
in Tibet.
lanter suspended the Yom Kippur fast during a cholera epi-
Petech, Luciano. Central Tibet and the Mongols: The Yüan-Sa-skya
demic in 1848. That same year government officials offered
Period of Tibetan History. Rome, 1990. Places Sa skya
him the post of Talmud instructor in a newly opened mod-
Pan:d:ita’s mission to the Mongol in its proper historical and
ern rabbinical seminary, but Salanter, who opposed coopera-
political context.
tion with government-sponsored Enlightenment programs
Rhoton, Jared, trans. A Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes:
or with maskilim (“enlightened” Jews), instead took up resi-
Essential Distinctions Among the Individual Liberation, Great
dence in Kovno (modern Kaunas).
Vehicle, and Tantric Systems. Albany, N.Y., 2002. Annotated
translation of the controversial treatise on the “three vows,”
In Kovno, Salanter forged the model of the Musar yeshi-
with selected shorter writings.
vah, where the study of ethical works and the practice of self-
Ruegg, David Seyfort. Ordre spirituel et ordre temporel dans la pen-
contemplation became regular parts of the curriculum. From
sée bouddhique de l’Inde et du Tibet. Paris, 1995. Discusses
Kovno, Salanter sent letters to his followers outlining aspects
in detail Tibetan views regarding the ordering of knowledge
of his Musar doctrine. These letters, later collected and print-
and the branches of learning.
ed in numerous editions, constitute the greater part of Sa-
Van der Kuijp, Leonard W. J. “On the Lives of S´a¯kya´sr¯ıbhadra
lanter’s written legacy.
(?–?1225).” Journal of the American Oriental Society 114, no.
4 (1994): 599–616. A review of the available Tibetan biogra-
In 1857, seeking medical treatment for depression and
phies of Sa skya Pan:d:ita’s foremost Indian teacher.
nervous disorders, Salanter moved to Germany, where he re-
M
mained the rest of his career. In 1860 he published one of
ATTHEW T. KAPSTEIN (2005)
the first Orthodox periodicals, Tevunah, and in 1877
founded an advanced yeshivah in Kovno for married stu-
dents. In Germany he met with university students, pro-
SALANTER, YISRADEL (1810–1883), born YisraDel
posed a project to translate the Talmud into other languages,
Lipkin, Lithuanian rabbinic scholar and leader, founder of
and asked that Talmud study be accepted as part of the uni-
the Musar movement. YisraDel Lipkin, the son of a rabbi and
versity curriculum. He helped organize religious institutions
an exceptionally educated woman, showed scholarly promise
for eastern European immigrants in Memel (modern Klaipe-
at an early age. At the age of twelve he traveled to the town
da, Lithuania), Paris, and other cities. Throughout his later
of Salant to continue his studies under the tutelage of the
years Salanter maintained correspondence with and influ-
noted scholar Tsevi Hirsh Braude. From his stay of some fif-
ence over his disciples in Lithuania.
teen years in Salant derives Rabbi YisraDel’s usual designation,
Salanter.
SEE ALSO Musar Movement.
The young YisraDel came under the influence of the
charismatic but reclusive rabbi, Yosef Zundel of Salant.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Characteristic of the latter’s approach were an intense con-
cern with the moral aspects of Jewish law and the develop-
The best historical study of Salanter and his movement is Imman-
uel Etkes’s R. Yisra Del Salanter ve-reDshitah shel tenu Eat ha-
ment of psychological techniques meant to heighten moral
Musar (Jerusalem, 1982), which, however, as its title indi-
sensitivity and inspire righteous action. YisraDel Salanter’s
cates, does not cover all of Salanter’s career. The only full-
discipleship under Zundel also put him in a direct line of dis-
length study of Salanter and his disciples remains Dov Katz’s
cipleship from Zundel’s teacher H:ayyim of Volozhin to
hagiographic Tenu Eat ha-Musar, 5th ed., 5 vols. (Jerusalem,
H:ayyim’s master, Eliyyahu ben Shelomoh Zalman (the
1974), which must be consulted with caution. Volume 1 of
“Vilna Gaon,” 1720–1797), the most revered figure in the
Katz’s work has been translated by Leonard Oschry as The
Lithuanian rabbinic tradition.
Musar Movement: Its History, Leading Personalities and Doc-
trines
(Tel Aviv, 1977). On the development of Salanter’s
Salanter’s public career began upon his arrival in Vilna
thought, see Hillel Goldberg’s highly detailed study Israel Sa-
(modern Vilnius) in 1840. He first served as the head of a
lanter: Text, Structure, Idea (New York, 1982), which in-
major yeshivah in the city but soon left to found his own
cludes a comprehensive bibliography of works by and about
academy in a Vilna suburb. During this period Salanter
Salanter. In Kitvei R. Yisra Del Salanter (Jerusalem, 1972),
began his efforts to set up a mass movement dedicated to in-
Mordecai Pachter presents most of Salanter’s writings with
dividual ethical improvement. He addressed audiences of all
explanatory notes and a long, insightful introduction. An
social classes, arranged for the reprinting of classical ethical
English translation of Salanter’s key “Letter on Mussar” ap-
tracts, established the musar-sht:ibl, a place for the study of
pears in Menahem Glenn’s Israel Salanter: Religious-Ethical
moral works, and formed a nucleus of disciples who would
Thinker (New York, 1953). For an early short survey of Sa-
spread the Musar doctrine.
lanter’s life and teachings, see Louis Ginzberg’s Students
Scholars and Saints
(New York, 1928), pp. 145–194.
Salanter was a widely revered figure known for his schol-
arship, his personal saintliness, and his concern for the suffer-
GERSHON C. BACON (1987 AND 2005)
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S:ALA¯T
S:ALA¯T. The s:ala¯t is a ritually prescribed prayer in the Is-
monotheists in Arabia, notably Christians and Jews living in
lamic faith. Although the QurDa¯n mentions s:ala¯t many times,
Muh:ammad’s time. The ritual of s:ala¯t has several formal fea-
the specific details of how, when, where, and under what
tures that suggests it drew inspiration from contemporary
conditions to perform the ritual prayer are not minutely de-
Jewish services. The Arabic term s:ala¯t was probably derived
scribed in the QurDa¯n. Rather, the early Muslim community
from the Aramaic word ´slot:. In Aramaic, the root ´s-l-’
formalized the ritual on the basis of the Prophet
means “to bow, bend, stretch”; ´slot:is the act of bending or
Muh:ammad’s example, or sunnah. Such matters as the exact
bowing. The Arabic verb s:alla¯ means to perform s:ala¯t.
postures, times, conditions, and recitations of the s:ala¯t were
The form and content of s:ala¯t evolved even during
arrived at thanks to the early community’s recollections of
Muh:ammad’s lifetime. For instance, in the earliest Meccan
the prophet’s practice. Inspired by the QurDanic decree to
revelations, the term s:ala¯t was used in the sense of worship
emulate Muh:ammad as their most beautiful model (uswa
or prayer in general: “Those will prosper who purify them-
al-h:asana), oral reports called h:ad¯ıth recalling what
selves, and glorify the name of the Lord and pray” (87:14–
Muh:ammad said or did began to circulate soon after his
15). S:ala¯t as a ritual with specific formal elements occurs
death. As many spurious h:ad¯ıth also proliferated, eventually
more frequently in the Medinan revelations during the for-
they had to be sifted in terms of their reliability on the basis
mation of Islam as an institutional religion. For example, the
of criteria developed by h:ad¯ıth scholars. In the century after
QurDa¯n gives guidance on how to conduct prayers under spe-
Muh:ammad’s demise, Muslims sought to consolidate their
cial circumstances, such as while traveling or in battle: “And
faith and identity in institutional, legal, and theological
when you travel through the land, there is no blame on you
terms. To this end, scholars ( Eulama¯D) and jurists (fuqaha¯)
to shorten your prayers if you fear that those who disbelieve
devoted considerable attention to debating and determining
may attack you” (4:101–103). It is clear, given its use in the
the religious duties of Muslims. What it meant to be a Mus-
QurDa¯n in both the general sense of prayer and the specific
lim in terms of doctrines and practices was still in a state of
sense of formal ritual performed by Muh:ammad, that the
flux, and s:ala¯t was part of this process of discovery and con-
word s:ala¯t had a wider meaning at the beginning of Islam.
struction of identity.
However, it is this latter, more specific usage that became the
PRAYER IN THE QURDA¯N. Prayer is of central significance in
basis of the codified and obligatory ritual consisting of cer-
Islam. At the core of Islamic faith is the act of submission
tain prescribed gestures and acts by which the s:ala¯t is known
to God expressed in the first place through worship (E¯ıba¯dat).
today. It should also be noted that from Turkey to India, the
The QurDa¯n repeatedly emphasizes the necessity of prayer,
Persian word for s:ala¯t, nama¯z, is commonly used to designate
especially in the form of praise and self-surrender: “Establish
the obligatory ritual prayer.
regular prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid what is wrong;
DIVERSITY OF INTERPRETATION. Influenced by historical
and bear with patient constancy” (31:17); “And be steadfast
events, political interests, theological approaches, and expo-
in prayer; practice regular charity; and bow down your heads
sure to other faiths and cultures, Muslims had already begun
with those who bow down [in worship]” (2:43). Indeed,
to diversify into communities of interpretation in the first
faith without prayer is simply meaningless in Islam. The
centuries after Muh:ammad’s life (570–532 CE). One of the
QurDa¯n uses several terms connoting prayer, including sup-
most important questions on which the earliest generation
plication (du Ea¯D), remembrance (dhikr), repentance
of Muslims differed was how much emphasis to give to the
(istighfa¯r), glorification (tasb¯ıh:), litany (wird), and ritual
authority of EAli (598–661 CE), Muh:ammad’s cousin and
(s:ala¯t). Worship in Islam thus encompasses a wide variety of
son-in-law, as his interpreter and successor. Difference of
expressions, and the s:ala¯t must be seen within this broader
opinion led to the formation of many groups in Islam, of
context.
which the two major movements are the Sh¯ıEah and Sunn¯ı.
The QurDa¯n places the origin of forms of worship under
H:AD¯ITH, FIQH, AND THE PILLARS OF ISLAM. Although s:ala¯t
divine guidance and declares that all the prophets established
has remained fairly uniform since Muh:ammad’s time, slight
ritual prayers that were divinely inspired. For instance, Abra-
variations in practice do exist between various Muslim
ham begged God to bless him and his descendants with the
groups. Sh¯ıEah and Sunn¯ı schools appeal to different sources
privilege of performing worship (s:ala¯t): “O Lord! Make me
of authority to ascertain and establish the fundamentals of
one to establish proper worship, and some of my posterity
Muslim faith and practice. All Muslims turn to the QurDa¯n
[also] and Lord accept Thou my prayer!” (14:40). In Islam,
as the primary source of authority in religious matters. Next
the primary sense of worship and devotion is to fulfill God’s
in authority for the Sh¯ıEah are the memory of prophetic ex-
will. This is conveyed by the term E¯ıba¯dat, which is derived
ample (sunnah) inscribed in the collections of h:ad¯ıth, and the
from the root Eabada, meaning “to serve.”
teachings of the ima¯ms. The Sunn¯ı give greater emphasis to
ETYMOLOGY OF S:ALA¯T. The delineation of s:ala¯t as a specific
the sunnah, and consider the h:ad¯ıth collections of al-Bukha¯r¯ı
form of ritual prayer and as a distinct religious obligation
(d. 870) and al-Muslim (d. 875) to be the two most trust-
(fard:) was part of the historical development of shar¯ı Eah, or
worthy ones (as-s:ah:¯ıhan). The Sh¯ıEah have their own h:ad¯ıth
Islamic law. The word s:ala¯t is not found in pre-Islamic
compilations which give priority to traditions narrated by
sources. Most likely, the term entered Arabic usage through
EAli, Muh:ammad’s daughter Fatimah, and the hereditary
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ima¯ms. Authoritative Sh¯ıEah collections include those of
the age of reason, usually deemed to be seven years of age,
al-Kulayn¯ı (d. 939), Ibn-Ba¯bu¯ya (d. 991), and al-T:us¯ı
but certainly once one has reached the age of puberty. An
(d. 1067), and great importance is given to EAli’s sermons in
individual must be of sound mind to perform s:ala¯t, which
Najhul Bala¯gha and the teachings of Ima¯m JaEfar al-S:a¯diq
is an act of personal choice and self-conscious submission to
(d. 765). In addition to the QurDa¯n, the teachings of the
God’s will. There are both obligatory (fard:) and voluntary
ima¯ms, and the h:ad¯ıth, of great practical importance are the
(nafl) s:ala¯t. The obligatory s:ala¯t is one of the five (or seven)
writings of scholars and jurists of the different schools of law
pillars of Islam and the foundation of faith. Punctuating the
which form the day-to-day basis of shar¯ı Eah, or Islamic law.
day and night with deliberate prayer acts as a reminder that
Muslim religious practices are anchored in different schools
life is a gift from God and that time itself is sacred. All
of Islamic jurisprudence called madha¯hib al-fiqh, whose au-
schools are in agreement that the obligatory s:ala¯t must be
thority is founded upon the law books and manuals written
performed in Arabic, a regulation which was essential in pre-
by such famous jurists as Ma¯lik ibn Anas (d. 795), al-Sha¯fiE¯ı
serving the identity and solidarity of the early Arab Muslim
(d. 820), Ah:mad H:anbal (d. 855), and Abu¯ H:an¯ıfah
communities in the context of the new lands and cultures in
(d. 767) for Sunn¯ı jurisprudence, and Ima¯m JaEfar as:-S:a¯diq,
which they lived.
EAlla¯ma al-H:ill¯ı (d. 1325), and Qa¯d:¯ı an-NuEma¯n (d. 974)
for Sh¯ıEah jurisprudence.
Conditions for s:ala¯t. In addition to being clean and
sober, proper clothing must be worn during s:ala¯t. Shoes or
Fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence, is the summation of
sandals are removed, although some ima¯ms wear special slip-
rules and regulations formulated by the leader of the madh-
pers in the mosque. The earliest regulations on dress were
hab, or law school, according to its own methodology. The
primarily concerned with decency, humility, and sobriety.
part of Islamic law (shar¯ı Eah) dealing with rites and rituals
This applied to men and women, both of whom are equally
is called fiqh al- E¯ıba¯dat. The canonical collections of h:ad¯ıth
obliged to perform the s:ala¯t and other pillars. In
(both among the Sh¯ıEah and Sunn¯ı) begin with the require-
Muh:ammad’s time, it is clear that women prayed alongside
ments of worship, or E¯ıba¯dat, and include the pillars of Islam
men and participated fully in the religious and political life
(arka¯n al-d¯ın). Although they are not mentioned in the
of the community. However, numerous h:ad¯ıth linking
QurDa¯n, by the time the essential doctrines had been articu-
women to the concept of disorder, or fitnah, came into circu-
lated in the ninth century, all branches of Islam accepted the
lation after Muh:ammad died, partly as a result of historical
fundamental tenets or requirements expressed in shorthand
events (such as Muh:ammad’s youngest wife EA¯Dishah’s battle
as the five pillars, which include the shaha¯dah (testifying to
against EAli, which started the first civil war between Mus-
the oneness of God and Muh:ammad as God’s messenger),
lims) and partly in reaction against Muh:ammad’s reforms to
s:ala¯t (five daily ritual prayers), zaka¯t (alms for the poor),
improve women’s status. These h:ad¯ıth have been used to dis-
s:awm (fasting during Ramadan), and h:a¯jj (pilgrimage to
courage women from praying in public spaces. Arguing that
Mecca once in one’s lifetime). The Sh¯ıEah have additional
the very presence of women is disruptive because they arouse
pillars, including wila¯yah (devotion to the ima¯ms of the ahl
sexual desire in men, Sunn¯ı jurists in particular have allowed
al-bayt) and jiha¯d (defending one’s faith; striving for moral
women permission to attend mosques only under strict con-
and spiritual perfection).
ditions: they may not wear perfume; they must be fully cov-
The s:ala¯t was legally the most important pillar after the
ered; they may not interact with men; they must sit separate-
shaha¯dah (which it included), and rules regarding conditions
ly or at the back of the mosque; they must ask permission
of prayer occupy a vast volume of h:ad¯ıth and fiqh literature.
from their husbands or male guardians to attend prayers. Ad-
Thus, it can be surmised that the s:ala¯t and its details were
ditionally, women are not allowed to pray or fast during
crystallized once the major h:ad¯ıth were compiled in the
menstruation. Generally, among the Sh¯ıEah and Sufis,
ninth century. That there was vigorous discussion and inter-
women have had greater latitude to engage actively in com-
pretation of the sources prior to this time can be seen from
munal prayers and religious life. Muslim women’s actual par-
the fact that numerous slight distinctions in s:ala¯t perfor-
ticipation in the mosque and the practice of segregation and
mance were adopted and justified by the different madhhabs
seclusion, however, has varied in different historical periods
in their legal texts (for example, whether to say a¯m¯ın silently
and regions of the world. In contemporary times, patriarchal
or loudly after the opening QurDanic verse al-Fa¯tih:ah). Obvi-
restrictions on women’s full religious participation have been
ously, the final conclusions regarding the details of worship
called into question by both Muslim men and women, but
were shaped by the different methods and historical situa-
normative gender roles and practices remain relatively un-
tions of the jurists. Generally speaking, the Sunn¯ı schools of
changed.
law have shown considerable tolerance for each other’s differ-
Place for s:ala¯t. S:ala¯t may be recited individually or in
ences. For the most part, however, they have contested or re-
congregation. It is recommended that the ritual prayer be
jected the legitimacy of the Sh¯ıEah madhhabs.
performed collectively if possible, although nonobligatory
DESCRIPTION, VARIATIONS, AND REQUIREMENTS OF S:ALA¯T.
s:ala¯t (nafl) may be offered individually. Congregational
We now turn to a discussion of the requirements and de-
prayers are led by a leader (ima¯m) selected from the assembly
scription of the s:ala¯t. The s:ala¯t is obligatory when one attains
by virtue of his piety and religious knowledge. If a male is
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S:ALA¯T
not present, a woman may lead a group of only women in
to Jerusalem (isra¯ E) and thence on to the heavens (mi Era¯j)
prayer. Although all schools of law permit women to attend
by the angel Gabriel on a winged beast called Bura¯q. During
mosque, in practice they are encouraged to pray at home.
his ascension to heaven, he meets the biblical prophets Abra-
S:ala¯t can be performed anywhere as long as the place is clean.
ham, Moses, and Jesus. Upon reaching the summit, God
Usually, if a mosque is accessible, Muslim men pray there,
commands Muh:ammad that his community must perform
but if they are on the street or elsewhere at the prescribed
fifty s:ala¯t every day. When Moses hears this he tells
time for prayer, they roll out prayer rugs to perform the s:ala¯t.
Muh:ammad to return to God, make a plea of mercy, and
The word masjid means, literally, a “place of prostration.” A
beg for a lighter obligation. Muh:ammad goes back and forth
key requirement when performing the s:ala¯t is to face in the
between God and Moses several times until God reduces the
direction of Mecca. A typical mosque has a qiblah wall with
number of obligatory prayers to five. The traditions offer an
an arched recess or prayer niche called mih:ra¯b which indi-
origin for the s:ala¯t while at the same time linking it to the
cates the direction facing Mecca. Worshipers make straight
biblical prophets, and establishing a heavenly bond between
rows behind the ima¯m facing the qiblah. Mosques may also
the Peoples of the Book (ahl alkita¯b). The symbolism con-
have a pulpit, or mimbar, to the right of the mih:ra¯b where
necting the KaEbah, Jerusalem, biblical prophets, and the
the ima¯m gives his khut:bah, or sermon; a minaret from which
throne of God to the s:ala¯t anchors it in an ancient genealogy
the call to prayer (adha¯n) is recited; a fountain or other pub-
of monotheism. The five-times prayer thus acquires the qual-
lic facility for ablutions (wud:u¯ D); and a central prayer hall.
ity of a fixed duty.
Mosques do not have chairs of pews and seldom have figural
The five s:ala¯t. The five daily prayers have specific re-
images and murals on the walls. Instead, the interior and ex-
quirements. The dawn prayer (s:ala¯t al-subh or al-fajr) is per-
terior of mosques are usually decorated with delicate geomet-
formed between daybreak and the actual rising of the sun,
ric designs and inscribed with QurDanic verses rendered in
and requires two cycles of prostration (raka Ea¯t). The noon-
the splendid styles of Islamic calligraphy.
day prayer (s:ala¯t al-z:uhr) is performed anytime from midday
Times for s:ala¯t: QurDa¯n and sunnah. The five times
until afternoon, and requires four raka Ea¯ts. The late after-
of s:ala¯t in current practice are not named in the QurDa¯n.
noon prayer (s:ala¯t al- Eas:r) must be performed between the
Rather, the number of times to perform s:ala¯t was established
z:uhr prayer and sunset, and requires four raka Ea¯ts. The eve-
and given legal force by the shar¯ı Eah. The rich vocabulary
ning prayer (s:ala¯t al-maghrib) is performed after sunset and
used in reference to times of day for prayer in the QurDa¯n
before dusk, and requires three raka Ea¯ts. The night prayer
indicates that such matters were still at an evolutionary stage
(s:ala¯t al- EishaD) is performed after darkness sets in but before
during Muh:ammad’s life. The QurDa¯n mentions three essen-
the middle of the night, and requires four raka Ea¯ts. A missed
tial times for s:ala¯t, to which a middle prayer was added in
prayer can be made up at a later time. The Sh¯ıEah perform
the Medinan period. Verses describing the three times of
the five obligatory prayers thrice a day by joining the noon
prayer include: “And establish prayer at two ends of the day
and late afternoon prayers and the evening and night prayers.
and the first hours of the night” (11:114); “Establish prayers
As noted earlier, the three times of prayer are mentioned in
at the setting of the sun till the darkness of night, and the
the QurDa¯n, and this practice was prevalent in Muh:ammad’s
recital of the QurDa¯n at dawn. Verily, the morning recital is
time as well.
witnessed” (17:78). Nightly prayers and vigils (tahajjud)
Call to prayer: adha¯n and iqa¯mah. Each prayer time
were closely associated with the first Muslim community in
is announced by the call to prayer (adha¯n) from a mosque.
Mecca: “Truly, the vigil by night is most keen and most cer-
About fifteen minutes before the s:ala¯t begins, a muezzin as-
tain for words [of prayer]” (73:6). In the Medinan period,
cends the minaret—a tower adjoining the mosque—or
emphasis upon the nocturnal prayer appears to have de-
stands at the door of the mosque to recite the call. These
creased, but a midday prayer, possibly influenced by the
days, the adha¯n is often recorded and broadcast over loud-
practice of the Jews, was added: “So glorify God in the eve-
speakers located atop the minaret or mosque dome. Muslims
ning and the morning; to Him be praise in the heavens and
living outside Islamic countries can also use electronic s:ala¯t
the earth at the sun’s decline and at midday” (30:17–18).
clocks which announce prayer times. These “global Bilals”
In addition to the QurDa¯n, jurists drew on h:ad¯ıth to set-
(named after the first muezzin in Medina, known for his
tle upon the requirement for performing s:ala¯t five times a
powerful voice) display the s:ala¯t times and play the adha¯n
day. According to tradition (sunnah), the divine injunction
before each s:ala¯t. Some timepieces also come equipped with
to pray five times was received during Muh:ammad’s famous
compasses showing the qiblah, or direction to Mecca. Just
night journey, the Mi Era¯j. The original account is very terse
prior to starting the s:ala¯t, another call to prayer (iqa¯mah) is
and is tied to the QurDa¯nic verse 17:1–2, which refers to a
repeated, ending with the phrase, “the prayer has begun.”
journey from the holy sanctuary to the further mosque (later
The text of the adha¯n in translation is as follows:
interpreted to be the KaEbah in Mecca and Dome of the
God is Great! [recited four times]; I bear witness there
Rock in Jerusalem). Tradition and the Muslim literary imag-
is no God but God; I bear witness that Muh:ammad is
ination has furnished details and embellished the story over
God’s messenger; [after this phrase, the Sh¯ıEah add: “I
the centuries. Muh:ammad is depicted as being transported
bear witness that EAli is the friend of God and the
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prophet’s viceregent”]; Come to prayer [twice]; Come
formed, one must make a niyyah, that is, one must declare
to salvation [twice]; [the Sh¯ıEah say: “Come to the best
one’s intention to pray. Whether the intention is to be pro-
of deeds”]; God is Great [twice]; There is no God but
nounced audibly or made silently depends on the school of
God. [Sunn¯ıs add, “And prayer is better than sleep”
law one follows. Some schools of law argue that niyyah is an
prior to the takb¯ır in the early morning adha¯n.]
action of the heart, not the tongue, so it should be made si-
The slightly different phrasing of the adha¯ns helps to differ-
lently. Others say it should be softly pronounced. Neverthe-
entiate between a Sh¯ıEah and Sunn¯ı mosque.
less, there is consensus that niyyah must accompany worship.
Just as purification with water or sand before s:ala¯t cleanses
Preparations for s:ala¯t: ablutions. Ritual purity
the body for prayer, so also intention prepares the mind and
(t:aha¯rah) is a prerequisite for prayer. To perform s:ala¯t, one
heart to pay attention during s:ala¯t. Expressed as a decision
must be clean. An oft-quoted h:ad¯ıth reports that
or goal, niyyah is an act of recognition that one is about to
Muh:ammad said “Purity is half of faith.” Before touching
do something. Thus, it gathers the mind’s energies to focus
the QurDa¯n, performing s:ala¯t, going on pilgrimage, and par-
on the act of obedience and worship. As an exercise of the
ticipating in religious festivals, a Muslim must be ritually
will, it also signifies a personal choice to surrender one’s des-
clean. As with other faiths, concepts of purity and impurity
tiny to God. Niyyah brings mindfulness and self-awareness
play a role in many areas of Islamic life. There are two types
to the performance of s:ala¯t.
of purification rituals; their use depends upon the degree of
one’s impurity. Major impurities require a complete bath
Performance of s:ala¯t. The actual prayer ritual is quite
(ghusl) to wash the whole body. The wud:u¯ E (lesser ablution)
simple and short. Each s:ala¯t consists of two or four cycles of
is performed to remove minor impurities. To indicate which
bowing, called rak Eah. A rak Eah (pl. raka Ea¯t) is a cycle of
is required, wud:u¯ E or ghusl, the shar¯ı Eah specifies in great de-
movements accompanied by certain recitations. A minimum
tail various actions that cause minor and major impurity.
of seventeen raka Ea¯ts must be completed in the course of the
Opinions vary on what constitutes major and minor pollu-
five daily prayers. After making the niyyah, the worshiper
tion among the different schools of law. Major impurities
goes through a series of steps, with slight variations according
generally include sexual intercourse, menstruation, ejacula-
to the madhhab. The words of the prayer must be recited
tion, childbirth, and contact with a corpse. Any emission
from memory.
from the body, exposure to death and decay, loss of blood,
Standing with feet slightly apart, one raises the hands
and sexual activity is ritually polluting. Minor impurities in-
to the ears palms facing outwards and recites aloud the
clude touching one’s private parts, visiting the toilet, touch-
takb¯ır: “Alla¯hu akbar!” (“God is Great”). In this standing po-
ing a person of the opposite sex, and intoxication. In general,
sition, called qiya¯m, with the hands either brought back
wud:u¯ E is performed in the mosque before prayer.
down to the sides (Ma¯lik¯ı and Sh¯ıEa¯) or clasped above the
The washing ritual draws inspiration from QurDanic
navel (H:anaf¯ı), above the heart (Sha¯fiE¯ı), or at the center of
verses such as the following: “O ye who believe! When you
the chest (Hanbal¯ı), the first su¯rah of the QurDa¯n, al-Fa¯tih:ah,
rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the
is recited. The Sunn¯ı say “a¯m¯ın” after the Fa¯tih:ah, but the
elbows; and lightly rub your heads and your feet up to your
Sh¯ıEah do not. This is followed by reciting (qira¯Dah) another
ankles. And if you are unclean, purify yourselves. And if you
passage from the QurDa¯n. The Sunn¯ı may recite any portion
are sick or on a journey, or one of you comes from the toilet,
of a su¯rah after the Fa¯tih:ah; the Sh¯ıEah require a complete
or you have had contact with women, and you find not
su¯rah to be recited, and most often it is su¯rah al-Ikhla¯s:
water, then take some clean earth or sand and rub your faces
(112:1–4). This is then followed by a takb¯ır.
and your hands with it” (5:6). The wud:u¯ E ritual is quite brief
One then bows with hands placed on the knees (ruku¯ E)
and economical, and involves a sequence of cleansing acts:
and says silently three times, “Glory be to God!” (the Sh¯ıEah
washing the hands; rinsing the mouth and nose; washing the
add, “And praise be to God”). Standing erect again in a posi-
face; washing the arms and elbows; washing the feet and an-
tion called wuqu¯f, one says, “God hears one who praises
kles; and wiping the ears, neck, and head. The Sh¯ıEah usually
Him,” followed by “O Lord, Praise be to you!” and then re-
wipe or rub their feet rather than wash them. The washing
cites another takb¯ır, “God is Great!” Then, one prostrates
routine is repeated thrice. Mosques often have fountains and
oneself (suju¯d), touching the forehead to the ground with the
basins in their courtyards for this purpose. If water is not
palms flat on the ground, and silently says three times “Praise
available, a Muslim may use sand or dust to wash using the
be to God Almighty, the most High!” The Sh¯ıEah place a tiny
same gestures; this is called tayammum. Tayammum is also
tablet of clay from one of the holy Sh¯ıE¯ı shrines (Kerbala,
permitted for those who are sick or are traveling. The wud:u¯ E
Mashad, or Najaf) on the spot where the forehead touches
is preceded by making an intention, or n¯ıyah, to perform it,
the ground and add the phrase, “Glory be to God!” Then
and is concluded with a short prayer.
one raises oneself and says takb¯ır.
Mental preparation for s:ala¯t: intention. Repetitive
In this seated position, called julu¯s, one asks for forgive-
rituals can become habitual and lifeless. The shar¯ı Eah ad-
ness (H:anaf¯ıs), says nothing (Ma¯lik¯ıs), or offers petitions, or
dresses this problem by requiring that deliberate intention
duEa¯D, called qunu¯t. Then another takb¯ır is recited. The exact
(niyyah) precede any act of worship. Before the s:ala¯t is per-
sitting posture varies: Sunn¯ıs sit with toes touching the floor
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8058
SALT
but heels upright; Sh¯ıEah sit with their feet folded. One com-
discipline, and the question remains as to what degree Mus-
pletes the rak Eah by making a second prostration and return-
lims do, in fact, observe the five prayers. Over the course of
ing to the sitting position. Then one stands and the cycle is
Islamic history, the s:ala¯t has enjoyed different interpretations
repeated again. At the end of the second cycle (or third or
ranging from esoteric to exoteric. Esoteric interpretations
fourth, depending on the time of prayer), a formal greeting
look upon s:ala¯t as an act leading to a spiritual encounter and
(tah:iyyah) calling for God’s blessings on Muh:ammad and
relationship with God, a method of transformation of indi-
God’s servants is recited, followed by the tashahhud (literally,
vidual consciousness through the disciplined practice of con-
“witnessing”), in which the shaha¯dah (testimony of faith) is
tinual submission and self-surrender. Exoteric interpreta-
pronounced. While reciting the tashahhud, it is common
tions tend to emphasize s:ala¯t as primarily an act of ritual
among Sunn¯ı madhhabs to point the forefinger and move it
observance and submission to God’s law. In the former case,
in circles; however, this is not permitted by the Sh¯ıEah. The
emphasis on s:ala¯t performance may diminish or take on sym-
text of the tashahud differs based on the madhhab; the Sh¯ıEah
bolic import, whereas in the latter case, faithful performance
add to the shaha¯dah the phrase attesting to EAli’s special posi-
of s:ala¯t is always essential. The two views are not mutually
tion. A final prayer for peace, called tasl¯ım, is said; while
exclusive. They have influenced each other but also been
turning the head right and left one declares, “Peace be upon
suspicious of one another for excesses of liberalism or literal-
you” (“as-sala¯mu alaykum”). Again, there are slight varia-
ism, as the case may be. The majority of Muslims, however,
tions in words among the different schools. After the s:ala¯t,
affirm that s:ala¯t is a means of purification and submission
worshipers may remain seated to offer duEa¯D, or superaroga-
of the body, mind, and soul, and that it embodies total sur-
tory prayers. The Sh¯ıEah recite duEa¯D to keep alive the memo-
render of the human being to God’s will.
ry of their ima¯ms and their spiritual link with them through
devotional prayers.
SEE ALSO Dhikr; Postures and Gestures; Prayer.
FRIDAY PRAYER AND OTHER FESTIVALS. Although the s:ala¯t
BIBLIOGRAPHY
may be performed individually, there are numerous h:ad¯ıth
Ba¯bu¯ya, Muh:ammad ibn EAl¯ı. A Shi Eite Creed, translated by Asaf
stressing the excellence of communal prayer. A famous
A. Fyzee. Oxford, 1942.
h:ad¯ıth says: “Prayer which a man performs in congregation
Bowen, John R. “Salat in Indonesia: The Social Meaning of an
is worth twenty-five times the prayer performed at home or
Islamic Ritual.” Man 24 (1989): 600–619.
the market place.” Several QurDanic verses provide scriptural
Brohi, Allahbakhsh K. “The Spiritual Dimension of Prayer.” In
basis for communal prayer service held on Friday. For in-
Islamic Spirituality: Foundations, edited by Seyyed H. Nasr,
stance: “O ye who believe! When the call to prayer is pro-
pp. 131–143. New York, 1987.
claimed on the day of assembly, hasten to remember God
Fyzee, Asaf A. A., trans. The Pillars of Islam: Da Ea E im al-Islam
and cease your business. This is best for you if you under-
of al-Qadi alNu Eman, revised and annotated by Ismail K.
stand” (62–9). The congregational prayer (s:ala¯t al-jum Eah)
Poonawala. Oxford, 2002.
held on Fridays is obligatory for males in most madhhabs. At-
Goitein, Solomon D. “Prayer in Islam.” In Studies in Islamic His-
tending Friday services is not compulsory for women and,
tory and Institutions, edited by Solomon D. Goitein,
in fact, women are not encouraged to participate. Major
pp. 73–89. Leiden, 1966.
Muslim cities have huge congregational mosques called
Muhsin Khan, Muh:ammad, trans. S:ah:ih: al-Bukha¯r¯ı. Chicago,
jum Eah masjid to accommodate large gatherings. Jum Eah is
1976.
performed at the time of the noonday prayer, which it re-
Siddiqui, Abdul Hameed, trans. S:ah:ih: al-Muslim. Lahore, Paki-
places. Upon entering the mosque, worshipers perform two
stan, 1971.
raka Ea¯ts. Then, the ima¯m ascends to the pulpit (minbar) and
Von Grunebaum, Gustave E. Muh:ammadan Festivals. London,
gives two short sermons (khut:bah), after which he leads the
1992.
jum Eah s:ala¯t. Generally, the sermons explain an Islamic ethi-
Watt, W. Montgomery. Faith and Practice of Al-Ghaza¯l¯ı. London,
cal principle or practice on the basis of a QurDanic verse. In
1953.
Islamic countries, sermons provide a means to mobilize the
Wensinck, A. J. “ S:ala¯t.” In Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam, edited
faithful; therefore, the ruler or state frequently maintains
by H.A.R. Gibb and J.H. Kramer, pp. 491–499. Ithaca,
close control over jum Eah mosques. Major Muslim festivals
N.Y., 1953.
are also held in the jum Eah masjids, where the whole commu-
Yusuf Ali, Abdullah, trans. The Meaning of the Holy Qur Dan. Belts-
nity gathers to celebrate and offer special prayers. These festi-
ville, Md., 1995.
vals include the feasts that follow the end of the fast during
MUZAMMIL H. SIDDIQI (1987)
the month of Ramad:a¯n (E¯Id al-Fit:r), and the end of the h:a¯jj,
TAZIM R. KASSAM (2005)
or pilgrimage to Mecca (E¯Id al-Ad:h:a¯).
SIGNIFICANCE OF S:ALA¯T. In conclusion, the s:ala¯t is a focal
point of Muslim religious life. At the eve of Islam, the s:ala¯t
SALT has been a necessary additive to humanity’s diet from
played a crucial formative role in the transformation of reli-
the time people began cooking meat. The use of salt as a pre-
gious identity, for both pre-Islamic Arabs and those who
servative and condiment became so important that it soon
adopted Islam as it spread. Undoubtedly, the s:ala¯t demands
acquired a truly astonishing variety of symbolic meanings.
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SALT
8059
The Egyptians and Greeks used salt in certain sacrifices,
(Mt. 5:13). An extension of this theme was developed by the
but it is not clear with what intent. In Brahmanic sacrifices,
church fathers, who interpreted salt as God’s word, spiritual
in Hittite rituals, and during the New Moon festivals of
discourse, and preaching. Paul thus exhorted Christians to
Semites and Greeks, salt was thrown on fire to produce a
season their language with salt (Col. 4:16). For the Athenians
crackling sound that may have had symbolic significance.
and Romans, salt stood for wit.
This interesting multicultural custom, however, does not
Especially in the Roman liturgy, salt symbolized spiritu-
seem to be related to Mark’s enigmatic saying: “Everyone
al health, unquestionably because salt was an ingredient in
must be salted with fire” (Mk. 9:49).
many medications (cf. Pliny, Natural History 31.102). The
The Hebrews had a “covenant of salt” with Yahveh
delicate but vital role that salt plays in the human metabo-
(Nm. 18:19, 2 Chr. 13:5) and sprinkled their sacrifices with
lism was implicitly acknowledged in ancient times when the
the “salt of the covenant” (Lv. 2:13). Though this practice
Roman legions were given their ration of salt and, at a later
probably developed from the use of salt as a preservative, for
date, a salarium (“salary”) with which to buy their own salt.
these Semites salt signified the fellowship of the table and the
As with most other symbols, salt also has a negative as-
shared meal, just as it did for the Greeks and Romans. This
pect. In Judges (9:45), salt was sown on a destroyed city to
association of salt (which was served as a separate dish) with
signify sterility. The practice was followed by the Assyrians
the communal meal is also mentioned in Ezra (4:14). The
and Hittites and was later adopted by Attila at Padua and
Samaritans invoked their sharing of salt with the king of Per-
Frederick Barbarossa at Milan. A curse could produce a salt
sia as proof of friendship. In medieval Europe, it was consid-
marsh (Ps. 107:34), a salt pit (Zep. 2:9), or a land of brim-
ered wrong to harm someone with whom salt had been
stone and salt (Dt. 29:23).
shared. Even today, Arabs offer salt to visitors as a sign of
hospitality.
Salt has many other meanings that appear, for example,
in Brahmanic and early Hindu literature. In the Upanis:ads,
Furthermore, in the Acts of the Apostles (1:4), the Greek
a grain of salt dissolved in water is a symbol of the reabsorp-
word sunalizomenos, usually translated “eating together,”
tion of the ego in the “universal self.” In other Brahmanic
means literally “taking salt together.” This word was adopted
texts, salt refers to cattle, seed, and the sacrificial essence of
in the Clementine homilies (Patrologia Graeca, vol. 2, cols.
sky and earth.
332, 345), and its meaning was similarly understood by the
Greeks and Romans.
References to salt among indigenous Americans are rare
except in the context of ritual fasting and sacred fire. There
A very ancient ritualistic use of salt occurred in exor-
was, however, an Aztec goddess of salt, Huixtocihautl.
cisms. Some exegetes understand Elisha’s throwing of salt in
the bitter waters as a form of exorcism (2 Kgs. 2:20–22). This
The purifying and protecting virtue of salt is evoked in
concept was borrowed by the church fathers, and salt was
Japanese Shinto¯ ceremonies. Izanagi, during the creation,
used for its apotropaic qualities in the Roman liturgy. Salt
constituted the first central island of Onogorojima with the
drives out the devil, according to a number of prayers for cat-
help of salt extracted from the primordial waters.
echumens and the making of holy water that are found in
the Gelasian Sacramentary (sixth century). This symbolic use
In alchemy, salt had more to do with a basic principle
of salt derived from its ability to preserve meat from cor-
than with actual substance. In hermetic symbolism, salt is the
ruption.
product and the equilibrium of the properties of its compo-
nents, sulfur and mercury.
Similar reasoning has applied to the rubbing of salt on
newborn babies, a custom among Semites, Persians, and an-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cient Greeks, still practiced today by such varied peoples as
Latham, James E. The Religious Symbolism of Salt. Paris, 1982. A
the Toda of South India and the Lao of Southeast Asia. Even
study of the symbolism of salt from earliest times until the
though salt was applied primarily for medicinal purposes, its
end of the sixth century CE. Special consideration is given
use often involved ritual to ward off evil. In fact, this apotro-
to an analysis of texts from the Bible, from Roman liturgy,
paic quality of salt is found in the folklore of societies all over
and from the writings of the early church fathers.
the world. Salt is considered to have power over demons in
Trumbull, H. Clay. The Covenant of Salt as Based on the Signifi-
Southeast Asia, over witches in Germanic traditions, and
cance and Symbolism of Salt in Primitive Thought. New York,
over the evil eye in Arab lands.
1899. A questionable thesis that sees salt and blood as inter-
The practical use of salt to enhance the flavor of foods
changeable in their symbolic natures, qualities, and uses.
has evoked a number of taste-related symbolisms. The words
New Sources
for “tasteless” or “insipid” in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin also
Kurlansky, Mark. Salt: A World History. New York, 2003.
mean “foolish.” Salt, therefore, confers wisdom, according
to the rite for catechumens in the Roman liturgy. This play
Laszlo, Pierre. Salt: Grain of Life. New York, 2002.
on words is likewise evident in the saying of Jesus: “If salt
JAMES E. LATHAM (1987)
loses its savor [becomes foolish], with what will it be salted?”
Revised Bibliography
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8060
SALUTATIONS
SALUTATIONS are more or less formally ordered ex-
anyone with whom he came in contact. Just as taboo acts
pressions acknowledging the presence of another. They
performed with respect to the king were designed to preserve
occur generally upon meeting but also upon departure from
his contagious spiritual force, the formalized greetings of-
the person met. Salutations include an enormous variety of
fered to strangers, according to James G. Frazer, were precau-
oral and ritual forms that differ significantly in length and
tionary observations—an elementary dictate of savage pru-
elaborateness and that express a range of emotions from
dence—intended to guard against the stranger’s possibly
kindness to humility or dread. Among these are bows, pros-
baneful influence. Because such magical influence could in-
trations, ritual attack and defense, the firing of arms, the bar-
fect anyone who traveled to strange and distant lands, the
ing of the head, the clasping of hands, embracing, weeping,
same observations would naturally accompany the arrival of
kissing, and smelling, as well as the utterance of short to very
a villager who had been traveling a distance from his home.
lengthy verbal prescriptions. The form of salutation appro-
Acknowledging this insight, Arnold van Gennep, in 1909,
priate in one civilization is very often offensive or ludicrous
drew the conclusion that ceremonial greetings to strangers
in another, and in any particular civilization the salutation
are rites of incorporation intended to reinforce the social co-
varies with context. Most research on salutations has at-
hesion of the group to whom the stranger is introduced. The
tempted to account for the relative elaborateness or simplici-
length of greeting, then, understandably varies according to
ty of traditional greetings by seeing the relation of these to
the extent to which the person arriving is a stranger.
other aspects of religion and culture.
These conclusions, however, do little to explain the
CEREMONIAL GREETINGS. While the salutation has been
lengthy and elaborate greeting ceremonies between persons
largely neglected in the study of religion and culture, it has
of equal status who may even be acquainted. In ancient
been observed that salutations between equals tend to be
China such a ceremony began with the arrival of the visitor,
brief and simple while those offered to sovereigns by their
carrying, in winter, a freshly killed pheasant, in summer, a
subjects or to higher ranking persons by lower ranking per-
dried one, held up by both hands, with the bird’s head facing
sons tend to be more ceremonious. Early visitors to such re-
left. The visitor begins: “I have desired an interview for some
gions as Melanesia, Thailand, and parts of Africa reported
time, but have had no justification for asking for it; but now
that visitors to a chief approached him crawling on hands
his honor So-and-so orders me to an interview.” To this the
and knees. Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian sculptures
host replies: “The gentleman who introduced us has ordered
show the lowly prostrations of subject kinds before a con-
me to grant you an interview. But you, sir, are demeaning
quering monarch. Subjects, advisers, even the wives of kings
yourself by coming. I pray your honor to return home, and
of ancient Israel (1 Sm. 24:8; 2 Sm. 24:20; 1 Kgs. 1:23, 1:31)
I shall hasten to present myself before you.” The guest re-
did obeisance to them with face to the ground, as did ancient
plies: “I cannot bring disgrace on you by obeying this com-
personalities to God, his emissary, or his prophet (Gn. 17:3,
mand. Be good enough to end by granting me this inter-
18:2; 2 Kgs. 1:13). In the Hindu tradition, the person of infe-
view.” This ceremony (which continues for several similar
rior caste is expected to salute his superior, but the superior
self-deprecating exchanges, accompanied by specified bows,
is not to acknowledge the greeting. On the other hand, as
and ends finally with the reception of the guest and the gift)
the historian Herodotus (485?–425? BCE) observes, in the an-
is described in The Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial (c. 100
cient Near East the kiss was common between equals, a form
BCE), one of three ancient Chinese texts that deal with the
of greeting that Paul recommends among the brethren of the
subject of li, known to be the warp and woof of heaven and
church at Corinth (1 Cor. 16:20).
earth and consisting of the rules of propriety and politeness
according to which all human relationships ought to be gov-
The above observations, of themselves, help little to-
erned. The foundation of li, according to the Confucian tra-
ward an understanding of ceremonial greetings involving the
dition, is the heart that is willing to defer.
reception of visitors whose status may not be known. An
G
early European traveler to Pemba, an island off the coast of
REETINGS PRESCRIBED BY LAW. The context that deter-
mines the relative length and elaborateness of the salutation
Tanzania, observed that the otherwise friendly king ordered
evidently reflects the view of reality perpetuated by the tradi-
his musketeers to fire their arms upon his arrival in order to
tion in which it occurs. For example, an ancient formulation
expel evil spirits. An early visitor to Africa reported being re-
of Hindu law, the A¯pastamba Dharmasu¯tra (c. 500
ceived with what he called war dances. Among the Maori of
BCE), pro-
vides that every day and after any absence, a student is to sa-
New Zealand, ritualized combat was performed at the arrival
lute his parents, his grandparents, and his teachers with a
of visitors. In the Tonga Islands near Fiji, presents were of-
kneeling embrace of the feet. The same salutation is to be
fered to new arrivals as well as to natives who had been away.
observed for elder siblings in order of their seniority. Upon
At the same time, the newcomer could be challenged by any-
meeting an officiating priest, a father-in-law, or an uncle
one to a mock fight that the rules of protocol forbade him
(even one younger than himself), the student is to offer this
to decline.
salutation or the salutation normally prescribed for his caste.
Material such as this evoked the view that the stranger,
Bra¯hmanas are to salute by extending their right hand on a
like the divine king, chief, or priest, was regarded as being
level with their eye; ks:atriyas by extending the hand on a level
replete with magical power that could discharge itself upon
with their breast; vai´syas by extending it on a level with their
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SALUTATIONS
8061
waist. S´u¯dras are to salute bending forward, their joined
a person (i. e., by his family name) who looks with equal
hands held low. These salutations are performed standing
kindness upon all living beings: Buddhas bring salvation to
with shoes off, with empty hands, and with head uncovered.
the world, therefore they ought to be treated with the respect
On the other hand, in a state of impurity students are to sa-
that children pay to their fathers (A´svaghos:a, Buddhacarita,
lute no one. They is not to salute anyone who is impure, and
vv. 1229ff.). In Therava¯da Buddhist countries, the act of
the impure person is not to return a salute.
prostration before the image of the Buddha or the pagoda
G
(his principal symbol) is an integral part of worship. To per-
REETINGS AS TOOLS OF SPIRITUAL ACHIEVEMENT. The
salutations prescribed in this system of laws reflect not only
form this act the worshiper kneels, places his clasped hands
the social system that they support but attitudes underlying
to his forehead, and three times touches his forehead to the
the social system. In ancient India, the salutation is an act
ground. Similar acts are performed by a layperson upon com-
productive of merit toward earthly weal, heavenly bliss, and
ing into the presence of a monk, by younger monks in the
final liberation. The person of high caste, especially the
presence of their senior, by young children when they meet
teacher, is regarded as replete with vital power, the result of
their parents, and by adults when on prescribed holy days
the accumulated merit of present and former lives. The
they visit their parents’ homes to pay them special respect.
higher the age and caste, the greater the store of power. The
Over and against all of this, the salutations prescribed
higher the vital power of the person one salutes the greater
in the Muslim tradition reflect a belief in the sovereignty of
the merit achieved. In this respect, a bra¯hmana of ten years
God and the equality of all humanity. The QurDa¯n com-
and a ks:atriya of one hundred stand to each other as parent
mands: “When you are greeted with a salutation, reply with
to child, the ten-year-old brahmana as the parent. Another
a better one, or at least return it” (surah 4:86). In the Islamic
text, the Laws of Manu (c. 200 BCE), states that the vital airs
world the usual greeting is “Al-sala¯m Ealaykum” (“Peace be
of a young person mount upward to leave the body when an
upon you”). The appropriate reply is “Wa-Ealaykum
elder approaches. By rising to meet and salute the elder, the
al-sala¯m” (“And upon you be peace”); or to this may be
vital powers are recovered.
added “Wa-rah-mat Alla¯h wa-baraka¯tuhu” (“And God’s
The powers achieved through the merit of worthy acts,
mercy and blessings”). This, according to Islamic tradition,
however, must constantly be guarded against depletion, since
is the greeting with which Adam was commanded to greet
they are inclined to flow, as it were, downhill from the per-
a group of angels when he was created. His and their reply
son of higher prestige to the person of lower prestige. A salu-
was to be the greeting for all of his descendents. The h:ad¯ıth
tation to a lower-caste person or an unclean person, the ac-
specifies particular situations in which the salutation ought
knowledgment of his salute, or an unnecessary conversation
to be offered and who is to initiate it. The younger person
with him, can result in the loss of vital force. If conversation
should greet the older person. The person riding should sa-
with a lower-caste person is necessary, one must assume a
lute the person walking. The person passing should salute the
posture of psychic neutrality in order to prevent such dissipa-
person sitting. The smaller group should greet the larger
tion of power. Hindu salutations also reflect the fear of the
group. Regardless of the circumstances, the greeting remains
evil eye, whose untoward effects can be invited even by a
the same. While forms of the peace greeting are found in
careless word. In traditional Hindu society, one does not
other documents of the ancient Near East (e.g., Gn. 43:23,
comment upon another’s pleasing appearance, the attractive-
Jgs. 19:20, 1 Sm. 25:6, 1 Chr. 12:18), it is significant that
ness of his or her children, even the pleasantness of the day.
in this tradition the act of prostration to the ground, also
Whatever is offhandedly declared to be good is likely to at-
found in the ancient Near East, is reserved for the worship
tract inauspicious elements, tempting disaster. Against this,
of God.
meticulous precautions are taken.
Salutations, then, seem to express and perpetuate values
In contrast, the salutations found in the early Buddhist
and sentiments about the person greeted that are appropriate
tradition reflect the elevation of spiritual achievement above
to the conception of reality of the culture or tradition in
hereditary status and an absence of occult concerns. “No
which they occur and serve to preserve such sentiments and
brahman is a brahman by birth; no outcaste is an outcaste
values from subversion, thereby supporting the solidarity and
by birth.” This shift is neatly expressed in the story of the
continuity of the culture or tradition in question. Even when
meeting of the Buddha with the five ascetics with whom he
it is not explicit in the prescribed words of greeting, the senti-
had spent the years prior to his enlightenment. Upon seeing
ment that is communicated in traditional salutations is often
the Buddha walking toward them, the five agreed not to rise
of a religious nature. To an outsider, “Al-sala¯m Ealaykum”
in salutation, because he had abandoned his former vows and
uttered by a Muslim may not express any specifically reli-
given up ascetic practice. Yet as he approached, they involun-
gious idea. To another Muslim, however, the relation of
tarily rose, and in spite of their resolution they greeted him
peace, as earthly well-being, to submission to God is under-
and offered the customary refreshments, although in address-
stood. In Nuer Religion (London, 1956), E. E. Evans-
ing him they employed his family name. To this the Buddha
Pritchard observes that the most common greeting among
responded that he was indifferent as to whether he was treat-
the Nuer people of eastern Sudan is a phrase that translates
ed with respect, but that it was rude and careless so to address
as “Have you slept?” What he thinks is implied, however, is
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SALUTATIONS
something like “Are you at ease?” This interpretation is con-
bye is taken by most etymologists as a derivative of “God be
firmed by the question that follows, “Are you well?” imply-
wi’ ye” (i. e., “God be with you”), which appears in Shake-
ing “Are you at peace?” That this is understood to be related
speare as “God buy you” (Twelfth Night 4.2). Likewise,
to the peace that comes from God is implied by the further
“Good morning” is taken as a short form of “God be with
question, “Have you prayed?” and the next, “Does smoke
you this morning,” or “God give you a good morning.” In
rise from your hearth?” which is to say, “Is everything well
general, the secularization process abbreviates the originally
at home?” A final question sometimes asked is “Has it
religious salutation as the religious conception within it is no
dawned?” implying “Is it well for you?” When the answers
longer seriously intended. As scholarship has focused upon
are affirmative they convey the picture of easy sleep, content-
those aspects of religion that pertain to the more enduring
ment, prayer, a person at peace with God, his neighbor, and
of institutions and social structures, salutations have been far
himself.
from the center of attention. With increasing interest in as-
SECULARIZATION OF SALUTATIONS. It has also been observed
pects of religion that pertain to social and cultural change,
that salutations tend to be longer and more elaborate in an-
these eminently changeable cultural forms may prove to be
cient, primitive, and traditional societies, shorter and simpler
an important subject of research.
in modern industrial civilization. Salutations reflect the pro-
cesses of cultural interpenetration and secularization occur-
ring in many parts of the world at the present time. Words
BIBLIOGRAPHY
and gestures of salutation are perhaps among the most com-
An impressive record of greeting ceremonies in primitive societies
monly borrowed of customs. In India, the gesture of touch-
as first seen by modern Western observers is found in James
ing the breast, the lips, and the forehead with the fingertips,
G. Frazer’s monumental work The Golden Bough, 3d ed., rev.
as well as the bow with the right hand over the breast, are
& enl., vol. 3 (London, 1911), chap. 3, now recognized as
forms of the Muslim sala¯m greeting introduced to India dur-
deficient in its theories. Relevant greeting ceremonies of
ing the Mughal empire (1526–1857), from which influence
China are found in two texts of classical Chinese literature:
came also the custom of the close embrace. It is interesting
The I-Li, or, The Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial, 2 vols.,
that the sala¯m, which is normally used among Muslims to
translated by John Steele (London, 1917), and Li Chi: Book
greet fellow believers, but not the infidel, is sometimes used
of Rites, 2 vols., translated by James Legge (Oxford, 1885).
by Hindus as a form of greeting for strangers. In India, as
The latter constitutes volumes 27 and 28 of the series “Sa-
well as in Buddhist countries, the Muslim world, and else-
cred Books of the East,” edited by F. Max Müller (Oxford,
where where Western influence has been felt, the handshake
1879–1910). Noah Edward Fehl’s Li, Rites and Propriety in
is growing in acceptance despite opposition, although in
Literature and Life: A Perspective for a Cultural History of An-
rural areas it remains less adopted. Among the most striking
cient China (Hong Kong, 1971) is an excellent study of the
evidence of Western influence is the recent spread of the use
nature of li. Justus Doolittle discusses everyday greeting cus-
of the greeting card for the exchange of good wishes on occa-
toms in modern China in The Social Life of the Chinese, with
sions that would once have required a visit. This phenome-
Some Account of Their Religious, Governmental, Educational,
non, which suddenly grew to a grand scale in England and
and Business Customs and Opinions, 2 vols. (New York,
America in the middle of the twentieth century, is now being
1868). Hindu salutations are prescribed in a number of an-
cient texts, several of which are collected in The Sacred Laws
employed for the exchange of greetings at Jewish holidays
of the Aryas, “The Sacred Books of the East,” vols. 2 and 14,
and also on the occasion of the great annual Islamic festivals.
translated by Georg Bühler (Oxford, 1879–1882). Tradi-
In general, where cultural borrowing occurs, it is the simpler,
tional greeting customs and their changing contemporary
shorter, and less ceremonious custom that is appropriated by
forms in India are discussed in The Hindu World: An Encyclo-
persons outside the tradition, and in the exchange the more
pedic Survey of Hinduism by George Benjamin Walker (New
subtle religious sentiments are likely to be lost.
York, 1968), pp. 341ff. Buddhist rules of etiquette are found
The effect of secularization upon salutations is evident
in The Vinaya Texts, translated by T. W. Rhys Davids and
in the presence in modern greetings of the relic of a religious
Hermann Oldenberg, “Sacred Books of the East,” vols. 13,
sentiment. The Namaska¯ra, perhaps the most general of salu-
17, and 20 (Oxford, 1881–1885). The relation of Buddhist
ritual salutations to their social and cultural context is ex-
tations in India in the early twenty-first century, was origi-
plored in Melford E. Spiro’s Buddhism and Society: A Great
nally a ´su¯dra salute. The two open hands held together ac-
Tradition and Its Burmese Vicissitudes, 2d ed. (Berkeley,
companied by the word “Namas” or “Namaste” was
1982), chaps. 8–11. A concise discussion of greeting customs
originally an exclamation of homage meant for the deity.
in the Jewish tradition is found in “Greetings,” in The Ency-
Likewise, in modern European salutations like the French
clopedia of the Jewish Religion, edited by R. J. Zwi Wer-
“Adieu” (lit., “to God”), the Spanish “Adios” (from “Vaya
blowsky and Geoffrey Wigoder (New York, 1966). For the
con Dios,” meaning “Go with God”), the remains of the reli-
Muslim tradition, see Thomas P. Hughes’s “Salutations,” in
gious sentiment, now barely intended, can still be seen. In
A Dictionary of Islam (Delhi, 1973).
others, like the French “Bonjour” and “Au revoir” or the
German “Auf Wiedersehen” and “Guten Morgen,” the relic
GEORGE ALFRED JAMES (1987 AND 2005)
is perhaps more deeply submerged. In English the word good-
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SALVATION ARMY
8063
SALVATION SEE ENLIGHTENMENT;
The military structure, by which the Christian Mission
ESCHATOLOGY; JUSTIFICATION; REDEMPTION;
was transformed into an army, seemed to be the inspiration
SOTERIOLOGY
of a moment, although Booth and his closest associates had
been dissatisfied with the conference system of governing the
mission for some time. While preparing the mission’s annual
report for 1878, Booth deleted the term volunteer army in
SALVATION ARMY. The Salvation Army is described
describing the work and substituted Salvation Army. The ef-
in its official mission statement as an “international move-
fect was electric. Booth became the “General”; full-time mis-
ment” and “an evangelical part of the universal Christian
sion workers became “officers” and adopted a variety of mili-
Church.” Its “message is based on the Bible,” its “ministry
tary titles; converts and members became “soldiers.” Brass
is motivated by the love of God,” and its “mission is to
bands, long popular with the English working class and espe-
preach the Gospel” and to “meet human needs” without dis-
cially well suited to the army’s open-air evangelism, were
crimination. In 2001 the organization operated in 108 coun-
added in 1879, along with a weekly devotional and news
tries and had 17,341 active clergy (officers) and 1,028,691
publication suitably called the War Cry. In 1880 the first reg-
active members (soldiers). Members of any rank are called
ulation uniform was issued to George S. Railton (1849–
Salvationists.
1913) as he departed for the United States to establish the
Salvationists are officially required to subscribe to eleven
army’s first official overseas mission. Comrades who died
doctrines, which are fundamentalist, evangelical, and Protes-
were “promoted to Glory,” and children born into army
tant. The army’s theological position is based on that of John
families were hailed as “reinforcements.” Since 1890, soldiers
Wesley (1703–1791), the founder of Methodism, and is a
have been required to subscribe to the “Articles of War,” a
restatement of the orthodox belief that love is the single mo-
statement of doctrine, allegiance, and zeal for the “salvation
tive for all true Christian endeavor: as God loved his children
war.”
and sent his Son to die for them, so his children desire to
love God and to show love to each other and to all people,
The new Salvation Army grew rapidly. Booth and his
especially the unsaved. Salvationists show this love through
officers were driven by an overpowering sense of urgency—
aggressive evangelism and a broad range of social welfare ac-
not to change the social structure but to save souls by any
tivities. Except for the omission of sacramental observances,
means. The great work was not revolution but rescue, while
the doctrinal beliefs of the Salvation Army have excited little
time yet remained. The army’s most frequent self-portrayal,
controversy.
which appeared in posters, on the War Cry covers, and in
H
songs, was as a lifeboat or a lighthouse, with eager Salvation-
ISTORY AND AIMS. The doctrinal positions, objectives, and
military structure of the Salvation Army have not changed
ists shown snatching the lost from the waves of drunkenness,
since its beginning in 1878, and in many aspects even its
crime, and vice. The thrill of losing oneself in a triumphant
methods of operation have changed surprisingly little. The
crusade, the military pomp, and a constantly expanding
movement was the brainchild of William Booth (1829–
scheme of social relief proved irresistible to large numbers of
1912), an English evangelist, and his wife Catherine Booth
the poor and to many working- and middle-class persons as
(1829–1890). Members of their immediate family held im-
well. Despite legal obstructionism from municipal authori-
portant positions of leadership until the Booths’ daughter
ties and ridicule from the movement’s opponents, by 1887
Evangeline Booth (1865–1950) retired in 1939. The found-
there were a thousand corps (local units) in Great Britain,
ers’ influence over the modern army has remained strong.
and by the end of the decade work had been started in twen-
ty-four other countries and British colonies.
The forerunner of the Salvation Army was the Christian
Mission, which the Booths established in the East End of
DOCTRINES AND PRACTICES. The Salvation Army held its
London in 1865 to evangelize the urban poor. Booth and his
converts at least partly on the clarity and simplicity of its doc-
associates believed that this segment of the population had
trines, which were formally established by an act of Parlia-
been ignored by the organized religious bodies of their day.
ment in 1878. The army’s doctrinal statement proclaims, on
While this was not true, Booth’s efforts developed into the
the one hand, both the atonement of Christ and the necessity
first systematic and large-scale program to reach London’s
of radical conversion and, on the other hand, the “privilege
poor with the gospel. A degree of social conscience was char-
of holiness.” In Salvation Army terms, holiness means that the
acteristic of the Christian Mission almost from the begin-
sincere believer can live for love, in adoration of Christ, in
ning. Efforts to relieve the destitution of those who attended
joyful fellowship within the ranks of the army, and in kindly
their religious services were a natural outgrowth of the mis-
service to a dying world. Pioneer Salvationists saw religious
sionaries’ evangelical zeal: kindness and generosity were com-
questions in stark and simple terms; anything that was not
manded by Christ, and, on the practical level, hunger and
deemed absolutely essential to salvation or helpful to evange-
cold kept many potential converts from paying proper atten-
lism, or that was regarded as inherently confusing to unlet-
tion to the gospel message. By 1867, four small-scale charita-
tered converts was simply jettisoned. It was partly for these
ble activities, including a soup kitchen, were listed in the
reasons that the Booths abandoned sacramental observances;
mission’s annual report.
in addition, they had committed their movement almost
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8064
SAMA¯E
from the start to the temperance (abstinence) crusade, which
The Salvation Army’s greatest strength is in English-
would not allow the use of sacramental wine.
speaking countries. Just over 50 percent of all active officers
and 85 percent of all lay employees are in five countries: the
As appealing as the doctrines of the Salvation Army may
United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New
be, however, they are neither original nor unique, and they
Zealand. Although the international headquarters remains in
only partly explain its strength as a religious movement. The
London, the American branch is by far the largest in terms
rest of the explanation has been the use to which the army
of social programs, whereas the largest numbers of active
puts its members, its system of discipline, and its social relief
members are found in Africa, India, and Pakistan.
program. Converts are put promptly to work giving testimo-
ny about their own conversions, distributing the War Cry,
The army in the United States is divided into four terri-
praying, singing, playing a band instrument at indoor and
torial commands, each with its own headquarters and train-
outdoor religious meetings, or visiting the elderly, sick, and
ing school. The territorial leaders report to the national com-
needy. Soldiers expect a lifetime of such service, and occa-
mander, whose headquarters is in Alexandria, Virginia. In
sional natural disasters add to the ordinary demands on local
2003, two-thirds of the 3,647 Salvation Army officers in the
army personnel. In addition, a number of entertaining and
United States were serving as ministers to the 1,369 local
useful programs have been developed to utilize the energy of
congregations (called corps), while also directing the numer-
young people. Parades, military regalia, and an effective use
ous social services that flow from these local units. Other of-
ficers serve in staff and educational appointments or as ad-
of music augment, where they do not actually create, joy and
ministrators of the army’s many social institutions. The
pride in being part of the “Army of God.” The Salvation
Adult Rehabilitation Command, which offers residential al-
Army has always made its appeal as broad as possible and is
coholic rehabilitation to both men and women, is particular-
intentionally multicultural.
ly well developed.
Salvationists are comfortable within the army’s auto-
cratic structure, which emphasizes obedience, loyalty, and ef-
SEE ALSO Booth, William.
ficiency. The system has changed more in practice than in
spirit since 1878. The most important alteration in the abso-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
lute autocracy established by William Booth came in 1929,
The amount of written material produced by the Salvation Army
when the general’s privileges of serving for life and naming
since its beginning is enormous; it is of uneven quality, but
his own successor were abolished. The generalship became
an acquaintance with at least some of it is indispensable to
an elective office at the disposal of a council of all territorial
an understanding of the movement. Early issues of the War
Cry
(London, 1879–; New York, 1881–) portray the zeal and
commanders, and the leader so chosen serves only until a cer-
colorful activities of the pioneers. The serious student should
tain age. Once a general is installed, however, his or her pow-
begin with Chosen to Be a Soldier: Orders and Regulations for
ers differ little in theory from those of the founder. Every
Soldiers of the Salvation Army (London, 1977 [earlier editions
subordinate officer is expected to obey without question the
were written by the founder]) and Salvation Army: Salvation-
orders of a superior, and much the same is required of the
ist Handbook of Doctrine (London, 1998). A useful and infor-
soldiers. In practice, the principle of unquestioning obedi-
mative Salvation Army Yearbook (London, 1903–) is pub-
ence is tempered by many considerations. There is a growing
lished annually. The best full-scale history of the army is a
commitment to a more consultative management style.
long-range project by senior officers, Robert Sandall, Arch R.
Wiggins, and Frederick Coutts, and Henry Gariepy, The
The army offers a “balanced ministry,” which consists
History of the Salvation Army, 8 vols. (London and New
of its evangelistic program and a vast system of social welfare
York, 1947–1994). The most comprehensive history of the
activities. There were important beginnings in the 1880s in
army in the United States is still Edward H. McKinley,
Marching to Glory: The History of the Salvation Army in the
England, the United States, and elsewhere, but the turning
United States of America, 1880–1992, 2d rev. ed. (Grand
point in the development of the army’s social welfare pro-
Rapids, Mich., 1995), but the serious student should consult
gram came in 1890 with the publication of General Booth’s
the growing body of new scholarly works on the army. Nota-
manifesto titled In Darkest England and the Way Out. The
bly useful is Diane H. Winston, Red-Hot and Righteous: The
book and the scheme it offered for relieving the sufferings
Urban Religion of the Salvation Army (Cambridge, Mass.,
of the “submerged tenth” of Victorian society attracted con-
1999). The army’s international, U.S., and territorial head-
siderable publicity and support. An immense and varied pro-
quarters maintain copious websites that are continually up-
gram, marked by a quick delivery of services at the point of
dated.
need, has developed. The army has sponsored food and shel-
EDWARD H. MCKINLEY (1987 AND 2005)
ter depots, industrial rehabilitation centers, rescue homes for
converted prostitutes, hospitals for unwed mothers, orphan-
ages, day-care centers, halfway houses for released convicts,
programs for alcoholics and drug addicts, camping trips for
SAMA¯E is an Arabic term for the music or listening parties
poor city children, a variety of family relief and counseling
arranged by Muslim mystics in the belief that music serves
services, and abuse shelters.
as spiritual nourishment (qu¯t-i ru¯ha¯n¯ı) and attunes one’s
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SAMA¯E
8065
heart to divine communion. The word sama¯ E, which literally
listen to it sensually [bi-nafs] fall into heresy.” For perfect
means “hearing,” does not occur in the QurDa¯n but was used
spiritual enjoyment through sama¯ E, the Iranian mystic
in ancient Arabic in the sense of “singing.” EAl¯ı ibn EUthma¯n
Ru¯zbiha¯n (d. 1209) considered three things to be essential:
al-Hujw¯ır¯ı (d. AH 469?/1076? CE) thought that through
fine odor, a beautiful face to look at, and a lovely voice. He
sama¯ E the last of the veils between man and God could be
regarded the beauty of the singer as a prerequisite for spiritual
lifted. Abu¯ H:a¯mid al-Ghaza¯l¯ı (d. 1111) and others after him
happiness.
believed that mystics who devoted most of their time to aus-
Saints of the Chisht¯ı, Bekta¯sh¯ı, and other S:u¯f¯ı orders
tere practices such as penitences, vigils, and fasts needed lis-
constructed sama¯ E kha¯nahs (music halls) in their kha¯nqa¯hs
tening parties to relieve the heart’s boredom, to infuse it with
(lodges) for the exclusive purpose of holding listening parties.
fresh energy and vigor, and above all, to channel, rather than
While listening to music, mystics often fell into ecstacy and
annihilate, emotion. Criticism of this institution by ortho-
stood up to dance, weep, and cry. Sometimes they gave ev-
dox theologians, however, obliged the mystics to lay down
erything they possessed, including the clothing they wore, to
elaborate rules and conditions for its organization. As a re-
the musician. According to the rules pertaining to such ec-
sult, the legality of sama¯ E became contingent upon the fulfill-
static conditions, if any verse stirred up the emotions of a lis-
ment of four conditions: (1) the singer should not be a youth
tener, the singer was expected to continue reciting the same
or a woman but an adult man; (2) the audience should be
couplet until the emotional storm had passed. It was said that
continuously in divine contemplation alone; (3) no obscene
Shaykh Qut:b al-D¯ın Bakhtiya¯r Ka¯k¯ı (d. 1235) listened to
verses should be recited; and (4) no musical instruments
a verse of Ah:mad Ja¯m for several days and finally gave up
should be used.
the ghost while the verse was still being recited.
Al-Hujw¯ır¯ı laid down even more detailed rules with re-
Mystics have adopted special types of behavior in sama¯ E.
gard to sama¯ E: (1) it should be practiced seldom and only in
Some of them have controlled their emotions in such a way
response to an inner craving for it; (2) the spiritual mentor
that, except for fleeting expressions on their faces and tears
should be present at the listening party; (3) no person unfa-
trickling down their cheeks, there is no physical movement.
miliar with the mystic path should be permitted to join the
By contrast, however, the S:u¯f¯ıs belonging to the Mevlevi
assembly; (4) the singer should be a like-minded person; (5)
order of Jala¯l al-D¯ın Ru¯m¯ı dance with amazing abandon. In
the audience should cleanse its heart of all worldly thoughts;
India, disciples of Shaykh Burha¯n al-D¯ın Ghar¯ıb
(6) the emotions aroused by the music should not be
(d. 1337?), who came to be known as Burha¯n¯ıs, also danced
checked; (7) a beginner should not be allowed to attend
in a special manner. Ibn Bat:t:u¯t:ah, the renowned world trav-
sama¯ E; and (8) women should not look at the dervishes from
eler of the fourteenth century, refers to the sama¯ E of the
house-tops.
Rifa¯E¯ı dervishes which had its own unique features.
Shaykh Abu¯ al-Naj¯ıb EAbd al-Qa¯hir Suhraward¯ı
The Arab jurist and theologian Ibn Taym¯ıyah (1263–
(d. 1167), the founding saint of the Suhraward¯ı order, dis-
1328) was a bitter critic of the institution of sama¯ E, and
tinguished three groups who listen to mystical music: (1)
under his influence contemporary and later generations of
those who are with their creator while listening to songs and
religious scholars ( Eulama¯D) severely criticized the practice.
who attain the vision (musha¯hadah) of God, (2) those who
The followers of Muh:ammad ibn EAbd al-Wahha¯b (1703–
listen to music with their hearts fully absorbed in it and
1787), founder of the Wahha¯b¯ı movement in Arabia, were
achieve the benefits of spiritual seclusion (mura¯qabah), and
equally vehement in their opposition to this practice.
(3) those who listen with their lower self (nafs) involved in
Though some of the mystic orders, such as the Qa¯dir¯ıyah
it and need spiritual penitence (muja¯hadah) to achieve their
and the Naqshband¯ıyah, did not take to sama¯ E, they rarely
objective, because sama¯ E is “for one whose heart is alive and
joined the Eulama¯D in their criticism of it. Shaykh Baha¯D
whose nafs is dead.” Suhraward¯ı considered music a means
al-D¯ın Naqshband (1317–1389) is reported to have re-
of igniting the fire of love in the heart of a mystic. Like
marked about sama¯ E: “Neither do I practice it nor do I refute
al-Hujw¯ır¯ı, he made the legality of sama¯ E conditional.
it.” This remained the general attitude of those mystics who
Sama¯ E, he said, is like rain: it fertilizes the productive land
did not themselves arrange sama¯ E meetings. However, Sha¯h
but has no effect on barren fields. He also quoted Mimshad-i
Wal¯ı Alla¯h (1703–1762), a leading Naqshband¯ı saint of
Dinawar (d. 911), who was told by the Prophet in a dream
Delhi, went a step further and arranged sama¯ E in his religious
that there was nothing objectionable if the sama¯ E meetings
college, or madrasah, for the visit of the famous Chishti saint
began and ended with the recitation of the QurDa¯n.
Sha¯h Fakhr al-D¯ın (1714–1785).
Suhraward¯ı considered that in music heart, soul, and the
The mystics who advocated sama¯ E defended their posi-
lower self (nafs) are all involved. Its effect, however, varies
tion by referring to the QurDanic verses that attribute a sono-
from individual to individual; it is spiritual nourishment or
rous voice to the prophet Da¯Du¯d (34:10; 21:79; 38:18–19,
medicine for some and poison for others. The early Islamic
as explained by Mawdu¯d¯ı in light of the traditions of the
mystic Dhu¯ al-Nu¯n al-Mis:r¯ı (d. 861) used to say, “Audition
Prophet), to the tradition of the Prophet in which he is re-
is a divine influence which stirs the heart to seek God: those
ported to have listened to the songs of girls on the eve of his
who listen to it spiritually attain unto God, and those who
return from a victorious campaign, and to the tradition that
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SAMA¯DHI
the Prophet did not allow people to disturb girls who were
SAMA¯DHI. The Sanskrit term sama¯dhi (from sam, “to-
singing on a feast day. In the fourteenth century, Mawla¯na¯
gether,” the intensifying particle a¯, and the verbal root dha,
Fakhr al-D¯ın Zarra¯d¯ı wrote a brochure, Us:u¯l al-sama¯ E (Prin-
“place, put”) literally means “placing together.” It hints at
ciples of Sama¯ E) to refute the arguments of the Eulama¯D at
the merging of subject and object, the essential characteristic
the court of the Indian ruler Ghiya¯th al-D¯ın Tughlaq.
of the mystical state of unification to which it refers. It is
While there could be no method of testing the subjec-
most frequently rendered by ecstasy, but because of the emo-
tive state of a mystic’s mind when listening to music, the
tive charge of that Greek loanword, the neologism enstasy
other, outward conditions were strictly enforced and devia-
from the Greek for “standing in [oneself]”—was suggested
tions sternly dealt with. Shaykh Niz:a¯m al-D¯ın Awliya¯D of
(Eliade, 1969) and is gaining increasing acceptance.
Delhi (1238–1325) reprimanded those who used musical in-
The earliest mention of sama¯dhi is in the Buddhist Pali
struments, and H:a¯fiz: Muh:ammad EAl¯ı of Khayrabad
canon, where it stands for “concentration.” Buddhist author-
(d. 1849) expressed his condemnation of mystics who al-
ities define it as “mental one-pointedness” (cittasya eka¯grata¯;
lowed recitation of verses by women.
see, e.g., Buddhaghosa’s At:t:hasa¯lin¯ı 118). This is not, how-
However, these restrictions were not always kept in
ever, the sporadic concentration of the conventional mind,
mind by the mystics, especially during the later centuries
but the creative yogic process of abstracting attention from
when the mystic orders lost their centralized structure and
external objects and focusing it upon the inner environment.
many of them became specific to their geographic setting. A
corollary to this process was the trend through which saints,
Slightly later than the Buddhist references is the men-
using mystic channels and idiom to convey their message to
tion of sama¯dhi in the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ (2.44, 53, 54) in the
the common people, failed, unlike their predecessors, to
sense of one-pointedness as communion with the divine
check the reverse flow of popular superstitions, distortions,
being. This enstatic and transformative experience of the di-
and accretions to their own ways. Sama¯ E was no exception
vine is said to be fostered through strict meditational prac-
to this tide, and conditions regulating it were flouted. The
tices (see, e.g., Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ 6.12–15), but also through dis-
orthodox criticism of Sama¯ E, which had never really subsid-
interested action (see, e.g., Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ 12.10) and simple
ed, only became more poignant.
devotion to the personal God (see, e.g., Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ 12.11).
Prior to these usages is the employment of the past participle
BIBLIOGRAPHY
sama¯hita (“collected”) in reference to mental concentration
Works in Arabic
(see, e.g., Br:hada¯ran:yaka Upanis:ad 4.4.23).
Hujw¯ır¯ı, EAl¯ı ibn EUthma¯n al-. Kashf al-mah:ju¯b. Edited by
As “perfect concentration” (samyaksama¯dhi), the term
Muh:ammad Shafı. Lahore, 1967. An abridged translation of
figures in Hinayana Buddhism as the last limb of the Eight-
the Kashf al-mah:ju¯b was made by Reynold A. Nicholson in
1911 (2d ed., 1936; reprint, London, 1976).
fold Path of the Buddha. As such it comprises all the tech-
niques of meditative introversion known as dhya¯na (Pali,
Qushayr¯ı, Abu¯ al-Qa¯sim EAbd al-Kar¯ım. Al-risa¯lah al-qushayr¯ıyah
fi Eilm al-tas:awwuf. Cairo, 1959.
jha¯na), of which eight stages of progressive simplification of
Sarra¯j, Abu¯ Nas:r al-. Kita¯b al-luma D f¯ı al-tas:awwuf. Edited by
the contents of consciousness are distinguished. The first
Reynold A. Nicholson. Leiden, 1914.
four stages pertain to the category of “meditation with form”
Suhraward¯ı, Shiha¯b al-D¯ın Abu¯ H:afs: EUmar al-. EAwa¯rif
(ru¯pa dhya¯na), the last four to that of “formless meditation”
al-ma Ea¯rif. Beirut, 1966.
(aru¯pa dhya¯na). Beyond these mystical realizations lies the
Zarra¯d¯ı, Fakhr al-D¯ın. Us:u¯l al-sama¯ E. Delhi, n. d.
unconditional, transcendental reality, nirva¯n:a.
Works in other languages
The most elaborate metapsychology of sama¯dhi states,
Macdonald, D. B. “Emotional Religion in Islam as Affected by
modeled in part on the Buddhist schema, is found in the lit-
Music and Singing, Being a Translation of a Book of the
erature of classical Yoga. According to the Yoga Su¯tra (2.11),
Ih:ya D Eulu¯m ad-d¯ın of al-Ghazzali.” Journal of the Royal Asiat-
sama¯dhi ensues when the five types of fluctuations
ic Society (1901): 195–252, 705–748; (1902): 1–28.
(vr:tti)—perceptual or inferred knowledge, error, conceptual-
Meier, Fritz. “Der Derwisch-Tanz.” Asiatische Studien 8 (1954):
ization, sleep, and memory—are perfectly suspended. That
107–136.
suspension (nirodha) is achieved by means of sensory inhibi-
Molé, Marijan. “La danse extatique en Islam.” Sources orientales
tion (pratya¯ha¯ra), concentration (dha¯ran:a¯), and meditation
6 (1963): 145–280.
(dhya¯na), even though the state of suspension is only a suffi-
Ritter, Helmut. “Der Reigen der tanzenden Derwische.”
cient, not a necessary, condition for the occurrence of the en-
Zeitschrift für vergleichende Musikwissenschaft 1 (1933).
static consciousness (grace motif).
Schimmel, Annemarie. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill,
N. C., 1975. See discussion of sama¯ E on pages 178–186.
In classical Yoga, sama¯dhi designates the technique of
New Sources
mystical identification with the intended object, whereas the
Amnon, Shiloah. Music in the World of Islam: A Socio-Cultural
underlying process is more properly expressed by the term
Study. Detroit, Mich., 1995.
sama¯patti (“coincidence”), which is reserved in Buddhism for
KHALIQ AH:MAD NIZAMI (1987)
the four states of formless meditation. Similarly, the expres-
Revised Bibliography
sions dha¯ran:and dhya¯na represent types of yogic technique,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SAMARITANS
8067
while their essential processes are more accurately referred to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
as eka¯grata¯ (“one-pointedness”) and ekata¯nata¯ (“one-
Albrecht, Carl. Psychologie des mystischen Bewusstseins. Bremen,
flowingness”), respectively.
1951. A profound phenomenological investigation of the
meditative state preceding ecstasy/enstasy, with some funda-
The Yoga Su¯tra (1.42–44) mentions four levels of ensta-
mental observations about the nature of subject-object tran-
tic coincidence: (1) savitarka sama¯patti, or “cogitative coinci-
scendence.
dence”; (2) nirvitarka sama¯patti, or “transcogitative coinci-
Conze, Edward. Buddhist Meditation. New York, 1969. A useful
dence”; (3) savica¯ra sama¯patti, or “reflexive coincidence”;
reader.
and (4) nirvica¯ra sama¯patti, or “transreflexive coincidence.”
The first two levels are practiced in relation to an intended
Da Free John. Enlightenment and the Transformation of Man. Ed-
ited by Georg Feuerstein. Clearlake, Calif., 1983. A compila-
object pertaining to the “coarse” dimension, whereas in the
tion of published and unpublished materials with special ref-
latter two the yogin’s consciousness merges with a “subtle”
erence to sahaja sama¯dhi.
(psychic, unmanifest) object. These four progressively
“higher” stages belong to the category of sam:prajña¯ta
Dasgupta, Surendranath. The Study of Patañjali. Calcutta, 1920.
An early study of classical Yoga containing useful materials
sama¯dhi, or “enstasy with [object-]consciousness.”
on the enstatic state.
In the Yoga Bhasya (1.17) two further levels are men-
Eliade, Mircea. Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. 2d ed. Princeton,
tioned: (5) a¯nanda sama¯patti, or “blissful coincidence” (ac-
1969. There are several relevant sections in this standard
cording to Va¯caspati Mi´sra’s Tattvavai´sa¯rad¯ı 1.17, the in-
work on Yoga; see especially pages 76ff. and 167ff.
tended object is here a sense organ), and (6) asmita¯ sama¯patti,
Feuerstein, Georg. The Philosophy of Classical Yoga. Manchester,
or “coincidence with the sense of individuation.” Va¯caspati
1980. The different stages of enstatic unification are given
Mi´sra makes a further distinction between (7) nira¯nanda
a fresh examination, especially on pages 81ff.
sama¯patti, or “coincidence beyond bliss,” and (8) nirasmita¯
Feuerstein, Georg. The Bhagavad G¯ıta¯: Its Philosophy and Cultural
sama¯patti, or “coincidence beyond the sense of individua-
Setting. Wheaton, Ill., 1983. See especially the chapter on the
tion,” but the existence of these types is adamantly denied
yogic path, pages 126–146.
by Vijña¯nabhik0u in his Yoga Va¯rttika (1.17).
Jarrell, Howard R. International Meditation Bibliography, 1950–
The evidence of the Yoga Su¯tra itself suggests that the
1982. ATLA Bibliography Series, no. 12. Metuchen, N.J.,
highest form of enstasy associated with object-consciousness
and London, 1985. An extensive, if still incomplete, bibliog-
is nirvica¯ra vai´sa¯radya, or “autumnal-lucidity in the transre-
raphy listing over one thousand books and more than nine
flexive (state).” In this condition the transcendental Self
hundred articles on the subject of meditation.
(purus:a) is intuited over against the nonself or ego-
Koelman, Gaspar M. Pa¯tañjala Yoga: From Related Ego to Absolute
mechanism of nature (prakr:ti). When even that “vision of
Self. Poona, 1970. The enstatic state is given careful attention
discernment” (viveka khya¯ti) is suspended, there occurs a
on the basis of the commentarial literature on the Yoga Su¯tra,
sudden, unpredictable switch-over into asam:prajña¯ta
especially on pages 187ff.
sama¯dhi, the enstasy devoid of object-consciousness in which
Langen, Dietrich. Archaische Ekstase und asiatische Meditation.
only subconscious activators (sam:s:kara) are operative. As this
Stuttgart, 1963. A comparative study of ecstatic/enstatic
state is cultivated over a period of time, these activators neu-
techniques in relation to contemporary psychotherapeutic-
tralize each other, ultimately leading to dharmamegha
medical methods of relaxation and hypnosis.
sama¯dhi, the “enstasy of the cloud of dharma [constituent,
Oberhammer, Gerhard. Strukturen yogischer Meditation. Vienna,
truth].” That condition is nowhere clearly defined, but it ap-
1977. The most detailed Indological study of yogic medita-
pears to be the terminal phase of asam:prajña¯ta sama¯dhi,
tion and enstasy, with particular reference to Sa¯m:khya, the
being responsible for the cessation of the five causes of afflic-
Mr:gendra Tantra, and classical Yoga.
tion (kle´sas) and all karman (see Yoga Su¯tra 4.30), thus giving
New Sources
rise to final emancipation (apavarga, kaivalya).
Biermann, Derek. Sama¯dhi: Personal Journeys to Spiritual Truth.
The dualist ontology and metapsychology of classical
Boston, 2000.
Yoga suggest that emancipation coincides with the demise
GEORG FEUERSTEIN (1987)
of the finite body-mind. This goal of “disembodied libera-
Revised Bibliography
tion” (videhamukti) contrasts with the ideal, in nondualist
traditions like Advaita Vedanta, of “liberation in life”
(j¯ıvanmukti). Whereas the abovementioned forms of enstasy
represent realizations based on the introversion of attention,
SAMARITANS. The Samaritans are an ethno-religious
the enstasy associated with liberation in life is founded on
group in Palestine and in Israel. Their religious center is
the transcendence of attention itself. It is known as
Mount Gerizim in the vicinity of Nablus. Half of the com-
sahajasama¯dhi or “spontaneous [i. e., natural] enstasy”—the
munity lives on the mountain, half lives in H:olon, a southern
enstasy “with open eyes” (Da Free John, 1983), transcending
suburb of Tel Aviv. In the early twenty-first century the com-
all knowledge and experience, both secular and esoteric.
munity comprises approximately 660 members. The Samari-
tan religion is an outgrowth of the Israelite-Jewish religion
SEE ALSO Yoga.
as it existed around the beginning of the common era. It
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8068
SAMARITANS
therefore has many features in common with Judaism, above
tanism that the origin of the Samaritans as a distinct religion
all the belief in the first five books (the Pentateuch) of the
has to be sought in Maccabean times. The tensions between
Bible. As opposed to Judaism, though, the Samaritans never
the YHWH-worshiping northern Israelites and the Judeans
developed the institution of the rabbinate but are led by
that surfaced after the Babylonian Exile resulted in a break
priests and a high priest.
between the two groups in the second century BCE. In the
time before the break the northern Israelites who worshiped
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE. As a group the Samaritans have
YHWH can be called proto-Samaritans—Israelites from Sa-
always lived in Palestine; that is, from their inception in an-
maria who were in the process of developing into a religious
tiquity to the present there have been Samaritans in the Holy
community independent from Judeans. Decisive for the split
Land. Their numbers have varied from tens or even hun-
was the rejection of Jerusalem as a relevant place of worship
dreds of thousands in the early period to barely over one
and the establishment of Gerizim as the only legitimate sa-
hundred in the nineteenth century. For this reason it has
cred place by the northern Israelites (or proto-Samaritans)
often been assumed that they preserved biblical traditions
who thus became the Samaritans. Both form and recitation
that were lost in Judaism. Although it can be shown that cer-
of the Samaritan Pentateuch, the oldest extant Samaritan
tain elements of Samaritanism go back to antiquity, such as
writing, reflect precisely this time period.
the recitation of the Torah, not all their beliefs and practices
necessarily continued unbroken from antiquity to modern
EVIDENCE FOR THE COMMUNITY’S HISTORY. There are no
times; each case has to be judged on its own merits. Due to
early Samaritan sources relating their own history. The most
the lack of sources for long stretches of Samaritan history,
important extant Samaritan chronicle was written by Abu¯ al-
it cannot be ruled out that certain rituals were revived by
Fath ibn Ab¯ı al-Hasan al-Sa¯mir¯ı al-Danaf¯ı in the fourteenth
going back to the text of the Torah. Nevertheless, Samaritan-
century, the Kita¯b al-Tar¯ıkh. Although Abu¯ al-Fath used
ism represents an important nonrabbinic tradition of ancient
older sources for his compilation, it is only to a limited extent
biblical religion.
that his work can be used for the reconstruction of Samaritan
history. In the main it is necessary to rely on non-Samaritan
MAJOR THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF THE SAMARITANS. Ac-
sources, such as Josephus, Greek and Roman authors, early
cording to traditional Samaritan beliefs (as expressed in
Christian authors, rabbinic writings, Byzantine laws, Muslim
chapters 9 and 10 of the chronicle of Abu¯ al-Fath and in
sources, travel accounts, and archaeology. For any recon-
chapter 43 of the Samaritan Book of Joshua; see below), their
struction the origin and Tendenz (or bias) of the writings
origin goes back to a schism in the time of Eli, a priest at
must of course be taken into account. In the case of the rab-
Shiloh during the period of the Judges (1 Sam. 1:9, 2:11).
binic literature the different layers of redaction and the chro-
Eli is said to have left the sanctuary on Mount Gerizim and
nology must be established to arrive at a proper interpreta-
erected a schismatic sanctuary in Shiloh that ushered in
tion. Furthermore, there is the question of how far rabbinic
the Era of Divine Disfavor, or Pnwth (pronounced
passages concerning the Samaritans are reflections of actual
Fanu¯ta)—God turned away (Aramaic, pny) his face from his
situations or attempts at Jewish self-definition vis-à-vis oth-
people. The Samaritans consider themselves to be those Isra-
ers. Mutatis mutandis such criteria are to be applied to all
elites who remained faithful to Gerizim. In Judaism it was
literary sources. Archaeology of Samaritan sites, in particular
believed—beginning with Josephus (Antiquities 9:288–291)
on Mount Gerizim, as well as the excavations of several syna-
and up to modern times—that the Samaritans originated in
gogues have come to play an increasingly vital role in the ex-
the pagan or the mixed population (Israelite and pagan) of
ploration of early Samaritan history.
the northern kingdom, Israel, after the Assyrian conquest in
721
HISTORY OF THE SAMARITANS. As mentioned above, the Sa-
BCE, as told in 2 Kings 17:24–41. On the basis of this
account, Jewish sources then pejoratively called the Samari-
maritans originated in the Maccabean period. A crucial event
tans “Kutim” after one of the peoples settled in Israel by the
in the relations between northern Israelite YHWH worship-
Assyrians. Since the Samaritan religion contains no traces of
ers and Judeans was the destruction of the Samaritan sanctu-
syncretism, and since not all inhabitants of the northern
ary on Mount Gerizim by John Hyrcanus I (134–104 BCE)
kingdom were deported by the Assyrians, it is thought by
at the end of the second century BCE. According to Josephus,
some modern authors that the Israelites that were left in the
the temple on Mount Gerizim was built at the beginning of
country are the ancestors of the Samaritans.
the Hellenistic period. Josephus’s account, however, must be
treated with caution. Excavations on the top of Mount
Another view of the origin of the Samaritans is the as-
Gerizim have unearthed a large city with an extensive, forti-
sumption that the Samaritans developed from dissident Jews
fied sacred precinct in the center, dated by the excavator,
of the southern kingdom, Judah, breaking away from Juda-
Yitzhak Magen, to the Hellenistic period. In the center of
ism in the fifth or fourth century BCE, a belief based on cer-
the sacred precinct stood (most likely) a sanctuary. Accord-
tain passages in the Bible (Ezra 4:1–5; Neh. 13:28) and in
ing to Josephus (Antiquities 11:310, 13:256), this was a tem-
Josephus (Antiquities 11:302–347). The discoveries in Qum-
ple similar to the one in Jerusalem. But some scholars think
ran and recent archaeological excavations (those undertaken
it may well have been an open-air sanctuary with an altar as
since 1984), however, suggest a different reconstruction. It
described in Exodus 24–40. The archaeological finds, on the
is now virtually common opinion among scholars of Samari-
other hand, convinced the excavator that it was in fact a tem-
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SAMARITANS
8069
ple building. Due to Roman and Byzantine building activi-
other populations repressed by the Byzantines, were ready to
ties on the very spot, however, many of the earlier installa-
cooperate with the conquering Muslims in the seventh cen-
tions have been destroyed. The Hellenistic sanctuary appears
tury CE, although the Byzantines forced them to fight the
to have been preceded by a sanctuary from the Persian period
Muslims. While the Umayyad rulers (661–750 CE) treated
built, according to the excavator, in the first half of the fifth
the local population well, the situation changed under the
century BCE. Mount Gerizim was certainly a holy place from
Abbasids (750–1258). Higher taxes and cruel local rulers
ancient times on (see Deut. 11:29, 27:11–13; Josh. 8:33–35;
made life difficult for the Samaritans and other non-
John 4:20). Definite judgments about the buildings on the
Muslims. Extreme economic hardships imposed by Muslim
mountain can only be made after all the excavated material
rulers caused many families to convert to Islam. Thus the
has been assessed. The Samaritan tradition is silent on the
numbers of Samaritans decreased further in the Muslim peri-
city as well as on the temple except for a few scattered pas-
od. From the eleventh century on, Arabic was used for their
sages in medieval chronicles that briefly refer to a temple
writings, and there is even an Arabic translation of the Penta-
(Abu¯ al-Fath, Kita¯b 63, 79, 80, 102, 183; Stenhouse, 1985).
teuch.
Despite the breach between Jews and Samaritans in
During the crusader period (1099–1291) the Samari-
Maccabean times, the two communities continued to inter-
tans seem to have suffered less, although some Samaritan
act. This becomes clear from the discussions in rabbinic liter-
buildings were destroyed. A note by the Jewish traveler Ben-
ature that presuppose such relations and from archaeological
jamin of Tudela from approximately 1170 indicates that in
excavations that have brought to light miqva Dot (ritual baths)
all of Palestine there lived fifteen hundred Samaritans (or Sa-
and synagogues just like those of the Jews. In the Middle
maritan families), one thousand of whom lived in Nablus.
Ages the Samaritans incorporated Jewish midrashim into
There were also small numbers of Samaritans in Damascus
their own compositions and even adopted (with adaptations)
and in Egypt. Although, similar to the other local population
whole Jewish writings.
of Palestine, the Samaritans were of inferior social status,
they were allowed to continue their cult on Mount Gerizim
Early in their history as a distinct religion, Samaritans
and to regulate their own affairs. They did suffer, though,
experienced the rise of divisions. It seems that the Samaritan
from Muslim violence.
heresiarch Dositheus arose in the first century CE and still
The crusaders were driven from their last Syrian and
had followers, the Dositheans, in later centuries. The third
Palestinian possessions in 1291 by the Mamluks. For the Sa-
and fourth centuries CE were a period of religious reform and
maritans the following period was one of relative calm, and
literary creativity. The person credited with this reform, Baba
in fact the fourteenth century saw a Samaritan renaissance
Rabba, is known only from later Samaritan sources. He
with many new writings, among them the chronicle of Abu¯
strengthened the lay element and reorganized the Samaritans
al-Fath. Samaritans continued to live in Nablus, Gaza, Cairo,
by establishing a “Council of Elders” and installing leaders
and Damascus. Their numbers, however, dwindled further,
who, together with priests, presided over newly established
until they counted only a few hundred. In 1517 the Mam-
districts into which he divided the area inhabited by the Sa-
luks were overthrown by the Ottomans when Sultan Selim
maritans. During Baba Rabba’s lifetime lived some of the
I (1512–1520) defeated their troops in Syria and in Egypt.
greatest poets and writers of the Samaritans, including
Palestine was now governed by Turkish officials. Despite
Amram Da¯re and Ma˚rqe, both authors of many hymns.
their small numbers and persecutions by Muslims in the sev-
Ma˚rqe is also author of the Samaritan midrashic work Memar
enteenth century, the Samaritans survived and even experi-
Marqah (M¯ıma¯r Ma˚rqe), or T¯ıba˚t Ma˚rqe. The Samaritan
enced a flowering of religious literature. Toward the end of
sources also ascribe the building of synagogues to Baba
the sixteenth century European scholars obtained Samaritan
Rabba.
manuscripts and began a long correspondence with the Sa-
The fortunes of the Samaritans sharply declined over
maritans. Gradually, Samaritan communities outside of
the course of the Byzantine period. The Byzantine emperors
Nablus, in particular in Cairo, Gaza, and Damascus, ceased
persecuted them more than they persecuted the Jews, as be-
to exist, and the one in Nablus counted barely two hundred
comes clear from Byzantine legislation. This maltreatment
individuals. This number dropped further until the mid–
at the hands of the Christian authorities provoked the Sa-
nineteenth century, when there were only slightly more than
maritans into several uprisings during the fifth and sixth cen-
one hundred Samaritans left. Late in that same century some
turies CE described in Christian sources. The revolts left the
Samaritans began to marry Jewish women, and the numbers
Samaritans weak and severely decimated at the end of the pe-
of the Samaritans increased. This trend continued into the
riod. A great number perished, and some converted, genu-
twenty-first century. Around 1900, Samaritans began to set-
inely or otherwise, to Christianity. In the wake of the first
tle outside Nablus again. Eventually the Samaritans living in
revolt in 484 CE, Emperor Zeno built a church to the Virgin
Israel concentrated in H:olon, so that two Samaritan centers,
Mary on the site of the former Samaritan sanctuary, the ruins
Kiryat Luza (the Samaritan settlement on Mount Gerizim)
of which are still visible. The church’s enclosure was rein-
and H:olon, developed.
forced by Emperor Justinian I (527–565 CE) after the Samar-
BELIEFS AND PRACTICES. The foundation of Samaritan be-
itan revolt of 529 CE. Little wonder that the Samaritans, like
liefs and practices lies in the Pentateuch that the Samaritans
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8070
SAMARITANS
have in common with the Jews. Thus the basic monotheistic
cumcision is always performed on the eighth day after the
outlook of Samaritanism is the same as in Judaism. Specific
birth of a boy. Sabbath is strictly observed through prayers
to the Samaritans is the belief, based on a slight difference
and abstention from work; prepared food can only be kept
in the text of the Samaritan Pentateuch, that the place chosen
warm in thermo dishes. Men perform the Sabbath prayers
by God for his worship is Mount Gerizim rather than Jerusa-
in the synagogue. Samaritan synagogues have no pews, so the
lem; it is on this mountain that the only legitimate sanctuary
worshipers pray on carpets spread on the floor; shoes are left
was to be built. The only prophet was, according to the Sa-
at the entrance. A special Sabbath dress, a long striped robe,
maritans, Moses. He is the subject of extraordinary praise
is worn by men during Sabbath; the prayer shawl of a long,
and admiration in Samaritan literature. In the end-times a
white cloth is worn over the Sabbath dress in the synagogue.
prophet like Moses (Dt. 18:15, 18:18), the Taheb (the “re-
Men’s heads must be covered during prayer.
turning one,” from the Aramaic twb), will appear and bring
L
back the Era of Divine Favor, or Rhwth—God will again be
ITERATURE. The oldest and most important writing is the
Pentateuch. Except for a small number of readings specific
pleased (Aramaic rd’ y) with his people. The concept of the
to the Samaritan version and variations in spelling, it is the
Taheb underwent a development in the course of Samaritan
same text that the Jews have. The oldest extant copies date
history from a prophetic to an eschatological figure.
from the tenth or eleventh century. The most revered Torah
Samaritan eschatology also underwent changes, in par-
scroll is the so-called Abisha Scroll, believed by the Samari-
ticular the idea of the resurrection of the body. Early Chris-
tans to have been written by the great-grandnephew of
tian as well as rabbinic sources accuse the Samaritans of not
Moses. In the third or fourth century CE the Samaritans
believing in resurrection. The rabbinic tractate Massekhet
translated the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, the Samaritan
Kutim even makes the acceptance of resurrection by the Sa-
Targum. Numerous liturgical compositions date from the
maritans one of two conditions on which the latter will be
fourth century CE to the present. One of the major works is
“taken back” by the Jews, the second being the renunciation
T¯ıba˚t Ma˚rqe by the third- or fourth-century Samaritan poet
of Mount Gerizim and the acceptance of Jerusalem. A gradu-
and scholar Ma˚rqe, mentioned above. It is a midrashic work
al change began in the eleventh century and was completed
in six books on passages of the Pentateuch. Samaritan schol-
by the fourteenth century, so that modern Samaritans believe
ars also wrote halakhic works, the oldest extant compilations
in resurrection. The concept of the Day of Vengeance and
dating from the eleventh century; no authoritative collec-
Recompense, on the other hand, has existed in all epochs of
tions similar to those in Judaism were made. In the twelfth
Samaritan religion. Its basis in the Samaritan Bible is Deuter-
century Munajja b. Sadaqa authored a halakhic compendium
onomy 32:35. Whereas the Jews read “vengeance is mine,”
that outlines the differences between Samaritan and Jewish
the Samaritan Pentateuch (as well as the Septuagint) reads
halakhah.
“for the day of vengeance.” It is the day of the final
There are a number of so-called chronicles, that is, ac-
judgment.
counts of events in Samaritan history, sometimes ranging
Samaritan practices, like their beliefs, have much in
from the creation of the world to the time of the author or
common with those of the Jews. Samaritans celebrate the
copyist. They were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic.
feasts based in the Pentateuch but not festivals introduced
The earliest chronicle is called Tu¯l¯ıda (Chronicle). Its oldest
into Judaism later, such as Purim and H:anukkah. The feast
part dates from the twelfth century, although the main por-
of Passover is observed by the Samaritans as it is described
tion of the text was written in the fourteenth century, and
in Exodus 12—that is, sheep are slaughtered, roasted, and
it was continued by later scribes until 1859. In the thirteenth
eaten on Mount Gerizim. Three times a year—at
century the Samaritan Arabic Book of Joshua was written or
Pesah:-Massot, ShavuEot, and Sukkot—the Samaritans make
compiled from earlier sources, originally covering the time
a pilgrimage (Ex. 23:14–19) to the top of Mount Gerizim.
from the death of Moses to Alexander the Great; it too was
In the course of the pilgrimage they visit a number of sacred
later expanded.
sites on the mountain, including the place where Abraham
was to sacrifice Isaac, and conclude the pilgrimage on the so-
There is also a list of Samaritan high priests, the so-
called Eternal Hill, a flat rock that the Samaritans associate
called Shalsha¯la or Chain of the High Priests, whose date of
with the most significant events in their religious history. For
origin is unknown. It extends from Adam to the compiler,
the festival of Sukkot, or Tabernacles, the Samaritans build
Jacob b. Aaron, in the nineteenth century. The oldest com-
succot within their houses, using the “four species” men-
plete chronicle is Abu¯ al-Fath’s chronicle, the Kita¯b
tioned in the Bible (Lv. 23:40) to make roofs, a custom that
al-Tar¯ıkh. Composed in 1355 CE, it is the most important
may date from the period of Byzantine persecutions.
Samaritan source for their history. A Continuatio of this
chronicle is a firsthand source of the impact of early Islam
The liturgy, other than the pilgrimage, is held in syna-
(seventh to tenth centuries) on the Samaritans. A more re-
gogues. Women attend synagogues on Yom Kippur only; at
cent chronicle is the Chronicle Adler, so named after its pub-
other times, including the Sabbath, they pray and read the
lisher, Elkan Nathan Adler. In addition to the above litera-
Scripture at home. The leaders of the community are the
ture, Samaritans also wrote grammatical, lexical, and
priests, headed by a high priest, now the oldest priest. Cir-
exegetical works.
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SAM
: GHA: AN OVERVIEW
8071
THE SAMARITANS IN THE IDEOLOGY AND SELF-IMAGE OF JU-
Josephus’s texts in Greek and English can be found in Ralph Mar-
DAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. From the time of Josephus, Juda-
cus, ed. and trans., Josephus, VI: Jewish Antiquities, Books
ism applied 2 Kings 17 to the Samaritans, seeing in them a
IX-XI (Cambridge, Mass., 1966). A summary report in He-
semipagan group that was only superficially close to Judaism.
brew on the excavations on Mount Gerizim by Yitzhak
Rabbinic writings were ambiguous, sometimes admitting
Magen is in Qadmoniot 120 (2000)—the whole issue, in fact,
is devoted to the excavations on Mount Gerizim; the individ-
that the Samaritans are scrupulous observers of the law,
ual articles are as follows: Yitzhak Magen, “Mt. Gerizim—A
sometimes considering them as outright Gentiles, and some-
Temple City” (pp. 74–118); Ephraim Stern and Yitzhak
times placing them somewhere in between Jews and non-
Magen, “The First Phase of the Samaritan Temple on Mt.
Jews. In 1985–1986 the Israeli chief rabbinate and rabbinical
Gerizim—New Archaeological Evidence” (pp. 119–124);
courts declared that the Samaritans are Gentiles. Contempo-
Yitzhak Magen, Levanah Tsfania, and Haggai Misgav, “The
rary Jewish scholars, on the other hand, are divided. Some
Hebrew and Aramaic Inscriptions from Mt. Gerizim”
see the Samaritans as a branch of the Jewish people, others
(pp. 125–132); Yitzhak Magen, “Mt. Gerizim during the
underline the introduction of foreigners into Samaria in bib-
Roman and Byzantine Periods” (pp. 133–143). For earlier
lical times. The state of Israel regards the Samaritans as a
English reports see Frédéric Manns and Eugenio Alliata, eds.,
branch of the Jewish people and applies the Law of Return
Early Christianity in Context, Studium Biblicum Franci-
scanum, Collectio Maior, 38 (Jerusalem, 1993). On syna-
to those Samaritans who want to move from Nablus to Israel.
gogues see Reinhard Pummer, “Samaritan Synagogues and
Christian authors of antiquity saw the Samaritans as a
Jewish Synagogues: Similarities and Differences,” in Jews,
sect of Judaism. Later Christianity lost sight of the Samari-
Christians, and Polytheists in the Ancient Synagogue, edited by
tans until they were rediscovered in the sixteenth century. In
Steven Fine, Baltimore Studies in the History of Judaism
the seventeenth century the first copy of the Samaritan Pen-
(London and New York, 1999), pp. 118–160.
tateuch was acquired and published. It was subsequently
For contemporary Samaritan life, see the biweekly newspaper
used in disputes between Catholics and Protestants; the for-
A.B.: Samaritan News (1969–). Since 1984 the “Société
mer thought it supported the Septuagint version against the
d’Études Samaritaines” has organized international congress-
es at regular intervals and has published their proceedings.
Masoretic text favored by the Protestants. Most Christians
associate Samaritans primarily with the New Testament par-
REINHARD PUMMER (2005)
able of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29–37).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SAM:GHA
Alan David Crown, ed., A Bibliography of the Samaritans (Phila-
This entry consists of the following articles:
delphia, 1993), is a helpful reference work. Comprehensive
AN OVERVIEW
sources are Alan David Crown, ed., The Samaritans (Tübing-
SAM:GHA AND SOCIETY IN SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
en, Germany, 1989); and Alan David Crown, Reinhard
SAM:GHA AND SOCIETY IN TIBET
Pummer, and Abraham Tal, eds., A Companion to Samaritan
Studies
(Tübingen, Germany, 1993). Also important are
SAM
: GHA: AN OVERVIEW
James D. Purvis, The Samaritan Pentateuch and the Origin
Sam:gha (or san˙gha) is a common noun meaning “multitude”
of the Samaritan Sect, Harvard Semitic Monographs 2 (Cam-
or “assemblage” in Sanskrit, Pali, and the various prakrit lan-
bridge, Mass., 1968); Hans G. Kippenberg, Garizim und
Synagoge: Traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen zur samari-

guages. Buddhists have adopted the word to describe their
tanischen Religion der aramäischen Periode, Religionsgesch-
religious community; followers of Jainism and other contem-
ichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten 30 (Berlin and New
porary religious groups also use the term in this sense.
York, 1971); R. J. Coggins, Samaritans and Jews: The Origins
The Buddhist sam:gha consists of four “assemblies”
of Samaritanism Reconsidered, Growing Points in Theology
(Skt., paris:ad; Pali, parisa¯); they are the monks (bhiks:u; Pali,
(Oxford, 1975); and Reinhard Pummer, The Samaritans,
bhikkhu), the nuns (bhiks:un:¯ı; Pali, bhikkhun¯ı, the male lay
Iconography of Religions 23, 5 (Leiden, 1987).
followers (upa¯saka), and the female lay followers (upa¯sika¯).
Modern editions and translations of Samaritan texts include Abra-
Jain sources also include a similar wider understanding of the
ham Tal, The Samaritan Pentateuch, Edited according to MS
term “fourfold sam:gha.” In the narrower sense of the word,
6 (C) of the Shekhem Synagogue, Texts and Studies in the He-
sam:gha refers to the community of monks and nuns only.
brew Language and Related Subjects 8 (Tel Aviv, 1994);
Abraham Tal, The Samaritan Targum of the Pentateuch,
The first Buddhist sam:gha was established by the Bud-
Texts and Studies in the Hebrew Language and Related Sub-
dha himself, Siddha¯rtha Gautama (c. 563–c. 483 BCE), when
jects 4–6 (Tel Aviv, 1980–1983); Mosheh Florentin, ed. and
he accepted as his disciples five men before whom he had
trans., The Tu¯l¯ıda: A Samaritan Chroncile (Jerusalem, 1999
preached his first sermon in a park near Va¯ra¯n:as¯ı. During
[in Hebrew]); Paul Stenhouse, trans., The Kita¯b al-Tar¯ıkh of
his lifetime, the community grew considerably, and the Bud-
Abu¯ Dl-Fath, Studies in Judaica 1 (Sydney, 1985); Milka
dha is credited with having regulated its life and organization
Levy-Rubin, ed. and trans., The Continuatio of the Samaritan
in a rather detailed manner.
Chronicle of Abu¯ l-Fath al-Sa¯mir¯ı al-Danaf¯ı, Studies in Late
Antiquity and Early Islam 10 (Princeton, N.J., 2002); ZeDev
SOURCES OF RULES. The first part of the Buddhist scriptures
Ben-Hayim, ed. and trans., T¯ıba˚t Ma˚rqe (Jerusalem, 1988).
forms the law book for the Buddhist sam:gha. This collection,
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SAM
: GHA: AN OVERVIEW
called the Vinaya Pit:aka (Basket of monastic discipline), or
“the sam:gha of the four directions” (i.e., the Buddhist mo-
Vinaya, has been handed down in a number of different re-
nastic communities as a whole), but in the context of the ju-
censions, each belonging to a particular “school” (nika¯ya) of
ridical prescriptions of the Vinaya Pit:aka, it designates the
early Indian Buddhism. The rather close similarity of the
sam:gha of a particular place that may perform a “Vinaya act”
main parts of these texts clearly points to a common source.
(vinayakarma or san˙ghakarma) within an established
The complete text of the Vinaya Pit:aka of the Maha¯viha¯ra
“boundary” (sima¯) in accordance with the regulations of
(the main tradition of the Therava¯da school of Buddhism in
Buddhist law.
Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia) has been preserved in Pali.
Most other versions were originally composed in Sanskrit,
Admission to the sam:gha by the Buddha himself was a
but only parts of the original texts have been preserved. Sev-
rather informal process, but detailed formalities were pre-
eral complete recensions are available in Chinese translation,
scribed in the Vinaya for the admission by the monastic com-
and the Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯da version is available in Tibetan
munity after the Buddha’s death. Two steps are required in
translation. Chinese translations exist of nearly complete
the complete transformation of a lay person to a fully or-
manuscripts of the Vinaya Pit:akas of the Sarva¯stiva¯da,
dained monk or nun. The first step is pravrajya¯ (Pali,
Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯da, Dharmaguptaka, Mah¯ı´sa¯saka, and
pabbajja¯), the “going forth” by which a candidate becomes
Maha¯sa¯m:ghika schools. Parts of the Vinaya texts of the
a novice (´sra¯man:era; Pali, sa¯man:era). The second step is
Lokottarava¯da, Ka¯´syap¯ıya, and Sammat¯ıya schools are also
upasam:pad (Pali, upasampada¯), the “obtaining” of ordina-
extant.
tion, whereupon the novice is admitted as a bhiks:u, a full-
fledged member of the sam:gha. Admission as a ´sra¯man:era re-
Most versions of the Vinaya Pit:aka consist of three main
quires a minimum age of eight years. The novice remains
sections: the Vibhan˙iga (Pali, Vibhan˙iga or Suttavibhan˙ga) or
under the guidance of a preceptor and a spiritual master even
Vinayavibhan˙ga (in certain traditions, Pra¯timoks:avibhan˙ga),
after ordination, for which the minimum age is twenty years.
the Skandhaka (Pali, Khandhaka) or Vinayavastu, and the
S´ra¯man:eras and bhiks:us are expected to follow the respective
Pariva¯ra (partly corresponding with Ks:udrakavastu, Muktaka
rules of monastic discipline (vinaya). The novice obeys ten
Prak¯ırn:aka sections in other versions of the Vinaya collec-
precepts (´siks:a¯pada; Pali, sikkha¯pada), whereas a bhiks:u is ex-
tion). The essential part of the Vibhan˙ga is represented by
pected to obey all injunctions listed in the Pra¯timoks:a. These
the group of rules known as the Pra¯timoks:a (Pali,
regulations are divided into seven groups according to the se-
Pa¯timokkha), injunctions regulating the behavior of monks
riousness of offenses against them. Violation of the four
and nuns; all of these rules are believed to have been issued
pa¯ra¯jika injunctions, which forbid sexual intercourse, theft,
by the Buddha himself. Their number is slightly different for
the intentional taking of human life, and falsely or self-
each of the various early Buddhist schools, ranging from 218
interestedly claiming superhuman powers, is cause for per-
rules for the Maha¯sa¯m:ghikas to 263 rules for the
manent expulsion from the sam:gha. A monk who transgress-
Sarva¯stiva¯dins. These rules are also handed down as a sepa-
es the rules of the second group is subject to temporary de-
rate work serving as the confession formula to be recited at
motion in the sam:gha. For minor offenses, confession is
the regular confessional ceremonies of the sam:gha. In the
considered a sufficient punishment.
Vinayavibhan˙ga, all these rules are listed, along with an ac-
Further procedures of the sam:gha include the pos:adha
count of the occasion upon which the Buddha issued each
(Pali, uposatha), or confessional ceremony, which is held on
one, with casuistry and additional explanations. The work
the days of the new moon and the full moon, during which
is divided into two parts, the first of which lists regulations
time the Pra¯timoks:a is to be recited. All procedures must
for monks and the second gives rules for nuns. Since each
strictly follow the established rules in order to be valid. They
rule is an injunction whose transgression is followed by a par-
must be performed by a complete sam:gha within an estab-
ticular sanction, the Pra¯timoks:a and Vibhan:ga represent a
lished boundary (s¯ıma¯) by using the particular karmava¯cana¯
compendium of the penal laws of the sam:gha.
(Pali, kammava¯ca¯), or prescribed formula. All monks living
The Skandhaka, or Vinayavastu, functions as the proce-
within a particular place defined by such boundaries that
dural law of the sam:gha. This section describes regulations
have been fixed by a formal act of the sam:gha must meet and
for admission to the order, the confessional ceremony, and
act together. The minimum number of monks who may per-
various aspects of monastic life, such as the behavior pre-
form valid acts of Vinaya is four, but for particular legal acts,
scribed for monks and nuns during the rainy season, what
a larger number of monks must be present; for example, ten
possessions they are permitted to own, the use of medicines,
monks are required for the performance of an ordination in
and so forth. Most versions of these Vinaya texts contain as
India, but only five are required in the borderlands. For most
an appendix an account of the first two Buddhist councils
formal acts, a unanimous decision is necessary; for less im-
(san˙g¯ıti or san˙ga¯yana¯). The Pariva¯ra contains additional ma-
portant decisions, a majority vote may be permissible.
terial in the form of mnemonic summaries, explanations, and
In order to be valid, an ordination must go back in an
so on.
uninterrupted succession to an ordination obtained from the
RULES AND PROCEDURES IN THE LAWS OF THE SAM:GHA.
Buddha himself and all ordinations in this lineage must be
The term sam:gha may be used in a general sense denoting
valid. If this is not the case, the particular person may not
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SAM
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8073
be considered a Buddhist monk or nun. He or she may still
tery. As the sam:ghas evolved from groups of mendicants into
join the Buddhist community, however, as an upa¯saka or
residential monastic units, the importance of these responsi-
upa¯sika¯.
bilities grew.
As mentioned before, the Buddha also admitted women
THE PLACE OF THE SAM:GHA IN THE TEACHING OF THE
to be members of the sam:gha. Therefore, the nuns have
BUDDHA. The structure of the sam:gha as described above
similar rules, viz. the Bhiks:un:¯ıvibhan˙ga (Pali, Bhik-
characterizes it as a legal system with formal regulations. The
khun¯ıvibhan˙ga). The particular procedural laws for the
Buddha, however, stressed that he proclaimed all of his
bhiks:un:is in the Therava¯da tradition are formulated in a par-
teachings for the exclusive purpose of guiding his disciples
ticular section of the Cullavagga (second part of the
on their way to final enlightenment. The texts make it clear
Vibhan˙ga), whereas the texts of some other schools contain
that monastic discipline and the sam:gha represent only the
separate collections of regulations for nuns.
outer form, created in order to allow people to abandon their
secular responsibilities and worldly connections in order to
In nearly all Buddhist traditions, the lineage of the ordi-
concentrate on enlightenment. Monastic discipline is the
nation of nuns has been uninterrupted; the only exception
formal aspect of morality (´s¯ıla; Pali s¯ıla), which is the right
is in the tradition of the Dharmaguptaka school. Most Bud-
mode of mind and volition and, as such, the first foundation
dhist nun communities demonstrate great vitality, particu-
of the way to liberation. Morality in this sense is practiced
larly in Taiwan and Korea. Recently, engaged Buddhist
through self-restraint; thus, the observance of the Vinaya is
women undertook reestablishing the sam:gha of nuns in the
an integral part of the spiritual training of the Buddha’s
Therava¯da tradition, but as of the early twenty-first century,
disciples.
most Buddhist monks had not accepted their claim.
In relation to the laity, a member of the sam:gha is legiti-
If the sam:gha of a particular place fails to assemble in
mized as a disciple of the Buddha by his adherence to the
full, or if it cannot agree, sam:gha bheda (division in a sam:gha)
laws of Vinaya. The sam:gha is worthy of respect and dona-
has occurred; such a schism is considered a grave offense. De-
tions because it follows and perpetuates the Buddha’s law,
vadatta, the adversary of the Buddha, created the first sam:gha
thereby embodying the “highest field of merit.” On the other
bheda by unsuccessfully trying to replace the Buddha and
hand, the existence of the sam:gha is a precondition for the
make himself the head of the Buddhist community.
continuation of Buddhism, inasmuch as it hands down the
LIFE OF THE MONKS. Early sam:ghas were communities of
teaching of the Buddha. The Buddha ordered his monks to
mendicants. The tradition states that, upon leaving worldly
preach his dharma, but in a decent, restrained manner, and
life, the candidate must give up all possessions and thence-
only if asked to do so.
forth depend on the laity for his or her subsistence. The
HISTORY OF THE SAM:GHA. Immediately after the death of
number of requisites he or she owns is prescribed. Members
the Buddha, a first “council” (sam:g¯ıti or sam:ga¯yana¯) of Bud-
live on the food that is placed in their begging bowls during
dhist monks assembled in Ra¯jagr:ha and collected the words
the daily alms round. They are allowed to accept personal
of the Buddha, thereby compiling the Buddhist scriptures.
invitations for meals, but not to eat after midday.
Although the extant scriptures are of later origin, the ancient
As a community, however, the sam:gha may accept most
record seems to reflect an historical event. It is likely that the
kinds of donations, including property, and generous contri-
earliest version of the Pra¯timoks:a and the most important
butions to the sam:gha by laity are considered highly meritori-
sermons of the Buddha were collected during this meeting.
ous acts. In this way, some monastic communities became
A second council assembled at Vai´sa¯li one hundred years
wealthy, and the way of life of their members came to differ
later to resolve certain disputes on monastic discipline. The
from original doctrinal and canonical ideals. Therefore, the
division of the Buddhist tradition into various schools or
application of the formal rules of monastic discipline grew
groups (nika¯yas), which are often wrongly termed “Buddhist
more imperative, and the degree of strictness in the fulfill-
sects,” began at this time. In the first period, the formation
ment of these regulations was considered a measure of the
of these groups was based mainly on the geographic diversifi-
moral standard of a Buddhist monastic community.
cation of local sam:ghas and on different views about details
of monastic discipline. The texts were handed down orally;
The original sam:gha had practically no hierarchical or-
their written codification began only in the first century BCE.
ganization. During his lifetime, the Buddha was the highest
In most cases, the formation of the “schools” took place in
authority, but he declined to appoint a successor, saying that
such a way as to avoid the formal violation of the above-
his doctrine alone should guide his followers. The only hier-
mentioned injunction against sam:gha bheda.
archical principle accepted by the early sam:gha was that of
seniority, counting from the day of ordination. An elder
The nika¯yas handed down separate recensions of the
monk is called sthavira (Pali, thera). In principle, all monks
scriptures, and they also organized additional councils or
have equal rights and equal obligations. In practice, however,
convocations to collect and correct them. These collections
the sam:gha elects particular monks to serve in various roles,
of the scriptures arose in different parts of India and were
including dispute resolution, ecclesiastical jurisdiction deter-
originally transmitted in Middle Indo-Aryan dialects. Most
minations, and various administrative duties in the monas-
of them were translated later into Sanskrit, with the excep-
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8074
SAM
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tion of the scriptures of the Therava¯da school, which re-
fered in secular affairs during the colonial and postcolonial
mained in Pali, a dialect originating from central India.
eras. Since 1978, however, the people of Burma (now called
Myanmar) have attempted to form an autonomous hierar-
Historical accounts of several schools contain traditions
chical organization of the sam:gha under the patronage of the
on a third council, held during the reign of King A´soka
government.
(272–231 BCE), but from the rather contradictory accounts
it becomes clear that the diversification of the schools was
Therava¯da countries continue to support the old tradi-
already far advanced by that time.
tion that the sam:gha should be devoted solely to its spiritual
aims. To this end, monks in these areas formed groups of for-
Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism came into existence around the
est dwellers (araññava¯sm). Eventually, the forest dwellers
beginning of the common era, yet its presence did not affect
were integrated into the structure of the official sam:gha orga-
the organization of the early nika¯yas, precisely because the
nization; other monks decided to leave the established ways
nika¯yas differed by their acceptance of a particular version of
of fully organized monasticism and retreat into solitude.
the Vinaya texts and not by dogmatic opinions. Therefore,
Membership in the sam:gha always implies, of course, mini-
in some instances, monks who held H¯ına¯ya¯na views could
mal relationships with other monks in order to perform the
live together and perform vinayakarmas together, along with
prescribed vinayakarmas.
followers of Maha¯ya¯na. In contrast, monks belonging to dif-
ferent nikayas rarely formed a common sam:gha, though they
New schools (nika¯yas) of Therva¯da have emerged at var-
might accept similar dogmatic views. In the course of time,
ious times. In ancient Sri Lanka, the Abhayagiriviha¯rava¯sin
new nika¯yas emerged on the basis of dogmatic dissensions.
formed a separate nika¯ya in the first century BCE, as did the
Each Buddhist monk, regardless of school, accepts and (at
Jetavanaviha¯rava¯sin in the fourth century CE. In the twelfth
least theoretically) follows one particular recension of the
century, King Para¯kramaba¯hu I ordered the three nika¯yas to
Vinaya Pit:aka; consequently, each monk can be connected
reunite and declared the Maha¯viha¯ra tradition authoritative.
with one of the nika¯yas of early Buddhism.
Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, the
THE SAM:GHA IN THERAVA¯DA BUDDHISM. As mentioned
sam:gha of Sri Lanka has again split into a considerable num-
above, the validity of a monk’s ordination depends on an un-
ber of nika¯yas. In Burma, the first great schism arose about
interrupted line of valid ordinations going back to the Bud-
1165 CE when Chapat:a and his disciples established the
dha himself. Since pa¯ra¯jika offenses incur mandatory expul-
S¯ıhal:a san˙gha (based on a tradition of ordination introduced
sion from the sam:gha, the validity of an ordination can be
from Sri Lanka), in contrast to the local Mrammasan˙gha.
assured only if the monks who belong to the particular
From the early eighteenth century, until a royal decision that
sam:gha lead an irreproachable life. Whenever the discipline
was issued in 1784, the Burmese sam:gha was divided over
in the sam:gha deteriorated, its legal existence was in danger,
the correct way of wearing the monastic robes. During the
whether or not the transgressors continued to wear the
nineteenth century, a number of new nika¯yas were estab-
monks’ robes.
lished there. In Thailand and in Cambodia, the sam:gha cur-
rently comprises the Maha¯nika¯ya and the reformist
Originally, the Buddhist sam:gha was an autonomous
Dhammayuttikanika¯ya (founded in 1864 by King Mongkut
body; its original laws did not permit interference by the
while he was still a bhikkhu). These divisions prevent monks
laity. In this respect, the Jain order was different; there, the
belonging to different nika¯yas from performing vinayakarmas
laity exercised a considerable degree of control over the
together, but they do not prevent them from cooperating in
sam:ghas. King A´soka, however, acted in order to achieve a
many other ways, including performing other rituals. Most
purification of the Buddhist sam:gha in conformity with
of these divisions have arisen, not from dissensions about
Vinaya rules. This tradition shaped the history of Therava¯da
dogma, but from controversies about the validity of vinaya-
Buddhism in Sri Lanka from the time of its introduction
karmas. For the Buddhist laity, such divisions are largely ir-
during the reign of King A´soka. Several purifications of the
relevant.
Sinhalese sam:gha under royal patronage occurred. Later, ad-
ditional law books, termed katika¯vata, regulated the affairs
Naturally, the sam:gha became involved with communal
of the sam:gha, supplemented by a hierarchical system. Paral-
life in many ways, particularly in areas where nearly everyone
lel developments occurred in the history of the sam:gha of the
identified with Buddhism. The study of the holy scriptures
other Therava¯da communities in Burma, Thailand, Laos,
(pariyatti) and the realization of the road to salvation
and Cambodia. Buddhism in these countries introduced or-
(pat:ipatti) remained the traditional tasks of the monks, but
dination traditions from other countries that were deemed
religious practice largely concentrated on the gaining of
superior to the local tradition on the occasions of sam:gha pu-
merit, which is accomplished through the cooperation of
rification. Moreover, royal patronage of the monastic institu-
monks and lay people. The everyday relationship between
tions went far beyond that of ancient Indian rulers; in fact,
sam:gha and laity is characterized by copious gifts from ordi-
in some countries, such as Thailand, the administration of
nary people to the monks and monasteries, and invitations
the monasteries developed into a kind of government depart-
to the monks to participate in important functions, such as
ment. After the breakdown of royal patronage of the sam:gha
funerals. The monks give religious addresses, readings of sa-
in Burma and Sri Lanka, monks in these two countries inter-
cred texts, and ceremonial recitations of paritta, texts from
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SAM
: GHA: AN OVERVIEW
8075
the Buddhist scriptures providing protection from evil forces
BIBLIOGRAPHY
and disaster. Until the creation of modern school systems,
The Therava¯da Vinaya Pit:aka in Pali was edited by Hermann Ol-
monks also acted as teachers, giving general education to the
denberg as The Vinaya Pit:akam:, 5 vols. (London, 1879–
laity in their monasteries. A highly sophisticated system of
1883), and has been translated by I. B. Horner as The Book
monastic schools and ecclesiastical examinations and titles
of the Discipline, 6 vols., “Sacred Books of the Buddhists,”
still functions in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand.
vols. 10–14, 20, and 25 (London, 1938). For a complete bib-
liography of the Vinaya literature of other Buddhist schools
As mentioned above, there have always been monks
published before 1978, see Yu¯yama Akira’s Vinaya-Texte
who have concentrated almost exclusively on asceticism and
(Wiesbaden, 1979). The most recent relevant publications
meditation, and a living tradition of meditation masters still
are: Pra¯timoks:asu¯tra der Sarva¯stiva¯dins, ed. Georg von Sim-
exists in a number of Burmese and Thai monasteries. In re-
son, part 2 (Göttingen, 2000); Ann Heirman’s “The Disci-
cent years, famous monk-teachers have opened meditation
pline in Four Parts”Rules for Nuns according to the Dharmag-
uptakavinaya,
3 vols. (Delhi, 2002; with translation). An
centers to instruct laity interested in the practice.
excellent study of the growth of Vinaya texts is Erich Frauw-
THE SAM:GHA IN MAHA¯YA¯NA BUDDHISM. Many of the an-
allner’s The Earliest Vinaya and the Beginnings of Buddhist
cient nika¯yas survived in India until the final destruction of
Literature (Rome, 1956). Further information on the early
Buddhism by Islamic conquerors. The Buddhist monasteries
Buddhist sam:gha and early Buddhist schools is provided in
housed both Hina¯ya¯na and Maha¯ya¯na monks; the situation
the relevant chapters of the standard work by Étienne La-
was similar in eastern Turkestan. Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism pre-
motte, Histoire du bouddhisme indien: Des origines à 1’ère
vailed in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet, but the sam:gha as
´saka (Louvain, 1958); English translation: History of Indian
an institution continued to be based on one of the old
Buddhism from the Origins to the S´aka Era, transl. Sara
Webb-Boin (Louvain-la-neuve, 1988). On karmava¯cana¯, see
Vinaya traditions. The Chinese monks follow the Vinaya of
Herbert Härtel’s Karmava¯cana¯: Formulare für den Gebrauch
the Dharmaguptaka school, and this tradition has been
im buddhistischen Gemeindeleben (Berlin, 1956); on the
adopted in other countries where Buddhism was introduced
problem of sam:gha bheda and nika¯yabheda and A´soka’s re-
from China, including Vietnam. The Tibetans follow the
form of the sam:gha, see Heinz Bechert’s essay “The Impor-
Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯da tradition, and this version of the
tance of A´soka’s So-Called Schism Edict,” in Indological and
Pra¯timoks:a is still recited today in their monasteries.
Buddhist Studies: Volume in the Honour of Professor J W. de
Maha¯ya¯na and Vajraya¯na Buddhism encompass other forms
Jong, edited by L. A. Hercus and others (Canberra, 1982).
of religious initiation, and religious communities outside the
A survey of all available versions of the Pra¯timoks:a is found
structures of traditional monasticism have come into exis-
in Wang Pachow’s A Comparative Study of the Pra¯timoks:a
tence. The histories of Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism re-
(Shantiniketan, 1955); a translation of six versions of the
Pra¯timoks:a rules for nuns was provided by Chatsumarn Ka-
count several successful efforts to revive the ancient monastic
bilsingh, The Bhikkhun¯ı Pa¯timokkha of the Six Schools (Delhi,
discipline, and, as a rule, the formal distinction between
1998). Earlier monographs on the Buddhist sam:gha and sev-
monks and laity is still observed. This, however, does not
eral recent studies mainly concentrate on historical and so-
apply to all forms of Central Asian and East Asian Bud-
ciological aspects, such as the books by Sukumar Dutt, Early
dhism. Particularly in Japan, the ancient monastic tradition
Buddhist Monachism (London, 1924), Gokuldas De, Democ-
has lost much of its original importance, and a majority of
racy in Early Buddhist Sangha (Calcutta, 1955), Patrick Oli-
Buddhist communities there no longer form monastic insti-
velle, The Origin and the Early Development of Buddhist Mon-
tutions.
achism (Colombo, 1974), Rabindramath Bijay Barua, The
Therava¯da Buddhist Sangha
(Dacca, 1978), and Gunaratne
THE SAM:GHA AND THE INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST MOVE-
Panabokke, History of the Buddhist Sangha in India and Sri
MENT. Buddhist monks played a leading role in the forma-
Lanka (Colombo, 1993). The application of the Vinaya rules
tion of the international Buddhist movement, which was cre-
in Thailand is dealt with by Vajirañanavarorasa, The En-
ated in order to bring together Buddhists of all schools and
trance to the Vinaya, Vinayamukha, 3 vols. (Bangkok, 1969–
of all countries. Although the movement began at the end
83) and Ordination Procedure (Bangkok, 1973). Recently,
of the nineteenth century, an international sam:gha organiza-
important aspects of the structure of the sam:gha and details
tion did not come into being until 1966. The World Bud-
of the relevant regulations have been extensively dealt with
dhist Sangha Council met that year in Colombo, created by
by several authors, including Petra Kieffer-Pülz, Die S¯ıma¯
delegates from the following countries: Sri Lanka, Vietnam,
(Berlin, 1992), Haiyan Hu- von Hinüber, Das Pos:adhavastu,
Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Nepal, Cambodia, Korea,
Vorschriften für die buddhistische Beichtfeier (Reinbek, 1994),
Pakistan, India, Singapore, Thailand, England, and Laos,
Ute Hüsken, Die Vorschriften für die buddhistische Non-
nengemeinde
(Berlin, 1997), Jin-il Chung, Die Prava¯ran:
and a special delegation of the Tibetan sam:gha in exile. In
(Göttingen, 1998). For the sam:gha in China and its more re-
a declaration made at its third congress (Taipei, 1981), this
cent history, see Holmes Welch’s The Practice of Chinese
organization stated that more than one million Buddhist
Buddhism, 2d ed. (Cambridge, Mass., 1973), The Buddhist
monks practice their faith in the world today.
Revival in China (Cambridge, Mass., 1968) and Marcus
Günzel’s Die Taiwan -Erfahrung des chinesischen San˙gha
SEE ALSO Councils, article on Buddhist Councils; Monasti-
(Göttingen, 1998). Important sources from Sri Lanka are ed-
cism, article on Buddhist Monasticism; Priesthood, article
ited and translated by Nandase¯na Ratnapa¯la in his The
on Buddhist Priesthood.
Katika¯vatas: Laws of the Buddhist Order of Ceylon from the
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Twelfth Century to the Eighteenth Century (Munich, 1971).
the individual within society. From a status of submergence
For the relation between sam:gha and state in later Therava¯da
in the group the individual gradually achieved a relative inde-
Buddhism, see relevant titles in the second part of this article,
pendence somewhat analogous to that of the individual in
Sam:gha and Society. See also H. Bechert’s Buddhismus, Staat
the modern West. Furthermore, many hold that the rise of
and Gesellschaftin den Ländern des Therava¯da Buddhismus,
the individual during this period, with the complementary
new enlarged ed., 2 vols (Göttingen, 1998–2000); Ruth-Inge
need to competitively foster that individuality, set in motion
Heinze, The Role of the Sangha in Modern Thailand (Taipei,
potentially anomic forces that tended to minimize traditional
1977). For sam:gha in Jainism, see Shantaram Bhalachandra
Deo’s Jaina Monastic Jurisprudence (Varanasi, 1960) and his
social values of mutuality in favor of an egoistic construction
History of Jaina Monachism, from Inscriptions and Literature
of the self.
(Poona, 1956).
It therefore comes as no surprise that Buddhism, a tradi-
HEINZ BECHERT (1987 AND 2005)
tion that is conspicuous for its early association with urban-
ism, should conceive of the problem of existence as one
caused by an exaggerated notion of the ego or “self.” The vis-
ible, tangible misery caused by excessive individualism in the
SAM
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realm of politics or economics (or wherever competitiveness
AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
and the display of egoism are dominant) is easily translated
The Sanskrit word sam:gha (Pali, sangha) denotes the
into the sphere of the transcendental as the idea that the mal-
Buddhist monastic order, although in its early usage (c. 500
aise of the individual being is the exaggeration of the ego or
BCE) in North India the word referred to the gatherings of
the individual self. According to this analysis, the source of
the tribal republics of the time. The sam:gha’s relationship to
tranquillity must be sought in a devaluation of that self. This
society can best be prefaced with a consideration of its histor-
step is accomplished by the philosophical formulation that
ical origins. Because the sam:gha’s significance is inseparable
the self is an illusion. It is not that those who adopt this view
from that of Buddhist thought and philosophy, this will in-
attempt to reduce Buddhist philosophy, in particular its cen-
clude a consideration of the social origins of that philosophy
tral doctrine of ana¯tman (Pali, anatta, “no-self”), to a socio-
as well.
logical phenomenon; rather, what is suggested is merely a
correspondence.
The details of ancient Indian history are controversial,
but the major outlines are generally accepted. Accordingly,
If humanity’s suffering stems fromits exaggerated per-
this article can focus on the material and social background
ception of an ego and from clinging to its desires, then suffer-
immediately preceding the rise of Buddhism in the region
ing can be alleviated only by the denial of that ego and its
of its birth, the area known as the Middle Country
desires. Just as the ego grew out of all proportion within the
(madhyade´sa), in northeastern India. The eastward-moving
social context, the same social mechanism can be used to viti-
Aryans, who entered India around 1500 BCE, seem to have
ate it, to realize that there is no immutable soul, but only pro-
established themselves in the region by the sixth century BCE,
cess created by the perceiving aggregates. This realization
the time of the Buddha’s birth. The demographic picture,
must ultimately be a personal one, but it is facilitated by so-
however, is far from simple, for the area also seems to have
cial organization. That facilitating social organization is the
been populated by people who were of Tibetan and Burmese
sam:gha, a unique idea in Indian religious thought. Groups
extraction. This period was one of extensive development of
of wandering ascetics existed before and after the founding
settled agriculture, a change from the nomadic type of exis-
of the Buddhist sam:gha, but none was so organized and insti-
tence ascribed to the predominant Aryans. Along with other
tutionally complex. Unlike previous groups, the sam:gha was
developments such as crafts and industry, this economic
structured around a sophisticated code of discipline and mo-
progress led to surpluses, the rise of cities, and changes in po-
nastic etiquette, the Vinaya. Although the pursuit of mental
litical organization from ancient tribal republics to monar-
cultivation by withdrawal to the forest or cave persisted, it
chies. Six great cities figure prominently in the Buddhist
appears that this “rhinoceros [i.e., solitary] ideal” was a sur-
texts: Sa¯vatth¯ı (S´ra¯vast¯ı), Sa¯keta, Kosambi (Kau´sa¯mb¯ı), Ka¯s¯ı
vival from pre-Buddhist practice. Religious quest within a
(modern Va¯ra¯n:as¯ı), Ra¯jagaha (Ra¯jagr:ha), and Champa
well-organized social group, the sam:gha, was a specifically
(Campa¯). Smaller cities such as Kapilavastu, Mithila¯, Vesa¯l¯ı
Buddhist innovation. Although the ideals of the sam:gha were
(Vai´sa¯l¯ı), and Gaya¯ are also mentioned frequently. The cities
spiritual, its nonegoistic, socialistic, and republican features
seem to have had high population densities and to have de-
made it a model for a secular society at peace with itself, just
veloped a complex division of labor.
as the uncompromising commitment of the renouncer was
a virtue to be emulated by the individual layperson.
The replacement of the collective rule of the tribal re-
publics by a monarchial form of rule reflected the centraliza-
THE ECONOMIC LIFE OF THE SAM:GHA. Although some
tion of power in one person, the rise of cities, and the divi-
Western interpreters have maintained that Buddhism is con-
sion of labor, which emphasized the worth of the individual
cerned with the salvation of the individual renouncer, from
specialist. These factors are understood by some scholars to
its inception the tradition also clearly had a ministerial com-
be indicative of a fundamental change in the evaluation of
ponent. The Buddha’s instruction to the seekers who heard
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his message was to carry it far and wide “for the good of the
owning vast stretches of property. The ideal of monastic pov-
many, the comfort of the many.” Yet alongside this purely
erty, however, was never abandoned, even though individual
missionary function grew functions of a pedagogic and par-
monks may have had access to considerable economic re-
ish nature arising out of the sam:gha’s scholastic bent and the
sources. This ideal was maintained in two ways. First, al-
instructional needs of the laity. Thus in the sam:gha two divi-
though land grants were made to the monasteries, their ad-
sions grew, the “bearing of contemplation” (vipassana¯
ministration was separated from them and entrusted to lay
dhura), or meditative development of one’s own spirituality,
officials. Second, lands granted to the monasteries, especially
and the “bearing of the books” (gantha dhura), the scholastic
by the king, could in theory be taken away, although in fact
and parish functions. Eventually, the latter would gain in val-
this hardly ever occurred. However, in Sri Lanka sectarian
uation, indicating the close relation the sam:gha was expected
schisms occasionally prompted monarchs to transfer proper-
to maintain with society. At the same time, society took on
ties of one monastic sect to another. The policy of making
the obligation to support and maintain the sam:gha. This ar-
large-scale land grants contributed enormously to the longev-
rangement, however, can be considered a consequence, albeit
ity of the sam:gha and to its ability to survive economic adver-
an early and a necessary one, of the rise of Buddhism within
sity. In those agricultural societies that depended on the va-
a social context.
garies of rainfall for the cultivation of crops, especially the
staple rice, prosperity could not be taken for granted, and
There was a more basic reason why the economic life
often war and famine made it difficult for the laity to contin-
of the sam:gha could not exist apart from the munificence of
ue unbroken their pious donations. Indeed, the Sinhala term
the laity. An individual member of the sam:gha, the ´sraman:a
for famine, durbhiks:a, literally means the “absence of shares
(f., ´sraman:), or renouncer, renounced what belonged to
[i.e., food given as alms].” Thus the wealth of the monaste-
him or her in order to tread the path of purity and spiritual
ries can be considered to have played no small role in the via-
release. Providing such renouncers with their needs was an
bility of the sam:gha in the Buddhist polities of South and
excellent opportunity for those who must remain within the
Southeast Asia.
bounds of household life to gain stores of merit (puñña) that
The king’s munificence toward the sam:gha served a po-
would bear them fruit in the form of good fortune and good
litically legitimizing function. In addition, the land grants
future births. The poverty of the sam:gha thus perfectly suited
had a more direct political use, arising from the king’s choice
a laity in search of opportunities to perform good deeds
of their location. The king in Sri Lanka, for example, some-
(puñña kamma; Skt., pun:ya karman), for it was held that no
times donated areas of property located in a province too dis-
deed was so good in its potential for generating merit as the
tant for his immediate control (and hence potentially rebel-
support of the sam:gha. The sam:gha’s economic dependence
lious) and placed it under the control of a loyal subordinate.
on the laity for subsistence is, therefore, no mere necessity,
The tract of land thus demarcated, often extensive in size,
but, as more than one scholar has observed, an outward
essentially constituted a pocket of royal authority that acted
token of the renouncer’s abandonment of personal resources
as a counterforce to the threat posed by the provincial ruler.
to depend on those of the community that he serves. Thus,
A related point of great interest is the argument that mo-
early in the development of Buddhism, the renouncer’s
nastic properties gave rise to monastic social structures. This
needs were confined to the catu paccaya (“four requisites”),
intriguing theory has an important kernel of truth, especially
namely food, clothing, shelter, and medication. An individu-
when viewed in the context of the absence of hierarchical or-
al monk ideally owns nothing privately but the at:t:ha
ganization in the sam:gha. It can plausibly be argued that cer-
parikkha¯ra (“eightfold items”), robes, begging bowl, and
tain monastic social structures are indeed a function of the
other basic personal accoutrements.
management of properties. The weakness of the theory lies
During the historical development of Buddhism, espe-
in its very limited explanatory potential. Monastic proper-
cially in the Buddhist kingdoms of Sri Lanka, Thailand, and
ties, although in theory granted to an idealized sam:gha un-
Burma, the economic life of the sam:gha went through radical
bounded by time and space, are in fact granted to actual
transformations. Extensive monastic properties grew, para-
worldly institutions. It is in the context of particular space-
doxically arising from the sacred poverty of the sam:gha. Simi-
and time-bound social structures that such properties must
larly, it was the fundamentally nonhierarchical nature of the
be understood. Even here it is doubtful whether the holding
sam:gha, among other reasons, that led to its being closely al-
of property preceded evolution of the social structure, for the
lied with the political order. In Sri Lanka, Buddhism was es-
simple reason that it was an existing institution that received
tablished as the state religion from its very inception: Accord-
the property, an institution whose sociological structure
ing to tradition, the king was the first Buddhist. Thus it was
could, of course, be modified by virtue of the new acquisi-
incumbent upon the king to endow the sam:gha generously,
tion. At the broadest levels, and in the long run, it is difficult
as did successive kings of all Buddhist polities, to bring under
to maintain the materialist view that social structures are the
the purview of the sam:gha vast properties in the form of land.
product of property relations, although certain dynamic in-
The king’s act was exemplary and was followed by his patri-
terrelations between the two are undeniable.
monial bureaucracy, down to the petty chiefs. Thus, parallel-
SAM:GHA AND POLITICAL AUTHORITY. One of the striking
ing the political hierarchy grew a hierarchy of monasteries
contrasts presented by early Buddhism is that whereas the
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sam:gha was ordered according to the political principles of
hana), that is, by the staging of periodic purges of the sam:gha
the ancient tribal republics of India, its preferred political ally
to free it from monks who violated the code of discipline.
was clearly the monarchy. This may be explained by several
In addition, the purifications signified public reaffirmation
factors. As has been indicated, Buddhism has been viewed
of the sam:gha’s purity, on which depended its high esteem
as a reaction to a spirit of individualism that it perceived as
in society. The general public welcomed the purges because
the cause of social and individual suffering. Because the rise
they guaranteed a virtuous and exemplary sam:gha, donations
of the monarchical principle epitomizes that same individu-
to which surpassed, in popular belief, all other acts of merit.
alism, it would seem appropriate for the sam:gha to organize
The purifications were thus generally beneficial to all parties.
itself on nonindividualist, nonmonarchical, nonhierarchical
Hence it is possible that these were regularly staged in Bud-
lines. However, Buddhism, always realistic in spirit, seems
dhist polities, as the historical record illustrates, whether or
to have accepted the likelihood that the propagation of its
not an objective purificatory need existed. Apart from purifi-
message would be better facilitated by good relations with
cations, the king’s organizational role in relation to the
the monarchy. It must not be supposed, however, that this
sam:gha was also manifest in the codification of doctrine and
was a one-way process. The benefits were mutual. As Bud-
other acts that would enhance the sam:gha’s collective integri-
dhism was from its very inception a movement that appealed
ty. Historically, then, the king was indispensable to the
most to urban strata, the task of controlling the powerful
sam:gha. Today, in Buddhist societies bereft of monarchy,
urban centers and sub-centers was rendered easier for the po-
this role is performed by the state.
litical authority, the monarch, once he espoused the religious
ideology of the socially and economically dominant urban
Often, the integration of the sam:gha was historically ef-
strata.
fected by a hierarchy, imposed on it by the king, a hierarchy
that duplicated the hierarchy of his secular patrimonial bu-
The affinity of Buddhism and its sam:gha to kingship is
reaucracy. The effectiveness of such imposed hierarchy, how-
expressed in diverse ways, including myths and symbols of
ever, depended on the king’s firm exercise of authority. At
Buddhist kingship. Buddhist literature and lore have elevated
such times, the sam:gha may be considered to have had a
the Buddha’s father, the Sakyan ruler of a small kingdom,
more-than-usual political integration. In fact, it is more ac-
to the status of a monarch of imperial stature. The close rela-
curate to say that at all other times the sam:gha was merely
tions between the Buddha and the kings of the Middle
a collection of politically disparate and inarticulate local
Country such as Ko´sala and Bimbisa¯ra are no doubt charac-
communities. A king, however, was only able to integrate the
terized by some literary embellishment, but the historicity of
sam:gha if he were an able ruler who integrated the secular
the Buddha’s affinity with contemporary monarchs of the re-
polity itself, which in these systems was in a chronic state of
gion cannot be doubted. The most elaborate correlations be-
tension between centripetality and centrifugality. Thus the
tween Buddhism and kingship are perhaps those in the sym-
king’s integration of the sam:gha by the imposition of a hier-
bolic sphere, in particular the identity between the Buddha
archy was no more than an extension of the integration of
and the cakravartin (“wheel turner”), the universal monarch.
his secular power. Paradoxically, when the sam:gha was most
The auspicious bodily marks of the Buddha and the cakra-
politically integrated, and therefore most powerful, it was
vartin are considered in Buddhist lore to be the same. The
most dominated and regulated by the secular authority. At
cakravartin turns the wheel of political conquest while the
the same time, the king, while dominating the sam:gha, dared
Buddha turns the wheel of the Dharma, the philosophy of
not alienate the monastic order lest it strike at the source of
Buddhism as well as its moral law of righteousness. The obse-
his legitimacy. Acceptance by the sam:gha was politically cru-
quies of the Buddha are considered in Buddhist literature to
cial for the king. It was part of the general cultural ideology
be those appropriate to a cakravartin.
of the Buddhist polity that the religion was the true sovereign
over the land. Thus in Sri Lanka, kingship was described as
The absence of hierarchy in the sam:gha has already been
being conferred by the sam:gha in order to maintain the reli-
noted. Although this does not by any means make the
gion. Kings periodically enacted symbolic abdication in favor
sam:gha a democracy in the modern political sense—
of the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), and the
distinctions of senior and junior, teacher and pupil, ordained
sam:gha “in keeping with custom” restored the kingship to
and novice are definitely observed—the sam:gha had no effec-
the king, accepting in return a token of its overlordship, such
tive encompassing organization with laws, edicts, and codes
as a land grant made on the occasion by the king.
smoothly flowing down a hierarchy of sam:gha officials. Be-
cause the sam:gha had no effective coercive authority within
One of the fundamental dilemmas of the association be-
the bounds of its own organization, it had to look elsewhere
tween kingship and the sam:gha is their respective ideal repre-
for the sustenance and objectification of its moral and politi-
sentation of two divergent realms, the temporal and the spiri-
cal integrity and for the adjudication of its conflicts. The pre-
tual. The tension between the two spheres becomes reality
eminent repository of these functions was the king. Thus the
when, as is the case with the Buddhist polity, righteousness
sam:gha was politically as well as economically dependent on
is declared the foundation of the state. Statecraft necessitates
the king. This dependence most often took the form of “pu-
not only the maintenance of internal law and order ultimate-
rification of the order” (´sa¯sana vi´sodhana; Pali, ´sa¯sana visod-
ly backed by coercive means but also the suppression of ex-
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ternal enemies by bloodshed, not to mention more covert
this indistinguishability forces on the king the paradoxical
Machiavellian (or, the Indian context, Kautilyan) acts by
obligation to deal with schisms in the sam:gha. This obliga-
means of which the state’s ends are maintained. Such prac-
tion involves the use of force against members of the sam:gha
tices are far from “righteous.”
who are deemed offenders against orthodox purity. But such
a judgment can by no means be objectively assured. Not in-
Two resolutions of this dilemma are discernible in the
frequently in the history of the Buddhist polities “purges” of
history of Buddhist polities. First, the ruler’s reign is divided
the sam:gha constitute a “unification” of the church, the
into two periods, an unrighteous period followed by a righ-
meaning as well as durability of which may be dubious. Yet
teous period, with the implication that the sins of the former
at least at the time of its accomplishment the act itself would
are washed away by the pure waters of the latter. The empiri-
appear to represent a victory both for the king and the sec-
cal prototype of such a king, and indeed of all Buddhist king-
tion of the sam:gha he supported, and, in its “unified” sense,
ship, is A´soka (268–231 BCE), who, as Can:d:a¯´soka (“A´soka
for the sam:gha as a whole. In principle, the king, now armed
the cruel”), ruthlessly expands the empire bequeathed him
with the force of a purified and unified sam:gha, gains impor-
by his Mauryan ancestors; his reign climaxed in the bloody
tant political and religious prestige through his action, al-
conquest of Kalinga. Later, as Dharma¯´soka (“A´soka the righ-
though such action presupposes considerable political power
teous”), he proclaims the end of conquest by the sword and
in the first place.
the dawn of the reign of dharma alone. The emperor’s inner
transformation thus serves as the resolution of the might-
The relationship between kingship, that is, political au-
versus-right conflict.
thority, and the sam:gha has been so close in Buddhist polities
that it is sometimes said that the existence of the sam:gha pre-
The second resolution of the king’s dilemma, like the
supposes Buddhist kingship. The functional complementari-
first, is initiated by the personal remorse of the conqueror,
ty of the two parties centers around the sam:gha’s dependence
although the process takes a less ethicized form. Apprehen-
on the king for economic and organizational sustenance and
sive of the moral retribution that may befall him in future
the king’s need of the sam:gha to legitimize his authority.
lives, the conqueror grows afraid of the demerit of bloody
Sam:gha-society relations are, however, broader than
conquest overtaking the merit column of his moral balance
sam:gha-king relations, for the whole of society includes a
sheet. The resolution of this conflict involves a diminution
third crucial party that makes up the whole, the mass of the
of the universal perspective, for it takes the form of personal
lay population. Thus, it has been observed that the Buddhist
reassurance granted the conqueror that the bloodshed he
polity consists of a triadic relation between sam:gha, king, and
caused was for the purpose of protecting from alien threat
people. In time, such a polity could develop a strong identity
the dharma and maintaining its dominance. Thus in the Sri
fortified further by a common language and a real or imag-
Lankan chronicle Maha¯vam:sa, the hero Dut:t:haga¯man:¯ı is as-
ined common ethnicity. Such an entity could grow to possess
sured by the sam:gha that of the thousands massacred during
considerable integrative potential submerged in its chronic
the conquests, the number of human beings killed amounts
tension between centripetality and centrifugality. This po-
to a mere one and a half (the rest being heathen whose ex-
tential could manifest itself with vigor at times of crisis, such
tinction has little consequence for the king’s moral state).
as the external threat of some alien religion, language, and/or
This second resolution, in which elements less than univer-
ethnic group. At such times, an ordinarily dormant and
salist are apparent, can be further evaluated as ethically inferi-
structurally vague sam:gha might awaken, assume formidable
or in its relative valuation of human life (believers are truly
solidarity, and inspire the people to heightened states of pa-
human, heathens fit for slaughter).
triotic fervor. Characteristically, it would return to its struc-
This tension between the ideals of the sam:gha and those
tural somnolence at the abatement of the crisis. The Bud-
of the king are meaningfully characterized precisely because
dhist polity is thus capable of producing two remarkable
the two are in relation. Had they been fully and completely
phenomena: (1) a unification of the sam:gha from within, in-
separate from each other, as in the case of a hypothetical fully
conceivable during normal times, when unification is
secular king and an equally hypothetical forest-dwelling as-
achieved only by state imposition, and (2) a sense of political
cetic having no relations with the society of people, there
unity and identity, rare in the traditional world, which be-
would be no occasion for this dilemma to arise. However,
comes historically ubiquitous only with the rise of the mod-
in the actual world, the spiritual and the temporal, though
ern nation-state. Clearly, this crisis-triggered phenomenon
ideally separate, are in fact coexistent. In the case of the Bud-
represents neither a true unification of the sam:gha nor politi-
dhist polity this “dialectical tension,” as Stanley J. Tambiah
cal centralization.
has called it, is generated by the location of the sam:gha in
SAM:GHA SECTS AND SECTARIANISM. It is sometimes ob-
society even while the sam:gha is not of the society. Such ten-
served that there are no doctrinally differentiated sects in
sion is based not so much on any social relationship between
Buddhism. Yet Therava¯da and Maha¯ya¯na can both be con-
king and sam:gha or on the king’s role as conqueror and con-
sidered sects in this sense. So can the numerous schools that
verter of the heathen as on the indistinguishability of the
developed within Therava¯da in the early period of Bud-
spiritual and the temporal in the office of the sovereign as
dhism. But throughout most of the history of Buddhist king-
conceived in the Buddhist notion of kingship. Furthermore,
doms, sects in this sense did not survive. As the schisms, puri-
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fications, and unifications show, however, differences of
mic form in the rite of ordination, in which the neophyte
opinion and their corresponding social manifestations as
takes extreme vows of asceticism and, at the end of the cere-
sects (nika¯ya) were an integral part of the history of Buddhist
mony, emerges with a higher status in the monastic establish-
kingdoms.
ment. Just as the rite of ordination is no more than a reaffir-
mation of high and pure ascetic ideals, so ascetic movements
It is possible to posit two kinds of sects as ideal types.
are periodic reminders of the true path of renunciation.
First are those sects that have as their basis some doctrinal
difference. Ideology here determines the social categoriza-
When confronted with cases in which elements of the
tion. Second are sam:gha sects derived from or influenced by
secular social order have played a decisive role in the forma-
secular social organization. The term ideal type is used be-
tion of Buddhist sects (as was true of the role of the Sinhala
cause empirically neither type is found in pristine form. The
caste structure in the formation of certain nineteenth- and
ideologically determined sects have social factors contribut-
twentieth-century sects), some sociological observers have
ing to their genesis; the socially determined ones often have
seen no more in these movements than the intrusion of soci-
ideological differences (however hairsplitting they may be),
ety into the sam:gha. While this view is not wholly without
or at least cover the social origins of their differences in ideo-
merit, to assert it unequivocally is to reduce to social form
logical apparel.
phenomena that are ideologically autonomous and irreduc-
Present in both modern times and antiquity are sects
ible to social or other causal factors. To have recourse to this
that express the tension in the sam:gha between eremitical and
deterministic view is also to ignore the role of symbolic classi-
cenobitic ideals, forest dwelling and village dwelling, “bear-
fication in the generation of sects. The evidence from Sri
ing of contemplation” and “bearing of the books.” Although
Lanka in particular suggests that certain sectarian divisions
Buddhist liberation is an act of personal endeavor, it has been
followed successive binary differentiations.
noted above that from its inception Buddhism conceived of
SECTS, SAINTS, AND MILLENNIAL BUDDHISM. The forest
the greater facility with which this end can be reached within
dwellers, a group that either came into being as a result of
a community framework; hence the vast importance in Bud-
the self-purifying tendency within the sam:gha or arose anew
dhism of the sam:gha as the “third jewel.” At the same time,
from the laity (a less likely possibility), symbolically represent
the pre-Buddhist orthodox means of salvation by resorting
physical distance from the established secular order. They
to solitary confinement in forest or cave, the rhinoceros ideal,
also typify a politically peripheral status in their habitation
continued to be followed by some, if only a minority. Per-
of the traditional sanctuary of the politically rebellious,
haps because the very solitariness of the search suggested
namely the untamed forest. Hence, their appeal to the estab-
greater purity and commitment, free from any obligations ei-
lished political center can be vast. Furthermore, forest dwell-
ther to fellow members of the sam:gha community or to the
ing is synonymous with virtue and purity, and in the Bud-
laity, the solitary ideal was always held in high esteem. Sects
dhist polities of East Asia in particular, forest dwellers are
or breakaway groups in the history of the sam:gha that were
often attributed great miraculous powers. As Tambiah’s
founded on doctrinal differences exemplify the ascetic/
study of Thai Buddhism illustrates, the forest saints not only
monastic tension and have invariably proclaimed their de-
exemplify true asceticism as described in the classic text on
parture from the fold of orthodoxy as a movement toward
the subject, the Visuddhimagga, but are also sometimes con-
greater purity and a renunciation of the comforts and social
sidered by the laity to have actually reached liberation by
involvement of monasticism. Undoubtedly, such proclama-
achieving “the winning of the stream” in the voyage to
tions are idealizations; the true picture is more complex and
nirva¯n:a (Pali, nibba¯na). The politically central personali-
allied with less lofty causal variables. Nevertheless, in terms
ties—kings, prime ministers, generals—are thus forced by
of the renouncing group’s own conceptualizations, move-
both spiritual and temporal interests to recognize and pay
ments toward asceticism can be viewed as purifications gen-
homage to them, a task that temporarily forces them out of
erated within the sam:gha itself, as opposed to those imposed
their central fortresses to make uneasy journeys to the physi-
upon it by the political authority.
cal and political periphery where saints coexist with rebels.
In the history of the sam:gha such rebel movements,
In general the saints are not interested in politics; their con-
often inspired by and centered upon charismatic leadership,
cern is spiritual commitment and the spiritual welfare of
have in time succumbed to the very monastic organizational
their immediate disciples and votaries. Nor is it possible for
structures (and their secular economic, political, and adula-
the political center to devote its sole energy to the veneration
tory accompaniments) that they denounced to begin with.
of the saints. In Thailand a happy medium is struck in me-
Eventually, they have been lured back to the fold of worldly
dallions and amulets blessed with the saint’s miraculous pow-
monasticism within which they may either rejoin the original
ers. In these cultic metal objects, which are made available
parent group, remain within it as a distinct subgroup, or
to those who inhabit and control the political center, spiritu-
form a new sect altogether. Whichever of these forms the
al and temporal interests are welded together in much the
newly returned group assumes, its organizational form will
same way as they are in the saint of the forest, whose path
normally be identical with that of the established sects. This
of purification also leads to the cosmic mountain symbolic
“routinization of charisma” is neatly expressed in microcos-
of world conquest.
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Today as in the past, a group surrounding such a forest
ized kingdoms of Sukho¯thai, Ayutthaya¯, and early Bangkok
saint is a potential threat to the political center, a threat to
the sam:gha’s relations with the polity were loosely articulat-
which the latter typically reacts in either of two ways. First,
ed, in the centralized Thai polity dating from the mid-
as already observed, it can make peaceful and devoted over-
nineteenth century the sam:gha became a systematized order
tures and invoke the power of the miraculous objects blessed
actively participating in and regulated by the polity. This
by the saint. Second, if the group surrounding the saint turns
work also traces the path of achievement available to monks,
from the rural monastery to the metropolis. The third of the
hostile, the center may resort to military action, against
trilogy examines the polity’s relations with the nonestabli-
which the rebels, armed more with millennial expectations
shed sam:gha, the forest-dwelling saints. The high esteem in
than military hardware, are no match. The forest saint’s im-
which the political center holds this peripheral order, and the
plicit premise that the established sam:gha and polity are cor-
issue of millennialism lurking in its shadow, are discussed
rupt may become the rallying point of rebellion, although
with authority and insight. All three works display vast learn-
this need not necessarily be so. In the established realm,
ing and contain excellent bibliographies. Among the modern
sam:gha and political authority are separate but bound in reci-
masters of social thought, Max Weber alone dealt with Bud-
procity and mutuality, whereas in millenarianism, one possi-
dhism in The Religion of India, translated and edited by Hans
ble rallying point of which is the forest-dwelling exemplar,
H. Gerth and Don Martindale (1958; reprint, New York,
the roles of renouncer and ruler tend to fuse together. This
1967), where he characteristically constructs an ideal type of
the early sam:gha as separate from society yet in time trans-
brings back full cycle, however fragile and illusory, the ideal
forming itself to accommodate lay religious needs. Although
unification of world renunciation and world conquest.
many of Weber’s views are disputed, most forcefully by
Tambiah, whose sociological imagination and expository
SEE ALSO A´soka; Buddhism, overview article, and article on
style are reminiscent of Weber’s own, there is still a great deal
Buddhism in Southeast Asia; Buddhism, Schools of, article
of potency and suggestiveness in his observations. Bardwell
on Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhism; Cakravartin;
Smith has edited two volumes, Religion and Legitimation of
Dut:t:haga¯man:¯ı; Kingship; Monasticism, article on Buddhist
Power in Thailand, Laos and Burma and Religion and Legiti-
Monasticism; Priesthood, article on Buddhist Priesthood.
mation of Power in Sri Lanka (both Chambersburg, Pa.,
1978), that contain several useful articles on the subject.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Maha¯ya¯na monastic orders of Japan and Tibet are vastly dif-
A concise yet lucid source of the social and ideological background
ferent from the Therava¯da sam:ghas of Sri Lanka, Thailand
of Buddhism and the incipient sam:gha is Trevor O. Ling’s
and Burma, which constitute data for the analysis presented
The Buddha (London, 1973). Further details on this early pe-
in this article. For Tibet, there is little scholarly focus from
riod and developments up to about 1200 CE, with more
a social science point of view, the bulk of the work being tex-
focus on the sam:gha than on the wider society, are found in
tual and religio-philosophical. Authoritative though brief
Sukumar Dutt’s two works, Early Buddhist Monachism, 2d
discussions on Tibetan monasticism (“Lamaism”) are found
ed. (Bombay, 1960), and Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of
in Giuseppe Tucci’s The Religions of Tibet (Berkeley, Calif.,
India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture
1980) and Rolf A. Stein’s Tibetan Civilization (Stanford,
(London, 1962). E. Michael Mendelson’s Sangha and State
Calif., 1972). Daigon and Alicia Matsunaga’s Foundations of
in Burma: A Study of Monastic Sectarianism and Leadership,
Japanese Buddhism, 2 vols. (Los Angeles and Tokyo, 1978),
edited by John P. Ferguson (Ithaca, N.Y., 1975), discusses
deals with, among other things, the development of scholas-
several aspects of sam:gha relations with society, including the
tic Buddhism as a magical agent of the Ritsuryo government,
tension between the sam:gha and the political order. Kitsiri
and the generalization of Buddhism from an aristocratic reli-
Malalgoda’s Buddhism in Sinhalese Society, 1750–1900
gion to one embracing all strata, and suggests the cyclically
(Berkeley, Calif., 1976) discusses the response of the sam:gha
regenerative and reinterpretive nature of Japanese Buddhism.
to colonial domination in nineteenth-century Sri Lanka and
For a historically based discussion of the relationship of
relates sectarianism to caste competition generated by the dy-
church and state in early Chinese Buddhism, see Erik Zür-
namism of the period. The economic basis of monastic social
cher’s The Buddhist Conquest of China, 2 vols. (Leiden,
structures is argued with forceful subtlety by R. A. L. H.
1972).
Gunawardhana in his Robe and Plough: Monasticism and Eco-
nomic Interest in Early Medieval Sri Lanka
(Tucson, 1979),
H. L. SENEVIRATNE (1987)
a work notable for its painstaking scholarship. The sam:gha’s
preeminent position in society and polity in ancient Sri
Lanka is described in Walpola Rahula’s History of Buddhism
in Ceylon
(Colombo, 1956). The towering achievement in
SAM
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the study of sam:gha-society relations remains Stanley J. Tam-
In general, monasticism is based on the creation of a form
biah’s trilogy based on Thai material. Buddhism and the Spir-
of life separate from the confusion of the world to allow for
it Cults in North-East Thailand (Cambridge, 1970), World
the full expression of the religious vocation. In the Indian
Conqueror and World Renouncer (New York, 1976), and The
Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of Amulets
(Cam-
context, this monastic separation finds its standard expres-
bridge, 1984). The first work illustrates the transformation
sion in the phenomenon of world renunciation (sam:nya¯sa).
of the sam:gha in the process of meeting village-level society.
However, this analysis of monasticism as based on an ideal
The second is a grand view of the relations between sam:gha
of world transcendence intended for virtuosi does not come
and polity. As Tambiah demonstrates, while in the decentral-
close to capturing the historical reality of Buddhist monasti-
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cism. Even ideal-typically, Buddhist monks and nuns are not
of the Bka’ gdams (Kadam) monasteries, such as Snar thang
just virtuosi renouncers who live the homeless life prescribed
(Narthang).
by the Vinaya. They also play the role of priests, operating
as the functionaries of the cult for the service of lay people
This reestablishment of monasticism in Central Tibet
to whom they provide ritual services in exchange for support.
took place during the second diffusion of Buddhism, partic-
It is difficult to say when this priestly function developed,
ularly between the end of the tenth century and the begin-
but it is clear that it started very early on, perhaps even earlier
ning of the thirteenth century. It is during this period that
than the reign of A´soka (c. 270–230
the new schools (gsar ma), which take the second diffusion
BCE). This transforma-
tion of the monastic ideal has affected all Buddhist tradi-
as their point of reference, emerged in opposition to the old
tions, and in this respect Tibet is not very different. This is
school (rnying ma), which focuses on the earlier transmission.
not to say, however, that Tibetan monasticism does not have
During this period, two other lineages of ordination came
particularities of its own. In order to understand those, it
to Tibet, the first from Western Tibet, initiated by the king
may be helpful to start with a brief historical overview of the
of Purang, Lha Lama Yeshe Öd, who, after ordaining him-
development of monasticism in Tibet and its relation to soci-
self, decided to seek a more proper ordination lineage from
ety before examining its institutional structures.
two Indians, Dharmapa¯la (963–1058) and Prajña¯pa¯la. This
line of ordination later spread to some Bka’ gdams and Sa
THE HISTORY OF THE TIBETAN SAM:GHA. Traditional Tibet-
skya (Sakya) monasteries and included Rendawa and Gyelt-
an and modern scholars agree that the first Tibetan sam:gha
sap. The last line of ordination to come to Tibet was brought
was established during the second half of the eighth century.
by the famous scholar S´a¯kya S´r¯ıbhadra (c. 1127–1225), who
Prior to that period, there had been Buddhist monks in
ordained his student, Sa skya Pan:d:ita (1182–1251). This lin-
Tibet, mostly from Central Asia, but no indigenous sam:gha.
eage became popular, and it came to include the great scholar
This changed when the great Indian thinker S´a¯ntaraks:ita (c.
Tsong kha pa (1357–1419) and most of his disciples. All
725–790) was invited to Tibet by the emperor Tri Song De-
three lineages derive from the Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯da and have
tsen (740–798) to establish the first monastery at Bsam yas
been considered equally valid by Tibetan Vinaya masters.
(Samye). Since at first it was not clear whether Tibetans
Belonging to a different school of ordination (Maha¯-
would take to the monastic life, S´a¯ntaraks:ita ordained a trial
sam:ghika), At¯ı´sa (982–1054), the great Indian teacher
group of seven Tibetans representing some of the prominent
whose synthesis of exoteric and esoteric traditions provides
families. The trial was successful and other ordinations fol-
the basic structure of Tibetan Buddhism, decided not to par-
lowed. Thus the sam:gha developed rapidly during the late pe-
ticipate in any ordination to avoid splitting the sam:gha in
riod of the Tibetan empire, receiving the backing of some
Tibet.
of the more important families and gaining the ability to ex-
ercise political influence over the court. During Tri Ralpa-
The monasticism of this later period, however, devel-
cen’s (817–838) reign, monks seem to have received further
oped differently from that of the earlier period, in large part
marks of favor from the ruler and to have increased their
due to the historical circumstances. Whereas during the earli-
power, assuming even ministerial functions. It is also during
er period the authority of the state had been strong and rela-
this time that the first system of taxation was set up to sup-
tively stable, the later period was marked by the collapse of
port monks and monasteries. It is this situation that seems
such authority and the proliferation of local hegemonies.
to have created a strong opposition leading to Ralpacen’s as-
This political vacuum contributed to many of the character-
sassination and his replacement by his brother, Lang Darma,
istics of Tibetan monasticism, particularly the large intra-
the (in)famous last emperor. Traditional historians describe
and intersectarian differences between monasteries and the
him as a persecutor of Buddhism, but modern scholars have
role of non-ordained practitioners. It also partly explains the
argued that his target was less Buddhism than the sociopoliti-
large political role that monastic groups have played in Ti-
cal influence of the sam:gha. Regardless, it is clear that his
betan history.
reign, and the events that followed his assassination by a
It is mostly among the new traditions that monasticism
Buddhist monk in 842, created a very confused situation that
first redeveloped. The first school was the Bka’ gdams school,
ultimately led to the disintegration of the empire.
which was established by At¯ı´sa’s disciple Drom dön ba
As is often the case in Buddhist history, the demise of
(1005–1064), who, though himself a lay person, emphasized
central power created considerable difficulties for the sam:gha,
monasticism and the practice of the exoteric aspects of Bud-
which seems to have disappeared from Central Tibet. A
dhism. This emphasis on monasticism was imitated by other
handful of monks found refuge in Kham in Eastern Tibet.
groups, such as the Sa skya and several Bka’ brgyud (Kagyu)
There a young man, later known as Lhacen Gompa Rabsel,
traditions, which were then forming. These schools followed
asked for ordination, but the five fully-ordained monks re-
some of the Bka’ gdams ideas but also emphasized the impor-
quired for the ordination ritual could not be found until two
tance of esoteric Buddhism. It was also during this period
Chinese monks agreed to participate. Several people were
that Tibetan monasteries started to create their own indige-
then ordained, and this allowed this lineage of ordination,
nous scholastic culture. During the earlier period, Bsam yas
which traces its source to S´a¯ntaraks:ita, to survive and later
had been a scholastic center, but it had fallen apart with the
reestablish itself in Central Tibet, particularly among some
disintegration of the empire. From the end of the eleventh
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century, new centers started to emerge, the most famous
authority remained limited to a few lamas. The number and
being Sangpu, created in 1073 and further developed by
role of tulkus started to grow during the fifteenth century,
Ngok Lotsawa and Chaba Chöki Sengge during the next
a time of intense sectarian confrontation. This phenomenon
hundred years. Many others, such as Sagya, Snar thang and
is clear in the Dge lugs school, where authority over the tradi-
Kathog, followed, introducing an important intellectual
tion was at first transmitted following monastic lines of suc-
component within Tibetan monasticism.
cession. But the effective leadership of the school gradually
shifted to tulkus, particularly to the Dalai Lamas, who
Monasticism received a spectacular boost from Tsong
emerged during the sixteenth century as the de facto leaders
kha pa, who after training in the monastic centers of his time,
of this tradition. This preeminent role was reinforced by the
proposed his own synthesis. His approach strongly stressed
victory of 1642, which propelled the Dalai Lama to the ruler-
the role of monasticism and emphasized the value of scholas-
ship of the country. Henceforth, Tibet was going to be ruled,
tic training. In 1409, Tsong kha pa founded the monastery
at least nominally, by a Buddhist monk, a unique occurrence
of Dga’ ldan (Gaden), followed by two powerful monastic
in the history of Buddhist monasticism.
centers, ’Bras pung (Drepung) and Se ra. Together they con-
stitute the three monastic seats (gdan sa) and have come to
The rule of the Dalai Lama did not mean that monks
play a central role in Tibetan monasticism, particularly in the
held all the power, but it did imply that monasteries had a
last three centuries.
preeminent place and that their support became a govern-
mental priority. As a result, starting from the seventeenth
SAM:GHA AND SECTARIAN DEVELOPMENTS. The rise to
century, the number of monks and nuns grew, leading to
prominence of these three monastic seats was the result of
what Melvyn Goldstein has aptly described as mass monasti-
the spectacular growth among Tsong kha pa’s followers. Al-
cism—the inclusion of a significant proportion of the popu-
though this group was initially well accepted as one among
lation in the monastic order. Some estimate that before the
many, the situation quickly changed. Tsong kha pa’s views
invasion of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China in 1950,
became the target of numerous criticisms, and his followers
up to 20 percent of the population may have been ordained,
gradually came to see themselves as forming a separate tradi-
a proportion that appears to be without historical precedent.
tion, the Dge lugs (Geluk). The sectarian process was further
The consequence of this increase was the lowering of monas-
strengthened by the political climate of the time, particularly
tic standards. Monasteries placed few severe restrictions on
the power struggle between the forces of Gtsang (Tsang) sup-
comportment and allowed their monks extensive freedom to
ported by the Sa skya and Bka’ brgyud, and the forces from
chose their lifestyle. This was particularly true of larger
Central Tibet supported by the Dge lugs. This struggle lasted
monasteries, where one could find a variety of monastic vo-
until the forces of Central Tibet, with Mongol support, won
cations, from that of great scholars and meditators to that of
and established their hegemony in 1642, imposing their
monks involved in trade and politics, or even that of punk
leader, the fifth Dalai Lama, as the supreme authority in
monks (ldab ldob), who maintained order, collected taxes
Tibet. Under the protection of his government, the Dge lugs
from recalcitrant payers, and defended monastic officials
school became the most powerful, and its monasteries grew
during their travels.
exponentially, particularly ’Bras pung, Dga’ ldan, and Se ra.
At the same time, restrictions were imposed on other schools.
THE TIBETAN MONASTIC INSTITUTION. It would be wrong,
Some monasteries were converted, while others were limited
however, to exaggerate the consequences of mass monasti-
in their scholarly activities and the range of material that
cism, for the lowering of standards did not affect all monaste-
monks could study. Not all non-Dge lugs schools, however,
ries equally. In fact, when one surveys pre-1950 Tibetan mo-
were equally affected. The Rnying ma (Nyingma), which re-
nasticism, one fact dominates: the enormous diversity of
mained separate, flourished during this period, creating
organizational forms, disciplinary strictness, and institution-
monasteries and thus starting a move toward monasticism.
al structures.
This move gained impetus during the second half of the
nineteenth century, when under the guidance of several non-
One of the intriguing aspects of this diversity is that mo-
sectarian teachers, all three non-Dge lugs schools started a
nasticism in Tibet is not the only form of renunciate religios-
revival, revitalizing their monastic centers and recreating
ity. Since the early period, there have been many non-
their scholarly culture.
ordained tantrikas (lngags pa), often forming smaller commu-
nities that could compete with monasteries for resources.
It is during this period of intense sectarian confronta-
During the early stages of the second diffusion, these wan-
tion that two features of Tibetan monasticism became well
dering or home-based practitioners often came into conflict
established. The first is the role of reincarnated lamas, or
with monks, who advocated a more established and exoteric
tulkus, as leaders of monastic communities. The first example
form of Buddhism. A solution to this conflict developed
of such a unique Tibetan institution seems to have been the
gradually, starting with At¯ı´sa’s synthesis of Maha¯ya¯na ideals
third Karma pa, Rang byung rdo rje (Rangjung Dorje,
and Tantric practices. This synthesis received further institu-
1284–1339), who presented himself as the reincarnation of
tional implementation with the development of the Sa skya
his illustrious predecessor, Karma pakshi (1204–1283). But
and Bka’ brgyud schools, where Tantric rituals became inte-
prior to the fifteenth century, this mode of transmission of
grated within monasticism. In this by now prevalent model,
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: GHA: SAM:GHA AND SOCIETY IN TIBET
the community abides by the monastic discipline but prac-
Since a monastery is typically an association, to reside
tices Tantric rituals. It is often led by a lama, reincarnated
in that monastery as an ordained person is not enough to
or hereditary, who acts as the Tantric master and guides the
qualify as a member. A monk must be formally accepted by
community. This formula has allowed monasteries to pro-
the monastic authorities after fulfilling the criteria for admis-
vide the kind of rituals requested by the laity and thus suc-
sion, which varies from monastery to monastery, the basic
cessfully compete with non-ordained practitioners.
requirement being the ability to read and memorize the
There were also major differences in disciplinary strict-
monastery’s rituals. After being admitted, a member acquires
ness among monasteries. Some monasteries were extremely
certain rights and privileges. He has, for instance, the right
lax in the enforcement of discipline, with monks often stay-
to partake in the resources distributed by the monastery and
ing only occasionally in the monastery and spending most
to participate in the decisions governing the life of the com-
of their time working with their families. But other monaste-
munity. Together with these rights come certain duties. He
ries maintained very strict discipline. In the Tantric Monas-
must attend the rituals of the monastery, and he may be ap-
tery of Higher (Lhasa), for example, monks had to follow
pointed by the association to any of the monastic offices,
fairly strict Vinaya rules. They also had to spend the first
tasks that can be at times extremely demanding.
three years of their careers in difficult conditions under close
One of the central activities of such an association is the
supervision. Even within a single monastery, variations exist-
practice of rituals. It is not an exaggeration to say that Tibet-
ed. In general, the large central monasteries tended to be
an monasteries are first and foremost ritual communities,
much stricter than the smaller local monasteries. Among
which reflect the priestly role that monks have assumed
those, there were also significant differences according to lo-
throughout the history of the tradition. Even in large
cation. Monasteries in central areas tended to be stricter than
monasteries that have fostered the growth of a scholastic cul-
those in more marginal areas. This diversity in monastic dis-
ture, life revolves around the practice of rituals, which take
cipline is typical of a traditional society where the normaliz-
precedence over any other activity, studies included. More-
ing power of the state is limited. But such diversity seems to
over, each monastery is identified by its own ritual material,
have been more accentuated in Tibet, in part due to the ge-
which differentiates it from other monasteries. The monastic
ography of the country, which makes communication diffi-
rituals of most monasteries are, however, similar, ranging
cult, but mostly because of the persistent weakness of the
from the ceremonies prescribed by the Vinaya to elaborate
state throughout the formative period of Tibetan monas-
Tantric practices, often done at the request of sponsors.
ticism.
This diversity is enshrined in the local monastic consti-
INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES AND ECONOMIC LIFE. The di-
tution (bca’ yig) of each monastery. This is, in fact, the cen-
versity of Tibetan monasticism is also evident in its institu-
tral normative document of Tibetan monasteries, where life
tional structures. Some monasteries are very small, with per-
is less regulated by the canonical Vinaya than by the local
haps as few as the four monks necessary to form a sam:gha,
constitution. Each monastery has its own (written or oral)
often staffed by monks who live at home. Others are large
constitution, a condensed body of customs, oral lore, and
institutions with thousands of permanent residents and hun-
traditional documentation woven together with aspects of
dreds of highly trained scholars. To make sense of this variety
the Vinaya. This constitution addresses the governance of
it may be helpful to distinguish heuristically between local
the monastery; the duties, responsibilities, and dress of mo-
and central monasteries. Local monasteries are devoted al-
nastic officers; the order of priority among members; the ju-
most exclusively to the practice of ritual and provide little
dicial procedures through which decisions are made; and the
training to their members. Or at least they do not function
calendar for ritual observances. Thus, the role of the Vinaya
as training centers for monks from other monasteries. This
became greatly reduced. Instead of providing the socio-
is the role of central monasteries, where monks of a particular
juridical basis of monasticism, it became reduced to the defi-
tradition can receive scholastic training.
nition of the monastic ethical code.
Each school of Tibetan Buddhism has its own central
The monastic constitution also defines the monastery
monasteries, which also function as political, social, and eco-
as a corporate entity, an association of the individual monks
nomical centers. Each central monastery is at the heart of an
(or nuns) who are parts of the monastery, and who own and
extended network of affiliated local monasteries, which may
govern it in accordance with the rules prescribed by the con-
be regional or may cover all of Tibet. This network brings
stitution. Hence, a Tibetan monastery is not just a residence
the central monastery considerable resources, extending its
for monks or nuns, but a corporate body whose identity is
pool of supporters and sponsors, and ensuring considerable
maintained across generations and is enmeshed in politico-
influence. Although the difference between local and central
economical relations that can involve complex bureaucratic
monasteries is not always clear and has changed historically,
structures, mandatory activities, and onerous duties. As such,
it is usually accepted that there are six central monasteries in
a monastery in pre-1950 Tibet often had considerable land
the Dge lugs tradition: the three seats (Dga’ ldan, ’Bras pung,
holdings with a significant number of tenants. It was to man-
and Se ra), Tashi Lhunpo (bkra shis lhun po) in Shigatse,
age this socio-economical involvement that monasteries were
and Tashi Gomang (bkra shis sgo mang) and Kumbrum (sku
set up as associations.
’bum) in Amdo. In the Rnying ma six monasteries function
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SAM
: GHA: SAM:GHA AND SOCIETY IN TIBET
8085
as centers: Mingdröling (smin grol gling) and Dorje Drak
after a fixed term (often a year), he could be criticized, and
(rdo rje brag) in Central Tibet, plus Ka-thok (ka thog),
even penalized, by the council for his actions as house teach-
Dzokchen (rdzogs chen), Payül (dpal yul), and Zhechen in
er. This system allowed officers to have sufficient authority
Kham. Each of these large central monasteries has its own
over a large group of people who were often rowdy and diffi-
institutional structure. Since Dga’ ldan, ’Bras pung, and Se
cult to control. It also provided checks and balances, since
ra are the largest monasteries (’Bras pung is said to have had
the officers were retroactively accountable for their actions
more than ten thousand monks), a glimpse at their complex
and had to be mindful not to overstep their authority.
structures gives us some idea of the Tibetan premodern mo-
This description of the monastic chain of command
nastic institution.
does not even begin to communicate the complexity of the
First, the three seats each consisted of several monaste-
bureaucracies involved in the administration of the three
ries, sometimes mislabeled in the secondary literature as “col-
seats. Each corporate entity (i.e., the seat, the monasteries,
leges.” For example, ’Bras pung had four monasteries: Losel-
and the regional houses) was managed financially by a com-
ing, Gomang, Ngakpa (i.e., Tantric Monastery), and
plex administration headed by several stewards. Even a single
Deyang. Each of these entities was a monastery (gwra tshang),
regional house had at least one steward and several grain-
with its own assembly hall, administrative and disciplinary
keepers and treasurers in charge of commercial transactions.
structures, economic basis, monastic constitution, scholastic
Each corporate entity also had large estates where its subjects
manuals, and internal subdivisions into regional houses. The
(mi gser) lived, bound to the land. The stewards and their ad-
monastic seat was administered by a council composed of
ministration would collect taxes (paid in the form of grain
the representatives of the monasteries and regional houses,
or butter rather than money) from these tenants. ’Bras pung
the present and former abbots of each monastery (the seat
(the seat, not the monasteries) is said to have had 185 estates
did not have an abbot), and important monastic officials.
with twenty thousand subjects, three hundred pastures, and
The council was in charge of deciding questions of discipline,
sixteen thousand nomads. These resources would then be
arbitrating conflicts between monasteries, and relating to the
used by monastic officials to engage in a variety of trade and
outside world. Its decisions were implemented by two head
lending operations. For instance, grain might be lent to the
disciplinarians whose authority was backed up by consider-
peasants and collected back with a yearly interest as high as
able disciplinary resources. The council and the head disci-
20 percent. Butter would be sold, either on the market or
plinarians had no say, however, in the religious activities of
as barter against other goods.
each monastery.
The administration of these monastic entities in Tibet
Each monastery had its own administrative, disciplin-
required real political, administrative, and financial skill in
ary, and religious structure. It was administered by a council
the hands of monks who devoted their lives to these tasks.
composed of the abbot, the representatives of each of the re-
There was a kind of cursus honorum for those interested in
gional houses of the monastery, and important monastic offi-
the politico-administrative side of monastic life. Monks
cials. The religious activity of the monastery was directed by
moved from lower to higher echelons, reaching important
the abbot, who headed the monastery. Discipline was en-
jobs that were a source of honor and considerable power.
forced by the disciplinarian, who had considerable authority,
Often, but not always, the important jobs were monopolized
though less than the seat’s head disciplinarians. A prayer
by monks from aristocratic backgrounds, or by those belong-
leader led the monastic assembly in its ritual performances,
ing to one of the large households (shag tshang chen mo) of
and the director of studies oversaw aspects of the scholastic
the monastery, which functioned like small dynasties of mo-
routine.
nastic administrators.
This administrative system illustrates the evolution of
At the lowest level were the regional houses (khang
monasticism in Tibet, exemplifying the corporate nature of
tshan), where monks from the different regions were
monasteries and their socioeconomic involvement. But it
grouped. Each monastery had several regional houses. For
should be remembered that this system is not only a Tibetan
example, in ’Bras pung, Gomang had sixteen regional hous-
development, but is also the result of an evolution within the
es, and Loseling had twenty-three. The regional houses were
overall trajectory of Buddhist monasticism. The existence of
ruled by a council, which appointed a house teacher to ad-
large monastic centers was made possible by the transforma-
minister the house. He was in charge of the discipline of the
tion of the role of monks, who were not just renouncers, but
house, and of making sure that the schedule was respected,
also performed priestly duties. It is this basic transformation
that young monks memorized their texts, that scholars went
that is reflected in the very structure of Tibetan monasteries,
to debates, and so on. The house administrator also ensured
which are corporate entities organized in large part around
that monks did not keep knives in their rooms, a reminder
the performance of this priestly function.
of the heteroclite nature of the monasteries, where the best
scholar could lived side by side with the worst punk. As with
SEE ALSO Buddhism, article on Buddhism in Tibet; Bud-
the other monks in charge of monastic discipline, the house
dhist Books and Texts, article on Canon and Canoniza-
administrator could not be criticized while in office, even by
tion—Vinaya; Dalai Lama; Karma pas; Rnying ma pa (Ny-
the house’s council. However, once he had stepped down
ingmapa) School; Tsong kha pa.
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8086
SAMI RELIGION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
relians, and Estonians). Anthropologically, however, they are
Cabezón, José Ignacio. “The Regulations of a Monastery.” In Reli-
quite distinct from all but the Ob Ugric peoples (the Khanty
gions of Tibet in Practice, edited by Donald Lopez Jr.,
and Mansi) and the Samoyed speakers who live at approxi-
pp. 335–351. Princeton, 1997.
mately the same latitude on either side of the Uralic Moun-
Dreyfus, Georges. The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: The Educa-
tains in Russia. This kind of linguistic and anthropological
tion of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk. Berkeley, 2003.
diversity has given rise to a lively but as yet inconclusive
Ellingson, Ter. “Tibetan Monastic Constitutions: The bCa Yig.”
scholarly debate as to the location of their original homeland.
In Reflections on Tibetan Culture: Essays in Memory of Turrell
Present theories based on interdisciplinary research in ar-
V. Wylie, edited by Lawrence Epstein and Richard Sher-
chaeology, philology, anthropology, ethnography, and com-
burne, pp. 204–230. Lewiston, N.Y., 1990.
parative religion suggest that the ancestors of contemporary
Goldstein, Melvyn. “A Study of the ldab ldob.” Central Asiatic
Sami people probably came from diverse backgrounds and
Journal 9 (1964): 123–141.
they spoke several different languages. Some of these ances-
tral languages must have died out without ever having been
Goldstein, Melvyn, and Paljor Tsarong. “Tibetan Buddhist Mo-
nasticism: Social, Psychological, and Cultural Implications.”
written down, so that now their cultures can only be hypoth-
Tibet Journal 10, no. 1 (1985): 14–31.
esized from archaeological evidence and their oral traditions,
as well as through genetic analysis of blood types and other
Goldstein, Melvyn, and Matthew Kapstein. Buddhism in Contem-
molecular research.
porary Tibet: Religious Revival and Cultural Identity. Berke-
ley, 1998.
Today there remain about nine distinct Sami languages.
Gyatso, Lobsang. Memoirs of a Tibetan Lama. Ithaca, N.Y., 1998.
These may be classified into two main groups. The Eastern
Kvaerne, Per. “Continuity and Change in Tibetan Monasticism.”
group includes Inari, Skolt, Akkala, Kildin, and Ter; the
In Korean and Asian Religious Tradition, edited by Chai-Shin
Western group includes Mountain or Norwegian Sami, and
Yu. Toronto, 1977.
includes the languages of Lule, Pite, and southern Sami dia-
Kyongla Rato Rinpoche. My Life and Lives: The Story of a Tibetan
lects. The Sami languages share the same basic structure but
Incarnation. New York, 1977.
are otherwise quite distinct; so much so that Sami speakers—
many of whom are not only bilingual but rather tri- or even
Stro⁄m, A. “The Dynamics and Politics of Institutional Continu-
quin-lingual—must often resort to Finnish, Swedish, or Rus-
ity: Tibetan Monastic ‘Colleges’ in India.” Ph.D. diss., Oslo
University, 2000.
sian to understand each other. The linguistic situation is fur-
ther complicated by the fact that a variety of competing or-
Tarab, Tulku. A Brief History of Tibetan Academic Degrees in Bud-
thographies have been employed to render the languages in
dhist Philosophy. Copenhagen, 2000.
written form.
Wallace, B. Alan. The Life and Teaching of Geshé Rabten: A Tibet-
an Lama’s Search of Truth. London, 1980.
Since the medieval era, from the twelfth century on-
wards, the Sami-occupied territories have been the most
GEORGES DREYFUS (2005)
northerly point at which the Eastern and Western branches
of Christianity meet. Beginning at that time and continuing
until the seventeenth century, missionaries of the Russian
SAMI RELIGION. The term Sami is an ethnonym
Orthodox Church made converts among the Skolt, Akkala,
used by the Sami people to describe themselves. They are also
Kildin, and Ter Sami of Kola peninsula and neighboring
known by the term Lapp, which refers to their nomadic way
areas in North Russia. The Sami peoples in the West, on the
of life, not to ethnicity, in accordance with the Swedish
other hand, had their earliest contacts with the Roman Cath-
phrase “leva som lapp,” which translates as “to live in the
olic Church, but in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Lapp (i.e., nomadic) way,” but the Sami find this expression
most of these were baptized into the Evangelical Lutheran
to be pejorative. The Sami are popularly called “the people
Churches supported by the states in which they lived: Den-
with four countries” because they make up an ethnic unit in-
mark (including Norway), and Sweden (including Finland).
side the borders and under the jurisdiction of four countries:
The earliest written document, the Historia Norwegiae from
Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. From the Greek and
the twelfth century, describes an early encounter between
Roman historians of antiquity to scholars of the present day,
Kristiani (Christians) and the “heathen” Sami noaiddi.
the Sami (also called Fenni and Finner) have excited the in-
Most written texts that deal with non-Christian Sami
terest of historians (from the Greeks and Romans of antiqui-
religion date to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
ty to scholars of the present day), by virtue of the Old Norse
These texts concentrate primarily on the beliefs of the no-
sagas and as the people of Ultima Thule, occupying most
madic reindeer breeders of Finland and Scandinavia (other
northern territories of Northern Europe.
Sami groups are less well represented). Many of the texts
Within the Uralic language family, the Sami belong to
were written by clergy and missionaries, and often take the
the Finno-Ugric group, and are thus linguistically related to
form of “confessions of heathenism” that were held in front
many of the peoples who live on the southern and eastern
of ecclesiastical courts. From the Sami of the east we have
borders of their territories (e.g., the Baltic Finns: Finns, Ka-
only ethnographic and linguistic notes dating to the nine-
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8087
teenth and twentieth centuries. By this time, the native reli-
should probably be regarded as a purification rite. Once the
gion had already been relegated to “the old custom” or
meat was eaten, all the bones were collected and buried in
“memories,” and belief in the old gods had fallen away.
the order in which they are found in the body. The bear was
However, there are good reasons to suppose that there exist-
thus given a proper funeral so that it could migrate to its ce-
ed, and still exists, a set of shared structures of belief, com-
lestial domain as the Great Bear (Ursa major). In accordance
mon to the whole Sami area, in which shamanism and ritual
with Arctic astral mythology, the individual bear was regard-
sacrifice are the dominant characteristics.
ed as the representative of its entire species, with the primor-
RELATIONS BETWEEN HUMANS AND ANIMALS. As is com-
dial mother of the clan as his spouse; by showing it due re-
mon among many of the peoples of the arctic and sub-arctic
spect, the hunters hoped to secure the good will of all bears.
regions, the earliest Sami economies were based on hunting
This good will would work to their advantage during the
and fishing. Consequently, their most important rituals re-
next hunt.
volved around the hunting, killing, and burial of animals.
The skeletons of other animals were occasionally treated
They developed an elaborate conceptual, mythical, and ritual
with the same reverence. At certain times of the year, for ex-
world in which animal spirits and divinities, that is supernat-
ample, all the bones of a reindeer were placed before a holy
ural beings whose zoomorphic forms and features have been
image at the place of sacrifice after the assembled men had
taken from the animal kingdom, figure prominently.
eaten the meat (women were permitted to participate in the
The Sami in Finland called these spirits haldi (from the
holy meal only on special occasions). The idol was smeared
Finnish haltija, derived from an old Germanic word mean-
with the blood and grease of the sacrificial animal. It was be-
ing “to own, to control, to protect”). They believed that all
lieved that the god to whom the reindeer was offered would
animals, as well as certain important geographical locales
then resurrect the animal in his kingdom and derive benefit
such as lakes, had their own protective haldi, and that people
from it there.
were obliged to show their respect for these spirits through
IDOLS AND HOLY SITES. The word seite, or siei’di (also
such tokens as sacrificial offerings.
spelled sieidi), identifies a central phenomenon in Sami reli-
Of all the animals of the sub-polar region, the bear was
gion. In scholarly usage it has become a standard term for
regarded as the most sacred animal, and the rites connected
designating a phenomenon defining a particular type of sa-
with the bear hunt clearly reflect the reverence people felt for
cred landscape found throughout the Sami area. A seite was
these special animals and for all other living creatures. Pehr
a naturally formed stone found on a place that was regarded
Fjellström (writing in 1755) and Lars Levi Laestadius (a cler-
as passe (“sacred,” “holy”) and to which sacrifices were made
gyman writing in the mid-1800s) provide detailed descrip-
by a clan, a reindeer herding community called siida, or a
tions of the ceremonies performed at the start of a bear hunt.
family. An unusual cliff could have the same function, and
When someone found a hibernating bear, he led the rest of
a whole mountain, called Ailigas, of which there are several
his group in a procession to the den. A ritually important
throughout the Laplands (from Scandinavian helig, meaning
person known as “the drummer” followed immediately be-
holy), may have been regarded as a seite. Although we do not
hind him, after whom came the hunters, arrayed in a prede-
know their exact symbolism, we do know that seite-places
termined order. Once the animal had been killed, the hunt-
were situated at certain points along Sami migration routes
ers sang songs of thanks both to the bear and to the Leibolmai
between different territories and that, as they passed such
(alder-tree man), who is described as the god of the hunt or
markers, people laid sacrificial offerings to bring them luck
the lord of the animals. This divinity may be described by
with their reindeer. There were also seite-stones or wooden
the German concept “Herr der Tiere,” since his most impor-
idols with anthropomorphic forms at the good fishing spots
tant role was as the lord of the species of the bears and the
on the shores of many lakes, and presumably sacrifices were
largest representative of the zoomorphic world, with control
made there to ensure good fishing.
and guardianship over all prey animals.
SOUL CONCEPTIONS AND LAPP NOAIDDI; SAMI EXPRES-
SIONS ON SHAMANISM.
The Sami notion that animals have
In their songs the hunters assured the bear that they had
guardian beings that must be respected by humans is based
not intended to cause him any suffering. Indeed, they some-
on the idea that every living being has at least two souls: a
times tried to shift the blame from themselves to others. In
corporeal soul and a “free” soul. The free soul can manifest
some of their songs they sang that “men from Sweden, Ger-
itself outside the body, and is regarded as a guardian spirit
many, England, and all foreign lands” had caused the bear’s
and a manifestation of a dual personality. Animals are regard-
death, and when they returned home from the hunt their
ed as the equal of humans and are treated as such. In dreams
waiting women welcomed them as “men from all foreign
or in trancelike states such as ecstasy, the human free soul
lands.” The meat was prepared by the men in a special place
can leave the body and assume a concrete form.
and brought into the kota (“tent” or “hut”) through a special
door. This was the boassio-raikie, the holy back door situated
Occasionally, a malicious being captures a soul, posing
opposite the ordinary door. Arrayed in festive dress, the
a mortal threat to the bearer. It was believed, for example,
women sat waiting inside and spit chewed alder bark at the
that serious illness occurred when someone, perhaps a dead
men as the meat was carried in. This custom of spitting
relative, wanted to summon the ailing person to the realm
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8088
SAMI RELIGION
of the dead, and had therefore captured the soul of the afflict-
The mighty thunder god Horagalles, also known as Att-
ed. In such cases the noaiddi (shaman) intervened. Shamans
jie (father), and Bajjan (he who is above), could demolish the
underwent a long and painful period of apprenticeship, and
mountains with his hammer and scatter and injure the rein-
were believed to possess extraordinary psychic powers. As a
deer. Sacrifices were offered to him in appeasement. The sun,
result, the noaiddi could enter a state of ecstasy and, under
Beivie, was vital to plant life, and sacrifices were made to him
this trance, send his soul to the home of the dead (Jabme-
to ensure good grazing for the reindeer and rich vegetation
aimo), to negotiate with the dead or the goddess of the dead
in general. One observer writes that offerings to Beivie were
(called Jabme-akka in certain places) about the return of the
burned to symbolize the heat of the sun. Beivie was also be-
soul. Sometimes the soul could be recovered through the
lieved to help in curing mental illness. The moon, Aske or
promise of a sacrifice, in which case the sick person got well.
Manno, also received sacrifices, particularly during midwin-
One finds similar beliefs that the dead influence the well-
ter. Bjiegg-Olmai (wind man), also known as Ilmaris, con-
being of the living among other peoples of the sub-polar re-
trolled the winds and weather and was worshipped through-
gion, with the shaman cast in a similar redemptive role.
out the Sami region. The Sami celestial sphere, which was
painted on drums, was centered around the Sun and the
The main role of the noaiddi is that of a mediator. How-
Moon, the Polar Star, the Great Bear and its Hunter (Orion)
ever, he could not undertake his journeys to Jabme-aimo un-
as well as the horned elk or reindeer (Perseus constellation)
assisted. During his apprenticeship he acquired relationships
on their route to the Milky Way.
with supernatural beings who could aid him when necessary.
In traditional Sami beliefs and practice, women were
Paramount among these helpers were the sacred animals:
under the special protection of the goddess Madder-Akka
birds, fish (or snakes), and bull reindeer. The noaiddi recruit-
(“old woman of the tribe”) and her three daughters, Sarakka,
ed his assistants from Sájva-ájmuo, the dwelling place of the
Ugsakka, and Juksakka. These goddesses were considered to
holy spirits. (Sájva-ájmuo corresponds to Bâsse-Passevare, the
be intimately connected with the household and domestic
sacred mountains in the northern Sami territory.) Other
life.
spirits could also help the noaddi in the performance of his
office. Legends tell of deceased noaiddi who provide a new
SEE ALSO Finno-Ugric Religions.
noaiddi advice or provide other assistance.
The noaiddi’s ability to go into an ecstatic trance made
BIBLIOGRAPHY
him a general intermediary between human beings, who
Source materials on Lapland and the Sami traditions begin to ac-
cumulate as early as the mid-seventeenth century, when
lived in the middle world, and the supernatural beings of the
Christian priests and missionaries reported to their superiors
other (upper and nether) worlds. This belief in the triadic
on all aspects of Sami culture, including religion and folk-
division of the universe has been shared with many peoples
lore. Some of these materials, focusing exclusively on Swed-
of northern Siberia who practiced shamanism. In addition
ish Lapland, were published by Johannes Scheffer in his Lap-
to regulating relations between the middle world and the di-
ponia (Frankfurt, 1673). Scheffer, a scholar from Elsass, was
vinities and spirits of the other worlds, the noaddi also regu-
appointed Professor of Rhetorics in Uppsala by the kingdom
lated the relationship between people and the powers of
of Sweden to counter prevailing rumors that the Sami used
nature.
witchcraft on behalf of Sweden during its wars throughout
Europe. The work was immediately translated into other Eu-
DEITIES. The Sami were not only aware of their dependence
ropean languages, including English (The History of Lapland,
upon the rulers of places and animals; they also worshipped
Oxford, 1694). Another translation appeared in 1736.
heavenly and atmospheric divinities. These superterrestrial
Eighteenth-century missionary reports contain greater details on
beings had no part in immediate, everyday concerns, but
the religious beliefs of the Scandinavian Saami, but few of
rather they were powers to be reckoned with and were given
them are available in a major language. Exceptions are Pehr
sacrifices on special occasions. Among the eastern Sami,
Högström’s Beschreibung des der crone Schwweden gehörenden
there was the popular divinity, Tiermes, who manifested
Lapplanders (Copenhagen and Leipzig, 1748) and transla-
tions of Knud Leem’s Beskrivelse over Finmarkens Lapper,
himself in thunder and has been linked to the Ob-Ugric god
deres tungemaal, Leve-maade og firrige Afgudsdyrkelse (A De-
of the sky, Num-Turem, and to the Samoyed god of the sky,
scription of the Finnmark Lapps, Their Language, Customs,
Num. Among the western Sami, Radien (or Rariet: the ruler)
and Former Idolatry; Copenhagen, 1767).
was chief of the gods. In some places he was also called vea-
Lars Levi Laestadius published a valuable manuscript Fragmenter
ralden Olmai (man of the world, or cosmos) and Mailman
i lappska Mythologien that provides an ethnographical survey
Radien (the ruler of the world). The cult dedicated to him
on Sami mythology. Written in five parts from 1840 to
was primarily concerned with furthering reindeer breeding,
1845, it was published by Juha Pentikäinen in Swedish in
but he was also the god who sustained the world. This was
1997, Finnish in 2000, and in English in 2002.
symbolized by a pillar, known among some of the Sami as
More recent and valuable sources dealing with the Sami of Fin-
the world’s stytto, which was erected beside the ruler’s idol
land and Russia include Arvid Genetz’s Wörterbuch der Kola-
at the sacrificial site. It was believed that the North Star was
lappischen Dialekte nebst Sprachproben (Helsinki, 1891), a
attached to the uppermost point of the pillar.
survey of traditional religion among the Russian Sami. Also
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important is Toivo Immanuel Itkonen’s Heidnische Religion
consciousness (purus:a) and materiality (prakr:ti), two com-
und späterer Aberglaube bei den finnischen Lappen (Helsinki,
pletely different principles. Nothing exists apart from these
1946), a collection of accounts of earlier beliefs among the
two principles. This distinction caused the Sa¯m:khya school
Sami of Finland. Nickolai Kharuzin’s Russkie Lopari (Mos-
to be labeled “dualistic.” Contentless consciousness is the op-
cow, 1890) contains extensive materials on myths, but the
posite of materiality in that it is inactive, yet conscious, and
cult he describes derives largely from the materials of Scheffer
therefore not subject to change. Materiality, on the contrary,
and Högström—that is, from Scandinavia.
is potentially and actually active, but unconscious. Materiali-
The Sami religion has mainly attracted Scandinavian scholars, and
ty is both unmanifest and manifest. The unmanifest materi-
the first surveys were published in one or another of the Nor-
ality may also be called the “original materiality” because it
dic languages. Such scholars as Uno Holmberg (Harva after
is from this that the whole manifest universe emerges.
1927) in Lappalaisten uskonto (Porvoo, Finland, 1915), and
Rafael Karsten, in The Religion of the Samek (Leiden, Nether-
The universe undergoes cycles of evolution and absorp-
lands, 1955), were strongly influenced by the evolutionism
tion. During absorption, the original materiality is dormant,
popular at the time, which they supplemented with theories
and the three constituents of materiality (the gun:as: sattva,
on cultural borrowings. Holmberg’s later survey of Finno-
rajas, and tamas) are in a state of equilibrium. On disturbing
Ugric and Siberian mythology in The Mythology of All Races,
vol. 4 (Boston, 1927), is methodologically much more mod-
this equilibrium of the three constituents, the original mate-
ern. The most recent survey is Å´ke Hultkrantz’s “Die Reli-
riality starts to reproduce itself. Unmanifest transforms into
gion der Lappen,” in Die Religionen Nordeurasiens und der
manifest materiality and keeps on transforming from one
amerikanischen Arktis, edited by Ivar Paulson et al. (Stuttgart,
principle to the other until the original materiality has mani-
Germany, 1962). Among more recent scholars on Sami reli-
fested itself in twenty-three principles. This is the constitu-
gion and mythology may be mentioned Louise Bäckman,
tive pattern of enumeration, which is an extension of the fun-
Hans Mebius, Juha Pentikäinen and Ha˚kan Rydving. Sami
damental duality. According to some accounts, the first
Folkloristics (2000) is an example of cooperation between
principle to emerge is “the large one” (mahat); other accounts
Sami and non-Sami scholars and a model of a new approach
maintain that intellect (buddhi) emerges first. Either of these
to Sami studies that seeks to understand and interpret the
two principles produces ego (aham:ka¯ra). Ego, in turn, pro-
oral and written sources on Sami folklore and folk belief.
duces ten faculties: five sense faculties (buddh¯ındriya) and
There are some eighty preserved shaman drums in the museums
five action faculties (karmendriya); ego also produces the
around Europe, the oldest dating from the mid-seventeenth
mind (manas) and the five subtle elements (tanma¯tra). These
century. These have been described in detail by Ernst
subtle elements produce five gross elements (bhu¯ta). Figure
Mauritz Manker in Die lappische Zaubertrommel, vols. 1-2
(Stockholm, 1938–1950).
1 (fashioned after the Sa¯m:khya classic, the Sa¯m:khyaka¯rika¯
of ¯I´svarakr:s:n:a) gives an overview of the twenty-five princi-
Various aspects of Sami religion, such as the bear ceremony, sacri-
ples that constitute the universe: the twenty-three produced
fices, the shaman, rites of the dead, conceptions of the soul,
principles and the two basic principles, contentless con-
the sun cult, the notion of the lord of animals, and the origin
of the Saami, have also received extensive scholarly
sciousness and original materiality.
treatment.
All twenty-three principles of manifest materiality are a
LOUISE BÄCKMAN (1987)
transformation of one thing, namely, the original materiality.
JUHA PENTIKÄINEN (2005)
These principles, in fact, are not new products or effects;
their effects already exist in their causes. The essence of this
theory of causality (satka¯ryava¯da) is that an effect must be
S´AM:KARA SEE S´AN˙KARA
connected to preexisting necessary conditions, otherwise
anything could be a cause of anything else; in other words,
there must be a dependent relation between cause and effect,
such that milk alone, for example, and not water, produces
SA¯M:KHYA, a Sanskrit word meaning “enumeration,”
yogurt.
“categorization” is derived from the substantive sam:khya¯
(“number”) and is the name of one of the earliest Hindu
The Sa¯m:khya school postulates that materiality is one,
philosophical schools.
and that the evolution of a number of things out of that one
materiality is understood as causation. The numerous things
THE TEACHINGS OF THE SCHOOL. As the name implies, the
in this world are different from the original materiality, and
Sa¯m:khya school relies on distinct and recognizable patterns
yet they are the same. The things of everyday reality, our-
of enumeration as methods of inquiry. The different patterns
selves, our minds, egos, and intellects are materiality. Mental
of enumeration can be grouped into three main separate divi-
functions are transformations, too. Contentless conscious-
sions according to their overall function in the system: the
ness itself gets mixed up, as it were, with these transforma-
principles of twenty-five (constitutive), the dispositions of
tions, although in reality contentless consciousness is merely
eight (projective), and the categories of fifty (effective).
a witness to them. But since contentless consciousness does
Basic to an understanding of the Sa¯m:khya school is the
not undergo any change and does not produce any activity,
importance it places on the distinction between contentless
this confusion must be rooted in materiality. If anything is
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SA¯M
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structive. Their composition changes depending on which
Contentless Consciousness (purusa)
(1)
disposition is predominant.
Original Materiality (prakrti)
(1)
The effective pattern of enumeration results from the
The Large One (mahat) / Intellect (buddhi)
(1)
Ego (ahamkara)
(1)
interaction between the eight dispositions of the intellect
Ear
(the projective pattern) and the twenty-five principles that
Skin
constitute the universe (the constitutive pattern). This effec-
Eye
(5)
tive pattern lists fifty categories of creations of the intellect:
Tounge
five misconceptions; twenty-eight incapacities of the sense,
Nose
action, and mental faculties; nine contentments; and eight
Voice
spiritual attainments.
Hand
Foot
Five action faculties
(5)
(karmendriya)
These categories have still further subdivisions. At the
Anus
same time, this pattern is interpreted in terms of four created
Genitals
forms of life: plants, animals, gods, and humans.
Mind (manas)
(1)
Sound
Patterns of enumeration were designated as a scholarly
Touch
Five subtle elements
system that employs methodological devices (tantrayukti)
Color
(5)
(tanmatra)
based on a careful enumeration of subjects, features, and top-
Taste
Smell
ics of things organized according to the different disciplines
Air
of the intellectual tradition in ancient India. These devices
Wind
developed in various branches of learning, such as medicine
Fire
Five gross elements
(5)
and statecraft. According to the Yuktid¯ıpika¯, a commentary
Water
(bhuta)
of the Sa¯m:khya school of the latter half of the first millenni-
Earth
um CE, the list of methodological devices of the scholarly sys-
(25)
tem begins with mnemonic verses, followed by the instru-
ments of knowledge, the members of inference, the complete
set of the sixty topics of the Sa¯m:khya system, doubt and
F IGURE 1 . The Constitutive Pattern: The twenty-five principles
proof, brief and detailed explanation, the order of topics as
that constitute the universe.
known in the evolution of the universe, and the description
of things by name.
to be effected, it has to happen in materiality. It is not clear
As is apparent from this enumeration of methodological
from Sa¯m:khya literature how the two basic entities interact,
devices, there is an emphasis on philosophical devices. These
if indeed they do.
were employed to establish knowledge of things as they are,
It is here that metaphysics and epistemology merge. The
for the purpose of acquiring knowledge to attain liberation.
confusion of contentless consciousness with materiality gives
Knowledge must be acquired by proper devices or methods
of knowing, namely, perception, inference, and verbal testi-
ground to epistemology. How does one remove this confu-
mony. The Sa¯m:khya school gives special attention to infer-
sion, this ignorance that keeps the world in the repeating
ence since it is through inference that one can know the two
cycle of existence? Bondage in the cycle of lives is contingent
principal entities: contentless consciousness and original ma-
upon ignorance of the distinction between materiality and
teriality, both are beyond immediate sensory perception.
contentless consciousness. The removal of confusion and ig-
norance is achieved by particular knowledge which differen-
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW. The Sa¯m:khya school grew out of
naturalistic concerns. In the earliest articulation of Sa¯m:khya
tiates or discriminates contentless consciousness from mate-
ideas in the Upanis:ads (600 BCE to the first centuries of the
riality. By means of this knowledge, one wins liberation.
common era), the most prominent ideas were often those
Thereby one ceases transmigrating from life to life.
characterized by the enumeration of various principles, such
Intellect, ego, mind, the five sense faculties, the five ac-
as elements of nature.
tion faculties, and the five subtle elements together form the
The Br:hada¯ran:yaka Upanis:ad and the Chandogya
subtle body. This subtle body is attachable to, and detachable
Upanis:ad, two of the oldest Upanis:ads, contain numerous
from, the gross body; by attaching itself to the gross body,
explanations of the world in terms of sets of three constitu-
it animates it. On the other hand, by detaching itself from
ents (gun:as), sometimes in the form of colors (black, white,
the gross body at the time of death, the subtle body transmi-
and red), basic necessities of life (food, water, and heat), or
grates. This subtle body includes the eight dispositions inher-
seasons (summer, rains, and harvest), and so on. Obviously
ent in the intellect that form the projective pattern of enu-
these oldest Upanis:ads represent layers of various thought
meration, shown in figure 2. With respect to liberation, the
structures. There seemed to be two elements, opposites, be-
left-hand column lists four dispositions that are constructive,
neath the triple system: black and white, food and water,
and the right-hand column lists four dispositions that are de-
summer and rains, and so on. By adding a third element,
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SA¯M
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8091
such as the color red, the necessity of heat, or the season of
harvest, the tension between the opposites was removed; and
Constructive
Destructive
thus the triad lent itself to endless combinations. These
Merit
Demerit
triplings form the origins of the three constituents of mate-
Knowledge
Ignorance
riality.
Nonattachment
Attachment
Power
Impotence
The analysis can continue by breaking this triad down
into a dyad and the dyad into a single thing (the first Being).
This process recalls the one-by-one involution of the twenty-
F
three principles of the manifest materiality into the unmani-
I G U R E 2 . The Projective Pattern: The eight dispositions of the
fest original materiality at the time of reabsorption of the
intellect.
universe.
The time of syncretism was also clearly marked by theis-
The polarity of contentless consciousness and materiali-
tic tendencies. References to the Sa¯m:khya school indicated
ty is characterized by the tension inherent in opposites.
two directions, one theistic, the other atheistic, despite the
These two things cannot be combined. At most, they appear
fact that the school of Sa¯m:khya, unlike that of Yoga, explains
to interact; and in order to describe their relationship the
the creation and the existence of the universe in the absence
Sa¯m:khya teachers gave figurative illustrations. For example,
of God. In discussions of Sa¯m:khya and Yoga, reference to
a lame man can be of use to the blind man, and vice versa.
“the theistic school” usually means Yoga. Historically,
At the beginning of the common era, syncretism found
Sa¯m:khya and Yoga were closest to each other during the pe-
its way into most intellectual environments. The names
riod of syncretism. It seems that from this time the two
Sa¯m:khya and Yoga might not refer at this time to philosophi-
schools went their respective ways until the medieval period,
cal schools. Sa¯m:khya may be a name for any set of ideas ex-
when they again merged.
plaining metaphysics, the knowledge of which leads to liber-
There is no independent work of the Sa¯m:khya school’s
ation. Yoga may be a name for meditative and postural
teachings from the first centuries of the common era. In later
practices that also were employed for spiritual advancement
philosophical literature, there are references to s:as:t:itantra as
toward liberation.
a system of Sa¯m:khya teachings. Again, it is not clear whether
Sa¯m:khya and Yoga are often considered sibling schools,
s:as:t:itantra was originally a name for a system of teachings or
yet it is not clear whether their origins were symbiotic. Their
the title of a written work. When the fourteenth-century Jain
origins are obscure. Both exhibit ideas of dissent from the
scholar Gun:aratna mentions a revision of the S:as:t:itantra, he
Vedic sacrificial tradition which have been fully articulated
is presumably referring to a work of the Sa¯m:khya school. Ap-
in the anti-Vedic ´sraman:ic traditions, such as that of the
parently, just as Sa¯m:khya and Yoga originally were names for
Buddhists. In fact, Yoga was a practice of breathing, medita-
teachings and only later became the designations of the
tion, and postures used by a variety of religious traditions,
schools, so also s:as:t:itantra was likely first a name for a system
yet not identified by any one in particular. Thus Yoga often
of teachings and only later a title of a work.
existed alongside the newly formulated ideas that constituted
As the name indicates, s:as:t:itantra refers to “sixty topics”
the beginnings of the Sa¯m:khya teachings. Since both,
of a system. These topics are the ten basic topics characteriz-
Sa¯m:khya and Yoga, were some of the most extensively artic-
ing the two entities (contentless consciousness and materiali-
ulated teachings of the time, both found acceptance. The
ty) and the fifty categories mentioned above as intellectual
tendency toward interrelatedness of Sa¯m:khya and Yoga was
creations. The date and authorship of the S:as:t:itantra, either
reflected in such works as the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ (most promi-
the original or the revised work, are difficult to verify. Esti-
nently in the second chapter) and the Moks:adharma, both
mated dates range between the first and fourth centuries CE.
of which are parts of the great epic the Maha¯bha¯rata (com-
Authorship is attributed variously to Pañca´sikha or Vr:s:agan:a
piled in the period between the last centuries BCE and the
or sometimes to the founder of the Sa¯m:khya school, Kapila.
first centuries CE). The adoption of Yoga in varied environ-
ments is echoed by Sa¯m:khya in that that the Sa¯m:khya doc-
The list of Sa¯m:khya teachers points to a rich intellectual
trines became a substratum to many intellectual endeavors
heritage; unfortunately, none of their works has survived.
since the Upanis:adic times for about one and half millenni-
One of these teachers, Vindhyava¯sin, won a reputation as an
um. It can be said that where the Vedic tradition could not
ardent opponent of the Buddhists. He is also renowned for
support new ideological developments, it was Sa¯m:khya
his statement that the mind is the sole instrument of the cog-
which paralleled as an alternative system to provide a base
nitive processes, as opposed to the assertion of the main-
to intellectual activity. This substratum is evident in the
stream Sa¯m:khya school that cognitive processes result from
medical treatises, such as Caraka Sam:hita¯ as well as in aes-
the internal instruments of intellect, ego, and mind.
thetic compendia, such as the Bha¯rat¯ıya Na¯t:ya´sa¯stra, not to
Vindhyava¯sin thus expressed the understanding of the Yoga
omit later the Tantra movement where Sa¯m:khya tenets pro-
school, that is, the idea of only one internal instrument, the
vided the ontological, metaphysical, and ethical basis.
mind. Another Sa¯m:khya teacher, Madhava, diverged from
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SA¯M
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the mainstream of the Sa¯m:khya school by interpreting the
tieth-century commentaries, the one of Ba¯lara¯ma Uda¯s¯ına
three constituents in terms of atoms, quite likely under the
on the Sa¯m:khyatattvakaumud¯ı called Vidvattos:in:¯ı is consid-
influence of the Vai´ses:ika school.
ered by the traditional scholars of India to be a fresh and
lucid explanation of the Sa¯m:khya teachings. The twentieth-
LITERATURE. The first extant independent written work of
century Sa¯m:khya ascetic and teacher Harihara¯nanda A¯ran:ya
the Sa¯m:khya school is the Sa¯m:khyaka¯rika¯ of ¯I´svarakr:s:n:a.
followed the example of the old teachers: he spent most of
This work has been variously dated but will be best placed
his life meditating in solitude, only occasionally emerging to
at c. 500 CE. The Sa¯m:khyaka¯rika¯ is a sort of codification of
teach or to write such works as The Sa¯m:khyasu¯tras of
the Sa¯m:khya teachings; it deals with the various patterns of
Pañca´sikha and The Sa¯m:khyatattva¯loka. Finally, the late Pan-
enumeration and sets forth the purpose of the teaching, that
dit Ram Shankar Bhattacharya, a Sa¯m:khya teacher and
is, liberation through discrimination between contentless
scholar, has reedited significant old Sa¯m:khya works and con-
consciousness and materiality. This work marked the
tributed articles to various journals.
Sa¯m:khya school with a philosophical emphasis because its
goal, which can be described as religious experience, is ac-
SEE ALSO Indian Philosophies; Yoga.
complished through a cognitive process employing logic and
epistemology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A number of commentaries were written about this clas-
The most comprehensive work on the Sa¯m:khya school is
sic work over subsequent centuries: the Suvarnasaptati (pre-
Sa¯m:khya: A Dualist Tradition in Indian Philosophy, edited by
served in the Chinese translation of Paramartha),
Gerald J. Larson and Ram Shankar Bhattacharya (Princeton
Sa¯m:khyavr:tti, Sa¯m:khyasaptativr:tti, Gaud:apa¯dabha¯s:ya, Ma¯t:-
and Delhi, 1987), a volume in the Encyclopedia of Indian
haravr:tti, Jayamangala¯, Yuktid¯ıpika¯, and Sa¯m:khyatat-
Philosophies, edited by Karl H. Potter. It has a detailed and
up-to-date introduction to the different theories of the
tvakaumud¯ı. With the exception of the Yuktid¯ıpika¯ and the
Sa¯m:khya school; the larger part of the volume is given to the
Sa¯m:khyatattvakaumud¯ı, the commentaries are mostly re-
summaries of the Sa¯m:khya works from early to modern
phrasings and glossings on the mnemonic verses of the
times. The volume is a result of collaboration of Indian and
Sa¯m:khyaka¯rika¯.
Western scholars. Gerald J. Larson’s Classical Sa¯m:khya: An
Interpretation of Its History and Meaning
, 2d ed. (Santa Bar-
The Yuktid¯ıpika¯, which was made available in its first
bara, 1979) traces the origins of the school and also supplies
published edition in 1938, is the main source of information
the Sanskrit text of the Sa¯m:khyaka¯rika¯ with an English trans-
on many aspects of the Sa¯m:khya teachings that have not
lation. The second edition differs from the first (Delhi,
been accessible otherwise. The Yuktid¯ıpika¯’s date and au-
1969) by a few additions to the original body of chapters.
thorship are unclear. Moreover, Albrecht Wezler has shown
Michael Hulin’s slim volume Sa¯m:khya Literature, in A Histo-
that it contains two types of commentaries. One commen-
ry of Indian Literature, edited by Jan Gonda, vol. 6, fasc. 3
tary, the Ra¯java¯rttika, is written in concise nominal state-
(Wiesbaden, 1978), gives a survey of the Sa¯m:khya writings.
ments (va¯rttika); the other is a commentary on these concise
A lucid presentation of Sa¯m:khya theory appears in Suren-
statements rather than on the Sa¯m:khyaka¯rika¯ itself. Thus it
dranath Dasgupta’s A History of Indian Philosophy, vol. 1
will be necessary to determine the dates and authors of
(Cambridge, 1922), although his understanding is influ-
the Ra¯java¯rttika and the Yuktid¯ıpika¯, respectively. The
enced by the medieval teacher Vijñanabhiks:u, whose inter-
pretation of the Sa¯m:khya is tinged in turn by Veda¯nta theo-
Yuktid¯ıpika¯ proper deals with philosophical issues of the
ry. A readable and thorough history of the Sa¯m:khya school
Sa¯m:khya school in an argumentative style. The author pres-
is in Erich Frauwallner’s Geschichte der Indischen Philosophie,
ents a series of challenges posed by opponents (primarily
vol. 1 (Salzburg, 1953), translated by V. M. Bedekar as His-
Buddhist) and uses them to explain and prove the Sa¯m:khya
tory of Indian Philosophy, vol. 1 (Delhi, 1973). One of the
position.
earlier works of good scholarship, but somewhat outdated,
is Arthur Berriedale Keith’s The Sa¯m:khya System, 2d ed.
The Sa¯m:khyatattvakaumud¯ı, a commentary written by
(Calcutta, 1949). On the historical origins, see E. H. John-
Va¯caspati Mi´sra I (c. eighth to ninth century CE), was the
ston’s Early Sa¯m:khya: An Essay on Its Historical Development
most important commentary on the Sa¯m:khyaka¯rika¯ before
according to the Texts (1937; reprint, Delhi, 1974).
the discovery of the Yuktid¯ıpika¯. After this, there was no sig-
New Sources
nificant work until the sixteenth century, when the Sa¯m:khya
Connolly, Peter. Vitalistic Thought in India: A Study of the Prana
teacher Vijña¯nabhiks:u wrote the Sa¯m:khyapravacanabha¯s:ya
Concept in Vedic Literature and Its Development in the Vedan-
and the Sa¯m:khyasa¯ra. The Sa¯m:khyapravacanabha¯s:ya is a
ta, Samkhya and Pancaratra Traditions. Columbia, Mo.,
commentary on the Sa¯m:khyasu¯tra. Vijña¯nabhiks:u’s interpre-
2003.
tation of the Sa¯m:khya teachings was influenced by the
Gopla, Lallanji. Retrieving Samkhya History: An Ascent from Dawn
Veda¯nta school, at that time the most widespread philosoph-
to Meridian. New Delhi, 2000.
ical school. This work represents the fusion of Sa¯m:khya and
Jacobsen, Knut A. Prakrti in Samkhya-Yoga: Material Principle,
Yoga.
Religious Experience, Ethical Implications. Delhi, 2002.
The Sa¯m:khya teachers continued into modern times to
Kesavan Nampoothiri. The Concept of Apovarga in Samkhya Phi-
write commentaries on earlier Sa¯m:khya works. Of the twen-
losophy. Delhi, 1990.
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SAM
: NYA¯SA
8093
Larson, Gerald James. Classical Samkhya: An Interpretation of Its
ideal rules presented in the textual traditions. Renouncers are
History and Meaning. Delhi, 2001.
homeless. Except for the four months of the rainy season
Perrett, Roy W. “Computationality, Mind and Value: The Case
(June through September), they are required to wander con-
of Samkhya Yoga.” Asian Philosophy 11 (March 2001): 5–15.
stantly. Their ideal residence is the foot of a tree. Renouncers
Weerasinghe, S. G. M. The Samkhya Philosphy: A Critical Evalua-
shave their heads and either go naked or wear an ocher robe.
tion of Its Origins and Development. Delhi, 1993.
They practice celibacy and poverty, obtaining their food and
the other few necessities of life by begging. Several terms for
EDELTRAUD HARZER (1987 AND 2005)
a renouncer, such as parivra¯jaka (“wanderer”) and bhiks:u
(“mendicant”), reflect these aspects of his life. All these fea-
tures, moreover, need to be understood not merely as ascetic
SAM:NYA¯SA. The Sanskrit term sam:nya¯sa commonly
practices but as symbolic rejections of social customs and in-
means “renunciation of the world.” It refers both to the ini-
stitutions. A significant feature of the renouncers’ style of life
tiatory rite at which a renouncer (sam:nya¯sin) formally breaks
is the abandonment of fire. It symbolizes their separation
all his ties with society and to the way of life into which he
from Vedic society and religion, and in a special way their
is so initiated. The term is absent from the Vedic texts and
rejection of the Vedic sacrifice. Though it is present in all
from the Buddhist and Jain literature. It is used exclusively
renouncer traditions, the abandonment of fire occupies a
in the Brahmanic tradition and the Hindu sectarian tradi-
central position in Brahmanic renunciation, which is often
tions deriving from the medieval period; it refers to renuncia-
defined as the abandonment of all ritual actions. The absence
tion as practiced only within these traditions. The word en-
of fire gave rise to two other customs. Unable to cook for
tered the Brahmanic vocabulary probably around the second
themselves, renouncers beg cooked food daily. After death
century BCE.
they are not cremated like other people but are buried either
R
on land or in water, for cremation is performed with the sa-
ENUNCIATION AND BRAHMANISM. There is no consensus
among scholars regarding the origin of world renunciation
cred fires of the deceased and constitutes his last sacrifice
in India. Given the fragmentary nature of the evidence, this
(antyes:t:i). The greatest transformation of renunciation oc-
is an issue that is likely to remain unresolved. Recent scholar-
curred in early Buddhism with the establishment of perma-
ship, however, has shown that the claim once made that the
nent monastic communities and the consequent abandon-
renunciatory ideal originated exclusively among the non-
ment of the itinerant lifestyle. Monastic orders were not
Brahmanic or even the non-Aryan population is unfounded.
organized within Brahmanism until a much later period. The
The earliest available evidence shows that by the sixth centu-
best known among them is the Order of Ten Names
ry
(Da´sana¯mis), reputedly founded by the Advaita philosopher
BCE the institution of world renunciation formed an im-
portant part of the entire spectrum of religious traditions and
S´an˙kara (788–820 CE). In spite of the reality of settled mo-
sects of North India, including Brahmanism. Renunciation,
nastic living, however, it was never accepted either as law or
nevertheless, questioned the value of major Brahmanic insti-
as ideal. The rule of homeless wandering was maintained at
tutions such as marriage, sacrificial rites, and the social hier-
least theoretically both within and outside Brahmanism. Al-
archy of castes. Because it proclaimed the path of renuncia-
though lower goals, such as attaining a heavenly world, are
tion, divorced from ritual and society, as the acme of
often mentioned, liberation (moks:a) from the constant cycle
religious life, the way of renunciation posed a special chal-
of births and deaths (sam:sa¯ra) is considered the goal of re-
lenge to the society-centered Vedic religion, which recog-
nunciation. Many sects regard it as a precondition for libera-
nized only one socioreligious role for adult men, that of the
tion. Sam:nya¯sa, therefore, is often referred to as moks:a¯´srama
married householder with his social, procreative, and ritual
or simply as moks:a. Brahmanism establishes a hierarchy
obligations. The Brahmanic tradition, however, has always
among renouncers based on the degree of their removal from
demonstrated the ability to absorb the new without discard-
the world and from social norms. The lowest is called a
ing the old. Attempts were made to find theoretical legitima-
kut:¯ıcaka. He lives a life of retirement in a hut and receives
tions for the lifestyles of both the renouncer and the house-
food from his children. The next is a bahu¯daka, who begs
holder, the most significant of which was the system of the
for food and adopts a wandering life. A ham:sa carries a single
four a¯´sramas (orders of life). Renunciation was sometimes
staff, and is thus distinguished from the first two, who carry
redefined to accommodate life in society. The devotional tra-
three staffs tied together. The fourth and highest type of re-
ditions (bhakti), for example, considered true renunciation
nouncer is a paramaham:sa. He breaks all social ties, discard-
to be the inner quality of detachment from the world and
ing the sacrificial thread and the tuft of hair on the crown,
from the results of one’s actions rather than the physical sep-
the two basic symbols of his former ritual and social status.
aration from society. Some of these traditions defined renun-
INITIATION. All renouncer sects devised some form of initia-
ciation as surrender to God. Despite such efforts at synthesis,
tion, and Brahmanism was no exception. In fact, one of the
a tension between these two ideals has continued to exist
earliest usages of the term sam:nya¯sa was with reference to the
within Brahmanism.
Brahmanic rite of renunciation. No uniform rite, however,
LIFESTYLE AND GOAL. The main features of the renunciant
evolved within Brahmanism, and even the medieval hand-
life are substantially the same in all sects at least within the
books give different versions. On the major features, never-
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SAM
: NYA¯SA
theless, there is agreement. The rite takes two days, although
moreover, cannot take part in legal transactions and are re-
most of the major ceremonies are performed on the second.
leased from previous contractual obligations and debts. They
On the first day the candidate performs nine oblations for
are not even permitted to appear as witnesses in a court of
the dead (S´ra¯ddha), the last of which he offers for himself.
law. Renunciation is considered an irreversible state, both rit-
The following day he performs his last sacrifice and gives
ually and socially. A renouncer who reverts to lay life
away all his worldly goods. He then symbolically deposits his
(a¯ru¯d:hapatita) becomes an outcaste (ca¯n:d:a¯la) and is excluded
sacred fires within himself by inhaling their smoke, burns his
from all ritual and social contact.
sacrificial utensils, and extinguishes his sacred fires. The
CONCLUSION. Renunciation was one of the most significant
abandonment of fire and ritual is interpreted as an internal-
developments in the history of Indian religions. It influenced
ization; a renouncer carries the fires within himself in the
the post-Vedic worldview based on the central concepts of
form of his breaths (pra¯n:a) and offers an internal sacrifice in
sam:sa¯ra and moks:a. The founders of almost all major Indian
these fires every time he eats. He then utters three times the
religions and sects were renouncers. The mentality of the re-
Praisa, or renunciatory formula: “I have renounced”
nouncer influenced even the religious life and the value sys-
(“Sam:nyastam: maya¯”), and gives the “gift of safety”
tem of people within society. The society-centered and the
(abhayada¯na) to all creatures with the promise never to injure
world-renouncing ideologies represented by the householder
any living being. He is now a renouncer. He ceremonially
and the sam:nya¯sin continued to exist side by side within
takes the requisites of a renouncer, such as staff and begging
Brahmanism. As Dumont (1960) observes, “The secret of
bowl, the emblems of his new state (yatilin˙ga).
Hinduism may be found in the dialogue between the re-
QUALIFICATION. The rite of renunciation results in the ritual
nouncer and the man-in-the-world” (pp. 36–37). Hinduism
abandonment of all rites. Paradoxical as this seems, it en-
in general and Brahmanism in particular cannot be under-
abled the socioritual norms of Brahmanism to control the
stood adequately if the researcher ignores either of these two
entry into the very state that aims at transcending them. The
poles and their interaction.
question of qualification precedes any discussion of a ritual
action, including the rite of renunciation. Only the three
SEE ALSO Bhakti; Moks:a; Monasticism, article on Buddhist
Monasticism; Rites of Passage, article on Hindu Rites;
twice-born classes (varn:as) are qualified to perform rites, and,
S´aivism, articles on Ka¯pa¯likas, Pa¯´supatas; Sam:sa¯ra.
therefore, to renounce. Opinion, however, is sharply divided
as to whether only brahmans or all three upper classes are so
qualified. A person, moreover, has to pass through the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
a¯´sramas of student, householder, and forest hermit before re-
Dumont, Louis. “World Renunciation in Indian Religions.” Con-
nouncing, although with the obsolescence of the hermit’s
tributions to Indian Sociology 4 (1960): 33–62. A seminal
study on the role of renunciation in the historical develop-
state this rule was interpreted to mean that a person should
ment of religion in India.
be free from the three debts incurred at birth, namely Vedic
study, sacrifice, and procreation, which are paid by fulfilling
Ghurye, G. S. Indian Sadhus. 2d ed. Bombay, 1964. Somewhat
outdated, but still the most comprehensive account of the as-
the obligations of the first two a¯´sramas. One view, however,
cetical sects within Hinduism.
holds that these provisions apply only to ordinary people;
one who is totally detached from the world may renounce
Heesterman, Jan C. “Brahmin, Ritual and Renouncer.” Wiener
immediately. The position of women is also ambiguous. Or-
Zeitschrift für die Kunde Süd- und Ostasiens 8 (1964): 1–31.
Attempts to demonstrate that renunciation was the logical
ders of nuns exist in Buddhism, in Jainism, and in some me-
outcome of the inner dynamic of Brahmanism.
dieval Hindu sects. Female renouncers are referred to fre-
quently in Sanskrit literature, and their position is recognized
Kane, Pandurang Vaman. History of Dharmasastra, vol. 2. 2d ed.,
rev. & enl. Poona, 1974. Part 2, pp. 930–975, provides the
in Hindu law. Brahmanic authorities generally deny the le-
most comprehensive account of sam:nya¯sa in the Dharma-
gitimacy of female renunciation, although occasionally dis-
sastra literature.
senting voices are heard in this regard.
Miller, David M., and Dorothy C. Wertz. Hindu Monastic Life:
RITUAL AND LEGAL EFFECTS. The renunciatory rite is re-
The Monks and Monasteries of Bhubaneswar. Montreal, 1976.
garded as the ritual death of the renouncer. Although dead,
A good description of Hindu monks and monasteries in a
he is nevertheless visibly present among the living and occu-
major monastic center in modern India.
pies an ambivalent position within Brahmanism. He is ex-
Olivelle, Patrick. “Contributions to the Semantic Development of
cluded from all ritual acts. His status as far as ritual purity
Sam:nya¯sa,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 101
is concerned is unclear. Although theologically he is often
(1981): 265–274. The only study on the early uses of the
considered the acme of purity, within ritual contexts his pres-
term sam:nya¯sa.
ence is feared as a cause of impurity. In Hindu law, the re-
Olivelle, Patrick. Sam:nya¯sa Upanis:ads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceti-
nouncer’s ritual death constitutes also his civil death. The re-
cism and Renunciation. New York, 1992.
nunciation of the father, like his physical death, is the
Olivelle, Patrick, ed. and trans. Vasudevasrama Yatidharmapraka-
occasion for the succession of his heirs. It also dissolves his
sa. 2 vols. Delhi and Vienna, 1976–1977. A medieval hand-
marriage, and some authorities, such as the Na¯radasmr:ti
book that shows how renunciation was understood and prac-
(12.97), would permit his wife to remarry. Renouncers,
ticed within Brahmanism.
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SAMOYED RELIGION
8095
Sharma, Har Dutt. Contributions to the History of Brahmanical As-
Samoyed traditional culture is based primarily on hunt-
ceticism (Sam:nya¯sa). Poona, 1939. An early but still useful
ing for fur-bearing animals, gathering, fishing, and reindeer
study based on the law books and the Sam:nya¯sa Upanis:ads.
breeding. Collectivization was introduced into the Samoyed
Sprockhoff, Joachim Friedrich. Sam:nya¯sa: Quellenstudien zur As-
economy by the Soviet government in the 1920s.
kese im Hinduismus. Wiesbaden, 1976. A detailed examina-
tion of the Sam:nya¯sa Upanis:ads. The best overall study of
THE SPIRIT WORLD. The principal Nentsy deity is Num,
Brahmanic renunciation.
the creator of the world, of human beings, and of inanimate
objects. His role is ambiguous: in general he distances him-
PATRICK OLIVELLE (1987 AND 2005)
self from human beings and abstains from interference in
their affairs except when they call on him explicitly for help
in the struggle against Nga, the god of evil, death, and hell.
SAMOYED RELIGION. The Samoyeds are the in-
In Nenets religion, Nga is Num’s son, but this father-son du-
digenous peoples of the tundra, taiga and mountainous terri-
ality is not found among other Samoyed groups, in which
tories in northern Eurasia who speak a systematically related
the high benevolent gods and their opposites are considered
set of languages. Most live in western Siberia, in the region
to be independent of one another. Sacrifices are made to
extending from the Yamal and Taimyr peninsulas at the Arc-
Num twice a year, at the beginning of winter and again in
tic Ocean in the north along the waterways of the Yenisei
the spring. These sacrifices are either bloody, involving the
River to the Sayan Mountains in the south; a few live in
killing of dogs or reindeer; or bloodless, involving the offer-
northeasternmost Europe on the Kola Peninsula and near the
ing of money, clothing, and food.
Pechora River. As a linguistic group, Samoyed is related to
Another inhabitant of the spirit world is Ilibemberti; in
Finno-Ugric; together they form the Uralic language family.
Nenets religion he is reported variously as a spirit who grants
Currently numbering about thirty-five thousand, the
good fortune in the pursuit of reindeer and foxes and alter-
Samoyed peoples are broadly divided into the northern Sam-
nately as a protector of reindeer. He does not have the status
oyeds and the southern Samoyeds. Northern Samoyed
of a god, which is reserved for Num and Nga. Freely translat-
groups include the Nentsy (also called the Yurak Samoyeds
ed, the name Ilibemberti means “the spirit that gives riches
or the Yuraks), who, with approximately thirty thousand
or sustenance (in reindeer or game).” The significance of this
members, are by far the largest Samoyed group, extending
supernatural personality lies in the fact that Ilibemberti is in-
their territory from the Kola Peninsula crossing the Urals and
volved in the concrete here and now, and is as such opposed
over the Yamal Peninsnula to the Yenisei; the Nganasani (or
to Num, the highest god and creator, who is shapeless and
Tavgi), with about 800–1000 members at the Taimyr Penin-
transcends time. The Samoyeds also recognize an earth
sula; and the Entsy (or Yenisei Samoyeds), with about 200–
mother deity who is sympathetic to humans, especially to
400 members. Of the southern Samoyeds, only one group
women in childbirth.
survives, the Selkup (formerly called the Ostiak Samoyeds),
with some 3,500 members.
The Nentsy are reported to worship stones and rocks.
Properly speaking, this finding means that certain mountains
Some extinct southern Samoyed groups, such as the Ka-
and rocks, as well as some rivers and lakes, were considered
massians, the Koibal, the Motor, and the Taigi are now
to have individual spirits deserving reverence. The Nganasani
known only from notes and records made by such scholars
are said to have believed that some artifacts of human manu-
as M. A. Castrén and Kai Donner. The Kamas language be-
facture could understand human language. The Nganasani
came extinct in 1991 with the death of its last speaker and
grouped supernatural beings into a hierarchy of three classes:
singer, Klaudia Plotnikova, who lived in Krasnoyarsk on the
benevolent master spirits associated with fire, water, forests,
Yenisei River.
hunting, and fishing; evil anthropomorphic spirits; and the
Before the formation of the present Samoyed languages
shaman’s auxiliary spirits, who were mostly zoomorphic.
and groups, a proto-Samoyed group presumably existed
Among the Selkup, the master spirits were sometimes con-
some 3,500 years ago, when it seceded from the larger proto-
sidered repositories of good fortune. In general, the spirits
Uralic parent group.
were regarded as intermediaries between Num and humans,
and as being in contact with shamans. Each person was
The neighbors of the Samoyed are, or have been in the
thought to have a corresponding star in the heavens—a belief
course of history, the Khanty and the Komi at the Ob River,
that brings people closer to Num than Num’s disinterested
the Sami and the Komi on the Kola Peninsula (Finno-Ugric
attitude mentioned earlier would suggest.
peoples), various Siberian Turkic peoples, the Evenki (a
Tunguz people), the Ket (sometimes classified as a Paleosi-
SAMOYED RITUALS. Besides the cyclic sacrifices to Num
berian group), and most recently the Russians. After the
mentioned above, other sacrifices are made at specific sacred
colonialization of the Soviet period from the 1920s and the
sites, where wooden or stone representations of certain spirits
intensive gas production of the 1960s, the Samoyeds had
are erected. Among the Selkup these sites are phratrilocal. Of
the whole multitude of peoples from the former Soviet
the rites of passage celebrated by the Samoyed groups, the
Union as their neighbors.
most important are the shaman’s initiation, rites after child-
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8096
SAMOYED RELIGION
birth that primarily involve purification of the tent, and ritu-
other societies in the long shamanistic belt that stretches geo-
al ceremonies for the dead.
graphically over northern Eurasia from Scandinavian Lap-
land to the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Nganasan concept of
It is believed that the dead continue to live as shadow
a shaman, öt, was later replaced by the non-Nganasan term
souls—varieties of lower spirits—in the underworld. Among
cacäpä. According to Janhunen (2004), cacäpä is a noun de-
the Entsy, the deceased person is left in the tent, wrapped
rived from the otherwise unattested verbal stem cacä- and
in hides for a number of days, while family life continues un-
possibly refers to the act of shamanizing. The shaman has
changed. After a sacrifice involving bread placed in a pot
been the prime religious functionary in various Samoyed cul-
with a lid, brick tea, and some of the belongings of the de-
tures. He mediates between human beings and the supernat-
ceased, the corpse is transported to the burial site and placed
ural: he treats the ailing (disease is considered the temporary
in a coffin constructed with iron nails, with the corpse’s feet
absence of the soul from the body); predicts the future; sum-
pointing north. Before the coffin is lowered into the freshly
mons protection and help in hunting and fishing; finds ob-
dug grave, it is loaded with the gifts that have been prepared
jects that have disappeared; and officiates at funeral rites. The
earlier, as well as with utensils used in the processing of ani-
shamans are ranked in native concepts in accordance with
mal hides. The nearest surviving relative chants laments.
their expertise and skills. There are three categories of Nenets
Later, sticks are placed over the footprints leading to the
shamans: the most powerful, who can work miracles on all
burial site while the mourning party, pointing to the north,
three levels of the Samoyed universe; an intermediate class;
exhorts the deceased not to return.
and “small” or lesser shamans. (There is also a class of sooth-
The Nentsy also deposit a dead man’s broken sledge
sayers, but these are not, properly speaking, shamans. They
near his grave and slaughter reindeer on the occasion of the
have no shamanic power, but even natives often confuse
funeral ritual. Infants who die soon after birth are wrapped
them with shamans.)
in bundles and suspended from trees or poles. After the death
of an adult male, his wife makes a wooden amulet or doll-
The shaman’s office is passed down from one generation
effigy in the shape of her husband; she clothes and feeds it,
to the next along clan lines as well as on a spiritual basis. Tra-
and sleeps with it for six months after his death; she may not
ditionally, each kin group (clan or phratry) had its own sha-
remarry during this period. Among some groups this amulet
man who tried to transmit his office to a successor in a tradi-
is kept for three years. Amulets are generally kept on a spe-
tional ritual of instruction and initiation, usually during his
cially designated shelf in the rear part of the tent, which is
own lifetime. The shamanic séance was a collective act led
considered sacred.
by the shaman, who was usually a male, although he was
often accompanied by his wife or another elderly woman
Specialized rites among the Samoyeds include tent-
who led the singing and fed the spirits with whom he com-
cleaning ceremonies (in February among the Nganasani).
municated. Female shamans, however, are said to have exist-
Among the Nentsy, loon skins are burned to ensure good
ed among the Samoyed of the Turukhan area in the south.
weather, or locks of someone’s hair or clippings of his finger-
nails are burned in order to cause that person misfortune.
Reports on the Samoyed shaman’s initiation vary. Es-
sentially, the shaman-to-be—who might be a boy of fif-
RELATIONS BETWEEN HUMAN BEINGS AND ANIMALS. Only
teen—is selected and trained by an older kinsman. Training
one animal is expressly singled out as evil among the Samo-
may involve such ordeals as blindfolding and beating, and
yed: the wolf, which is the reindeer’s most dangerous foe.
the candidate may declare that he has had dreams in which
Some fish, such as the pike, are revered. The reindeer is re-
he has traveled to distant forests and settlements or commu-
garded as a pure animal; white reindeer, in particular, are as-
nicated with supernatural beings. It is believed that during
sociated with the sun and considered sacred. As elsewhere in
the process of selecting a new shaman all of the ancestor-
Siberia, the bear is accorded special respect. Bear meat must
shamans’ spirits, as well as such other spirits as those of water
be chewed in a prescribed manner and may not be consumed
and earth, are present. These spirits are asked to assist the
at all by women. Women are also forbidden to eat the heads
candidate in his future office.
of reindeer or of certain fish, such as pike or raw sturgeon.
The shaman officiates during a séance when, as one of
Certain Samoyed clans associate their origins or ances-
them has reported, he sees “a road to the north.” Another
tors with specific clan-protector spirits envisaged as animals.
report equates the séance with a trip to the south. The sha-
Such beliefs are usually defined by historians of religion as
man is accompanied by his assistant spirits during the jour-
totemistic. These beliefs govern specific attitudes and behav-
ney; his locomotion is provided by an animal, generally a
ior patterns (especially taboos) in regard to particular ani-
reindeer. During the séance, the shaman addresses questions
mals. As has already been implied, many taboos were tradi-
to Num, and if contact is established, he reports Num’s an-
tionally engendered by attitudes toward women. Because
swers. His primary accessories are his drum—round, broad-
women were considered unclean, they were forbidden to step
rimmed, covered with skin on one side, from thirty to fifty
over hunting equipment.
centimeters in diameter—and his drumstick. The noise that
SHAMANHOOD. Broadly speaking, the Samoyed shaman’s
results from the drumming represents both the voyage to the
functions and roles in society are quite similar to those in
other world and the shaman’s interaction with Num and his
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SAM
: SA¯RA
8097
assistants. During the séance the shaman’s eyes may be cov-
Nganasan Shaman from Taimyr District, with his wife
ered with a kerchief so that he may concentrate on the jour-
Valentina Kosterkina, were recorded and studied by Lennart
ney more effectively.
Meri, the President of Estonia from 1991 to 2003, Eugene
A. Helimski, and other scholars.
Shamans’ costumes have survived among most Samoyed
groups, although not among the Nentsy. Nganasan shamans
SEE ALSO Castrén, Matthias Alexander; Donner, Kai; Finn-
each have three costumes because it is believed that shamans
ish Religions; Num; Shamanism, overview article; Taboo;
are born three times. The name of the Selkup shaman’s head-
Totemism.
gear is said to have been borrowed from the Tunguz; this fact
suggests relatively recent cultural contacts in the sphere of re-
ligion. It is also known that Nenets shamans occasionally
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Concrete factual information, much of it based on the field experi-
visit Evenk shamans.
ences of some of the authors, can be found in three collective
Payments for the services of a shaman range from a pair
works: Popular Beliefs and Folklore Tradition in Siberia, ed-
of mittens to a deerskin or several reindeer. If a shaman’s suc-
ited by Vilmos Diószegi (The Hague, Netherlands, 1968),
cessor has already been chosen at the time of his death, the
Shamanism in Siberia, edited by Vilmos Diószegi and Mihály
Hoppál (Budapest, Hungary, 1978), and Shamanism in Eur-
shaman is buried in his everyday clothes. After the death of
asia, 2 vols., edited by Mihály Hoppál (Göttingen, Germany,
a Nenets shaman, a wooden replica of a reindeer is made and
1984). Compact synopses are provided in Péter Hajdú’s The
is wrapped in the hide of a reindeer calf; the reindeer repre-
Samoyed Peoples and Languages (Bloomington, Ind., 1963)
sents the shaman’s assistant spirits.
and in The Peoples of Siberia, edited by M. G. Levin and
L. P. Potapov (Chicago, 1964). Kai Donner’s Among the
SAMOYED RELIGION IN TRANSITION. The Russians, in their
Samoyed in Siberia, translated by Rinehart Kyler and edited
expansion toward the east, reached the Yenisei River in 1603
by Genevieve A. Highland (New Haven, Conn., 1954), is a
and brought about a gradual revolution in the economic and
record of personal experiences and observations, while Toivo
spiritual life of the Samoyeds. Although there was planned
Lehtisalo’s Entwurf einer Mythologie der Jurak-Samojeden
missionary activity, it was superficial. Samoyed Christianity
(Helsinki, 1924) is a synthesis based on both older sources
was quite nominal, and autochthonous beliefs survived.
and personally collected data. Ivar Paulson’s chapter on Sibe-
Contact with Europeans brought the Samoyeds new weap-
ria in Die Religionen Nordeurasiens und der amerikanischen
ons, tools, and goods in exchange for furs, but it also intro-
Arktis, edited by Ivar Paulson, A˚ke Hultkrantz, and Karl Jett-
duced alcohol, syphilis, and smallpox. Thus the Samoyeds
mar (Stuttgart, Germany, 1962), is thematically arranged, as
developed an ambiguous relationship with the Europeans.
is Uno Holmberg’s treatment in The Mythology of All Races,
vol. 4, Finno-Ugric, Siberian (Boston, 1927). Of Marie A.
Although in one sense traditional religion was weakened, in
Czaplicka’s contributions to this field of study, two deserve
another it was strengthened because it served as a rallying
to be singled out, although by now they have mostly histori-
point for ethnic self-awareness and survival. This contradic-
cal value: Aboriginal Siberia (Oxford, 1914) and the article
tion is inherent in the general cultural history of Siberia’s na-
“Samoyed,” in the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, edited
tive populations.
by James Hastings, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1920). The most re-
cent studies written by Eugene Helimski, Jarkko Niemi,
A second radical change came with the Russian Revolu-
Timo Leisiö, and others have been published in Juha Penti-
tion of 1917, but even this change preserved and perpetuated
käinen’s collections: Shamanism and Northern Ecology (Berlin
the older contradiction in a new garb. On the one hand, the
and New York, 1996); Shamanhood–Symbolism and Epic
ideology of the new Soviet regime dictated a protective atti-
(Budapest, Hungary, 2001); and Shamanhood, An Endan-
tude toward the natives, guaranteeing the right of tribal self-
gered Language (Oslo, Norway, 2004).
assertion, which had been inhibited or stifled during tsarist
ROBERT AUSTERLITZ (1987)
rule. Thus the Nenets and Selkup languages were systemati-
JUHA PENTIKÄINEN (2005)
cally reduced to writing for practical everyday purposes after
1917. An institute for the study of the peoples of the North
was founded in Leningrad and provided higher education for
young natives. On the other hand, the new government was
SAM:SA¯RA is a Sanskrit word meaning “to wander or pass
explicitly committed to atheism and therefore to the destruc-
through a series of states or conditions.” It is the name for
tion of the social apparatus that underlay the native religion.
the theory of rebirth in the three major indigenous Indian
The natives were again caught in the proverbial middle.
religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Sam:sa¯ra is the
This ambiguous situation has continued, with one or
beginningless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, a process im-
the other tendency prevailing at a particular point in time.
pelled by karman. Taken together, Sam:sa¯ra and karman pro-
During the last quarter of the twentieth century, Soviet eth-
vide Indian religions with both a causal explanation of
nographers, benefiting from a tolerant attitude on the part
human differences and an ethical theory of moral retri-
of their government, uncovered many aspects of shamanism
bution.
(such as séances, with texts and music) that had been thought
The term sam:sa¯ra is also applied to phenomenal exis-
extinct. Shamanic repertoires by Turbyaky Kosterkin, a
tence in general to indicate its transient and cyclical nature.
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SAM
: SA¯RA
Sam:sa¯ra is the conditioned and ever changing universe as
Buddhist theories of rebirth are distinguished from oth-
contrasted to an unconditioned, eternal, and transcendent
ers in that they postulate no enduring entity that moves from
state (moks:a or nirva¯n:a). In all three Indian religions, the so-
one existence to another. The problem that has exercised the
teriological goal is defined as liberation from sam:sa¯ra, that
minds of Buddhist philosophers over the ages is how to ex-
is, as release from bondage to the cycle of rebirth through
plain “transmigration” in light of the central teaching of “no-
rendering the process of karman inoperative.
self” (ana¯tman). The Pudgalava¯dins, or Personalists, came
very near to contradicting the ana¯tman doctrine with their
The origins of the theory of rebirth in India are disput-
concept of a personal entity (pudgala). Other schools posited
ed. Some scholars trace the belief to the ancient Aryan reli-
an “intermediate being” (antara bha¯va) that, impelled by
gion of fire sacrifice known as Vedism. The Vedic view that
karman, goes to the location where rebirth is to take place
a sacrificial act produces a future result is regarded as the pre-
and attaches itself at the juncture of its future parents’ sexual
cursor to the karman theory, and the Vedic notion of “re-
organs. The Therava¯dins, however, strongly denied the exis-
death” in heaven (punar mr:tyu) is seen as the forerunner of
tence of the “intermediate being,” preferring to identify con-
“return” (punar avr:tti) to new life on earth. Other scholars
sciousness with its karmic dispositions as the link between
believe that the rebirth doctrine had its origin among the
death and rebirth. There is not a transmigration of con-
non-Aryan tribal peoples of ancient India. Still others think
sciousness but only a causally connected series of discrete
it was produced by one or another of the mendicant and
moments. To illustrate this notion, Buddhist writers often
anti-Vedic groups of the ancient Gangetic regions. In any
rely on similes. The rebirth process is likened to the lighting
case, by the sixth century BCE, the time of the rise of early
of one lamp with the flame of another, the lamp representing
Buddhism and Jainism on the one hand and of the
the body and the flame standing for consciousness, or to the
Upanis:ads on the other, the theory of rebirth was nearly uni-
transformation of fresh milk to curds. The milk is not the
versally accepted. Since then all Indian religions, sects, and
same as the curds (i.e., there is no enduring essence), but the
philosophies, save only the Ca¯rva¯kas or materialists, have as-
latter are produced out of the former (as one existence is kar-
sumed the doctrine of karman and rebirth.
micly related to its predecessor).
There is no one all-embracing view of the nature of
Sam:sa¯ra, artistically represented as a “wheel of life,” is
sam:sa¯ra and the process of rebirth. Each religion has a dis-
analyzed into its twelve preconditions (the doctrine of “de-
tinctive position and within each religion there will be sectar-
pendent origination,” or prat¯ıtya samutpa¯da), which express
ian variations. Some generalities, however, may be stated. In
the Buddhist law of cause and effect and explain on what suf-
general, all traditions concur in characterizing sam:sa¯ra by
fering depends and the points at which the chain may be bro-
suffering and sorrow, as well as by impermanence. The
ken. In Therava¯da Buddhism the conditioned realm of
source of those intentional acts leading to perpetual rebirth
sam:sa¯ra is opposed to nirva¯n:a, while in Maha¯ya¯na and
is usually found in desire (and especially the desire for con-
Vajraya¯na Buddhism the two are ultimately equated, both
tinued individual existence) and in ignorance of the true na-
considered equally “empty” (´sunya) of essence.
ture of reality. One may be reincarnated in various heavens,
Jainism is centered around the belief in an originally
as a human or an animal on earth, or in hells of one sort or
pure and perfect soul (j¯ıva) that is trapped in sam:sa¯ra because
another, depending on one’s karman. Some traditions also
of the karman that accumulates on it. Karman, here regarded
claim that rebirth as an insect, a plant, or even a rock is possi-
as a kind of substance, forms itself into a “body” that is con-
ble, though obviously not desirable.
stantly attached to the soul until liberation. There are four
categories of karman responsible for the mechanism of re-
The predominant theory of Hindu traditions regards
birth. Na¯makarman determines different aspects of the fu-
the rebirth process as similar to the movement of a caterpillar
ture body, including its class (human, animal, or other) and
from one blade of grass to another. The eternal and universal
its sex. Gotrakarman produces the spiritual quality of the new
self (a¯tman) is totally unaffected by karman and rebirth. The
life. Vedan¯ıyakarman determines the pleasant or unpleasant
transmigrating entity is the individual self (j¯ıva), which is en-
tone of that life, and a¯yuh:karman its duration. Jain texts do
dowed with a “subtle body” and encumbered with karmic
not explain how the soul enters the womb but emphasize
residues that determine the direction it takes as it leaves the
that there is no interval between death and rebirth. Reincar-
body at death. There are three possible paths it may take.
nation occurs instantaneously after death as the karmic body
The “way of the gods” leads to the highest heaven, equated
conveys the soul to its predetermined destination.
with final liberation, from which there is no further rebirth.
The “way of the ancestors” leads to the moon, where the soul
Although all three religions officially declare sam:sa¯ra to
is converted to rain and brought back down to earth, where
be bondage and recommend the cultivation of knowledge in
it attaches itself to a plant. When eaten by a human or ani-
order to attain liberation from it, in practice many followers
mal, the transmigrating soul is then transformed into semen,
engage in what has been called “samsaric” forms of religion,
which subsequently brings new life to the individual self. The
that is, good works designed to procure a better birth in the
third possible course results in rebirth in hell or on earth as
next life. Gift giving, acts of devotion, vows of austerity, and
a small animal, insect, or plant.
other methods of merit making are designed not to obtain
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SAMUEL
8099
release from the cycle of rebirth but rather to achieve a better
As the primitive saga took on its biblical shape, the un-
position within it.
shorn Samson was transformed into a Nazirite, a person ded-
icated to God by vows, chief among which was abstention
SEE ALSO Karman; Moks:a; Reincarnation.
from cutting or shaving one’s hair (see Nm. 6:2–6). His story
follows the pattern of the people Israel as described in Judges:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
For a collection of recent articles on sam:sa¯ra in the three principal
bound to God by vows, enjoying the divine spirit, he broke
religions of India by leading authorities, consult Karma and
vow after vow and lost divine favor, but in a final moment
Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions, edited by Wendy
of returning to God, he regained his strength.
Doniger O’Flaherty (Berkeley, Calif., 1980). Paul Yevtic’s
Karma and Reincarnation in Hindu Religion and Philosophy
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(London, 1927) remains a useful survey. For a comparative
For a fairly comprehensive discussion of the Samson story, high-
study of the classical views on sam:sa¯ra in Hinduism and Bud-
lighting its literary elements, see James L. Crenshaw’s Sam-
dhism, see Noble Ross Reat’s “Karma and Rebirth in the
son: A Secret Betrayed, a Vow Ignored (Atlanta, 1978). A close
Upanis:ads and Buddhism,” Numen 24 (December 1977):
literary reading of the story with discussion of its literary his-
163–185.
tory is Yair Zakovitch’s The Life of Samson (Judges 13–16):
New Sources
A Critical-Literary Analysis (in Hebrew; Jerusalem, 1982).
Narayana Prasad, Muni. Karma and Reincarnation: The Vedantic
The solar interpretation of Samson is summarized by Abram
Perspective. New Delhi, 1994.
Smythe Palmer in The Samson-Saga and Its Place in Compar-
Wayman, Alex. The Vedic Gandharva and Rebirth Theory. Pune,
ative Religion (1913; reprint, New York, 1977). Hermann
1997.
Gunkel’s “Simson,” in Reden und Aufsätze (Göttingen,
1913), pp. 38–64, sees Samson as the Israelite “nature man,”
BRIAN K. SMITH (1987)
in conflict with the Philistine civilization. The parallel be-
Revised Bibliography
tween the stories of Samson and the people Israel is drawn
most extensively in my own “The Riddle of Samson,”
Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish Literary History 1 (September
SAM:SKA¯RAS SEE RITES OF PASSAGE, ARTICLE
1981): 237–260. For a folkloristic analysis, see Susan
ON HINDU RITES
Niditch’s “Samson as Culture Hero, Trickster, and Bandit:
The Empowerment of the Weak,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly
52 (1990): 608–624.
SAMSON, or, in Hebrew, Shimshon; legendary Israelite
EDWARD L. GREENSTEIN (1987 AND 2005)
hero who flourished, according to tradition, circa the twelfth
century BCE. The thirteenth to sixteenth chapters of the Book
of Judges
recount the adventurous life of Samson, a charis-
matic leader, or “judge,” of the tribe of Dan. His name,
SAMUEL (twelfth century BCE), or, in Hebrew, ShemuDel,
Shimshon, means “one of the sun.” Endowed with superhu-
was a judge and prophet of Israel. The story of Samuel’s birth
man strength, an impetuous nature, and a penchant for ver-
and the account of his youth present him as a Nazirite, dedi-
bal wit, Samson delivered the Israelites from their enemies
cated to God’s service through his mother’s vow and raised
to the west, the Philistines, in a series of personal vendettas.
in the sanctuary at Shiloh to be a priest (1 Sm. 1–2). While
While biblical traditions may have crystallized around an ac-
still a youth in this priestly service he is called to be a prophet
tual figure, the present narrative is encrusted with mythologi-
to deliver a message of judgment to the house of Eli, and in
cal (especially solar), folkloristic, and literary motifs and pat-
one scene (1 Sm. 19:18–24) he appears as the head of an ec-
terns that obscure whatever historical facts underlie the story.
static band of prophets and the protector of David in his
Samson was born to a childless Israelite couple. His
flight from Saul. The prophetic role predominates in the rest
birth was announced by a messenger from God in the man-
of the narratives about him. In addition, however, Samuel
ner of other traditional heroes. He performed a number of
is considered by the author of 1 Samuel to be a judge and
feats, all of them paralleled by such heroes of the ancient
is included in his scheme of a succession of judges—
world as the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh and the Greek Hera-
charismatic leaders—who ruled in Israel before the rise of the
kles. Samson ripped apart a lion with his bare hands, burned
monarchy (1 Sm. 7:15–17, Jgs. 2:16–19). As such Samuel is
Philistine fields by unleashing three hundred foxes with
depicted as a transitional figure, the last of the old order and
torches fastened to their tails, slew a thousand Philistines
the one who consecrates the new. This variety of roles in the
with the jawbone of an ass, and hoisted the city gates of Gaza.
tradition makes it difficult to reconstruct his historical role
He succumbed to a lust for Philistine women three times.
in early Israelite society.
The third woman, Delilah, tricked him into revealing the se-
The story of Samuel’s birth follows a common folktale
cret of his strength—his unshorn hair—and sold him to his
pattern of explaining a hero’s name and future destiny from
Philistine adversaries. In the end, blinded by his captors, he
the circumstances of his birth. Yet because the story seems
collapsed the temple of the Philistine god Dagon upon him-
to involve a wordplay upon the name Saul (see Ackroyd,
self and upon a crowd of the enemy who were taunting him
1971 and McCarter, 1980) it has often been taken as a story
and the God of Israel.
about the birth of Saul that was later transferred to Samuel.
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8100
SAMUEL THE AMORA
The difficulty with this view is that none of the story’s details
SAMUEL THE AMORA SEE SHEMUDEL THE
fits with Saul’s known origins, nor does the birth announce-
AMORA
ment presage a royal destiny. Instead, the announcement
leads directly into the account of Samuel’s youth, so that 1
Samuel
1–3 must be taken together. In this vita of Samuel’s
SANCTIFICATION SEE BLESSING; GRACE;
birth, dedication, and prophetic calling, the historian marks
JUSTIFICATION
out Samuel as one of the major figures of his history.
In 1 Samuel 7, Samuel is a spokesman of religious re-
form, calling the people to repentance. At the same time, as
SANCTUARY. As etymology suggests, a sanctuary is a
judge he saves the people from their enemies, not by feats
sacred place, a place set apart from the space of ordinary exis-
of military prowess but by intercessory prayer and sacrifice.
tence (LL, sanctuarium, from sanctus, “sacred, holy,” by anal-
When the people raise with Samuel their desire for a king
ogy with sacrarium, “shrine,” from sacer). Thus, the term im-
to replace the institution of judgeship (1 Sm. 8), the author
plies a distinction between “the sacred” and “the profane”
of the book uses the speeches of Samuel to express his own
that may not be universal; consequently, “sanctuaries” may,
feelings of ambivalence about the monarchy, both as a source
strictly speaking, be found only in a limited if significant
of social and religious sins (1 Sm. 8, 12) and as a divinely
number of religious traditions.
instituted political order (1 Sm. 10:17–27, 11:12–15).
Virtually any place can serve as a sanctuary. It is essen-
In the folktale of Saul’s search for his father’s donkeys
tial, however, that a sanctuary be marked off, that is, that the
(1 Sm. 9–10:16) Samuel is only a local seer with clairvoyant
distinction between sacred and profane be perceptibly indi-
powers. But the historian has transformed his role by adding
cated, whether by natural means (e.g., a cave) or by artificial
an account of the secret anointment of Saul by Samuel, iden-
means. The latter may range from the technologically simple
tifying him as the divinely chosen king in anticipation of his
(a ring of stones) to the technologically elaborate (ornate
later public acclamation. In a similar fashion, Samuel anoints
Buddhist stupas). In addition, the shapes that a sanctuary’s
David (1 Sm. 16:1–13) and thus assures his destiny.
construction assumes generally carry symbolic meanings ap-
Samuel is also a prophet of judgment to Saul. The scene
propriate to notions of the sacred found in the community
of Saul’s secret anointment is linked directly to an act of dis-
by which the sanctuary has been constructed. European ca-
obedience in which Samuel announces God’s rejection of
thedrals have taken the form of a cross, Mesopotamian ziggu-
Saul’s kingship in favor of another, David (1 Sm. 13:8–15;
rats represent the sacred mountain, and so on.
cf. 1 Sm. 10:8). In a second episode (1 Sm. 15), in which
But the term sanctuary usually carries one (or both) of
Samuel commands Saul to exterminate the Amalekites, Sam-
two more specific meanings, one cultic, the other social. In
uel again declares God’s rejection of Saul, this time for not
the first case, it denotes a place of worship. The place where
completely carrying out all of the prophet’s instructions; this
the sacred dwells or manifests itself becomes the place where
episode leads directly to the account of the secret anointment
human beings encounter it. Such a sanctuary may be used
of David as Saul’s replacement. This rejection scene also an-
by groups of varying size, from individual dwelling units
ticipates the final episode of Samuel’s appearance, as a ghost
(e.g., shrines in Nuer dwellings, the pu¯ja¯ room in Hindu
(1 Sm. 28), at which point rejection is reinforced and Saul’s
households) to large communities (e.g., city temples). If it
imminent death along with that of his sons is predicted.
stands separately, it may be called, somewhat ethnocentrical-
ly, a domus dei (“house of god”). Harold W. Turner isolates
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Two important studies that deal with major parts of the Samuel
four dimensions of the domus dei: It is the center with refer-
tradition are Bruce C. Birch’s The Rise of the Israelite Monar-
ence to which life is oriented, the point at which heaven and
chy: The Growth and Development of 1 Samuel 715 (Missou-
earth meet, the microcosm of the heavenly realm, and the
la, Mont., 1976) and Artur Weiser’s Samuel: Seine geschichtli-
locus of the divine presence, often signaled by a cult object
che Aufgabe und religiöse Bedeutung (Göttingen, 1962). Two
or image.
helpful commentaries are Peter R. Ackroyd’s The First Book
The sanctuary as domus dei invites a great deal of special-
of Samuel, “The Cambridge Bible Commentary” (Cam-
bridge, 1971), and P. Kyle McCarter, Jr.’s I Samuel, vol. 8
ization and elaboration. The result may be large buildings
of the Anchor Bible (Garden City, N.Y., 1980). See also my
and complexes of buildings containing areas of varying sanc-
book In Search of History: Historiography in the Ancient World
tity, including one or more sanctuaries in a more specialized
and the Origins of Biblical History (New Haven, 1983).
sense: particularly isolated areas or chambers where the sa-
New Sources
cred is most powerfully present, such as the “Holy of Holies”
Brenner, Althalya, ed. Samuel and Kings. Sheffield, U.K., 2000.
in the Jerusalem Temple or the aduton of Greek temples. Ac-
Dietrich, Walter. Samuel. Neukirchen-Vluyen, 2003.
cess to this sanctuary is limited, often to only the highest reli-
Evans, Mary J. 1 and 2 Samuel. Peabody, Mass., and Carlisle,
gious functionaries (e.g., the chief priest) at very specific, cul-
U.K., 2000.
tically significant times.
JOHN VAN SETERS (1987)
Besides the domus dei, there is another sort of religious
Revised Bibliography
sanctuary, not the place where the sacred dwells but the place
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SANHEDRIN
8101
where the religious community (itself sacred) worships. This
New Sources
type, which lacks the four dimensions of the domus dei isolat-
Evans, Nancy A. “Sanctuaries, Sacrifices and the Eleusinian Mys-
ed by Turner, may be designated by the parallel term domus
teries.” Numen: International Review for the History of Reli-
gions
49 (2002): 227–255.
ecclesiae (“house of the gathered assembly”). Its paradigmatic
form is the Jewish synagogue, on which the Muslim mosque
GREGORY D. ALLES (1987)
and various Christian houses of worship are patterned (such
Revised Bibliography
as the meetinghouse of the Society of Friends).
In the social sense, a sanctuary is a place of refuge or asy-
SANHEDRIN, a Hebrew and Jewish-Aramaic loanword
lum, a place set apart from the regulations of ordinary social
from the Greek sunedrion, is believed to be the name of the
intercourse. Places of refuge are found widely in conjunction
supreme autonomous institution of the Jews of Palestine
with religious sanctuaries. For example, in Greek mythology
during the Roman and early Byzantine periods (63 BCE to
Orestes was safe from the Erinyes (the Furies) so long as he
the fifth or sixth century CE). The generally accepted view
remained in contact with the omphalos (“navel”), a sacred
of the Sanhedrin is as follows. Composed of seventy or seven-
stone at Delphi. Just as entire cities can be set aside as reli-
ty-one members, it possessed administrative, judicial, and
gious sanctuaries (e.g., Kasi/Banaras in India), so too entire
quasi-legislative powers that were also recognized by the Jews
cities have been set aside as social sanctuaries, as were the cit-
of the Diaspora. Until 70 CE the Sanhedrin met in the pre-
ies of refuge in ancient Israel. In the West, the right of sanc-
cincts of the Jerusalem Temple. Following the destruction
tuary was formulated by law as early as the end of the fourth
of the Temple in that year, a reconstituted Sanhedrin met
century, and in time specific provisions became quite com-
at various sites in Palestine.
plex. But movements to curb rights of sanctuary began in the
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE. The historicity of the Sanhedrin is
early modern period (sixteenth century), and by the end of
the subject of much disagreement in modern scholarship.
the eighteenth century such rights had virtually disappeared
The disagreement results from inconsistencies among the
in western Europe.
sources used to reconstruct the history of the institution.
Strictly speaking, the Sanhedrin is mentioned only in He-
The sanctuary as legal asylum finds an intriguing anti-
brew and Aramaic sources, of which the most important is
type in an institution that arose as the right of sanctuary dis-
the rabbinic literature of the first five centuries CE. In addi-
appeared: the penitentiary. As it developed in religiously val-
tion, scholars adduce evidence from references to the word
orized form in the early nineteenth century, the penitentiary,
sunedrion in Greek sources relating to the Jews of Roman
too, was a place set apart from ordinary social intercourse.
Palestine. The most important of these are the writings of
But in the penitentiary the guilty were not protected from
the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius (37–c. 100 CE) and the
punishment by the presence of the sacred. Instead, the guilty
Gospels and Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. The
had to come to terms with themselves and their misdeeds.
use of the Greek sources poses two problems. First, the word
That is, they had to repent (hence the name) and “con-
sunedrion exhibits a variety of meanings: “place of assembly,
vert”—convicts were forced to listen to sermons—before
session, assembly, council, court.” Thus not every mention
emerging from confinement as new persons.
of the word in Josephus or in the New Testament necessarily
refers to the Sanhedrin. Second, even when sunedrion seems
SEE ALSO H:aram and H:awt:ah.
to refer to the supreme Jewish institution, that institution is
rather different from the Sanhedrin of rabbinic sources. The
latter is an assembly of Torah scholars presided over by the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
leader of the Pharisees. The Jerusalem sunedrion of the Greek
For a general discussion of sacred space, see Mircea Eliade’s Pat-
sources is an aristocratic council presided over by the high
terns in Comparative Religion (New York, 1958), especially
priest. The attempt to resolve this inconsistency has pro-
chapter 10, “Sacred Places.” Harold W. Turner’s From Tem-
duced three basic approaches. Some simply reject one set of
ple to Meeting House (The Hague, 1979) discusses both the
sources, usually the rabbinic, as unhistorical. A second ap-
domus dei and the domus ecclesiae at length, but in a context
proach posits the existence of two Sanhedrins in Jerusalem.
that eventually leads to theological reflection. On sanctuary
The Greek sources describe a political Sanhedrin closely asso-
as asylum, Edward A. Westermarck’s article “Asylum,” in the
ciated with the Roman provincial authorities, while the rab-
Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, edited by James Has-
binic sources describe a purely religious Sanhedrin that dealt
tings, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1909), is a treasure-store of cross-
cultural information that, however, must be used critically
with issues of Jewish law. Since none of the sources hints at
today. For a more detailed study limited to one particular
the simultaneous existence of two supreme assemblies, a
culture, see John Charles Cox’s Sanctuaries and Sanctuary
third approach attempts to harmonize the sources by less rad-
Seekers of Medieval England (London, 1911). A provocative
ical means. Some argue that the composition and compe-
history of the penitentiary is provided by Michel Foucault in
tence of the Sanhedrin varied over time. Others suggest that
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, translated by
it comprised subcommittees, each with its own chairman,
Alan Sheridan (New York, 1977).
that dealt with different types of issues. All three approaches
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SANHEDRIN
appear in current scholarship. In the following sections this
Evidence in Josephus Flavius. Jewish literature in
article shall summarize the evidence of each set of sources in
Greek from before 70 CE never mentions a supreme Jewish
the light of historical criticism.
institution called the sunedrion. The word does occur, but
only in the general sense of “assembly, council, court.” The
Evidence in rabbinic literature. Since relatively few
same situation prevails in the writings of Josephus. In almost
rabbinic traditions explicitly mention the Sanhedrin, they
every case Josephus uses the word to denote what the Ro-
may be supplemented by other traditions, more numerous
mans called a consilium. This was an ad hoc assembly of
and more detailed, that use the Hebrew term beit din (pl.,
friends and advisers convened by an official to assist in policy
batei din), meaning “court.” These two sets of traditions, one
decisions or in trying a case. In only three instances does Jo-
referring to the Sanhedrin and one to the beit din, overlap
sephus use sunedrion to designate a formally constituted on-
in many details and appear side by side in rabbinic docu-
going institution. In one instance he refers to the leadership
ments. That the terms Sanhedrin and beit din refer to the
of the Jewish revolt against Rome in 66 CE as “the sunedrion
same institution emerges clearly from the overlap of their
of the Jerusalemites” (The Life 62). But elsewhere (in The Life
function and structure recorded in rabbinic literature. Ac-
and in The Jewish War) he designates this body by a variety
cording to these traditions, each town with a certain mini-
of names, most commonly koinon (“corporation, communi-
mum population could establish a “small Sanhedrin” or beit
ty”). Hence, sunedrion was not the formal or usual name.
din of twenty-three scholars, competent to try even capital
More apropos is the second instance, concerning Aulus Ga-
cases. Matters that the local institutions could not resolve
binius, the Roman governor of Syria in 57 BCE. Gabinius
were referred to the “Great Sanhedrin” or “Great Beit Din”
stripped the high priest John Hyrcanus II of his political
(beit din ha-gadol, i.e., “great court”) of seventy-one mem-
powers and divided the Jewish state into five districts, each
bers. This latter body, meeting in the Chamber of Hewn
ruled by what Josephus calls a sunodos in one place (War
Stone in the Jerusalem Temple, would resolve the matter on
1.170) and a sunedrion in another (Jewish Antiquities 14.96).
the basis of precedent or by majority vote. Some traditions
One of these bodies sat in Jerusalem. This recalls the mea-
that speak of the beit din describe a “four-tier” system, inter-
sures taken by Rome in Macedonia in 168 BCE. The latter
posing two additional bodies of three members each between
kingdom was divided into four regions, each administered
the local and supreme bodies (e.g., Tosefta H:ag. 2.9; Sheq.
by a council of senators that Livy calls a synhedros (Annals
3.27, San. 11.2–4). Membership in a lower body was a pre-
45.32.2). In any case, Gabinius’s arrangements lasted no
requisite for appointment to a higher one. The supreme
more than ten years, for in 47 BCE Julius Caesar restored
body, whether called the Great Beit Din as in Tosefta
Hyrcanus to nationwide political power. The third instance
H:agigah 2.9 or the Great Sanhedrin as in Mishnah Middot
of Josephus’s mention of the term is the closest parallel to
5.4, had authority over the priesthood. It possessed political
the rabbinic Sanhedrin. His Jewish Antiquities (14.158–184)
as well as religious powers: declaring offensive wars, playing
reports the trial of the future king Herod before “the suned-
a role in the appointment of kings, and so forth. The sources
rion” in Jerusalem in 47/6 BCE. From this account it emerges
also allude both to Sanhedrins and to batei din of the tribes
that the latter was an ongoing institution with nationwide
(e.g., San. 1.5; cf. Hor. 1.5) and to the possibility of small
jurisdiction and unique competence in capital cases. Howev-
Sanhedrins outside of Palestine (Tosefta San. 1.5). The most
er, in a parallel account of these events in his earlier history,
important feature of the rabbinic account of the Sanhedrin
The Jewish War (1.204–215), as well as in a brief reference
is that it describes an idealized and admittedly distant past,
to them in Jewish Antiquities (15.3–4), Josephus does not
which will be renewed only with the full restoration of the
mention the sunedrion. The version in Antiquities 14 has a
Israelite polity. The tradition of the four levels of courts
close parallel in rabbinic literature (B.T., San. 19a–b), but
(Tosefta H:ag. 2.9) relates how at first this system prevented
with no mention of the Sanhedrin. The sunedrion as de-
dissension by resolving all questions of law. But then, in the
scribed in Antiquities 14 does not reappear in the writings
generation after Hillel and Shammai, dissension was ram-
of Josephus. Given the rabbinic parallel (one of several in An-
pant. Thus, the source implies that the system had broken
tiquities) and the fact that the hero of the story is a Pharisee,
down by the beginning of direct Roman rule in 6 CE, for Hil-
it appears that Josephus transmits here a Pharisaic version of
lel and Shammai are generally considered contemporaries of
the trial of Herod—a version whose historicity is not certain.
King Herod. Further, the rabbinic account is replete with de-
Josephus also mentions three judicial or administrative bo-
tails that concern things the sources admit did not exist in
dies of seventy members each, all from around 66 CE, but
the Roman period, such as the tribal system and prophecy.
does not call any of them a sunedrion. These are (1) the as-
Moreover, rabbinic traditions on events from the Roman
sembly established by Josephus himself when he assumed
conquest (63 BCE) onward assign no role whatsoever to the
command of Galilee in the revolt against Rome, (2) the dep-
Great Sanhedrin or Great Beit Din. By contrast, rabbinic lit-
utation of the leading men of the colony of Babylonian Jews
erature does mention Sanhedrins of the biblical period, from
in Batanaea, and (3) a jury convened in the Jerusalem Tem-
the time of Moses to the Babylonian exile. In sum, the rab-
ple to try a charge of treason. Josephus’s arrangements in
binic sources on the Sanhedrin make no claim to describe
Galilee reflect his interpretation of Deuteronomy 17:8–9 in
an institution of the Roman period.
Antiquities 4.214–218, where he calls the assembly of priests,
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SANHEDRIN
8103
Levites, and the judiciary a gerousia (council of elders). The
and lay aristocracies and the scribes. This much is confirmed
number seventy obviously derives from the seventy elders as-
by Josephus, as is the New Testament picture of these groups
sembled by Moses according to Numbers 11:16. But aside
consulting and acting in consort. But the institutionalization
from the regional sunedrions (or sunodoses) established by Ga-
of these consultations and joint actions in the form of a regu-
binius and the sunedrion that tried Herod (according to a
larly meeting assembly called the sunedrion is not clear from
unique version of this event), Josephus does not mention any
the New Testament evidence itself. And Josephus, who was
continuing institution by this name.
born in Jerusalem within a decade of the crucifixion of Jesus
and still lived there during the troubles of Paul, makes no
Evidence in the New Testament. The New Testament
mention of the sunedrion as an ongoing body in his account
includes several instances of the word sunedrion, usually
of this period.
translated as “council” (RSV). In a few cases the word refers
to local Jewish courts (certainly in Mark 13:9 and parallels
THE SANHEDRIN AFTER 70 CE. Some scholars posit the exis-
in Matthew 10:17 and possibly in Matthew 5:21). However,
tence of a Sanhedrin at Yavneh after 70, at Usha (in the Gali-
in the accounts of the passion of Jesus and the trials of the
lee) after 135, and still later at other locations. Whatever the
apostles, sunedrion seems to designate the supreme Jewish in-
nature of the institutions that existed at these places, they are
stitution in Jerusalem. Closer analysis reveals several un-
never called Sanhedrins in the ancient sources. In fact, two
certainties. The Synoptic Gospels and Acts of the Apostles fre-
second-century traditions refer to the Sanhedrin as a thing
quently allude to the Jewish leadership as composed of “the
of the past: Mishnah Sotah 9.11 explicitly and Makkot 1.10
chief priests, elders, and scribes” or the like. As is generally
implicitly. A single post-70 reference to a contemporary
agreed, this means the priestly and lay aristocracies along
“Great Court,” at Tosefta Ohalot 18.18, is probably only
with a professional class of experts in Jewish law. In certain
rhetorical. A relatively late and probably non-Palestinian tra-
passages these three elements constitute some sort of suned-
dition in the Babylonian Talmud (R. ha-Sh. 31a–b, with par-
rion. In some of these passages, the term sunedrion can be in-
allel at Gn. Rab. 97) lists a number of towns, mostly in Gali-
terpreted in its general meaning of “assembly” or “session.”
lee, as consecutive sites of post-70 Sanhedrins. This tradition
This is the case in John 11:47 (cf. Mk. 11:48 and Lk. 19:47),
probably reflects the fact that these towns served as the resi-
Luke 22:66 (cf. Mk. 15:1 and Mt. 27:1), and Acts 4:15. In
dence of Jewish patriarchs (sg., nasi D and the site of rabbinical
other instances sunedrion appears to be a proper name. Thus
conclaves. The sources do mention groups of rabbis meeting
in Mark 14:55 and Matthew 26:59, “the chief priests and the
together to resolve questions of law, fix the calendar, and
whole council [sunedrion]” conduct a formal trial of Jesus on
make similar decisions, but these meetings are never called
the night following his arrest. In Mark 15:1 (but not Mt.
Sanhedrins. (See, for example, Shabbat 1.4, Ohalot 18.9, Ya-
27:1; cf. Lk. 22:66–23:1) “the chief priests, with the elders
dayim 4.1; Tosefta Ohalot 18.18; B.T., Berakhot 63 b; J.T.,
and scribes, and [Gr., kai] the whole council [sunedrion]” re-
H:agigah 3.1, 78d; Song of Songs Rabbah 2.5.) The reference
convene the following morning. Presumably, here the kai is
in a law of Theodosius II from 429 to “the sunedrions of the
explanatory, to be translated as “that is.” Acts, attributed to
two Palestines” probably refers to local Jewish courts and re-
the author of Luke, refers to the sunedrion in connection with
flects New Testament usage. Finally, a Babylonian source,
the second arraignment of Peter and the arraignments of Ste-
perhaps from the eighth century, mentions a Sanhedrin in
phen and Paul (e.g., Acts 5:21, 6:12, 23:1). But the terminol-
Tiberias in 520, but this source probably misconstrues an
ogy of Luke and Acts is not consistent. According to Luke
earlier text that does not mention this institution.
22:66, the consultation on the morning following the arrest
CONCLUSION. The accounts of the Sanhedrin in these
of Jesus was attended by “the assembly of the elders of the
sources neither overlap chronologically nor confirm one an-
people [presbuterion] . . . , both chief priests and scribes.”
other. Moreover, each account is problematic. The rabbinic
Similarly, in Acts 22:5 Paul calls on “the high priest and the
is idealized, and the New Testament is inconsistent. Josephus
whole council of elders [presbuterion]” to attest his earlier
describes in one case a short-lived system imposed by the Ro-
persecution of the believers in Jesus. And Acts 5:21 has Peter
mans, and in the other case his own parallel accounts know
brought before “the council [sunedrion] and [kai] all the sen-
nothing of the sunedrion. So there is no unequivocal histori-
ate [gerousia] of Israel.” The word kai here may be explanato-
cal evidence for the Sanhedrin. What is probably in the
ry, or it may reflect the author’s belief that the sunedrion was
Greek sources are the historical realities from which the rab-
more exclusive than the gerousia. It may be noted in passing
binic account of the Sanhedrin was created: an aristocratic
that only Mark and Matthew report a trial of Jesus before the
council (gerousia or presbuterion), judicial or administrative
sunedrion. Luke reports only a morning consultation of the
bodies of seventy, and possibly a municipal council (boul¯e)
presbuterion, chief priests and scribes. And John merely has
in Jerusalem. One should also note that unlike other Greek
“the Jews” accuse Jesus before Pontius Pilate. In the present
administrative terms borrowed in the Semitic vernaculars of
context one can ignore the much-debated questions of
the Roman East, sunedrion is a loanword only in Hebrew and
whether the trial is a Markan invention and whether Luke
Jewish-Aramaic (apart from a very few instances in Syriac,
or John relies on independent sources. What is consistent in
probably from writers who knew Greek). This unique bor-
the Synoptic Gospels and Acts is the characterization of the
rowing, especially as a term for an important Jewish institu-
Jewish leadership in Jerusalem as composed of the priestly
tion, suggests that some Jewish body of Roman times was
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8104
S´AN
˙ KARA
called sunedrion in Greek. But as has been seen, the evidence
S´AN
˙ KARA (c. 700 CE), also known as Sam:kara or
does not establish what that body was. Thus the existence
S´an˙kara¯ca¯rya, was a Hindu metaphysician, religious leader,
of a supreme governing body in Jerusalem called the Sanhe-
and proponent of Advaita Veda¯nta. S´an˙kara is generally ac-
drin cannot be proven by the sources, and if it existed, it can-
knowledged to be the most influential of all Hindu religious
not be described.
thinkers. The many modern interpretations and populariza-
tions of his uncompromisingly intellectual metaphysics rep-
SEE ALSO Pharisees.
resent the dominant current of contemporary Hindu reli-
gious thought. For scholars of Sanskrit his compositions,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
above all his famous commentary (bha¯s:ya) on the Brahma
The best treatment of the problem of the Sanhedrin is Yehoshua
Su¯tra of Ba¯dara¯yan:a, serve as models of philosophical and lit-
Efron’s Hebrew article “The Sanhedrin as an Ideal and as Re-
erary excellence.
ality in the Period of the Second Temple,” in Doron, edited
by S. Perlman and B. Shimron (Tel Aviv, 1967). An English
S´an˙kara’s dates remain a matter of scholarly controver-
summary appears under the same title in Immanuel 2 (1973):
sy. Many accept the traditional dates 788–820; in recent
44–49. Efron’s differentiated and consistently critical survey
of almost all the relevant sources manages to transcend the
years, however, several scholars have argued for a longer life
stagnant debate still prevailing in the scholarly literature. His
span centered around the beginning of the eighth century.
method and conclusions have greatly influenced this article.
The considerable number of Sanskrit hagiographical ac-
The two major studies in English both adopt the theory of two
counts of the life of S´an˙kara all appear to be comparatively
Sanhedrins. They are Sidney B. Hoenig’s The Great Sanhe-
recent compositions. It is difficult to judge to what extent
drin (New York, 1953) and Hugo Mantel’s Studies in the
they embody factual historical traditions. The most influen-
History of the Sanhedrin (Cambridge, Mass., 1961). Mantel
tial of these hagiographies is the S´an˙karadigvijaya or San˙ks:epa
presents detailed summaries of the scholarly debate and a
S´an˙karajaya of Ma¯dhava, composed sometime between 1650
very full bibliography. For a recent, sophisticated version of
and 1800 and possibly reworked about the middle of the
this theory, see Ellis Rivkin’s “Beth Din, Boulé, Sanhedrin:
nineteenth century. This is a composite text that includes
A Tragedy of Errors,” Hebrew Union College Annual 46
verses taken from a number of somewhat earlier works, nota-
(1975): 181–199.
bly those of Vya¯sa¯cala and Tirumalla D¯ıks:ita. The
Other recent surveys adopt variations of the moderate harmonistic
S´an˙karavijaya of Ananta¯nandagiri is another important hagi-
approach. Most useful are Edmund Lohse’s “Sunedrion,” in
ography representing an independent tradition associated
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by Ger-
hard Kittel, vol. 7 (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1971),
with the Advaita center at Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
pp. 860–867; Samuel Safrai’s “Jewish Self-Government,” in
According to Ma¯dhava, S´an˙kara was born to a brahman
The Jewish People in the First Century, edited by Samuel Sa-
family of the brahman village of Ka¯lat:i in Kerala, South
frai and Menachem Stern, vol. 1 (Assen, 1974),
pp. 379–400; and Emil Schürer’s The History of the Jewish
India. Ma¯dhava states that his parents had long been child-
People in the Age of Jesus Christ, a new English version revised
less, but that the god S´iva finally agreed to become incarnate
and edited by Géza Vermès et al., vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1979),
as their son to reward their devotion and penances. This son,
pp. 199–226.
S´an˙kara, was a miraculously precocious student: By his sixth
New Sources
or seventh year he had already resolved to bypass the house-
Albeck, Shalom. Bate ha-din bi-yeme ha-Talmud. Ramat-Gan, Is-
holder stage of life (gr:hastha¯´srama) and become a religious
rael, 1980.
ascetic (sam:nya¯sin). With the reluctant consent of his wid-
Boyarin, Daniel. “A Tale of Two Synods: Nicaea, Yavneh, and
owed mother he left home and became a disciple of a
Rabbinic Ecclesiology.” Exemplaria 12 (2000): 21–62.
Govindana¯tha or Govindapa¯da somewhere on the river Nar-
mada. In some of his own works S´an˙kara identifies his guru’s
Efron, Joshua. Studies on the Hasmonean Period. Leiden and New
guru (paramaguru) as Gaud:apa¯da, and tradition claims that
York, 1987.
Govindana¯tha was a disciple of this earlier Advaita thinker.
Graff, Gil. “Priests, Sages and the Jurisdiction of the High Court,
Govindana¯tha later sent S´an˙kara to Varanasi (Banaras),
50–100 C.E.: A Note on the Demotion of Rabban Gamaliel.”
where he acquired his first important disciple, Sanandana,
Shofar 8 (1990): 1–7.
later called Padmapa¯da. After some time S´an˙kara moved on
Hezser, Catherine, ed. Rabbinic Law in Its Roman and Near East-
to Badar¯ı in the Himalayas, where he wrote (at the age of
ern Context. Tübingen, 2003.
twelve, according to Ma¯dhava) his famous Brahma-
Kee, Howard Clark. “Central Authority in Second-Temple Juda-
su¯tra-bha¯s:ya. While at Badar¯ı he also composed commen-
ism and Subsequently: From Synedrion to Sanhedrin.” An-
taries on various Upanis:ads and on the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯, and
nual of Rabbinic Judaism 2 (1999): 51–63.
produced other commentaries and independent treatises
Livingstone, Reuven. “Beyond Reasonable Doubt: In Search of a
such as the Upade´sasa¯hasr˘ı. The rest of his life he spent trav-
Just Justice.” Le’ela 40 (1995): 23–27.
eling from place to place defending the views of Advaita
DAVID GOODBLATT (1987)
Veda¯nta against opponents from a variety of different reli-
Revised Bibliography
gious sects and philosophical schools.
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S´AN
˙ KARA
8105
Where S´an˙kara spent his final days is disputed by his
edge portion” (jña¯naka¯n:d:a) of the Vedas, especially the
biographers. Ma¯dhava says that toward the end of his short
Upanis:ads. Since this last prerequisite is permitted only to
life S´an˙kara was afflicted with a debilitating rectal fistula oc-
members of the higher castes, ´su¯dras are explicitly ineligible
casioned by the evil magic of Abhinavagupta, a Tantric op-
for this illumination.
ponent. S´an˙kara was allegedly cured of this ailment but died
The word advaita means “non-dual.” In contrast to the
not long afterward at Kedarnath in the Himalayas.
rival school called Sa¯m:khya, which assigns a separate but full
Ananta¯nandagiri places his death at Kanchipuram, while
reality to both spirit (purus:a) and matter (prakr:ti), Advaita
other sources mention still other locations.
Veda¯nta asserts that absolute (parama¯rthika) reality, called
According to traditions not preserved by either
brahman, is non-dual. The manifold visible world around
Ma¯dhava or Ananta¯nandagiri, S´an˙kara established four or
one (sam:sa¯ra) has merely a functional (vya¯vaha¯rika) reality.
five monastic centers for the spread of Advaita Veda¯nta: one
It is considered to be a transformation (parin:a¯ma) or, more
at Badar¯ı in the Himalayas (north); one at Dva¯raka in Guja-
commonly in Advaita, a mere appearance (vivarta) that
rat (west); one at Puri in Orissa (east); one at S´r:nger¯ı in
somehow arises from brahman.
Karn:ataka (south); and another, not considered to be of
A central doctrine of S´an˙kara’s thought claims that from
equal status by some, at Kanchipuram. Through these cen-
the point of view of the supreme truth (parama¯rthatah:) one’s
ters an extensive network of Advaita teachers and monaste-
inner self or soul (a¯tman), the essence of consciousness (cit),
ries was organized that did much to establish the dominance
is identical with the essence of being (sat), brahman itself.
of Advaita over rival sects and schools. The religious ascetics
This doctrine, S´an˙kara believes, cannot be fully established
who belong to this network are divided into ten (da´sa) mo-
by rational discourse alone. In the final analysis its truth rests
nastic orders, the members of each order taking a distinct
on revelation, namely the texts called Upanis:ads, which form
final name (na¯ma). For this reason they are collectively called
the “end of the Vedas” (veda¯nta). The Upanis:ads, the Brah-
Da´sana¯m¯ıs.
ma Su¯tra, and the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ constitute the threefold
The study of the enormous number of Advaita works
scriptural foundation of all schools of Veda¯nta. Although
attributed to S´an˙kara has long been handicapped by the in-
each school interprets these texts in often radically different
ability of critical scholarship to distinguish his genuine com-
senses, the texts do establish definite parameters within
positions from works falsely attributed to him. Recently,
which the discussion must operate. These include the ideas
however, Paul Hacker, Mayeda Sengaku, and others have es-
that a¯tman and brahman are entities somehow closely related
tablished criteria that have largely resolved this problem.
to each other and to individual living beings (j¯ıvas) and to
They conclude that the works that may be reliably attributed
God (¯I´svara) respectively, and that these living beings are
to S´an˙kara are (1) the Brahmasu¯tra-bha¯s:ya; (2) the commen-
subject to karman and the pains of transmigratory existence
taries on the Br:hadaran:yaka, Taittir¯ıya, Cha¯ndogya, Aitareya,
until they somehow manage to win liberation.
¯
I´sa, Kat
:ha, Kena (two), Mun:d:aka, and Pra´sna Upanis:ads; (3)
How and why does sam:sa¯ra make its appearance? Ac-
the commentary on the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯; (4) the commentaries
cording to S´an˙kara it is ignorance (avidya¯), sometimes called
on the Ma¯n:d:u¯kya Upanis:ad with the Gaud:apa¯d¯ıyaka¯rika¯;
illusion (ma¯ya¯), that occasions the appearance of sam:sa¯ra
and (5) the Upade´sasa¯hasr¯ı. All other works, including the
through a process known as superimposition (adhya¯sa).
many devotional hymns attributed to S´an˙kara, are probably
Through this process a¯tman-brahman becomes reflected as
compositions of later authors.
many individual conscious beings (j¯ıvas) on the one hand
and as God (¯I´svara) on the other. God in turn becomes the
In these works S´an˙kara generally subordinates philoso-
cause, both efficient and material, of the physical universe,
phizing to the goal of liberation (moks:a) from the bonds of
which evolves indirectly from a primal “substance” called
transmigratory existence (sam:sa¯ra), which arise from the con-
“name-and-form” (na¯ma-ru¯pa). In this psychophysical cos-
sequences of one’s action (karman). Unlike some of his more
mology, liberation is nothing but the removal of ignorance,
scholastic successors, S´an˙kara often prefers to leave certain
the deep realization that from the point of view of the ulti-
perplexing, and perhaps insolvable, philosophical problems
mate truth a¯tman and brahman are identical and represent
unanswered. In his view, the sole means to achieve this liber-
the only reality, the very substance of being and conscious-
ation is right knowledge (jña¯na) leading to an instantaneous
ness. All else—the physical universe, one’s individual self,
spiritual illumination that somehow dissolves all except the
even God—are things conditioned by ignorance and hence
residual effects of past deeds (pra¯rabdhakarman). After death,
ultimately unreal.
liberation is complete and final. The alternative religious
paths of devotion (bhakti) and moral or religious works (kar-
But how does this process of superimposition operate?
man) may lead to a better rebirth either in this world or in
On this subject S´an˙kara elaborates a series of sophisticated
the world of the gods, but they are of no use whatsoever for
and often controversial epistemological arguments based in
the illumination that is absolute liberation. For this the sole
part on a set of analogies drawn from everyday experience.
prerequisites are nonattachment to the things of this world;
The most famous is that of the rope and the snake. When
mental and emotional restraint and tranquillity; a suitable
in a dim light one mistakes a rope for a snake, one is making
guru; and the study, under his supervision, of the “knowl-
a superimposition of false attributes derived from memory.
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8106
SAN RELIGION
Once one realizes the error, the real object, the rope, elimi-
where he ordained the first Tibetan Buddhist monks and
nates and replaces one’s false perception of a snake. In an
taught Buddhist meditation, ethics, and reasoning to the
analogous way one superimposes false attributes on
king and his entourage. According to tradition, when the
a¯tman-brahman. If one eliminates ignorance, this superim-
king and his court converted to Buddhism, local Tibetan
position is dissolved and a¯tman-brahman alone shines forth.
spirits were upset and caused floods and other calamities
Transmigratory existence and one’s bondage to it are imme-
throughout Tibet. S´a¯ntaraks:ita advised the king to invite an
diately broken. One becomes liberated. It is as simple, and
Indian Buddhist Tantric adept, Padmasambhava, to pacify
as difficult, as that.
the spirits. Padmasambhava arrived, and through his great
spiritual power summoned the troublesome gods and de-
SEE ALSO Avidya¯; Ba¯dara¯yan:a; Bhagavadg¯ıta¯; Brahman;
mons, taught them the Buddhist doctrine of karma and re-
Jña¯na; Ma¯ya¯; Sa¯m:khya; Upanis:ads; Veda¯nta.
birth, converted them to Buddhism, and bound them with
oaths to protect the new state religion. As a result, King Khri
BIBLIOGRAPHY
srong lde btsan, the Great Abbot Bodhisattva S´a¯ntaraks:ita,
Most of the traditional “biographies” of S´an˙kara remain untrans-
lated, but a complete English translation of Ma¯dhava’s
and the Precious Guru Padmasambhava are very often de-
S´an˙karadigvijaya by Swami Tapasyananda has been pub-
picted together as protectors of Buddhism in the monasteries
lished (Madras, 1979). A thematic analysis of this text is at-
and temples of Tibet.
tempted in my “The Life of S´an˙kara¯ca¯rya,” in The Biographi-
Little is known of S´a¯ntaraks:ita’s earlier life in India. Ti-
cal Process, edited by Frank E. Reynolds and Donald Capps
(The Hague, 1976). For the understanding of S´an˙kara’s
betan sources indicate that he was from Zahor—a locale
thought, two recent publications contain long introductions
identified variously by modern scholars with sites in Bengal,
that are models of clarity and perspicacity: Advaita Veda¯nta
Bihar, and Pakistan—and that he had been the abbot of the
up to S´am:kara and His Pupils, edited and with an introduc-
famous Na¯landa¯ monastic university. Although this cannot
tion by Karl H. Potter, vol. 3 of his Encyclopedia of Indian
be confirmed, there is no doubt that S´a¯ntaraks:ita was a re-
Philosophies (Delhi, 1981), and A Thousand Teachings: The
markably erudite scholar who was deeply versed in a wide
Upade´sasa¯hasr¯ı of S´an˙kara, translated by Mayeda Sengaku
range of Indian dialectical traditions. The lengthy citations
(Tokyo, 1979). For S´an˙kara’s famous Brahmasu¯tra-bha¯s:ya,
and refutations of non-Buddhist as well as Buddhist posi-
the 1904 translation of George Thibaut, The Veda¯nta Su¯tra,
tions on epistemological, logical, and metaphysical topics in
with the Commentary by S´an˙kara, in “Sacred Books of the
East” (reprint; New York, 1962) is still basic, as is Thibaut’s
the verse treatise Tattvasam:graha (Collection of Realities),
introduction.
S´a¯ntaraks:ita’s major work preserved in Sanskrit, reveals the
extent of his learning. Drawing on the theories of his
New Sources
predecessors, Digna¯ga and (especially) Dharmak¯ırti,
Bader, Jonathan. Conquest of the Four Quarters: Traditional Ac-
S´a¯ntaraks:ita in this work attempts to lead his readers through
counts of the Life of Sankara. New Delhi, 2000.
a series of arguments designed to whittle away at philosophi-
Isaeva, N. V. Shankara and Indian Philosophy. Albany, 1993.
cal notions of essence or intrinsic identity (svabha¯va). To ac-
Marcaurelle, Roger. Freedom through Inner Renunciation: San-
complish this aim, S´a¯ntaraks:ita employs the “sliding scale of
kara’s Philosophy in a New Light. Albany, 2000.
analysis” (a technique used earlier by Dharmak¯ırti) whereby
Victor, P. George. Life and Teachings of Adi Sankaracarya. New
under certain conditions a philosopher may be rationally jus-
Delhi, 2002.
tified in arguing from diverse and even contradictory meta-
DAVID N. LORENZEN (1987)
physical premises within the confines of a single work. In
Revised Bibliography
brief, this technique allows for the construction of provision-
al arguments aimed at particular audiences with the under-
standing that certain premises of the arguments may be sub-
sequently challenged at a higher level of philosophical
SAN RELIGION SEE KHOI AND SAN RELIGION
analysis.
Most of the arguments in the Tattvasam:graha are ad-
duced at the lowest level of analysis, identified by
S´A¯NTARAKS:ITA (c. 725–788 CE), an Indian Buddhist
S´a¯ntaraks:ita’s disciple Kamala´s¯ıla in his commentary as
scholar and monk also known as S´a¯ntiraks:ita and the Great
Sautra¯ntika. This level of analysis operates with an ontology
Abbott Bodhisattva, was renowned for his synthesis of di-
in which causally functioning real particulars, some of which
verse streams of Maha¯ya¯na Buddhist philosophical thought
exist outside the mind, produce mental images that are then
and for his seminal role in the early transmission of Bud-
known by awareness. S´a¯ntaraks:ita uses this level of analysis
dhism to Tibet. Scholarly consensus and Tibetan tradition
to advance arguments against various versions of intrinsic
maintain that S´a¯ntaraks:ita made two visits to Tibet, both
identity, including the notions of an unchanging creator
during the lifetime of the Tibetan king Khri srong lde btsan
God, a permanent self or soul, irreducible substance, and in-
(c. 740–798). There, S´a¯ntaraks:ita supervised the construc-
trinsically existent relations. He also stays mostly on this level
tion of Bsam yas, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet,
of analysis when explicating his interpretation of inference
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SANTERÍA
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and perception, the two instruments of correct knowledge
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(prama¯n:a) accepted in the Buddhist epistemological tra-
Blumenthal, James. The Ornament of the Middle Way: A Study of
dition.
the Madhyamaka Thought of S´a¯ntaraks:ita. Ithaca, N.Y.,
2004. Translation, edition, and study of S´a¯ntaraks:ita’s
The shift to the next level of analysis occurs only once
Madhyamaka¯lam:ka¯ra, together with a Tibetan commentary
S´a¯ntaraks:ita has judged the reader to have been convinced
by rGyal tshab dar ma rin chen (1364–1432) of the Dge lugs
of some basic Buddhist truths, namely, that all things are im-
pa school of Tibetan Buddhism.
permanent, that there is no creator god nor any soul, that
Doctor, Thomas, trans. Speech of Delight: Mipham’s Commentary
words cannot refer directly to real things, and that viable reli-
on S´a¯ntaraks:ita’s Ornament of the Middle Way. Ithaca, N.Y.,
gious teachings must be demonstrable through inference and
2004. Translation and edition of the dBu ma rgyan gyi nam
perception. This next level of analysis, identified by
bshad of Mi pham rgya mtsho (1846–1912) of the nonsectar-
ian (ris med) movement of Tibetan Buddhism.
Kamala´s¯ıla as the Vijña¯nava¯da or Yoga¯ca¯ra, operates with an
ontology in which real particulars do not exist outside the
Dreyfus, Georges B. F., and Sara L. McClintock, eds. The
mind. Images arise in awareness due to the causal function-
Sva¯tantrika-Pra¯san˙gika Distinction: What Difference Does a
Difference Make?
Boston, 2003. Collection of articles on the
ing of an imprint or “seed” contained within the beginning-
Sva¯tantrika-Pra¯san˙gika distinction, with several contribu-
less mind itself. The shift from the Sautra¯ntika to the
tions touching on the Madhyamaka philosophy of
Vijña¯nava¯da is rationally justified because one can demon-
S´a¯ntaraks:ita and Kamala´s¯ıla.
strate that it is impossible to know particulars outside the
Jha, Ganganatha, trans. The Tattvasan˙graha of Sha¯ntaraks:ita with
mind.
the Commentary of Kamalash¯ıla. 2 vols. Baroda, India, 1937;
Reprint, Delhi, 1986. The only complete translation of the
A third level of analysis, the Madhyamaka, operates in
encyclopedic Tattvasam:graha and its commentary; although
an important sense with no ontology, in that neither the par-
valuable for gaining a sense of the work’s overall structure
ticular known nor the awareness that knows is held to be in-
and arguments, the work should be used with caution as the
trinsically real. Although this level remains only nascent in
translation is at points deeply misleading.
the Tattvasam:graha, it is fully developed in S´a¯ntaraks:ita’s
Kajiyama, Yu¯ichi. “Later Ma¯dhyamikas on Epistemology and
other famous work, the Madhyamaka¯lam:ka¯ra (Ornament of
Meditation.” In Maha¯ya¯na Buddhist Mediation: Theory and
the Middle Way) together with his own commentary on it.
Practice, edited by Minoru Kiyota, pp. 114–43. Honolulu,
Here, S´a¯ntaraks:ita uses the sliding scale of analysis to inte-
1978. This useful article presents a synopsis of the arguments
grate the Madhyamaka perspective he may have inherited
in the Madhyamaka¯lam:ka¯ra, S´a¯ntaraks:ita’s primary Mad-
from his reputed teacher, Jña¯nagarbha, with his logical and
hyamaka treatise.
epistemological training, so as to create a place for philosoph-
López, Donald S. Jr. A Study of Sva¯tantrika. Ithaca, N.Y., 1987.
ical analysis within a larger path that ultimately denies the
Exploration of the category of Sva¯tantrika-Madhyamaka
validity of all instruments of knowing.
based principally on Tibetan (especially Dge lugs pa) sources.
Wangdu, Pasang, and Hildegard Diemberger. dBa’ bzhed: The
Later Tibetans classify S´a¯ntaraks:ita and Kamala´s¯ıla as
Royal Narrative Concerning the Bringing of the Buddha’s Doc-
followers of Yoga¯ca¯ra-Sva¯tantrika-Madhyamaka. This classi-
trine to Tibet. Vienna, 2000. Annotated translation, study
fication indicates, first, that S´a¯ntaraks:ita and Kamala´s¯ıla ac-
and facsimile edition of one version of an early Tibetan ac-
cept as an accurate description of conventional reality the
count of the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet, the construction
basic Yoga¯ca¯ra position that objects of knowledge do not
of Bsam yas monastery, the ordination of the first Tibetan
exist outside the mind, and second, it indicates that, unlike
monks, and the famous debate at Bsam yas.
the followers of the allegedly superior Pra¯san˙gika-
SARA L. MCCLINTOCK (2005)
Madhyamaka of Candrak¯ırti, they fully endorse the logical
apparatus of the Buddhist epistemological tradition, especial-
ly the so-called autonomous (svatantra) inferences. For many
SANTERÍA
Tibetans, this second element of their philosophical thought
is a religious tradition of African origin that
renders S´a¯ntaraks:ita and Kamala´s¯ıla inferior proponents of
developed in Cuba and that was spread throughout the Ca-
Madhyamaka, because it obliges them to accept a measure
ribbean and the United States by exiles from the revolution
of intrinsic identity, even if they deny doing so. Despite this
of 1959. Santería began in the nineteenth century when hun-
dreds of thousands of men and women of the Yoruba people,
censure, however, many Tibetans, such as the nonsectarian
from what are now Nigeria and Benin, were brought to Cuba
(ris med) scholar Mi pham rgya mtsho (1846–1912), have
to work in the island’s booming sugar industry. Despite bru-
upheld S´a¯ntaraks:ita as a brilliant philosopher, model Bud-
tal conditions, some were able to reconstruct their religious
dhist, and national hero.
lives through a fusing of the traditions remembered from
their homeland and from their encounter with the folk piety
SEE ALSO Buddhism, article on Buddhism in Tibet; Bud-
of the Roman Catholic church.
dhism, Schools of, article on Tibetan and Mongolian Bud-
dhism; Kamala´s¯ıla; Padmasambhava; Tibetan Religions,
The Cuban Yoruba often used the iconography of Cath-
overview article.
olic saints to express their devotions to Yoruba spirits called
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8108
SANTERÍA
orishas. The name Santería, “the way of the saints,” is the
and consumed by the congregation as part of the orisha’s
most common Spanish word used to describe these practices,
feast.
and the word santero (m.) or santera (f.) indicates an initiated
The most dramatic form of devotion to the orishas is
devotee. Later generations of santeros would construct elabo-
ceremonial spirit mediumship. At certain ceremonies called
rate systems of correspondences between orishas and saints,
bembes, guemileres, or tambores, a battery of drums calls the
leading observers to see this Caribbean religion as a model
orishas to join the devotees in dance and song. If an orisha
for understanding religious syncretism and cultural change.
so chooses, he or she will “descend” and “seize the head” of
Despite the frequent presence of Catholic symbols in San-
an initiate. In this state the incarnated orisha may perform
tería rites and the attendance of santeros at Catholic sacra-
spectacular dances that the human medium would be hard
ments, Santería is essentially an African way of worship
put to imitate in ordinary consciousness. More important,
drawn into a symbiotic relationship with Catholicism.
an incarnated orisha will deliver messages, admonitions, and
Santeros believe that every individual, before he or she
advice to individual members of the community, bringing
is born, is given a destiny, or road in life, by the Almighty.
their heavenly wisdom to bear on their devotees’ earthly
It is the responsibility of the individual to understand his or
problems.
her destiny and to grow with it rather than to be a victim
As a devotee grows in these ways of devotion, one partic-
of it. Santeros recognize a pantheon of orishas whose aid and
ular orisha may begin to assert itself as the devotee’s patron,
energy can bring devotees to a complete fulfillment of their
and the love of this orisha will provide the devotee with his
destinies. The basis of Santería is the development of a deep
or her basic orientation in life. When this orisha calls for it,
personal relationship with the orishas, a relationship that will
the devotee will undergo a demanding and irrevocable initia-
bring the santero worldly success and heavenly wisdom. De-
tion into the mysteries of the patron orisha. The initiation
votion to the orishas takes four principal forms: divination,
ceremony is carried out with great solemnity and care in the
sacrifice, spirit mediumship, and initiation.
home of an initiate of long experience. During a lengthy pe-
For the ordinary devotee, Santería serves as a means for
riod of isolation and instruction, the devotee is brought to
resolving the problems of everyday life, including problems
a spiritual rebirth as a true child of the orisha. During this
of health, money, and love. Divination can reveal the sources
ceremony the orisha is “enthroned in the head” of the devo-
of these problems, and it points the way to their resolution.
tee, seated and sealed as a permanent part of the devotee’s
Santería has preserved several Yoruba systems of divination
personality.
in a hierarchical ranking according to their reliability and the
As the initiate grows in this new level of devotion, his
amount of training required to master them. The most com-
or her relationship with the seated orisha becomes increasing-
plex system of divination in Santería, Ifa, can be “read” only
ly fluid. The sacrificial exchange between them comes to be
by male priests called babalawos. In response to a querent’s
seen as the outward manifestation of an inner process. Thus
problem, a babalawo will throw a small chain (ekwele) that
Santería culminates in a mysticism of identity between
has eight pieces of shell, bone, or other material affixed to
human and divine, where the road of life is the way of the
it. Each piece is shaped so that, when thrown, it lands either
orishas.
concave or convex side up. This arrangement results in 256
possible combinations, each representing a basic situation in
Santería continues to grow in the late twentieth century.
life. The combination that falls at any particular time is the
Its popularity in Cuba seems to have been little affected by
purest expression of fate, and thus of the God-given destiny
the socialist revolution, and thanks to nearly one million
of the querent. Most of the patterns refer to stories that tell
Cuban exiles, it is thriving in Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and
of the problems faced by the orishas and heroes in the past,
the United States. The number of full initiates is difficult to
and that relate the solutions that were found. These solutions
determine because of the tradition of secrecy that santeros
become the archetypes used by the querent to resolve the
have maintained in order to survive a history of oppression
problem that he or she has brought to Ifa.
and misunderstanding. The presence of Santería in a given
neighborhood may be gauged by the profusion of botánicas,
Nearly all problems are resolved by deepening the devo-
small retail stores that sell the herbs and ritual paraphernalia
tee’s relationship with the orishas. There is no firmer way for
of Santería ceremonies. In 1981, there were at least eighty
the devotee to show this relationship than through the sym-
botánicas in Miami, Florida, and more than a hundred in
bolism of shared food—that is, through sacrifice. The or-
New York City.
ishas, like all living things, must eat in order to live. Although
they are immensely powerful, they are by no means immor-
SEE ALSO Afro-Brazilian Religions; Journalism and Religion;
tal, and for continued life they depend on the sacrifice and
Vodou; Yoruba Religion.
praise of human beings. Each orisha enjoys certain special
foods, ranging from cakes to stews, fruits, or drinks. If an or-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
isha requests, santeros will sacrifice fowl, sheep, or other ani-
A limited literature exists on Santería in English. The finest pre-
mals. The slaughter is always performed quickly and cleanly
sentation of the symbolism of the orishas is Robert F.
according to ritual rules, and the flesh is nearly always cooked
Thompson’s Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American
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S´A¯NTIDEVA
8109
Art and Philosophy (New York, 1981). Migene González-
came a monk at Na¯landa¯, where he was called Bhusuku, a
Wippler has written three books on the subject. Santería: Af-
name indicating that he appeared to do nothing but eat,
rican Magic in Latin America (Garden City, N. Y., 1975) is
sleep, and stroll about for the sake of his digestion. Some bi-
a disorganized introduction that borrows freely from Spanish
ographies, however, state that S´a¯ntideva secretly composed
sources. The Santería Experience (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.,
Buddhist treatises and contemplated the teachings he had re-
1982) is a detailed, well-written, first-person account of the
ceived from Mañju´sr¯ı. S´a¯ntideva was threatened with expul-
author’s experience with Santería in New York. Rituals and
sion from Na¯landa¯ because he appeared unable to memorize
Spells of Santería (New York, 1984) presents source materials
on Santería liturgy and magic. William R. Bascom has writ-
any su¯tras. When put to the test, S´a¯ntideva asked those as-
ten two articles on Santería in Cuba; reflecting his wide expe-
sembled whether they wanted to hear something they already
rience as an anthropologist among the Yoruba in Nigeria,
knew or something new. Asked for something new,
these articles are “The Focus of Cuban Santeria,” Southwest-
S´a¯ntideva astounded the assembly by reciting his most fa-
ern Journal of Anthropology 6 (Spring 1950): 64–68, and
mous composition, the Bodhicarya¯vata¯ra. Demonstrating
“Two Forms of Afro-Cuban Divination,” in Acculturation in
both his erudition and supernormal powers, S´a¯ntideva rose
the Americas, edited by Sol Tax (Chicago, 1952),
into the air and disappeared when he reached the ninth chap-
pp. 169–184.
ter (on wisdom). His voice, however, could still be heard re-
Among Spanish sources, pride of place belongs to the works of
citing the text to its conclusion. Thereafter S´a¯ntideva left
Fernando Ortiz. Between 1906 and his death in 1969, he
monastic life. His biographies recount the performance of
published hundreds of pieces on all aspects of Afro-Cuban
numerous miracles, such as restoring sight, bringing animals
culture. The work that deals most directly with Santería is
back to life, feeding the hungry, and converting heretics.
perhaps Los bailes y el teatro de los negros en el folklore de Cuba
(Havana, 1951). The most widely available works in Spanish
Sanskrit and Tibetan biographies credit S´a¯ntideva with
in the United States are those of the great exiled folklorist
three Sanskrit works: the S´iks:a¯samuccaya (Compendium of
Lydia Cabrera. Among her many books in print on Afro-
training), the Bodhicarya¯vata¯ra (Understanding the way to
Cuban themes, El monte (Miami, 1968) and Koeko iyawo: Pe-
awakening), and the Su¯trasamuccaya (Compendium of scrip-
queño tratado de regla Lucumi (Miami, 1980) are considered
tures). The Su¯trasamuccaya does not appear to have survived.
authoritative by practitioners and observers alike. Two books
A work of this title, extant in Tibetan and Chinese, has been
by anthropologically trained scholars provide excellent sur-
attributed by most modern scholars to another Indian
veys of the tradition: Julio Sánchez’s La religión de los orichas
Maha¯ya¯na scholar-monk named Na¯ga¯rjuna, whom scholars
(Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, 1978) and Mercedes Cros Sando-
have variously placed between the late first and third centu-
val’s La religion afrocubana (Madrid, 1975). Sandoval’s book
makes use of Pierre Verger’s classic Notes sur le culte des Orisa
ries CE. The Bodhicarya¯vata¯ra, of which there are two recen-
et Vodun à Bahia (Dakar, 1957), which traces the connec-
sions of differing length, is written entirely in verse. The
tions between the religion of the orishas in Africa and that
S´iks:a¯samuccaya, which quotes extensively from approximate-
in Brazil and includes invaluable texts of prayers to the or-
ly one hundred Buddhist sources, combines verse and prose.
ishas as well as excellent photographs.
The Bodhicarya¯vata¯ra and the S´iks:a¯samuccaya provide
JOSEPH M. MURPHY (1987)
a broad overview of Indian Maha¯ya¯na beliefs and practices,
particularly from a male monastic perspective. Both texts de-
scribe the path of a bodhisattva, a being who has generated
the bodhicitta, or aspiration for buddhahood. Bodhisattvas
S´A¯NTIDEVA (seventh and eighth centuries CE) was an
embody the Maha¯ya¯na twin ideals of compassion and wis-
Indian Buddhist monk and scholar at the great Buddhist mo-
dom because their aspiration for buddhahood is motivated
nastic center of Na¯landa¯ in northern India. He was a follower
by a desire to help others. The cultivation of bodhicitta and
of Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism and has been traditionally associated
its accompanying compassion are among the most important
with the Ma¯dhyamika philosophical lineage, especially that
themes in S´a¯ntideva’s works, because these define the path
of the Pra¯san˙gikas, although his precise philosophical affilia-
to buddhahood as one of compassionate service to others.
tion remains a matter of debate among scholars. S´a¯ntideva
Another important theme is that of emptiness (´su¯nyata¯), a
is famous for his eloquent Sanskrit treatises on the Maha¯ya¯na
Maha¯ya¯na philosophical concept used to describe the ulti-
bodhisattva ideal.
mate nature of reality. The wisdom a bodhisattva seeks is the
Sanskrit and Tibetan biographies portray S´a¯ntideva as
ability to perceive all phenomena as lacking, or empty of, in-
both a Maha¯ya¯na monk renowned for the composition of er-
trinsic, independent, and permanent existence. The ninth
udite texts and a Tantric siddha noted for performing mira-
chapter of the Bodhicarya¯vata¯ra, on wisdom, contains
cles. For this reason, some scholars have speculated that his
S´a¯ntideva’s most famous discussion of emptiness. In this
biography may represent an amalgamation of two different
chapter, which reflects a well-established tradition of scholas-
persons. According to his biographies, S´a¯ntideva was a crown
tic debate in medieval India, S´a¯ntideva asserts the correctness
prince and devotee of Mañju´sr¯ı or Mañjughos:a, a bodhisatt-
of his view of ultimate reality over and against those of other
va associated with wisdom who appeared to S´a¯ntideva in vi-
Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical schools.
sions and dreams. Upon his father’s death, S´a¯ntideva fled the
For all their erudition, S´a¯ntideva’s works were intended
kingdom in order to pursue religious practice. S´a¯ntideva be-
as practical handbooks for religious practitioners committed
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8110
SAOSHYANT
to the bodhisattva ideal. Thus his works also contain exten-
S´a¯ntideva. The Bodhicarya¯vata¯ra. Translated by Kate Crosby and
sive instruction on Maha¯ya¯na ethics and ritual. Key ethical
Andrew Skilton. Oxford, U.K., 1996. Crosby and Skilton
concerns include cultivating the six perfections (pa¯ramita¯s)
introduce each chapter of the text by explaining and contex-
of generosity, morality, forbearance, vigor, concentration,
tualizing the ideas and practices described therein. The trans-
and wisdom; eradicating the defilements (kle´sa) of greed,
lation also includes a general introduction to S´a¯ntideva and
his world by Paul Williams.
anger, and delusion, which bind living beings to sam:sa¯ra, or
the cycle of rebirth; and generating the mindfulness (smr:ti)
SUSANNE MROZIK (2005)
and awareness (sam:prajanya) needed to refrain from commit-
ting sinful deeds.
S´a¯ntideva’s works prescribe a wide range of rituals
SAOSHYANT. The Avestan term saoshyant (“future
known in his day; however, the two most commonly associ-
benefactor”; MPers., so¯shans) designates the savior of the
ated with him are a liturgy called the supreme worship and
world, who will arrive at a future time to redeem human-
a meditation called exchanging self and other. The supreme
kind. The concept of the future savior is one of the funda-
worship (anuttara-pu¯ja¯) is a complex liturgy that includes,
mental notions of Zoroastrianism, together with that of du-
among other practices, praise and worship of buddhas and
alism; it appears as early as in the Ga¯tha¯s. Zarathushtra
bodhisattvas, confession of sinful deeds, and dedication of
(Zoroaster), as prophet of the religion, is himself a Saosh-
merit to other living beings. Its purpose is to cultivate bodhi-
yant, one who performs his works for the Frasho¯kereti, the
citta and merit. Exchanging self and other is another means
end of the present state of the world, when existence will be
of cultivating bodhicitta. The meditation begins with the re-
“rehabilitated” and “made splendid.”
flection that all living beings are fundamentally alike because
they share the same desire for happiness and the same fear
Later Zoroastrian tradition developed this notion into
of suffering. Hence there is no reason to privilege one’s own
a true eschatological myth and expanded the number of
concerns above those of others. As the meditation progresses,
Saoshyants from one to three. All the saviors are born from
one comes to reflect that, because others are infinite in num-
the seed of Zarathushtra, which is preserved through the ages
ber, their concerns, taken as whole, should matter more than
in Lake Kansaoya (identified with present-day Lake Hel-
one’s own. By performing this meditation, bodhisattvas in-
mand, in Seistan, Iran), protected by 99,999 fravashis, or
crease their compassionate regard for living beings and their
guardian spirits. The greatest of the awaited Saoshyants, the
commitment to attaining buddhahood for the sake of others.
victorious Astvatereta (“he who embodies truth”), the son of
the V¯ıspataurvair¯ı (“she who conquers all”), is the third, who
S´a¯ntideva holds an important place in Indian Maha¯ya¯na
will make existence splendid; he appears in Yashts 19. Upon
history. His works have been studied and commented upon
his arrival humankind will no longer be subject to old age,
by many Indian and Tibetan Buddhist scholars. S´a¯ntideva’s
death, or corruption, and will be granted unlimited power.
influence remains particularly strong in Tibetan Buddhism.
At that time the dead will be resurrected, and the living will
His works continue to inform the beliefs, practices, and
be immortal and indestructible. Brandishing the weapon
teachings of leading contemporary Tibetan Buddhist figures,
with which he kills the powerful enemies of the world of
such as the Dalai Lama.
truth (that is, the world of the spirit, and of asha), Astvatereta
S
will look upon the whole of corporeal existence and render
EE ALSO Ma¯dhyamika.
it imperishable. He and his comrades will engage in a great
BIBLIOGRAPHY
battle with the forces of evil, which will be destroyed.
Abhayadatta. Buddha’s Lions: The Lives of the Eighty-Four Siddhas.
The name Astvatereta is clearly the result of theological
Translated by James B. Robinson. Berkeley, Calif., 1979.
speculation (Kellens, 1974), as are those of his two brothers,
Translation of Catura´s¯ıti-siddha-pravr:tti.
Ukhshyatereta, “he who makes truth grow,” and Ukhshyatne-
Gyatso, Tenzin (Fourteenth Dalai Lama). A Flash of Lightning in
mah, “he who makes reverence grow”; the names of the three
the Dark of Night: A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life.
virgins (Yashts 13) who are impregnated with the seed of
Boston, 1994.
Zarathushtra when they bathe in Lake Kansaoya and give
La Vallée Poussin, Louis de, ed. Prajña¯karamati’s Commentary
birth to the Saoshyants, are equally speculative. Each of these
to the Bodhicarya¯vata¯ra of S´a¯ntideva. Calcutta, 1901–1914.
Saoshyants will arrive in the last three millenia, initiating a
Pezzali, Amalia. S´a¯ntideva: Mystique bouddhiste des septième et hui-
new age and a new cycle of existence; Astvatereta will appear
tième siècles. Florence, Italy, 1968. Readers should also con-
in the third and final millennium to save humankind.
sult the review of this book: J. W. de Jong, “La Légende de
S´a¯ntideva,” Indo-Iranian Journal 16 (1975): 161–182.
The doctrine of the future savior had already taken
S´a¯ntideva. S´iksha¯samuccaya: A Compendium of Buddhistic Teach-
shape in the Achaemenid period (sixth to fourth centuries
ing (1897–1902). Edited by Cecil Bendall. Osnabrück, Ger-
BCE). It was not, perhaps, the principal element in the forma-
many, 1970.
tion of the messianic idea, but it was certainly a determining
S´a¯ntideva. S´iks:a¯ Samuccaya: A Compendium of Buddhist Doctrine
factor, one that enjoyed great success in the Hellenistic peri-
(1922). Translated by Cecil Bendall and W. H. D. Rouse.
od beyond the confines of the Iranian world. A similar con-
Delhi, India, 1981.
cept, that of the future Buddha, Maitreya, was most likely
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S´A¯RA¯DA DEV¯I
8111
indebted to it, and Christian messianism can trace its roots
Gadadhar Chattopadhaya—who later took the name of Ra-
to the same source.
makrishna—from a neighboring village. Chattopadhaya,
who was eighteen years her senior, was the priest of Ka¯l¯ı’s
SEE ALSO Frasho¯kereti.
temple in Dakshineshwar, a town near Calcutta, and en-
gaged in intense spiritual practices. His frequent ecstasies and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
unorthodox ways of worship led some onlookers to doubt
Boyce, Mary. A History of Zoroastrianism, vol. 1. Leiden, 1975.
his mental stability. S´a¯rada¯ joined her husband on her own
Duchesne-Guillemin, Jacques. La religion de l’Iran ancien. Paris,
accord when she was eighteen, after hearing these rumors
1962.
about his mental health. She found her husband to be a kind
Herzfeld, Ernst. Zoroaster and His World. Princeton, 1947.
and caring person; however, he never consummated the mar-
riage. Instead, he began to give her spiritual instruction.
Kellens, Jean. “Saoˇsiian:t-.” Studia Iranica 3 (1974): 187–209.
S´a¯rada¯ complied with her husband’s wish to lead the life of
Messina, Giuseppe. I Magi a Betlemme e una predizione di
a celibate spiritual seeker.
Zoroastro. Rome, 1933.
Even while leading the life of a married virgin at Dak-
Molé, Marijan. Culte, mythe et cosmologie dans l’Iran ancien. Paris,
shineshwar, S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı served her husband, who was now
1963.
also her guru¯, her living god. Except for her hours of medita-
Nyberg, H. S. Irans forntida religioner. Stockholm, 1937. Trans-
tion, most of her time was spent in cooking for Ramakrishna
lated as Die Religionen des alten Iran (1938; 2d ed., Osna-
and the growing number of his devotees. While S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı
brück, 1966).
remained completely in the background, her unassuming but
Widengren, Geo. Die Religionen Irans. Stuttgart, 1965. Translated
warm personality attracted some female devotees to become
as Les religions de l’Iran (Paris, 1968).
her lifelong companions. She also welcomed in her circle
Widengren, Geo. “Leitende Ideen und Quellen der iranischen
some women of low status and questionable character whom
Apokalyptik.” In Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World
her husband had admonished. Ramakrishna then declared
and the Near East. Tübingen, 1989.
that S´a¯rada¯ was the Mother of the Universe and performed
G
an elaborate ritual of worship for her. He also asked his disci-
HERARDO GNOLI (1987)
Translated from Italian by Roger DeGaris
ples to address her as the Holy Mother. While this exalted
status fulfilled S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı’s maternal dreams in some ways,
it did little to change her daily work routine, which became
even more grueling when Ramakrishna was diagnosed with
S´A¯RA¯DA DEV¯I (1853–1920) was the wife of S´ri Rama-
terminal cancer.
krishna Paramahamsa (1836–1886), a highly regarded
Hindu spiritual master from Bengal, India. She is called the
After Ramakrishna died in 1886, S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı moved
Holy Mother (S´rima) by the followers of Ramakrishna, who
to his village of Kamarpukur and bravely endured poverty
worship her along with her husband as a manifestation of the
verging on starvation for a year. When Dev¯ı was invited to
divine. By the end of Ramakrishna’s life, his followers in-
return to Calcutta by Ramakrishna’s disciples, who had
cluded some leading Bengali intellectuals. As he wished,
begun to form the Ramakrishna order, her spiritual ministry
S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı became the chief source of spiritual and emo-
began in earnest. She did not lead the secluded life of a tradi-
tional support for his disciples after his death, when they
tional Hindu widow after 1887. Moving back and forth be-
began to establish a spiritual order in his name. Up to this
tween Jayrambati and Calcutta, she initiated disciples with
point she had led her life in accordance with the Indian cul-
mantras, advised them in spiritual and practical matters, and
tural ideal of a quiet and dutiful wife; however, she played
provided the community with motherly warmth. Her minis-
a pivotal role in the burgeoning order with her piety, prag-
try was markedly different from that of Ramakrishna. While
matism, and motherly qualities. In the early twenty-first cen-
the latter instructed his disciples in the intricacies of medita-
tury S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı receives the highest degree of honor in the
tion and mystical experiences, she taught them devotion to
order’s many centers throughout the world, along with Ra-
the master, simplicity in living, and loving service to others
makrishna himself and his most famous disciple Swami
through her own example. Following Vivekananda’s visit to
Vivekananda (1863–1902).
America, his Western followers also came to regard her as the
Holy Mother.
S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı was born to a poor Brahmin family in
Jayrambati, a tiny village in West Bengal, in 1853. As a child
S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı was among the earliest Hindu spiritual per-
S´a¯rada¯—then known as Saradamani—was fascinated by In-
sonalities to have Western devotees. She accepted the divine
dian folklore and Hindu narratives. She did not receive any
status accorded to her and the adoration of the devotees
formal education but learned to serve others as she helped
without much concern. Even with her changed status, she
her mother run a large household. During the terrible famine
continued to cook for and feed her disciple-children and
of 1864, S´a¯rada¯ worked ceaselessly as her family served food
took care of her younger siblings’ families. She welcomed
to hungry people. Service to others remained her chief occu-
low-caste devotees and showed a special concern for women.
pation throughout life. At the age of six she was married to
Though uneducated herself, she advocated education for
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8112
SARAH
women. Her contemporary devotees emphasize the theme of
brew pronunciation. Sarah was married to Abraham in Mes-
forgiveness in her teachings. Her saying, “No one is a strang-
opotamia and migrated with him to Canaan, where they
er. The whole world is your own,” is considered her most
wandered until her death at the age of 127; she was buried
valuable message to the world. When Dev¯ı died in 1920, the
in the cave of Machpelah, near Hebron.
growing circle of Ramakrishna’s followers around the world
The narratives of Genesis focus on Sarah’s beauty and
regarded her as the Holy Mother in her own right, a manifes-
infertility. Sarah’s beauty is also praised in rabbinic literature
tation of God’s maternal love.
and greatly elaborated in the Genesis Apocryphon, a pre–
Unfolding during the heyday of British rule in India,
Christian text found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Twice the
S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı’s life demonstrated the strength of simplicity
Bible recounts Abraham’s fear that her desirability would
and motherly affection—a quality that was considered a dis-
lead foreign kings to have him killed so they could marry
tinctive characteristic of Mother India in the nationalist dis-
Sarah. To avoid this fate, Abraham presents Sarah as his sister
course of the early twentieth century. In Dev¯ı’s ability to
(Gn. 12:10–20, 20:1–18). Documents from fifteenth–
combine traditional values with a liberal outlook and to
century Nuzi (modern-day Yorghan Tepe) have sometimes
transform mundane work into spiritual practice through self-
been interpreted as suggesting that especially honored wives
less service, she provided a model of inspiration for modern
in this North Mesopotamian culture were granted the title
Indian women. Even though some contemporary critics of
“Sister;” however, these texts can be interpreted in other
Ramakrishna view S´a¯rada¯ Dev¯ı as a helpless victim of exploi-
ways, and this theory has come to be generally regarded as
tation and imposed spirituality, her quintessential motherly
unlikely.
qualities and piety made her the leader of one of the most
Sarah’s infertility is noted the first time she is mentioned
successful spiritual orders of modern India that has attracted
in the Bible (Gn. 11:30). In accordance with a widespread
followers around the world.
ancient Near Eastern practice, attested in both Nuzi docu-
S
ments and the Code of Hammurabi, Sarah gave Abraham
EE ALSO Gender and Religion, article on Gender and Hin-
duism; Hinduism; Ramakrishna.
her slave girl Hagar with the intention that the offspring of
this union be credited to her as owner of the slave. However,
B
it is clear in Genesis that the chosen line was to proceed
IBLIOGRAPHY
Her Devotee Children. The Gospel of the Holy Mother Sri Sarada
through Sarah, a point the New Testament emphasizes (Gal.
Devi. Madras, 1984.
4:21–31). When, in accordance with God’s promise, Sarah
herself conceived and bore Isaac, she insisted that Hagar and
Kripal, Jeffrey J. Kali’s Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life
and Teachings of Ramakrishna. Chicago, 1995.
her son Ishmael be expelled from their home (Gn. 21); an-
other version of this incident suggests that Hagar fled while
Mandavia, Chetna. “Sri Sarada Devi: An Ideal for Modern
still pregnant because of mistreatment at Sarah’s hands (Gn.
Women.” Prabuddha Bharat 45 (1990): 500–506.
16).
Nikhilananda, Swami. Holy Mother: Being the Life of Sri Sarada
Devi, Wife of Ramakrishna and Helpmate in Mission. 3d ed.
Rabbinic tradition ascribes prophetic powers to Sarah
New York, 1997.
and identifies her with Iscah, Abraham’s niece (Gn. 11:29),
Nivedita, Sister (Margaret Noble). Letters of Nivedita. Edited by
perhaps because the Bible provides no explicit genealogy. In
Sankari Basu. 2 vols. Calcutta, 1982.
the New Testament, Sarah is regarded as a symbol of faith
(Heb. 11:11) and wifely submissiveness (1 Pt. 3:6).
Sil, Narasingha P. Divine Dowager: Life and Teachings of Sarada-
mani the Holy Mother. Selinsgrove, Pa., and London, 2003.
Tapasyananda, Swami. Sri Sarada Devi the Holy Mother: Her Life
BIBLIOGRAPHY
and Conversations. Madras, 1977.
An excellent survey of the patriarchal narratives is Nahum M.
Sarna’s Understanding Genesis (New York, 1966); his treat-
NEELIMA SHUKLA-BHATT (2005)
ment of the wife–sister theme should, however, be qualified
by the summary of information in John Van Seters’s Abra-
ham in History and Tradition
(New Haven, Conn., 1975).
Louis Ginzberg has collected rabbinic traditions in The Leg-
SARAH was the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac.
ends of the Jews, 7 vols., translated by Henrietta Szold and
Abraham’s self-serving presentation of her as his sister when
Paul Radin (1909–1938; reprint, Philadelphia, 1937–1966;
they were visiting foreign lands (Genesis 12:11–13 and 20:2)
2nd edition, in 2 vols., Philadelphia, 2003); refer to the
may be an attempt to justify his self–serving statement, “And
index s.v. Sarah.
Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She [is] my sister” (Genesis
FREDERICK E. GREENSPAHN (2005)
20:2). According to the Bible, Sarah was originally called
Sarai until her name was changed as part of God’s blessing
to Abraham, formerly Abram. The two forms are generally
regarded as dialectal variants of the same name, probably
SARASVAT¯I is a goddess of pan-Indian importance best
meaning “princess”; however, their rendering in the Septua-
known as the patron of learning and the fine arts. Her name
gint (Sara and Sarra) does not conform to the traditional He-
means “flowing, watery,” and indeed, she first appears in the
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SARASVAT¯I
8113
R:gveda as a sacred river. Since R:gvedic times Sarasvat¯ı has
Although Sarasvat¯ı has continued to be associated with
been associated with knowledge and learning, and quite early
Brahma¯, she early developed connections not only with
she developed a special connection with music, as is shown
Laks:m¯ı and Vis:n:u but also with Durga¯ and S´iva. Images of
iconographically by the lute (v¯ın:) that she often holds. In
Vis:n:u from the ninth century CE or earlier in eastern India
texts beginning with the Yajurveda she is identified with Va¯c,
represent her, together with Laks:m¯ı, at Vis:n:u’s side. In Ben-
a female personification of sacred speech.
gal, Sarasvat¯ı and Laks:m¯ı are popularly viewed as the daugh-
ters of S´iva and Durga¯, and their rivalry is proverbial. In cer-
Sarasvat¯ı’s primary mythic association is as the wife (or
tain Pura¯n:as and images Sarasvat¯ı is herself assimilated to the
sometimes the daughter) of the god Brahma¯; as his cult
great goddess Durga¯ and is provided with Durga¯’s mount,
waned, she came increasingly to be represented, along with
a lion.
Laks:m¯ı, as a spouse of Vis:n:u. Although she has been assimi-
CULT. Although the worship of Sarasvat¯ı has been as various
lated in this way to various deities of the Brahmanic tradi-
as her mythology, there are notable points of continuity. The
tion, her primary religious importance is as a goddess in her
ram, the he-goat, and the ewe are prescribed in Vedic texts
own right. Thus, in spite of her frequent consort status, she
as sacrificial offerings to her, and this custom has continued
is popularly viewed as unmarried, and she is commonly wor-
into the twentieth century in the district of Dacca, Bangla-
shiped alone. Images characteristically portray her as fair,
desh, where a ram fight has also served as entertainment on
wearing white garments and many ornaments, sitting with
the day of her worship. Rice and barley, which are also
one leg pendant, and playing the v¯ın: with two of her four
among her offerings from Vedic times, suggest a connection
arms while holding one or more other objects, such as a
with fertility, as does early spring, the season of her festival
manuscript, a white lotus, a rosary, or a water vessel. A ruddy
in Bengal. Prosperity and cure, as well as success in marriage
goose or swan (ham:sa), her usual mount (va¯hana) and em-
and procreation, are chief among the boons requested of her
blem, is often represented at her feet; less commonly, she has
since ancient times.
been depicted with a ram.
Sarasvat¯ı’s continuing importance for scholars is attest-
MYTHOLOGY. From the R:gveda onward, Sarasvat¯ı’s mythic
ed to by her prominence in the invocatory (man:gala) verses
associations have been various and complex. As one form of
of Sanskrit manuscripts, in which she appears more frequent-
the sacrificial fire, she is conceived of as the wife of Agni,
ly than any other deity except Gan:e´sa. Her role as the god-
whose mount is also a ram. In the A¯pr¯ı hymns of the R:gveda
dess of learning is prominent in her worship in homes, where
she is praised together with Il:a¯ and Bha¯rat¯ı as the triple
students place their books before her image on her festival
tongue of the sacrificial fire. Yet her closest Vedic associa-
day. On that day, too, the family priest puts chalk in the
tions are with Indra and with the twin A´svins, the physicians
hand of the youngest child and guides the child’s hand in
of the gods. Vedic accounts portray her as healing, refresh-
writing his or her first letters. Musicians, especially in South
ing, and giving strength to Indra, either as a river or by the
India, place their instruments before her shrine and worship
power of her speech, and she is sometimes said to be Indra’s
them—with fruits, coconut, cloth, incense, and lighted oil
wife and sometimes the wife of the A´svins. Her banks were
lamps—as the very body of the goddess.
considered the most sacred place for sacrifices, and her waters
BUDDHIST AND JAIN TRADITIONS. Sarasvat¯ı as the goddess
alone were deemed capable of purifying humans from that
of learning has also figured prominently in both the Jain and
most heinous of crimes, brahmanicide.
the Buddhist traditions. She has been worshiped by the Jains
since ancient times as S´rutadevata¯, the deity who presides
In the later tradition, Sarasvat¯ı’s river aspect gradually
over the sacred teachings, and in later Vajraya¯na Buddhism
diminished, perhaps at the sam:e time that the actual river by
she became the female counterpart and consort of Mañju´sr¯ı,
that name receded and eventually disappeared; certain epic
the bodhisattva of wisdom. Through Indian Vajraya¯na her
and Puranic myths do, however, retain a sense of her earlier
cult spread to Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia, as well as China
identity. In a Maha¯bha¯rata story she preserves the Vedas dur-
and Japan, and it has remained popular among Buddhists of
ing a twelve-year drought by feeding her son Sa¯rasvata on her
those lands.
fish when other brahmans have become too weak to remem-
ber the sacred texts; she is also praised in the Pura¯n:as and
SEE ALSO Ganges River; Goddess Worship, article on The
in inscriptions for bearing the virulent Aurva¯ fire to the sea.
Hindu Goddess; Indian Religions, article on Mythic
Yet increasingly she is conceived of as an anthropomorphic
Themes; Rivers.
goddess, whose beauty and quick temper cause problems for
those around her. In a Puranic elaboration of a Vedic kernel,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brahma¯ so desires to keep his lovely daughter in view as she
There is no single comprehensive study of Sarasvat¯ı. Most works
circumambulates him that he grows a face in every direction.
treating her have focused almost entirely on texts or images,
Other Pura¯n:as tell of a quarrel among the three wives of
rarely combining the two approaches. Among textual studies
Vis:n:u—Sarasvat¯ı, Laks:m¯ı, and Gan:ga¯—which becomes so
are Manisha Mukhopadhyay’s “Laks:m¯ı and Sarasvat¯ı in
fierce that Vis:n:u gives Sarasvat¯ı to Brahma¯ and Gan:ga¯ to
Sanskrit Inscriptions” and A. K. Chatterjee’s “Some Aspects
S´iva.
of Sarasvat¯ı,” both included in Foreigners in Ancient India
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8114
SARMATIAN RELIGION
and Laks:m¯ı and Sarasvat¯ı in Art and Literature, edited by D.
were still dominant in the first centuries CE. In language and
C. Sircar (Calcutta, 1970). The earlier and more comprehen-
culture, the Sarmatians were close to the Scythians. Their
sive article of Haridas Bhattacharyya, “Sarasvat¯ı the Goddess
ethnonym is similar to that of the Sauromatians, who inhab-
of Learning,” in Commemorative Essays Presented to Professor
ited the left bank of the Lower Don in the middle of the first
Kashinath Bapuji Pathak (Poona, 1934), pp. 32–52, goes be-
millennium BCE. Classical tradition often treated both these
yond these two in giving brief but suggestive accounts of
names as identical, but in contemporary scholarship the
popular conceptions and practices. Sushila Khare’s Sarasvat¯ı
question of the degree of relationship between the Sauroma-
(Varanasi, 1966) provides a useful compendium in Hindi of
Vedic, epic, and Puranic sources for understanding the god-
tians and the Sarmatians remains debatable.
dess. Although Khare includes a chapter treating the various
The Sarmatians’ lack of a written language has severely
directions for making Sarasvat¯ı’s images as found in Hindu,
limited the scope of available data about their religion. The
Jain, and Buddhist treatises, her work is largely limited to the
only evidence about their pantheon is the indication by a
elite Brahmanic tradition and takes little or no account of
popular conceptions or contemporary practice. Still more
writer of the fifth century CE that in the language of the Alani
specialized is the richly detailed monograph by Jan Gonda,
(a tribe of the Sarmatian group) the name of the town Feodo-
Pu¯s:an and Sarasvat¯ı (Amsterdam, 1985), in which he at-
sia in the Crimea was Ardabda (“seven gods”). This is a re-
tempts through a close study of Vedic literature to determine
flection of the tradition, common among the ancient Indo-
the early history of the conceptions of these two deities.
Iranians, of worshiping seven gods, a practice also character-
The almost exclusively textual approach of the above studies of
istic of Scythian religion. The actual makeup of this
Sarasvat¯ı requires correction by a careful examination of her
Sarmatian pantheon is unknown. Perhaps it was about one
extant images. T. A. Gopinatha Rao’s Elements of Hindu Ico-
of the gods of this pantheon that Ammianus Marcellinus
nography, 2 vols. (1914–1916; 2d ed., New York, 1968),
(31.2.23) wrote, comparing him to the Roman Mars and re-
treats her briefly, showing certain simple correlations be-
lating that the Alani worshiped him in the form of an un-
tween descriptive and prescriptive texts and selected images.
sheathed sword driven into the ground. This ritual may be
The studies of Nalini Kanta Bhattasali and Jitendra Banerjea
interpreted as the erection of the axis mundi, which joins the
offer fuller analyses and more imaginative interpretations of
world of people with the world of the gods. Such an interpre-
the data. Bhattasali’s landmark work, Iconography of Buddhist
tation is confirmed by information about the Scythians, who
and Brahma¯nical Sculptures in the Dacca Museum (Dacca,
had a similar ritual; but the Scythians performed it on special
1929), is unique in its effective juxtaposition of textual and
iconographic evidence, especially regarding the connection
stationary altars, whose complete absence among the Sarma-
of Sarasvat¯ı with Vis:n:u. In The Development of Hindu Ico-
tians (and of all other monumental religious structures as
nography, 2d ed. (Calcutta, 1956), Banerjea shows the influ-
well) was specifically noted by the classical writers. Hence the
ence of popular iconographic types—represented by terra-
religious practices of the Sarmatians had a more nomadic
cotta figurines from the Maurya and S´un˙ga periods—on
character, entirely suited to their mobile way of life.
early images of the goddess. Curt Maury’s provocative Folk
Origins of Indian Art
(New York, 1969) provides evidence
The ancient writers also indicate that the tribes living
that Sarasvat¯ı is a regional variant of an ancient lotus god-
along the Don worshiped that river (the ancient Tanais) as
dess, called also S´r¯ı and Laks:m¯ı.
a god and that, moreover, they called the Sauromatians “fire
Art-historical studies are themselves incomplete without a knowl-
worshipers.” The worship of fire and water as gods is an an-
edge of the contexts in which the images have been used. In
cient tradition of all Iranian peoples, and it may be assumed
the case of Sarasvat¯ı, these contexts have not been sufficiently
that the deities of these elements were part of the Sarmatian
explored. Also needed is a close investigation of her contem-
pantheon of seven gods, as was the case among the Scythians.
porary cult, especially in the villages. It is likely that further
research will identify other indigenous elements that have co-
These sparse data constitute the sole written evidence
alesced with the more readily traceable Brahma¯nical ones to
on the religion of the Sarmatians. To some extent they have
form her composite character. A thorough historical study of
been correlated with archaeological findings, the basic
the interplay among popular and literary conceptions and
sources for the reconstruction of this religion. It is true that,
practices should thus yield a more accurate and balanced
owing to the nomadic character of the Sarmatian way of life,
view of the religious significance of this major Indian god-
the only monuments left by them are burial mounds. Thus
dess.
they reflect only those aspects of Sarmatian religion that
D
focus on Sarmatian burial practices. For example, data on
ONNA MARIE WULFF (1987)
Sarmatian fire-worship have something in common with
their extensive use of fire in one form or another in their
burial practices. The Sarmatians did not practice cremation
SARMATIAN RELIGION. The Sarmatians were Ira-
of the dead or the burning of the grave construction, but
nian-speaking nomadic tribes that formed in the middle of
quite often they covered the graves with the remnants of the
the first millennium BCE in the southern Urals. In the last
ritual bonfire, which sometimes led to the combustion of
centuries before the common era they spread from there in
the grave’s wooden covering and even to the scorching of the
a westward direction—to the lower Volga region, the Cis-
corpse. The earth tempered by such fires was sometimes
caucasus, and the northern Black Sea shore—where they
spread in a ring around the grave or was admixed with the
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SARMATIAN RELIGION
8115
soil from which the burial mound covering the grave was
cient authors connected the origins of these people with the
formed. Traces of such fires are often found in the burial
Amazons, and even called them “woman-ruled.”
mound itself, not far from the grave. It is not clear whether
the fire in these rituals was considered as an element to which
The rather sparse data cited here on the Sauromato-
the dead person was consigned or only as a purifying princi-
Sarmatian religion are constantly being supplemented with
ple.
archaeological investigations of the monuments of this peo-
ple. In time these will enable a much more detailed and well-
Also connected with the worship of fire are the stone or
grounded reconstruction of the Sarmatian religion.
ceramic censers, used for burning aromatic substances, that
have frequently been found in Sarmatian graves. Archaeolo-
SEE ALSO Inner Asian Religions; Prehistoric Religions, arti-
gists also consider fragments of a red mineral dye, realgar,
cle on The Eurasian Steppes and Inner Asia; Scythian
often found in Sarmatian graves, to be a substitute for fire
Religion.
in a burial. The same interpretation for chalk—another min-
eral commonly found in Sarmatian graves—is more debat-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
able. But its purifying function is completely obvious. Chalk
Up to the present, no monographs have been devoted to the Sar-
was either put in the grave in pieces or strewn on the bottom
matian religion. For general information on the history of
of the grave. The latter custom, like the tradition of laying
the Sarmatians, see János Harmatta’s Studies in the History
grass under the burial, was evidently meant to prevent the
and Language of the Sarmatians, vol. 13 of “Acta Universitatis
corpse from coming into direct contact with the earth and
de Attilla Jozsef Nominatae: Acta Antiqua et Archaeologica”
thus being defiled. This custom was a prominent characteris-
(Szeged, 1970). A fuller summary of archaeological data on
tic of Zoroastrian burial practice, which developed from an-
the Sauromatians, including information on their religious
cient Iranian beliefs.
antiquities, is in K. F. Smirnov’s Savromaty: Ranniaia istoriia
i kul Dtura sarmatov
(Moscow, 1964). On Sarmatian monu-
The Sarmatian custom of placing burial mounds around
ments of the Ural region, see K. F. Smirnov’s Sarmaty na
one of the oldest mounds may be interpreted as evidence of
Ileke (Moscow, 1975). As for works devoted exclusively to
the worship of ancestor graves and, in the final analysis, of
the Sarmatian religion, there is only a short article, K. F.
an ancestor cult. In some burial mounds in which persons
Smirnov’s “Sarmaty-ognepoklonniki,” in the collection Ar-
of high social rank were interred, there have also been found
kheologiia Severnoi i Tsentral Dnoi Azii (Novosibirsk, 1975),
the bodies of people who were deliberately killed—servants,
pp. 155–159.
swordbearers, and so forth—indicating that the Sarmatians
New Sources
practiced human sacrifice. Far more widespread was the cus-
tom of placing in the graves food for the dead, in the form
General studies on the Sarmatians include, after the pioneering in-
qury by Mikhail Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks in South
of parts of the carcass of a horse or a sheep. A typically Sarma-
Russia (Oxford, 1922); Tadeusz Sulimirski, The Sarmatians
tian feature is the placing in the grave of a specially broken
(New York, 1970); Antiquités d’Eurasie de l’époque scytho-
mirror, or of its fragments, perhaps indicating that the Sar-
sarmate, edited by M.G. Moˇskova (Moskva, 1984). M. A.
matians regarded the mirror as the person’s “double,” who
Ocir-Gor’ajeva, La culture sarmate de la Basse Volga du VI au
died together with him.
V siècle avant notre ère (Leningrad, 1988); V. V. Fedotov, “La
There is no doubt that animal-style art, widespread in
typologie des caractéristiques historico-géographiques des
Sarmates et des Alains dans les sources antiques.” In La cul-
Sarmatian culture, is connected with the religio-
ture matérielle de l’Orient, pp. 54–68. Moskva, 1988; John
mythological concepts of the Sarmatians. Zoomorphic mo-
Joseph Wilkes, “Romans, Dacians and Sarmatians in the first
tifs were used to decorate ritual objects and to adorn the trap-
and early second centuries.” In Rome and Her Northern Prov-
pings of horses and warriors. However, no study has yet been
inces. Papers Presented to S. Frere in Honour of His Retirement
made of the Sarmatian animal style, and the iconography re-
from the Chair of Archaeology of the Roman Empire, edited by
mains obscure.
Brian Hartley and John Wacher, pp. 255–289. Gloucester,
1983.
Among the objects most frequently decorated with zoo-
morphic images are the Sauromato-Sarmatian portable al-
Bibliographic hints are offered by Alexander Haeusler, “Beiträge
tars—small stone dishes with or without supporting feet—
zum Stand der Sarmatenforschung.” Zeitschrift für Archäolo-
used for grinding chalk and realgar, for igniting fires, and,
gie 17 (1983): 159–194.
probably, for other ritual activities. The small size of these
Mikhail I. Rostovtzeff, “L’État, la religion et la culture des Scythes
altars again bears witness to the mobile nature of Sarmatian
et des Sarmates.” Vestnik Drevnej Istorii 188 (1989):
religious practice, which had been adapted to a nomadic way
192–206 deals with religion in a general perspective.
of life. An interesting feature of these altars is that they are
On funerary customs see: K. F. Smirnov, “Les sépultures sarmates
found exclusively at female burials. Evidently, the rituals
en catacombes découvertes dans les régions méridionales pré-
connected with them were the monopoly of priestesses. This
ouraliennes et transvolgiennes et leurs rapports aux cata-
fact is usually related to the information from Herodotus and
combes du Caucase du Nord.” Sovietskaja Archeologija 1
other classical authors about the high position of women in
(1972): 73–81; I. I. Marcenko, Les Sarmates des steppes de la
Sauromato-Sarmatian society. It is not by chance that an-
rive droite du Bas Kouban de la 2 moitié du IV siècle avant
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8116
SARTRE, JEAN-PAUL
notre ère au III siècle de notre ère (d’après les sépultures en tumu-
to fill itself, to ground itself in the fullness of the In-itself.
li) (Leningrad, 1988).
But a paradox ensues: The more human beings endeavor to
become “something,” stable, fixed, assured in their status, the
D. S. RAEVSKII (1987)
more they are In-itself-like, the more they lose their freedom
Translated from Russian by Mary Lou Masey
Revised Bibliography
and choose “bad faith,” a negation of human authenticity.
Yet the primordial ontological project of the For-itself is to
achieve a stable synthesis with the In-itself. That synthesis,
for Sartre, would be God. “To be man means to reach toward
SARTRE, JEAN-PAUL (1905–1980), French philos-
being God. Or, if you prefer, man fundamentally is the de-
opher and man of letters, is generally regarded as the chief
sire to be God” (Being and Nothingness, p. 566). What Sartre
exponent of the atheistic branch of existentialism. Soon after
calls the “passion” of the human being to unite itself with
World War II, Sartre wrote in Existentialism and Humanism
the plenum of being In-itself and become For-itself-In-itself
(London, 1948): “Atheistic existentialism, of which I am a
is from the ontological outset doomed to defeat. Sartre
representative, declares . . . that if God does not exist there
writes:
is at least one being whose existence comes before its essence,
Every human reality is a passion in that it projects los-
a being which exists before it can be defined by any concep-
ing itself so as to found being and by the same stroke
tion of it. That being is man” (pp. 27–28). Sartre’s existen-
to constitute the In-itself which escapes contingency by
tialism, given its most sophisticated expression in Being and
being its own foundation, the Ens causa sui, which reli-
Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology (New
gions call God. Thus the passion of man is the reverse
York, 1956), is a philosophy of human reality that views
of that Christ, for man loses himself as man in order
human beings without recourse to any divine creator, that
that God may be born. But the idea of God is contra-
dictory and we lose ourselves in vain. Man is a useless
is, without appeal to God. Neither a virulent nor a polemical
passion. (Being and Nothingness, p. 615)
atheist, Sartre is not interested in the traditional philosophi-
cal or theological proofs for the existence of God. It would
The striking feature of Sartre’s atheism is that it remains so
be more precise to say that Sartre is concerned with other
closely in touch with—even in ontological terms—the con-
matters, for, according to him, even if God did exist, his exis-
cept of God. The anguish of human beings, ultimately, is
tence would be irrelevant to Sartre’s fundamental project: to
that they cannot be God and that in consequence they are
draw the final conclusions of a view of reality in which
forced back upon themselves—utterly and without recourse.
human beings define themselves through the choices that
But it is evident that however “religiously unmusical”
they make of their lives and that form the portraits of their
Sartre’s writings may be, there is not only in Being and Noth-
being. In Existentialism and Humanism Sartre quotes Dos-
ingness but in later works, such as his book on Genet and his
toevskii’s statement that “if God did not exist, everything
study of Flaubert, the intransigent recognition that fellow
would be permitted” and adds: “that, for existentialism, is
human beings believe. The faith of others haunts the human
the starting point” (p. 33). Whether or not God does exist,
reality. In his autobiographical study Words (London, 1964),
it might be said, in Sartrean terms, “everything is permit-
Sartre explores the complex religious background of his
ted”—and that means that human beings are the source of
childhood. The harsh and thorough repudiation he has given
value, choice, and responsibility. At the same time, Sartre
his Protestant-Catholic heritage has negated its essentials;
holds that the individual’s choice is not a solitary event but
but he has not succeeded altogether in ridding religious nu-
a moment of responsibility in which the chooser chooses an
ances from his writing: “I depend only on those who depend
image of existence for everyone
only on God, and I do not believe in God. Try and sort this
out” (ibid., pp. 172–173). Sartre’s atheism is not a state of
Although Sartre considers the existence of God irrele-
being or a fixed condition. Rather it is a provocative affirma-
vant, he “finds it extremely embarrassing that God does not
tion that “becoming-an-atheist is a long and difficult under-
exist, for there disappears with Him all possibility of finding
taking” (“The Singular Universal,” in Kierkegaard: A Collec-
values in an intelligible heaven” (Existentialism and Human-
tion of Critical Essays, Garden City, N.Y., 1972, p. 264).
ism, p. 33). That “embarrassment” is explored more cau-
In contrast to Camus, a writer whose honey of the ab-
tiously and profoundly in Being and Nothingness, where
surd has attracted many theistic readers—that is, believers—
Sartre maintains that the basic polarities of being, the “For-
Sartre’s bitter gift to the faithful and the theologians is a rep-
itself” and the “In-itself,” are incapable of synthesis. The For-
lication of Hegel’s “unhappy consciousness” (see Sartre,
itself, or the human reality, is understood as consciousness
Being and Nothingness, p. 90). Viewed in religious terms,
(both pre-reflective and reflective), a continually nihilating
Sartre is an aberrant supplicant to a shattered God.
movement of temporality that arises, absurdly, from being
In-itself. The In-itself is simply that which it is: an opaque
BIBLIOGRAPHY
plenum. The In-itself is underivable from God or from any
Bibliographies
divine act of creation; in its utter density, the In-itself, ac-
Contat, Michel, and Michel Rybalka, comps. The Writings of
cording to Sartre, “is never anything but what it is” (Being
Jean-Paul Sartre, vol. 1, A Biographical Life. Evanston, Ill.,
and Nothingness, p. lxviii). The For-itself is empty and seeks
1974.
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SARVA¯STIVA¯DA
8117
Lapointe, François H., with the collaboration of Claire Lapointe.
ment among scholars as to the true affiliation of the sects
Jean-Paul Sartre and His Critics: An International Bibliogra-
mentioned in these sources. It is not clear, for instance,
phy, 1938–1980. 2d ed., annot. & rev. Bowling Green, Ky.,
whether the Mah¯ı´sa¯saka school should be classified under
1981.
the Sarva¯stiva¯da or under “mainline” Sthaviras. There is,
Wilcocks, Robert. Jean-Paul Sartre: A Bibliography of International
nevertheless, agreement among the classical sources on the
Criticism. With a preface by Michel Contat and Michel Ry-
derivation of the Sarva¯stiva¯da from a main Sthavira trunk,
balka. Edmonton, 1975.
most probably after the great schism that separated the early
Secondary Sources
Sthavira from the Maha¯sa¯m:ghika. The separation of
Desan, Wilfred. The Tragic Finale: An Essay on the Philosophy of
Sarva¯stiva¯da from its trunk of origin is supposed to have
Jean-Paul Sartre. Cambridge, 1954.
taken place at the Third Buddhist Council, held under King
Grene, Marjorie. Sartre. New York, 1973.
A´soka. They separated from the Sthaviras according to some
Hartmann, Klaus. Sartre’s Ontology. Evanston, Ill., 1966.
accounts, from the Mah¯ı´sa¯saka, according to others.
Jeanson, Francis. Sartre and the Problem of Morality. Bloomington,
It is known from inscriptional evidence that the area of
Ind., 1980.
greatest strength of the Sarva¯stiva¯da was the Northwest, from
Jolivet, Régis. Sartre: The Theology of the Absurd. Westminster,
Mathura to Afghanistan and the Central Asian desert. But
Md., 1967.
they also were known in East and South India. Their influ-
King, Thomas M. Sartre and the Sacred. Chicago, 1974.
ence extended to Indonesia, and, indirectly, to China.
Natanson, Maurice. A Critique of Jean-Paul Sartre’s Ontology
The Sarva¯stiva¯dins received the royal patronage of
(1951). Reprint, The Hague, 1973.
Kanis:ka (second century CE). According to tradition, the
Schilpp, Paul A., ed. The Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre. La Salle,
Tripit:aka of this school was finally closed during his reign.
Ill., 1981.
But it is not clear whether this legend is due to a confusion
New Sources
between the writing of their Abhidharma and the compila-
Aronson, Ronald. Camus and Sartre: The Story of a Friendship and
tion of the canon. It is more likely that most of the
the Quarrel that Ended It. Chicago, Ill., 2004.
Sarva¯stiva¯din Tripit:aka was redacted earlier, and that by the
Dobson, Andrew. Jean-Paul Sartre and the Politics of Reason: A
second century CE Sarva¯stiva¯din scholars were engaged in ex-
Theory of History. New York, 1993.
egetical work. This was the time for the major systematic
works, and the beginning of the work of synthesis such as
Wider, Kathleen Virginia. The Bodily Nature of Consciousness:
would develop into the Maha¯vibha¯s:a¯.
Sartre and Contemporary Philosophy of Mind. Ithaca, N.Y.,
1997.
As a school of philosophy Sarva¯stiva¯da was gradually ab-
MAURICE NATANSON (1987)
sorbed by the Sautra¯ntika and the Maha¯ya¯na. But it re-
Revised Bibliography
mained a strong monastic institution, especially in the
Northwest. Sarva¯stiva¯da survived at least into the ninth cen-
tury CE through the Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯da subschool. By count-
SARVA¯STIVA¯DA.
ing Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯din texts as works of Sarva¯stiva¯din im-
The school of Sarva¯stiva¯da was one
print, one can form an approximate idea of the greater part
of the so-called Eighteen Schools (nika¯ya, a¯cariyava¯da) of
of the Tripit:aka of this school. The combined literature of
early Buddhism. The term Sarva¯stiva¯da is also used to desig-
both groups almost constitutes a complete canon, preserved
nate the body of doctrine and literature associated with this
mostly in Chinese and Tibetan translation, but also in several
community. The sociological nature of the group, however,
Sanskrit fragments from central Asia. This body of literature
remains unknown.
is an important source for the study of the so-called
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. Although it is customary to
H¯ınaya¯na schools, eclipsed in this respect only by that of the
refer to the Sarva¯stiva¯da as a H¯ınaya¯na “sect,” it seems evi-
Therava¯da tradition.
dent that it was primarily a monastic and intellectual move-
ment—thus the term sect might be inappropriate. The term
LITERATURE. The Sarva¯stiva¯din canon is a Tripit:aka only in
H¯ınaya¯na is equally problematic, and in this case it must be
the sense that it was conceived as having three parts. But it
taken to establish only a definition by exclusion—“that
is characteristic of this canon that in addition to the three
which is not Maha¯ya¯na.” The Sarva¯stiva¯da was one of the
traditional Pit:akas (Su¯tra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma), it even-
parent lines in the genealogic tree of the Eighteen Schools,
tually developed a Ks:udraka Pit:aka to accommodate miscel-
consistently identified in traditional doxography as one of
laneous works of late origin. Also characteristic of this canon
the earlier Sthavira groups. From the Sarva¯stiva¯da arose in
was the exclusion of texts such as the Dharmapada (consid-
turn, according to most accounts, the schools of the
ered paracanonical) and the composition of extensive com-
Sautra¯ntika and the Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯da, and perhaps that of
mentaries on the Abhidharma Pit:aka.
the Dharmaguptaka.
A good part of the Sarva¯stiva¯din canon survives in Chi-
Existing knowledge of the history and teachings of the
nese translation. The Madhyama A¯gama found in the Chi-
early schools is based on late sources, and there is little agree-
nese canon is definitely Sarva¯stiva¯din; some scholars also re-
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SARVA¯STIVA¯DA
gard the Chinese translation of the Sam:yukta¯gama as of
The most influential text of the school was the fruit of
Sarva¯stiva¯da origin, although this collection is probably a
its dedication to Abhidharma studies, a collective work of ex-
Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯da work. The Dharmaguptaka D¯ırgha¯gama
egesis, the Maha¯vibha¯s: (150–200 CE), purporting to be a
may be quite similar to the corresponding Sarva¯stiva¯da col-
commentary to Ka¯tya¯yan¯ıputra’s Jña¯naprastha¯na. But this
lection, now lost. The Sarva¯stiva¯da Vinaya is also preserved
work is more than a commentary; it provides invaluable in-
in Chinese in several versions, including a short, early ver-
formation on the earlier traditions of Abhidharma (e.g., the
sion, and an expanded version accompanied by a commen-
doctrines of the “four great masters,” Vasumitra,
tary, the Vinaya-vibha¯s:a¯. This last text became the
Dharmatra¯ta, Ghos:a, and Buddhadeva), and on rival
Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯din Vinaya, which is also preserved in Tibet-
schools, including some non-Buddhist philosophical schools
an. Another recension has been recovered in Sanskrit manu-
(e.g., Sa¯m:khya). Apart from its value as a major source of in-
scripts from Gilgit and Afghanistan. The Abhidharma of the
formation on Buddhist scholastic traditions, this work influ-
Sarva¯stiva¯da is preserved in its entirety in the Chinese canon
enced the development of other schools, including the
(some books in more than one translation). Only fragments
Maha¯ya¯na. Even when criticized (as in the Abhidharmako´sa
remain in the original Sanskrit.
of the Sautra¯ntika philosopher Vasubandhu, or in the
Fragments of the Sarva¯stiva¯din canon have been found
Maha¯prajña¯pa¯ramita¯-upade´sa S´a¯stra of the Maha¯ya¯nist
in Central Asia (the Tarim Basin). These Sanskrit manu-
pseudo-Na¯ga¯rjuna), the Maha¯vibha¯s: continued to provide
scripts include parts of the Vinaya, the Bhiks:u- and
the basic model for intellectual order and spiritual typologies.
Bhiks:un
¯ ¯ı-pra¯timoks:a, and the Su¯tra Pit:aka. The same region
Moreover, the two above-mentioned critical works contrib-
has yielded several manuscripts of the Uda¯navarga (a collec-
uted to the diffusion of Sarva¯stiva¯din ideas in East Asia. Be-
tion similar to the Pali Dhammapada). One of the seven
cause of the central role of this text in defining Sarva¯stiva¯din
books of the Sarva¯stiva¯da Abhidharma, the Abhidharmas-
orthodoxy, mainline Sarva¯stiva¯dins are sometimes known as
am:g¯ıtiparya¯ya, has been found in Afghanistan (Bamiyan). A
Vaibha¯s:ikas, that is, followers of the (Maha¯) Vibha¯s:a¯.
Sanskrit manuscript of a postcanonical work of Sarva¯stiva¯din
CHARACTERISTIC DOCTRINES. A characteristic doctrine of
Abhidharma, the Abhidharmad¯ıpa, was recovered in Tibet.
this school, the one from which the school derives its name,
It is believed that this is the work of Sam:ghabhadra (fourth
is the theory of time. According to this doctrine—
century) or one of his disciples.
summarized in the phrase sarvam asti (“everything exists”)—
The greater part of the remaining Sanskrit works of the
all of the three dimensions of time (past, present, future)
school belong to the ava¯dana literature and are for the most
exist; that is, the present continues to exist when it becomes
part late compositions or redactions. The Lalitavistara, for
the past, and so forth. This doctrine seems to have been de-
instance, a biography of the life of the Buddha (up to his en-
veloped as a way to protect the laws of causality (especially
lightenment), shows strong Maha¯ya¯na influence. Two other
as they apply to karmic or moral retribution) from the poten-
important works of this genre, the Avada¯nasataka and the
tially undermining effect of the doctrine of impermanence.
Divya¯vada¯na, are probably associated with the Mu¯la-
sarva¯stiva¯din subsect. To this same group belongs the Vinaya
Dharma theory. Another means of insuring continuity
discovered at Gilgit and some of the fragments from Turfan
and order in the philosophical world of Sarva¯stiva¯da was the
(e.g., the Maha¯parinirva¯n:a Su¯tra).
doctrine of dharmas. According to the Sarva¯stiva¯da under-
standing, although all things are impermanent, the basic
THE SARVA¯STIVA¯DIN ABHIDHARMA. The Sarva¯stiva¯din Ab-
building blocks of reality including even some attributes and
hidharma Pit:aka is divided into six treatises and a seventh
relations, are substantial and real. These substantial entities
work of synthesis (“the six feet and the body” of Abhidhar-
(dravyasat) are known as dharmas. With the exception of
ma): (1) Prakaran:apada, (2) Vijña¯naka¯ya, (3) Dharmaskand-
three elements of reality, all things are compounds of dhar-
ha, (4) Prajña¯pti´sa¯stra, (5) Dha¯tuka¯ya, (6) Sam:g¯ıtiparya¯ya,
mas; they can be broken into their component parts and are
and (7) Jña¯naprastha¯na. Each of the works has a putative au-
in that sense impermanent. Some compounds and the dhar-
thor, but sources vary on their attribution (e.g.,
mas that compose them are pure, others impure. Only
Maha¯kaus:t:hila or S´a¯riputra for the Sam:g¯ıtiparya¯ya, S´a¯riputra
nirva¯n:a is both pure and permanent (as well as uncom-
or Maudgalya¯yana for the Dharmaskandha). However, the
pounded). There are, however, two other dharmas that are
last (and latest) of these seven books, the Jña¯naprastha¯na, is
uncompounded: cessation without conscious discrimination,
consistently attributed to Ka¯tya¯yan¯ıputra; his authorship is
and space.
generally accepted as factual, although the Maha¯vibha¯s:
claims that he was merely the redactor of the text and that
Karman and no-self. The Sarva¯stiva¯da theory of kar-
its real author was the Buddha. Three of the works in the
man is based on the dharma theory. All actions resulting
Sarva¯stiva¯din Abhidharma reflect the style and content of
from human intention affect the constituents of the person-
earlier catechistic (ma¯tr:ka¯) and cosmological su¯tras, found in
ality—that is, they change its dharma composition. This ef-
the Su¯tra Pit:aka of other schools. In all probability these
fect of action is made possible by a relational dharma called
form the original core of the Abhidharma and explain the
“appropriation” or “acquisition” (pra¯pti). Pra¯pti was a key
Sarva¯stiva¯din claim that the Abhidharma was also the word
concept in the attempt to establish the rationality of moral
of the Buddha (buddhavacana).
responsibility in an impermanent world; that is, it was meant
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SARVA¯STIVA¯DA
8119
to account for karmic continuity in the absence of an agent,
monasteries under Sarva¯stiva¯din influence. Although he
or self. But the key term used in formulating a rational ac-
found Sarva¯stiva¯dins in almost all parts of India, they were
count of the element of continuity in the empirical self was
the dominant group only in Northwest India and in the In-
santa¯na (“series”). The term self was considered a misnomer
donesian archipelago.
for a series of dharmas. With no lasting element or underly-
ing substance, this series is held together only by the laws of
Sautra¯ntikas. A subgroup of the Sarva¯stiva¯dins, the
causality. The doctrine of pra¯pti was criticized by the
Da¯rs:t:a¯ntikas—followers of Kuma¯rala¯ta’s Drs:t:a¯ntapan˙ki
Sautra¯ntikas—mainly in the work of Vasubandhu (c. fourth
gave rise to a new movement in reaction to Sarva¯stiva¯din em-
century
phasis on the Abhidharma. Whereas the Sarva¯stiva¯dins were
CE)—but the concept of santa¯na remained a central
tool of philosophical explanation in later Buddhist phi-
of the opinion that the Buddha had preached the Abhidhar-
losophy.
ma at Sravasti, this new group maintained that the Abhidhar-
ma was not the word of the Buddha. Only the su¯tras had ca-
Buddhology. In soteriology and in their theory of the
nonical authority for them. They claimed that the term
Path, the Sarva¯stiva¯da developed perhaps the most complex
Abhidharma Pit:aka could refer only to those su¯tras belonging
and complete of the Buddhist maps of spiritual growth. They
to the ma¯tr:ka¯ genre. Therefore, they called themselves
were concerned with the path of the bodhisattva as well as
Sautra¯ntikas (“followers of the su¯tra or su¯tra¯nta¯”). Their first
that of the arhat, although they still perceived the former as
great master was S´r¯ıla¯ta, a disciple of Kuma¯rala¯ta (both from
a rare occurrence. Their Abhidharma literature considers the
around the first century BCE). But their most distinguished
goal of arhatship the only ideal to which one could aspire,
scholar was the independently minded Vasubandhu (fourth
but the ava¯dana literature (possibly of late Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯din
to fifth century), whose major Abhidharmic work, the
composition) gives numerous legendary accounts of faithful
Abhidharmako´sa, championed certain Sautra¯ntika doctrines.
taking the vows to “become a buddha” in a future life. In
Vasubandhu’s work, however, had its critics, among whom
the same way, although the Sarva¯stiva¯da had a doctrine of
the most famous was Sam:ghabhadra, whose Abhidharma-
the “perfections” (pa¯ramita¯) of a bodhisattva, a theory of the
nya¯ya¯nusa¯ra was written as a polemic against the Abhi-
two bodies of the Buddha (ru¯paka¯ya and dharmaka¯ya), and
dharmako´sa.
a belief in the Buddha’s “great compassion” (maha¯karun:),
The Sautra¯ntikas opposed the Sarva¯stiva¯din belief in
and although they accepted the mythology of the vow and
substantial entities and what they saw as surreptitious ways
the prophecy (vya¯karan:a) in the career of the Buddhas, they
of retaining notions of permanence. They denied that the
do not seem to have developed these ideas as possible models
unconditioned or uncompounded dharmas have any exis-
for religious life.
tence, preferring instead to regard them as bare nonexistence
SECTARIAN OUTGROWTHS. A number of important sub-
or absence (abha¯va). They asserted that some of the dharmas
groups appear to be related to the Sarva¯stiva¯da. Unfortunate-
of the Sarva¯stiva¯da are mere denominations or conceptual
ly, the sources offer contradictory information. Two move-
constructs (prajña¯pti). Among the dharmas whose reality
ments are definitely derivative schools: the Sautra¯ntikas and
they criticized in this way was the concept of appropriation
the Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯dins, both of which were especially active
(pra¯pti). In order to explain the process of karman, the
in Central India. The Dharmaguptaka school may also be
Sautra¯ntikas brought to prominence an old concept shared
derived from Sarva¯stiva¯da, although this case is more prob-
by most Buddhist schools, the concept of karmic seeds (b¯ıja).
lematic than the other two. They were concentrated in South
These Sautra¯ntika theories were first proposed by S´r¯ıla¯ta and
India. Another important subgroup of the Sthaviras, the
developed by Vasubandhu. The doctrine of b¯ıja became one
Mah¯ı´sa¯saka, must be related to the Sarva¯stiva¯dins; but the
of the cornerstones of Maha¯ya¯na idealistic philosophy.
nature of the relationship remains unclear. They had
monasteries in the Punjab and Andhra.
The Sautra¯ntikas also formulated a radical theory of im-
permanence known as the doctrine of ks:an:ikava¯da
Tradition has it that after the council at Pa¯t:aliputra a
(“momentariness”). This doctrine denied the Sarva¯stiva¯din
Sarva¯stiva¯din scholar by the name of Madhya¯ntika took the
theory of the displacement through time of a permanent en-
teachings of the school to Kashmir, where it flourished. He
tity or essence (svabha¯va). It also contributed to the develop-
is believed to belong to the spiritual lineage of A¯nanda and
ment of a theory of knowledge that would have a major im-
to have been originally from Mathura¯. The latter region was
pact on the formation of Maha¯ya¯na epistemology. They
the missionary province of Upagupta. Both locations were
proposed that the senses cannot apprehend an object directly
important cultural centers in the empire of the Kushans and
(among other reasons, because of its momentary existence);
provided the base for imperial patronage of the Sarva¯stiva¯da
accordingly, perception is the arising of mental images or
under Kanis:ka. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who visited
representations that are only analogical or coordinated with
India between the years 629 and 645, reported the existence
their objects (sa¯ru¯pya). In this way the Sautra¯ntikas became
of Sarva¯stiva¯din monasteries only in the Northwest and in
the first Buddhist phenomenalists, perhaps the first in the
the upper Ganges River valley. Another pilgrim, Yijing, who
history of world philosophy. Their influence continued to
was himself a Sarva¯stiva¯din, visited India half a century later
be felt in the Buddhist logicians and in the metaphysics of
(671–695) and reported a much wider distribution of
Maha¯ya¯na idealistic philosophy until the end of Buddhist
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monasticism on Indian soil; it continues today in Tibetan
main schools of Buddhist philosophy, among which
philosophical speculation.
Sarva¯stiva¯da and Sautra¯ntika are the only representatives of
non-Maha¯ya¯na philosophy. This is still the basic model even
Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯dins. This school seems to have been a
among contemporary scholars in Japan and the West, where
late development in the Sarva¯stiva¯da tradition. It was domi-
the Abhidharmako´sa continues to be required reading for the
nant in North India from the seventh to the ninth century
Buddhist scholar.
and became the main source of non-Maha¯ya¯na texts for the
Tibetan canon. The Mu¯lasarva¯stiva¯din Vinaya is preserved
The Sarva¯stiva¯da school also provided the model for
in Tibetan translation (early ninth century, now incorporat-
H¯ınaya¯na in the Far East. In China, it was transmitted main-
ed into the Bka’ ‘gyur) and has also been recovered in a San-
ly as part of the Jushe (Abhidharmako´sa) school. Of
skrit manuscript from Gilgit. Some scholars would consider
Sautra¯ntika inspiration, this school was the main competitor
this Vinaya an early compilation, but others believe the work
of the other two Abhidharmic schools, the Chengshi (Satya-
is late.
siddhi) school (perhaps Bahusrutiya), and the Faxiang (dhar-
malaksana,
that is, the Maha¯ya¯na Yogacara school, which has
Although their doctrines do not seem to have differed
Mah¯ı´sa¯saka roots).
significantly from those of the Sarva¯stiva¯dins, their litera-
ture—at least what remains of it—contains some materials
As a source for Maha¯ya¯na. The evident role of the
that must derive from non-Sarva¯stiva¯da sources. In addition
Maha¯sa¯m:ghika school in the formation of Maha¯ya¯na tends
to their Vinaya, several works from their ava¯dana literature
to eclipse the contribution of other H¯ınaya¯na schools. The
have survived; these include the Divya¯vada¯na, Avada¯na-
Sarva¯stiva¯da in particular was a decisive element in the for-
´sataka, and A´soka¯vada¯na.
mation of the higher doctrines and philosophy of Maha¯ya¯na.
The first developments in the bodhisattva theory—especially
Dharmaguptakas. It is not clear whether the Dharmag-
as it is supposed to fit in the map of the Path—were probably
uptakas should be regarded as a subset of the Vibhajyava¯dins
those found in Sarva¯stiva¯din literature. The basic structures
(through the Mah¯ı´sa¯saka line) or a subset of the
of Maha¯ya¯na soteriology and Abhidharma are clearly derived
Sarva¯stiva¯dins. They tended to emphasize Vinaya and Su¯tra
from Sarva¯stiva¯da and Mah¯ı´sa¯saka sources, and so is much
more than Abhidharma. Their Vinaya is preserved in Chi-
of their philosophical terminology. The Sarva¯stiva¯da also
nese translation (the Sifen Lü) and became the model for mo-
contributed, through Vasubandhu and the Sautra¯ntikas, the
nastic rules in China. Another work of great importance for
underpinnings for Maha¯ya¯na epistemology.
the study of early Abhidharma, the Sa¯riputra¯bhid-
harma´sa¯stra,
is of Dharmaguptaka provenance. This text also
SEE ALSO Buddhism, Schools of; Buddhist Philosophy;
shows strong influence from the Maha¯sa¯m:ghika school. The
Dharma, article on Buddhist Dharma and Dharmas; Indian
connection of this school with the development of
Philosophies; Sautra¯ntika; Soul, article on Buddhist Con-
Maha¯ya¯na is confirmed not only by the eclectic nature of this
cepts; Vasubandhu.
text but also by their frank criticism of the limitations of the
arhat ideal, by their addition of Bodhisattva and Dha¯ran:¯ı
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pit:akas to their canon, and by their role in the formation of
Anacker, Stefan. Seven Works of Vasubandhu. Delhi, 1984. In-
Chinese monasticism, the connection of which to Maha¯ya¯na
cludes Vasubandhu’s logical work Vadavidhi, two of his
thought owes much to the exegesis of the Chinese monk
Sautra¯ntika works, as well as four of his Maha¯ya¯na treatises.
Daoxuan (596–667), founder of the Southern Mountain
Aung, Shwe Zan, and C. A. F. Rhys Davids, trans. Points of Con-
(Nanshan) tradition of Chinese Vinaya (Lü) studies.
troversy. London, 1915. The most important Therava¯da
source on the early schools.
INFLUENCE. The geographical expansion of Sarva¯stiva¯da rep-
resents only one of the aspects of its influence, for the sophis-
Banerjee, Anukul Chandra. Sarva¯stiva¯da Literature. Calcutta,
1957. This is a catalog of works; although somewhat dated,
tication and maturity of its philosophy clearly won many fol-
it is still useful.
lowers, even among those who disagreed with its basic
presuppositions. Sarva¯stiva¯da Abhidharma was a standard el-
Bareau, André. “Les origines du Ça¯riputra¯bhidharmaça¯stra.” Le
ement in the classical curricula of Indian universities, not
Muséon 63 (1950): 69–95. In this work Bareau, the modern
scholar who has devoted most time and sound research to the
only at their centers in Purus:apura (Peshawar) and Valabh¯ı
question of the origin of Buddhist sects, has studied one of
(Kathiawar), but in Maha¯ya¯na centers of learning as well.
the most influential Dharmaguptaka texts. He collected data
Sarva¯stiva¯da as H¯ınaya¯na. The study of Sarva¯stiva¯da
on the “unconditioned” dharmas from all the schools in his
as the representative doctrine of H¯ınaya¯na philosophy con-
L’absolu en philosophie bouddhique: Évolution de la notion
d’asam
:skrta. (Paris, 1951). His studies on the Abhidharma of
tinued in India long after the school had declined. Vasu-
the schools and the classical sources, “Les sectes bouddhiques
bandhu’s Abhidharmako´sa became the standard textbook
du Petit Véhicule et leurs Abhidharmapit:aka,” Bulletin de
and was the object of numerous commentaries (those of
l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient 50 (1952): 1–11, and
Gun:amati, Sthiramati, Vasumitra, and, above all, the
“Trois traités sur les sectes bouddhiques attribués à Va-
Sphut:a¯rtha-abhidharmako´sa-vya¯khya¯ of Ya´somitra). Bud-
sumitra, Bhavya et Vin¯ıtadeva,” Journal asiatique 242
dhist and Hindu doxography to this day recognizes four
(1954): 229–266 and 244 (1956): 167–200, respectively,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SARVA¯STIVA¯DA
8121
were part of the spadework for his two major contributions
politiques 15 (1929): 367–374; “Documents d’Abhidharma:
on the subject: Les premiers conciles bouddhiques (Paris, 1955)
Textes relatifs au Nirvana,” Bulletin de l’École Française
and Les sectes bouddhiques du Petit Véhicule (Saigon, 1955).
d’Extrême-Orient 30 (1930): 1–28, 247–298; and “Docu-
Bechert, Heinz. “Zur Frühgeschichte des Maha¯ya¯na-
ments d’Abhidharma,” in Mélanges chinois et bouddhiques,
Buddhismus.” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Ge-
vol. 1 (Brussels, 1932), pp. 65–109. La Vallée Poussin also
sellschaft 113 (1963): 530–535.
translated the most influential work of Abhidharma,
L’Abhidharmako´sa de Vasubandhu, 6 vols. (1923–1931; re-
Demiéville, Paul. “L’origine des sectes bouddhiques d’après
print, Brussels, 1971).
Parama¯rtha.” In Mélanges chinois et bouddhiques, vol. 1,
pp. 15–62. Brussels, 1931–1932. See also his “Á propos du
Masuda Jiryo¯. “Origins and Doctrines of Early Indian Buddhist
concile de Vai´sa¯l¯ı,” T’oung pao 40 (1951): 239–296.
Schools.” Asia Major 2 (1925): 1–78. A translation of Va-
sumitra’s treatise on the Eighteen Schools.
Dutt, Nalinaksha. Early History of the Spread of Buddhism and the
Buddhist Schools (1925). Reprint, New Delhi, 1980. See also
Mizuno Kogen. “Abhidharma Literature.” In Encyclopaedia of
Dutt’s Aspects of Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism and Its Relation to
Buddhism, edited by G. P. Malalasekera, vol. 1. Colombo,
H¯ınaya¯na (London, 1930) and “The Second Buddhist
1963.
Council,” Indian Historical Quarterly 35 (March 1959): 45–
Prebish, Charles S. “A Review of Scholarship on the Buddhist
56. Some of the author’s early (1930–1940) articles on the
Councils.” Journal of Asian Studies 33 (February 1974): 239–
subject were collected (without significant revisions) in his
254. See also his Buddhist Monastic Discipline: The Sanskrit
Buddhist Sects in India (Calcutta, 1970).
Pra¯timoks:a Su¯tras of the Maha¯sa¯m:ghikas and Mu¯lasarva¯sti-
Glasenapp, Helmuth von. “Zur Geschichte der buddhistischen
va¯dins (University Park, Pa., 1975).
Dharma-Theorie.” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländisc-
Stcherbatsky, Theodore. The Central Conception of Buddhism and
hen Gesellschaft 92 (1938): 383–420. See also his “Der Urs-
the Meaning of the Word “Dharma” (1923). 4th ed. Delhi,
prung der buddhistischen Dharma-Theorie,” Wiener
1970. This is the classic study on the dharma theory of the
Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 46 (1939): 242–
Sarva¯stiva¯dins. Although it is dated and at times obscure, it
266.
is still the only comprehensive discussion accessible to gener-
Hirakawa Akira. “The Rise of Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism and Its Rela-
al readers who cannot read French or German.
tionship to the Worship of Stu¯pas.” Memoirs of the Research
Takakusu Junjiro¯. “On the Abhidharma Literature of the
Department of the Toyo Bunko 22 (1963): 57–106.
Sarva¯stiva¯dins.” Journal of the Pa¯li Text Society 14 (1904–
Jaini, Padmanabh S. “The Va¯ibhas:ika Theory of Words and
1905): 67–146. In this essay Takakusu surveyed the
Meanings,” “The Sautra¯ntika Theory of b¯ıja,” and “Origin
Sarva¯stiva¯da Abhidharma preserved in the Chinese canon.
and Development of the Theory of viprayukta-sam:ska¯ras.
Dated, but still useful if studied in conjunction with more
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 22
recent studies, is his article “Sarva¯stiva¯dins,” in the Encyclo-
(1959): 95–107, 236–249, and 531–547. These are brief, in-
paedia of Religion and Ethics, edited by James Hastings, vol.
depth studies of Sarva¯stiva¯da and Sautra¯ntika philosophy.
11 (Edinburgh, 1920).
Jaini also edited the Abhidharmad¯ıpa (Patna, India, 1959);
Wayman, Alex. “Aspects of Meditation in the Therava¯da and
his introduction contains valuable information on the
Mah¯ı´sa¯saka.” Studia Missionalia 25 (1976): 1–28.
Sarva¯stiva¯da school.
Lamotte, Étienne. Histoire du bouddhisme indien des origines à l’ère
New Sources
S´aka. Louvain, 1958. See pages 547–549, 576–606, and
Chung, Jin-Il. Die Prava¯rana¯ in den kanonischen Vinaya-Texten
662–694. The most compact of the scholarly surveys on the
der Mulasarva¯stiva¯din und der Sarva¯stiva¯din. Göttingen,
history of the early sects, this should be supplemented with
1998.
Bareau’s Les sectes, since the two authors disagree both in ap-
Cox, Collett. Disputed Dharmas, Early Buddhist Theories on Exis-
proach and detail. Lamotte has also translated an important
tence: An Annotated Translation of the Section on Factors Dis-
Sautra¯ntika treatise that summarizes and criticizes the
sociated from Thought from Sanghabhadra’s Nya¯ya¯nusa¯ra.
Sarva¯stiva¯din theory of karman, “Le traité de l’Acte de Vasu-
Tokyo, 1995.
bandhu: Karmasiddhiprakaran:a,” in Mélanges chinois et
bouddhiques,
vol. 4 (Brussels, 1935–1936), pp. 151–288. An
Frauwallner, Erich. Studies in Abhidharma Literature and the Ori-
English translation of this text is contained in Anacker
gins of Buddhist Philosophical Systems. Translated by Sophie
(1984).
Francis Kidd under the supervision of Ernst Steinkellner. Al-
bany, N.Y., 1995.
La Vallée Poussin, Louis de. “Sautra¯ntikas.” In Encyclopaedia of
Religion and Ethics, edited by James Hastings, vol. 11. Edin-
Hirakawa Akira. A History of Indian Buddhism: From S´a¯kyamuni
burgh, 1920. This Belgian scholar was one of the pioneers
to Early Maha¯ya¯na. Translated and edited by Paul Groner.
of Buddhist studies, especially of the Abhidharma tradition.
Honolulu, 1990.
His extensive scholarly contribution to our understanding of
La Vallée Poussin, Louis de. Abhidharmako´sabha¯s:yam. Translated
Sarva¯stiva¯da includes “La controverse du temps et du Pud-
by Leo M. Pruden. 5 vols. Berkeley, 1988–1990.
gala dans le Vijñanaka¯ya,Études asiatiques publiées à
Potter, Karl, ed. Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, vol. 9, Bud-
l’occasion du vingt-cinquième anniversaire de l’École Française
dhist Philosophy from 350
d’Extrême-Orient (Paris, 1925), vol. 1, pp. 343–376; “Les
A.D. Delhi, 1999.
deux nirvanas d’après la Vibha¯s:a¯,” Académie Royale de Bel-
Willemen, Charles, Bart Dessein, and Collett Cox. Sarva¯stiva¯da
gique, Bulletin de la classe des lettres et des sciences morales et
Buddhist Scholasticism. Leiden, 1998.
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8122
S´A¯STRA LITERATURE
Williams, Paul, with Anthony Tribe. Buddhist Thought: A Com-
performed in each of the four principal stages (a¯´sramas). The
plete Introduction to the Indian Tradition. London, 2000. See
next three chapters concentrate on the dharma of one indi-
Chapter 4.
vidual: the king. He is to protect those among his subjects
L
who adhere to their own dharma against those who do not.
UIS O. GÓMEZ (1987)
Revised Bibliography
The section on the king’s dharma (ra¯jadharma) naturally in-
cludes those passages for which the text first became known
to Westerners, those on Hindu law. (Hence the title Laws
of Manu.
) Among the miscellaneous topics treated in the last
S´A¯STRA LITERATURE. The Sanskrit term ´sa¯stra
three chapters are the duties and occupations of the different
means, first, “precept, command, rule”; hence, a treatise in
castes (varn:a) including “mixed castes,” expiations of sins,
which precepts on a particular topic have been collected;
and the rules governing specific forms of rebirth.
and, finally, any branch of technical lore. Va¯stu´sa¯stra, for ex-
ample, refers both to a treatise on va¯stu (“architecture”) and
The beginning of this century witnessed the discovery—
to the science of architecture generally; Cikitsa¯´sa¯stra indi-
and publication—of the text of the Artha´sa¯stra attributed to
cates both a treatise on medicine and the science of medicine;
Kaut:ilya (or Kaut:alya; occasionally Ca¯n:akya or Vis:n:ugupta).
and so forth.
Even though minor Artha´sa¯stra texts had been known before
that time, and even though some Artha´sa¯stra materials also
This article will be primarily concerned with the ´sa¯stras
appear in the Dharma´sa¯stras, until 1905 the text called
connected with the three goals (trivarga) that a Hindu is sup-
Artha´sa¯stra was known from a few quotations only. Kaut:ilya,
posed to pursue during life: dharma (“spiritual obligations”),
unlike the composers of the Dharma´sa¯stras, is a historic fig-
artha (“material welfare”), and ka¯ma (“pleasure, enjoy-
ure. If he was indeed a minister of the Maurya king Candrag-
ment”). It is worth noticing that the texts in each of these
upta, he must have lived at the end of the fourth century BCE.
three categories, to a greater or lesser extent, also recognize
Some scholars, however, do not believe in Kaut:ilya’s author-
the importance of pursuing the other two goals. In fact, a
ship; based on detailed comparisons of elements in the
harmonious pursuit of the trivarga is a necessary condition
Artha´sa¯stra with their appearance in various other works of
to reach a Hindu’s ultimate goal: moks:a, final liberation from
Sanskrit literature, they assign the text later dates, down to
the cycle of deaths and rebirths (sam:sa¯ra).
the fourth century CE.
Most important—and most voluminous—are the
The Artha´sa¯stra, in prose occasionally mixed with verse,
Dharma´sa¯stras. They basically cover the same material as the
is a manual for the king and for the successful administration
Dharmasu¯tras, but they are more detailed and better orga-
of his kingdom. It provides detailed prescriptions on the vari-
nized, are mostly in verse (the thirty-two syllable anus:t:ubh,
ous administrative departments, the duties of their heads,
or ´sloka), and are considered to be more recent. Like the
and their internal organization. Perhaps the text has become
Dharmasu¯tras, they are attributed to ancient sages or “seers”
even better known for its ideas on foreign policy. Each king
(r:s:i), the most important of whom was Manu. The date of
is considered a potential world conqueror (cakravartin), and
the Manava Dharma´sa¯stra (Laws of Manu) is uncertain, but
the Artha´sa¯stra provides him with various ways to achieve
falls somewhere between about 200 BCE and 100 CE. It was
that goal. Kaut:ilya’s view that one’s neighbor is, by defini-
followed, probably in this order, by the Dharma´sa¯stras attri-
tion, one’s enemy who must be defeated with the support
buted to Ya¯jñavalkya, Vis:n:u, Na¯rada, Br:haspati, Ka¯tna¯yana,
of his neighbor (who is, again by definition, a temporary
and others.
ally), and his ruthless instructions on how to use spies and
The Dharma´sa¯stras, together with the su¯tras, constitute
secret agents, are some of the reasons why he has been labeled
what is known as the smr:ti (from the root smr:, “to remem-
“the Indian Machiavelli.”
ber”); hence the titles Manusmr:ti (the Ma¯nava Dharma-
Within the area of Ka¯ma´sa¯stra literature the principal
´sa¯stra), Ya¯jñavalkyasmr:ti, and so forth. The smr:ti is consid-
text is undoubtedly the Ka¯ma Su¯tra attributed to Vatsyayana.
ered to be a form of revelation based on the Vedas, which
The Ka¯ma Su¯tra shares a number of important characteristics
in turn form the ´sruti (from the root ´sru, “to hear”). The
with the Artha´sa¯stra: The Ka¯ma Su¯tra is also mostly in prose,
´sruti is the only more authoritative body of writings than the
interspersed with verses; like Kaut:ilya, Va¯tsya¯yana repeatedly
smr:ti; the ´sa¯stras themselves state that, in case of a conflict
quotes the opinions of predecessors, some of whom are the
between ´sruti and smr:ti, the former shall prevail. Although
same as those named by Kaut:ilya; and most important, both
all smr:tis theoretically have equal authority, in practice the
texts exhibit a number of passages that correspond, word for
Manusmr:ti is recognized as being superior to the
word. There seems to be general agreement that Va¯tsya¯yana
others.
lived after Kaut:ilya; his date, therefore, varies according to
the individual scholar’s opinion on the age of the Artha´sa¯stra.
The Manusmr:ti represents the Indian ideal of a
Dharma´sa¯stra. After an introductory section on the creation,
The Ka¯ma Su¯tra instructs the na¯garaka, the prosperous
the text devotes five chapters to the description of the
citizen, on how to enjoy life to its fullest. Even though this
sam:ska¯ras, that is, those ritual performances that mark off the
involves, to a certain extent, the na¯garaka’s relationship with
successive periods in a Hindu’s life, and of the duties to be
women—including married women and courtesans—the
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SATAN
8123
Ka¯ma Su¯tra also treats numerous other topics that shed light
(perhaps suggesting that Satan acts as God’s spy), it is more
on the way of life and worldview of one section of ancient
commonly derived from the root sat:an, which means “to op-
Indian society.
pose, to plot against.” The word thus basically connotes an
The true nature and purpose of the Indian ´sa¯stras is still
adversary. Its use in the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament)
the object of much discussion among scholars. Contrary to
covers three types of beings as opponents: (1) a human being,
the early belief of Westerners—which led to the adoption,
as in 2 Samuel 19:22, (2) an angelic being, as in Numbers
in 1772, of “the shaster” as the main source of Hindu family
22:22–35, and (3) a particular adversary, as in Zechariah
law in British India—it was soon recognized that, at least as
3:1–2, where sat:an functions as a common rather than a
far as the Dharma´sa¯stras are concerned, they may very well
proper noun and does not refer to “the Satan,” but where
have painted an ideal picture that did not necessarily corre-
the idea of a being having a distinct personality is still con-
spond to real life situations. Hence the high expectations on
veyed. This supernatural being not only acts as an adversary:
the occasion of the discovery of the Artha´sa¯stra; scholars be-
his name itself means “an obstructor” (Russell, 1977,
lieved, and wrote at length, on the extent to which a book
p. 190). In the New Testament, Satan as the Devil is called
on artha was bound to provide a more realistic description
the “great dragon” and “ancient serpent” (Rv. 12:9). Howev-
of classical Indian society. The author of this article prefers
er, while echoes of a Canaanite myth of God’s conflict with
to look upon the ´sa¯stras as—no doubt highly stylized and
the dragon and the sea may be found in the Old Testament,
systematized—compendia of existing customs and practices.
Satan is not associated with these references but is clearly
They provided the overall theoretical framework that autho-
mentioned in three contexts (except for Psalms 109:6, in
rized each individual—mostly groups of individuals—to en-
which he is inferred). The first of these contexts is in the Book
gage in the practice (prayoga) of their traditionally recognized
of Job, where Satan belongs to the court of God and, with
ways of behavior.
God’s permission, tests Job. By contrast, in a second occur-
rence (Zec. 3), Satan, on his own initiative, opposes Joshua.
SEE ALSO Cakravartin; Dharma, article on Hindu Dharma;
The third passage in the Old Testament in which Satan fig-
Law and Religion; Manu; Moks:a; Sam:sa¯ra; Su¯tra Literature.
ures (1 Chr. 21:1) is, according to George A. Barton (1911),
A further witness to the fact that Satan is now held to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
be responsible for evil. The chapter gives an account of
The most encyclopedic treatment of Dharma´sa¯stra is P. V. Kane’s
David’s census and of the punishment for it, and is de-
History of Dharma´sa¯stra, 5 vols. (Poona, 1930–1962). For a
pendent on 2 Samuel 24; but whereas it is said in Samu-
brief survey, see J. D. M. Derrett’s Dharma´sa¯stra and Juridi-
el that Jahweh said to David, “Go, number Israel” be-
cal Literature (Wiesbaden, 1973). The Manusmr:ti has been
cause he was angry with the people, it is said in
translated in volume 25 of the “Sacred Books of the East”
Chronicles that Satan “moved David to number Israel.”
(Oxford, 1886); other translations in this series are the
Satan is clearly a development out of the group of spirits
Vis:n:usmr:ti in volume 7 (Oxford, 1880) and the Na¯radasmr:ti
which were in earlier days thought to be from Jahweh’s
and Br:haspatismr:ti, both in volume 33 (Oxford, 1889). The
court, members of which were sent upon errands of di-
most recent edition and translation of the Artha´sa¯stra is
saster to men. (p. 598)
R. P. Kangle’s The Kaut:il¯ıya Artha´sa¯stra, 3 vols. (Bombay,
1960–1965); that of the Ka¯ma Su¯tra is S. C. Upadhyaya’s
Scholars seems somewhat divided on the question of the ex-
Ka¯ma Su¯tra of Vatsya¯ya¯na (Bombay, 1961). For a bibliogra-
tent to which evil may be associated with Satan in the Old
phy on this subject, see Ludwik Sternbach’s Bibliography on
Testament. It has been argued that Satan “was not evil but
Dharma and Artha in Ancient and Mediaeval India (Wiesba-
became evil by identification with his functions” in the
den, 1973).
course of time (Robbins, 1966, p. 130). One might distin-
New Sources
guish here between two approaches toward Satan in the Old
Boesche, Roger. The First Great Political Realist: Kautilya and His
Testament. According to one approach, represented by Gio-
Arthashastra. Lanham, 2002.
vanni Papini, Jeffrey Burton Russell, John Noel Schofield,
Goyala, Srirama. The Kautilya Arthasastra: Its Author, Date, and
Gustav Davidson, and others, Satan is still not quite God’s
Relevance for the Maurya Period. Jodhpur, 2000.
adversary, only his minion. Other scholars, such as Edward
Langton and Ronald S. Wallace, see a more definite move-
Kamasutra of Vatsyayana Mallanaga. Translated by Wendy
Doniger and Sudhir Kakar. Oxford; New York, 2002.
ment toward an association of evil with Satan. But the transi-
tion from the sat:an of the Old Testament, which pre-figures
Sastri, Manabendu Banerjee, ed. Occasional Essays on Arthasastra.
the Devil in some way, to the Satanas of the New Testament,
Calcutta, 2000.
who is the Devil, is clear enough.
LUDO ROCHER (1987)
Revised Bibliography
The figure of Satan in noncanonical Hebrew literature
intensifies his identification with evil. He not only emerges
as an adversary of God, but, as such apocalyptic works as Ju-
bilees
, the Testament of Reuben, the Book of the Secrets of Enoch
SATAN. Although the name Satan sometimes has been
(2 Enoch), and the Qumran documents show, he is also the
connected with the Hebrew verb sut:, which means “to roam”
leader of the fallen angels. It should be noted, however, that
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8124
SATAN
although Satan comes to stand for evil, in “Hebrew thought
of evil spirits, fallen angels, or demons; (6) he has assimilated
in the Old Testament there is no suggestion of any dualism,
many evil qualities of ancient destructive nature spirits or
whether temporal, spatial or ethical. . . any philosophy of
ghosts; (7) he will rule this world until the coming of the
evil culled from the Bible must find room for evil within the
kingdom of God, and in the meantime will be engaged in
concept of God and within his purpose.” This also holds true
constant warfare against Christ; (8) he will be defeated by
for much apocalyptic literature; signs of temporal, spatial,
Christ at the end of the world. Above all, he is identified
and ethical dualism begin to emerge only in later Judaism.
with temptation and death, like his counterpart Ma¯ra in
At the temporal level, the view is developed that history con-
Buddhism.
sists of two ages. The present age is marked by the Devil’s
In early Christianity it was believed that the death of
power, which will be nullified at the end of the present age
Jesus redeemed humankind from the Devil, who had been
when the divine age is ushered in. At the spatial level, the
overcome in his own house by Christ’s descent into hell (Mt.
kingdoms of the Lord and Satan are contrasted as being in
12:29). Thus, although the idea of the final conquest of evil
cosmic opposition; at the ethical level, humans are seen as
or the Devil is not unique to Christianity but is also present
being affected by sin, which will be overcome in a divine de-
in Zoroastrianism and Judaism, “the unique note in the
nouement. Persian influence has been traced in this move-
Christian message is the announcement that Satan is already
ment toward dualism. But Hebrew and Christian thought
being defeated in Christ” (Ling, 1961, p. 102). Despite this
stopped short of specifying that the Devil is entirely evil in
general picture, however, Russell notes that the position of
essence. This tension between explicit monotheism and im-
the Devil remains anomalous in the New Testament, and the
plicit dualism became characteristic of Judaism and Chris-
“elements of cosmic dualism in the synoptic gospels are
tianity, as contrasted with Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism,
much stronger in Luke than in Mark and Matthew and
and gnosticism. “The Devil,” as Luther said, “is God’s
stronger in John than in any of the synoptics” (1977,
Devil.”
p. 232).
Christianity synthesized Greek and Jewish concepts of
Satan’s name appears as Shayt:a¯n in the QurDa¯n, al-
the Devil. The word devil is actually derived from the Greek
though it is not clear whether the name is Arabic or not.
diabolos, which has the dual sense of “accuser” and “obstruc-
Shayt:a¯n shares certain functions of the Judeo-Christian
tor.” If the Old Testament, according to later tradition, im-
Satan, such as leading people astray (4:83), but there is a sig-
plicates Satan in the fall of humankind, the New Testament
nificant extension of this view in that Satan is accused of
tampering with divine verbal revelation (22.52). However,
refers clearly to the fall of Satan himself in 2 Peter 2:4 and
it is in his role as Ibl¯ıs (2:34, etc.) that al-Shayt:a¯n is most
in Revelation 12:7–9. Again, in contrast with the Old Testa-
striking (Watt, 1970, p. 155). He is deposed for refusing to
ment, the power of the Devil is often mentioned (e.g., Lk.
bow before man as the other angels had done, but is allowed,
4:6). He is also identified with other names: Beelzebul (“lord
after his refusal, to tempt mortals. According to an estab-
of flies”), Beelzebub (“lord of dung”), and, with somewhat
lished tradition, “Satan sits in the blood of Adam’s children”
less critical certainty, Lucifer.
and thus “could be equated with nafs, the lower principle,
In the ministry of Jesus Christ, “there is a constant cam-
the flesh” (Schimmel, 1975, p. 193). In Islam, the figure of
paign against Satan from the temptation after Jesus’ Baptism
Satan achieves a mystical dimension not found in Judaism
until his death on the cross, and, in each act of healing or
and Christianity, where the devil is more or less exclusively
exorcism, there is anticipated the ultimate defeat of Satan
associated with evil and the underworld. This association
and the manifestation of the power of the new age,” as is the
may help “account for the Western tradition that Satan is not
case of Mark’s gospel, the central part of which calls upon
only Lord of evil and of death but is also associated with fer-
Jesus’ disciples “to participate through suffering in his own
tility and sexuality, a trait evident in the witches’ orgy and
confrontation with the power of Satan” (Davis, 1984,
in the horns the Devil often wears” (Russell, 1977, p. 64).
p. 952). Indeed, Mark and Paul are more inclined to use the
Satan plays an important role in the folklore of Judaism,
name Satan; other New Testament writers prefer other
Christianity, and Islam. Already by the end of the apocalyp-
forms. Nevertheless, the motif of both the original (Rom.
tic period he had been identified with the following mytho-
16:20) and the ultimate and eschatological fall of Satan (Rv.
logical themes in Jewish demonology and folklore: darkness,
20:2, 7–10) undergirds the New Testament, though the lat-
the underworld, and the air, sexual temptation and molesta-
ter is more prominent. The Devil is the lord of both aion and
tion, the goat, the lion, the frog or toad, and the serpent or
kosmos, words used in the context of sinful human society
dragon. In rabbinic folklore, Satan is not linked with the leg-
and probably suggestive of the dichotomy of spirit and mat-
end of Lilith, but he appears to Eve as a beautiful angel, and
ter in Greek thought. Russell summarized the chief charac-
tempts Rabbi EAqivaD (EAqivaD ben Yosef, first-second century
teristics of the Devil in the New Testament as follows (1977,
CE) in the form of a woman. According to the Talmud he
p. 256): (1) he is the personification of evil; (2) he physically
was created on the sixth day of creation. His great rival was
attacks or possesses humans; (3) he tempts people to sin in
Michael, the leader of the angels. Satan was deemed capable
order to destroy them or recruit them in his struggle against
of assuming any form, and there are accounts in hagiograph-
God; (4) he accuses and punishes sinners; (5) he leads a host
ic literature of his grappling physically with Christian saints.
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SATAN
8125
Both similarities and differences may be noted between
for. Several views have been advanced. At a homiletic level,
Christian and Islamic perceptions regarding Satan. One dif-
the serpent has been taken to represent cunning. At a psycho-
ference, according to A. J. Wensinck (1971, p. 669) lies in
analytic level, the serpent has been associated with emergent
the fact that “Muslim thought remains undecided as to
sexuality. From a broader, history of religions approach “the
whether he was an angel or a djinn and does not pronounce
serpent is the symbol of the Gods of vegetation; without
an opinion on the possibility of his being ‘a fallen angel.’”
being the representative of sex as such, he represents the
A similarity is found in Satan’s characteristic ability of as-
temptations of the divinities that sacralize sex” (Ricoeur,
suming any shape, or none at all. His ability to appear as an
1967, p. 249). But perhaps in the end one inclines toward
angel, the dreaded “midday Devil” of the Psalms, was what
the hermeneutic suggested by Ricoeur that the serpent
made Mary fearful at the Annunciation. As a ha¯tif (one who
Represents the aspect of evil that could not be absorbed
is heard but not seen), Satan similarly almost beguiled EAl¯ı
into the responsible freedom of man, which is perhaps
into not washing the body of the Prophet, until EAli was cor-
also the aspect that Greek tragedy tried to purify by
rected by another ha¯tif. Thus the imperative of distinguish-
spectacle, song, and choral invocation. The Jews them-
ing between good and bad spirits due to Satan’s operations
selves, although they were well armed against demonol-
is common to both Christianity and Islam.
ogy by their intransigent monotheism, were constrained
by truth, as Aristotle would say, to concede something,
The serpent or snake is perhaps the best-known symbol
to concede as much as they could without destroying
associated with Satan. Genesis (3:1ff.) mentions the serpent
the monotheistic basis of their faith, to the great dual-
but not Satan; in Romans (16:20), however, Paul suggests
isms which they were to discover after the Exile. The
that the serpent was Satan, an association already made in
theme of the serpent represents the first landmark along
apocalyptic literature. This would imply that Satan tempted
the road of the Satanic theme which, in the Persian
Adam, but the consensus of early Christina tradition was that
epoch, permitted the inclusion of a near-dualism in the
Satan fell after Adam (Russell, 1977, p. 232). There may be
faith of Israel. Of course, Satan will never be another
good reason for believing that not until Origen in the third
god; the Jews will always remember that the serpent is
century
a part of the creation; but at least the symbol of Satan
CE was it clearly established that Satan’s sin was
allowed them to balance the movement toward the con-
pride, that he fell before Adam’s creation, and that he was
centration of evil in man by a second movement which
the serpent in the garden of Eden. Agobard of Lyons (ninth
attributed its origin to a prehuman, demonic reality.
century) saw him as becoming the serpent. In a Jewish text,
(Ricoeur, 1967, pp. 258–259)
the Apocalypse of Moses, it is written that the serpent who
tempted Eve was merely the tool of Satan, who, as a sinning
Although Satan has come to symbolize evil so closely as to
angel, tempted the serpent to share his envy of Adam and
become synonymous with it, he has also been associated with
Eve. In later Jewish literature, the identities of Satan and the
some positive concepts. He was worshipped in certain Gnos-
serpent coalesce, or are closely associated with one another.
tic circles for enabling knowledge to be brought forth. The
S:u¯f¯ı tradition has tended at times to see in him the ultimate
Satan is referred to by two different names in the
monotheist who would bow down before naught but God,
QurDa¯nic account of creation: he is called Ibl¯ıs when he re-
even in defiance of God’s own command. It is also worth
fuses to bow down before Adam, and al-Shayt:a¯n (“the
noting that there is no such fixed focus of moral evil as Satan
demon”) when he is the tempter (Wensinck, 1971, p. 669).
in Hinduism (but see O’Flaherty, 1976), notwithstanding its
Although there is no allusion to the serpent in the creation
shared cultural matrix with Buddhism, which did produce
account in the QurDa¯n, the term shayt:a¯n was probably ap-
the figure of Ma¯ra. Despite the nuances of difference in Jew-
plied by the Arabs to serpents (Lagton, 1969, p. 9). Once
ish, Christian, Greek, and Islamic conceptualizations of
Satan had been identified with nafs, or a human’s lower ap-
Satan, they may all share a common heritage.
petites, according to Annemarie Schimmel, the nafs was seen
as taking the form of a snake. “This serpent can be turned
Interest in Satan has intensified in the past decade, even
into a useful rod, just as Moses transformed serpents into
before President Bush began to speak of the “axis of evil.”
rods. More frequent, however, is the idea that the power of
Elaine Pagels (1995), who phenomenologically brackets the
the spiritual master can blind the snake; according to folk be-
question of the existence of Satan, has carefully delineated
lief, the snake is blinded by the sight of an emerald (the con-
the rise of Satan as it were in her works, drawing special at-
nection of the p¯ır’s spiritual power with the green color of
tention to how the cosmological split implied by his exis-
the emerald is significant). Thus, his influence renders the
tence also became a social split in the hands of sectarian
nafs-snake harmless” (Schimmel, 1975, p. 113). The contrast
groups like the Essenes between “Sons of Light” and “Sons
with the kun:d:alin¯ı in some forms of yoga is very striking.
of Darkness,” which then runs like a dividing line through-
out the history of Christianity in which enemies, both within
Satan is persistently, if not consistently, associated with
and without, are identified as “agents of Satan,” with Ayotol-
the serpent. Leaving aside the question of the actual nature
lah’s characterisation of U.S.A. as “the Great Satan” repre-
of Satan as formulated by the Council of Toledo (447), or
senting the inversion of this legacy. Others, such as Whitney
the tendency to consider him an imaginative personification
S. Bodman (2003) have probed more deeply the sublimely
of evil, the association with the serpent needs to be accounted
positive role Satan comes to enjoy in Islamic mysticism at
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SATANISM
times, far beyond Ra¯biEah’s refusal to denounce him because
in Europe during the late nineteenth century, triggering Sa-
she was too preoccupied with praising God.
tanism fears. In America, colonial-era New England experi-
enced a period of witchcraft allegations and witch-hunting.
SEE ALSO Antichrist; Devils; Dualism; Evil; Job; Ma¯ra; The-
Beyond the colonial witchcraft episode, satanic imagery has
odicy; Witchcraft, article on Concepts of Witchcraft.
been perpetuated throughout American history by conserva-
tive Christian groups that believe that Satan is an active, per-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
sonal presence in human affairs. Satan serves the function of
Awn, Peter J. Satan’s Tragedy and Redemption: Iblis in Sufi Psychol-
explaining evil and misfortune, identifying heretical faiths,
ogy. Leiden, 1983.
and bolstering Christian solidarity. This essay describes the
Barton, George A. “Demons and Spirits (Hebrew).” In Encyclo-
more recent incarnations of Satanism, the 1960s countercul-
paedia of Religion and Ethics, edited by James Hastings, vol.
tural satanic churches, and the 1980s Satanism scare by re-
4. Edinburgh, 1911.
viewing the history and organization of satanic churches, the
Bodman, Whitney S. “The Poetics of Ibl¯ıs: Narrative Theology
current outbreak of satanic subversion fears, and the relation-
in the QurDa¯n.” Doctoral dissertation. Harvard Divinity
ship between them.
School, 2003.
Boyd, James W. Satan and Ma¯ra: Christian and Buddhist Symbols
CHURCHES. Satanic churches began forming, first in Califor-
of Evil. Leiden, 1975.
nia and then gradually spreading across the United States
Davis, H. Grady, et al. “Biblical Literature.” In The New Encyclo-
and to Europe, during the late 1960s. These churches
paedia Britannica, Macropaedia, vol. 2. Chicago, 1984.
achieved popularity in the 1970s as part of the countercul-
Day, John. God’s Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea. Cambridge,
ture movement of that period. The Church of Satan and
1985.
Temple of Set are the largest and most visible existing satanic
churches. A number of other satanic churches also appeared,
Langton, Edward. Essentials of Demonology. London, 1949.
but most were small and short-lived organizations that origi-
Ling, T. O. The Significance of Satan. London, 1961.
nated as schismatic offshoots of the Church of Satan. Al-
O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythol-
though the Church of Satan claimed hundreds of thousands
ogy. Berkeley, 1976.
of members during its heyday, the total active membership
Pagels, Elaine. The Origin of Satan. New York, 1995.
of all the satanic churches never exceeded a few thousand.
Ricoeur, Paul. The Symbolism of Evil. Translated by Emerson Bu-
The Church of Satan is the more significant of the two
chanan. Boston, 1967.
groups; it is the first contemporary church devoted to the
Robbins, Rossell Hope. The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and De-
worship of Satan, it gave rise to most other satanic churches,
monology. New York, 1966.
and practicing satanists typically trace their beliefs to Anton
Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiqui-
LaVey’s thought. Interest in satanic churches, although not
ty to Primitive Christianity. Ithaca, N.Y., 1977.
Satanism, declined dramatically with the demise of the coun-
terculture.
Schimmel, Annemarie. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill,
N.C., 1975.
The Church of Satan was founded in San Francisco in
Wallace, Ronald S. “Devil.” In New International Dictionary of the
1966 by Anton Szandor LaVey (1930–1997), born Howard
Christian Church, rev. ed., edited by J. D. Douglas. Grand
Stanton Levey. The details of LaVey’s life remain contested,
Rapids, Mich., 1978.
but evidence has mounted that most published accounts are
Watt, W. Montgomery. Bell’s Introduction to the Qur Da¯n. Edin-
in error and that major elements of LaVey’s life were fabricat-
burgh, 1970.
ed by sympathetic biographers who created a legendary per-
Wensinck, A. J. “Ibl¯ıs.” In The Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed.,
sona for LaVey. In the legendary account, LaVey’s grand-
vol. 3. Leiden, 1971.
mother was a Transylvanian gypsy who introduced him to
the occult as a child. LaVey then ran away from home at age
ARVIND SHARMA (1987 AND 2005)
sixteen and worked successively in jobs such as an oboe play-
er in the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, lion tamer with the
Clyde Beatty Circus, stage hypnotist, nightclub organist, and
SATANISM has assumed a variety of forms through
police department photographer. He also claimed romantic
human history. Allegations of organized worship of Satan
affairs with Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. Most of
can be traced to Europe during the Middle Ages. Fears of
this colorful personal history has now been challenged.
Satan worship surfaced during the fifteenth-century witch-
Nonetheless, LaVey did become something of a celebrity
hunts, and Christian manuals were produced for depicting
during the 1960s when he pronounced himself the Black
and combating Satanism, most notably the Malleus malefi-
Pope, officiated at both the first satanic wedding and the first
carum (c. 1486) and Compendium maleficarum (c. 1620).
satanic funeral, and conducted a satanic service at which a
Historians suggest the existence of a satanic cult in the royal
nude woman served as the altar. His persona included a shav-
court of Louis XIV that conducted “Black Masses” to mock
en head and black robe, a coroner’s van as a car, and a pet
the Catholic Mass. There were also a few practicing satanists
Nubian lion.
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SATANISM
8127
LaVey’s version of Satanism is presented in The Satanic
dictable. Because putative satanists operate underground, it
Bible (1969), whole sections of which were drawn rather di-
was believed that they were able to penetrate major social in-
rectly from several other writers’ works. The iconoclastic phi-
stitutions and engage in considerable destructive activity be-
losophy contained in The Satanic Bible is decidedly hedonis-
fore their presence was detected. By some estimates, satanists
tic and is premised on self-preservation as the most basic
were ritually sacrificing fifty to sixty thousand children annu-
instinct of human beings. LaVey inverts traditional Christian
ally in the United States alone during the 1980s. Satanists
values, such as sexual constraints, pride, and avarice, and he
allegedly are motivated by a quest for personal power, which
elevates their opposites, such as indulgence, self-assertion,
they seek to enhance by appropriating the life energy of chil-
and sexual freedom, as satanic virtues. For LaVey, Satan is
dren at the moment of their deaths in ritual sacrifices.
not an anthropomorphic being but a source of power that
humans can control and that, once unleashed, can make hu-
Proponents of satanic cult theory claim that Satanism
mans gods. The major rituals conducted at Church of Satan
is organized at four levels, with involvement often beginning
“grottoes”—sex magic, help and healing, and destruction—
at lower levels and subsequently graduating to higher-level
reflect satanic values. LaVey’s thought has been more influ-
activity. At the lowest level are “dabblers,” typically adoles-
ential than the small church membership might suggest; his
cents who are lured into Satanism through experimentation
Satanic Bible has sold hundreds of thousands of copies in a
with heavy metal music and fantasy games containing em-
number of languages and it continues to serve as the primary
bedded satanic themes. More sinister are the “self-styled sa-
scriptural source for satanists.
tanists” who employ satanic imagery in committing antiso-
cial activity and are thought to be members of satanic cults.
The Temple of Set was founded by Michael Aquino (b.
The public face of Satanism belongs to “organized satanists,”
1946), who holds a Ph.D. in political science from the Uni-
consisting of the satanic churches, which publicly engage in
versity of California at Santa Barbara and who rose to the
the worship of Satan. Orchestrating the entire range of satan-
rank of lieutenant colonel in the army before his retirement
ic activity are the “traditional satanists,” who are organized
in 1994. Aquino and his wife joined the Church of Satan in
into an international, secret, hierarchically structured, tightly
1969, and Aquino quickly rose in the leadership ranks. Over
organized cult network that engages in ritual abuse and sacri-
the next several years the relationship between LaVey and
fice of children. Satanists procure children through abduc-
Aquino deteriorated, however, and Aquino, along with sev-
tion of missing children, purchase of children on the black
eral dozen Church of Satan leaders and members, left to
market, and control over child-care institutions. Some chil-
form the Temple of Set. Aquino served as high priest of the
dren are abused, some sacrificed, and others raised as “breed-
Temple of Set from its inception in 1975 to his retirement
ers” to produce babies for later rituals. Intimidation, drugs,
in 1996.
hypnosis, and brainwashing are employed to maintain power
over children in satanists’ hands and prevent them from re-
Aquino reports that he invoked Satan during his 1975
vealing the existence of the satanic cults. Outsiders rarely dis-
dispute with LaVey and received a visitation from Set, the
cover well-concealed, secret satanic activity; those who do are
Egyptian god of night. According to Aquino, Set is a meta-
intimidated into silence by satanists in positions of power.
physical being formerly known under the Hebrew misnomer
Satan. Set has used his power over the millennia to alter the
A variety of evidence was offered in the 1980s to dem-
genetic makeup of humans and to produce a species possess-
onstrate the existence and active operation of satanic groups.
ing an enhanced, nonnatural intelligence and potential. Al-
There were widespread reports of mutilated animal remains
though humans are not destined for immortality, they have
that were thought to have been killed for body parts used in
the potential to achieve it through Setian beliefs and prac-
satanic rituals. Communities across the country mobilized to
tices. The objective of the Temple of Set is to realize full
repel satanic cult incursions upon discovering satanic graffiti
human potential through self-creation and empowerment.
or rumors of impending satanic abductions of children for
In their quest for self-creation, initiates can progress through
ritual sacrifice. Satanic churches, such as the Church of
the following six degree levels: Setian, Adept, Priest or Priest-
Satan, were cited as evidence of the public presence of satan-
ess of Set, Master of the Temple, Magnus, and Ipsissimus.
ists. Several high-profile criminals, such as Richard Ramirez
Total membership in the Temple of Set’s local chapters
(“The Night Stalker”) who committed a series of murders in
(“pylons”) has never exceeded several hundred.
Los Angeles and San Francisco before being captured in
1985, openly flaunted satanic loyalties. Most compelling
SATANIC CULTS AND THE SATANISM SCARE. The “Satanism
were the horrific personal testimonies of young children and
scare” swept the United States, Canada, and Europe during
adults who recalled satanic abuse in the course of therapeutic
the 1980s. Satanic cults were thought to exist in an under-
treatment. Therapists reported threats to their safety if they
ground network that was involved in a variety of nefarious
revealed the accounts of their clients.
activities, including ritual sacrifice of children. According to
the groups that mobilized to combat satanists, the outbreak
In response to these various occurrences public opinion
of Satanism was simply the latest in a series of incursions by
began to reflect heightened concern with Satanism. Mass
evil forces through human history. The incursion was inevi-
media reports of satanic activity burgeoned, therapists treat-
table, it was argued, even if its timing and form were not pre-
ing individuals diagnosed as ritual abuse victims warned of
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the catastrophic impact of the abuse on their clients, special
tween these churches and underground satanic cults was ever
training and therapeutic procedures were developed for law
produced. The Satanism scare of the 1980s was a reaction
enforcement and mental health professionals, police excavat-
to rapid social changes that reconstituted home and work-
ed the sites where ritual abuse victims were believed to be
place relationships in North America and Europe. Satanism
buried, and child protection agencies investigated preschools
symbolically represented a widely experienced sense of vul-
where child abuse allegedly occurred. In addition, legislatures
nerability and danger by American families. The threat was
conducted hearings on Satanism and passed laws facilitating
symbolically constructed as satanic cults, organizations that
the testimony of ritual abuse victims, and a number of high-
exploited the vulnerability of American families by so abus-
profile trials resulted in the conviction of individuals on
ing and terrorizing young children as to permanently impair
child-abuse charges.
their capacity for full expression of selfhood. What the satan-
ic churches and Satanism scare had in common, then, was
The extraordinary claims of satanic cult subversion
the creation of social evil symbolized in satanic forms, one
gradually were discredited, however, as evidence of satanic
reacting against historical Christian morality and the other
networks was challenged. Investigations of unexplained ani-
the emerging individuation of modern and postmodern
mal deaths led to the conclusion that they were the product
society.
of roadkills, trapping, disease, poisoning, and predators.
Local panics over impending satanic abductions of adoles-
SEE ALSO Anticult Movements.
cents turned out to be instances of urban legends with a sa-
tanic theme. Graffiti with satanic symbolism was found to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
be the work of isolated, alienated adolescents. No cases of sa-
Bromley, David. “Satanism: The New Cult Scare.” In The Satan-
tanic messages embedded in heavy metal music were docu-
ism Scare, edited by James Richardson, Joel Best, and David
mented. No connection between satanic churches or socio-
Bromley, pp. 49–74. Hawthorne, N.Y., 1991. A theoretical
pathic criminals and a satanic cult network was ever
analysis of the Satanism scare from a sociological perspective.
established. Nor was any trace of the satanic cults themselves
Bromley treats the Satanism scare as one of a number of sub-
version episodes that have occurred through American histo-
produced: no organizational records, documents containing
ry and links it to societal changes that produced widespread
doctrines or rituals, physical implements or equipment,
fears of child endangerment.
meeting places, or defectors. Repeated official investigations
Hicks, Robert. In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and the Occult. Buf-
of purported ritual sites yielded no supporting evidence.
falo, N.Y., 1991. A critical analysis of the Satanism scare
Most compellingly, not a single death attributable to a ritual
from the perspective of a law enforcement official. Hicks me-
sacrifice was documented. By contrast, disconfirming evi-
ticulously debunks claims of an underground satanic cult
dence steadily mounted.
network and provides information critical to law enforce-
ment officers confronted by alleged satanic incidents.
The primary evidence supporting the existence of satan-
ic cults was the testimony of children and adults who recalled
Kahaner, Larry. Cults That Kill: Probing the Underworld of Occult
abuse while in therapeutic treatment. However, the validity
Crime. New York, 1988. Kahaner is a journalist who in this
book lays out the case for an underground satanic cult en-
of these accounts was undermined by discoveries that bio-
gaged in horrific crimes.
graphical accounts by individuals claiming to be ritual abuse
victims were fraudulent and that satanic material was intro-
La Fontaine, Jean. The Extent and Nature of Organized and Ritual
Abuse: Research and Findings. London, 1994. La Fontaine
duced by therapists rather than raised by clients. A succession
conducted a governmental investigation of satanic activity in
of reports by scholars, investigative journalists, police agen-
England. The report debunks claims of an underground sa-
cies, and governmental commissions unanimously conclud-
tanic network engaged in ritual sacrifice or other crimes.
ed that there was no plausible support for the satanic cult
Lanning, Kenneth. “Satanic, Occult, Ritualistic Crime: A Law
claims.
Enforcement Perspective.” Police Chief 56 (1989): 62–83.
C
An analysis of satanic and occult crime reports by an official
ONCLUSIONS. The social creation of satanic forces has a
long history in Western societies. In contemporary Western
in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Lanning finds no evi-
dence of organized, satanic ritual crime.
societies, Satanism has assumed two marginally related
forms. The satanic churches constituted one element of the
LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Bible. New York, 1969. The
1960s countercultural rebellion in which Satanism repre-
best-known and most influential statement of satanic theolo-
gy. This book contains precepts of Satanism that underpin-
sented a rejection of traditional Christian morality in favor
ned the Church of Satan as well as a number of other satanic
of hedonistic, individualistic values. The Church of Satan in
groups.
particular was more culturally significant than its small peak
Nathan, Debbie, and Michael Snedeker. Satan’s Silence: Ritual
membership might suggest. Many thousands of individuals
Abuse and the Making of a Modern American Witch Hunt.
held brief memberships in the church, and The Satanic Bible
New York, 1995. Nathan is a journalist and Snedeker an at-
became the primary scriptural source for countercultural sa-
torney. Together they trace the emergence of child abuse as
tanists who never maintained any organizational affiliation.
a problem, the unquestioned acceptance of children’s abuse
While the Church of Satan and Temple of Set were swept
testimony, and the resulting national hysteria about ritual
up in the Satanism scare of the 1980s, no connection be-
sexual abuse of children.
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Ofshe, Richard, and Ethan Watters. Making Monsters: False Mem-
is rooted in the male desire to control the sexuality of
ories, Psychotherapy, and Sexual Hysteria. Berkeley, Calif.,
women; by contrast, the widower is encouraged to remarry.)
1994. This book examines the process through which pseu-
do-memories are implanted by therapists. One of the cases
Outside India, sati was practiced in one form or another
deals with purported satanic ritual abuse.
(that is, not always by fire) by the ancient Greeks, Germans,
Pulling, Patricia. The Devil’s Web: Who Is Stalking Your Children
Slavs, Scandinavians, Egyptians, and Chinese. Although
for Satan? Lafayette, La., 1989. Pulling was one of the more
there is evidence of the custom in the Indo-European period,
vocal, public advocates of the existence of an organized satan-
by the time the Indo-Aryan language reached India, only
ic cult engaged in ritual abuse. She sought restrictions on fan-
traces of an archaic practice remained. The earliest indisputa-
tasy games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, which she
ble reference to sati in a Sanskrit text is found in the
claimed constituted one means by which youth were lured
Maha¯bha¯rata, the great epic which evolved between 400 BCE
into satanic cults.
and 400 CE, reaching its present form by the sixth or seventh
Richardson, James, Joel Best, and David Bromley, eds. The Satan-
century. An account is also given by the Greek author Dio-
ism Scare. Hawthorne, N.Y., 1991. An interdisciplinary, aca-
dorus Siculus (first century BCE) in his history of the Panjab
demic collection of essays on the Satanism scare. The con-
in the fourth century BCE. Physical evidence in the form of
tributors debunk the Satanism scare by examining the
“sati stones,” memorials to women who died as sat¯ıs, is found
history of Satanism, the construction of the satanic threat to
in many parts of India, dating from as early as 510 CE. In
children, the role of therapists and police in promoting the
scare, and the circulation of rumors of satanic activity.
the Muslim period, the tenth to the eighteenth centuries, the
Rajputs practiced a form of collective ritual suicide termed
Smith, Michelle, and Lawrence Pazder. Michelle Remembers. New
jauhar (denoting a construction made of combustible mate-
York, 1980. A biographical account of alleged satanic ritual
rials for the purpose of burning people alive); that is, to avoid
abuse by Michelle Smith, written with her therapist, Law-
rence Pazder. The therapeutic relationship led to a romantic
dishonor at the hands of the (Muslim) enemy and to encour-
relationship as Smith and Pazder both left their spouses and
age their menfolk to fight, Rajput women burned themselves
were married. Publication of this book is widely regarded as
before their husbands’ expected death in battle (as, for exam-
the immediate event that triggered the Satanism scare.
ple, in the three celebrated occasions of the mass suicides of
Smith’s claims were subsequently discredited.
women at Chitorgarh in Rajasthan in 1303, 1535, and
Stratford, Lauren. Satan’s Underground: The Extraordinary Story
1568). In the medieval period in general, the hardships expe-
of One Woman’s Escape. Eugene, Ore., 1988. A biographical
rienced by Hindu widows (such as severe restrictions on diet
account of alleged satanic ritual abuse by Laurel Wilson writ-
and dress, and the stigma of inauspiciousness) probably en-
ing under a pseudonym. For a time Wilson was influential
couraged the spread of sati. The further increase in the prac-
in spreading satanic ritual abuse claims, recounting horrific
tice among the brahmins of Bengal, especially during the pe-
stories from her childhood. Her claims were ultimately dis-
riod from 1680 to 1830, is ascribed by some scholars to the
credited, and the book was withdrawn from circulation by
fact that the system of law prevailing there gave inheritance
the publisher.
rights to widows: although some widows enjoyed the powers
DAVID G. BROMLEY (2005)
this conferred, others succumbed to a greater familial pres-
sure to die. Other scholars argue that, by destabilizing tradi-
tional Hindu values, the British were partly responsible for
the increase.
SATI. The difficulties encountered in the study of sati—
the death of a woman on her husband’s funeral pyre, or on
Although the number of women who died as sat¯ıs is sta-
a separate pyre soon afterwards—are reflected in the termi-
tistically small, the ideal is revered throughout traditional
nology used. The term coined by the British in India (suttee)
India even today. The ideology behind this belief is debated
suggests the oppression of widows and the woman as victim,
in the texts of Sanskrit religious law (dharma´sa¯stra) in the
both reinforced by the term widow-burning. The same word
section devoted to the proper behavior of women
in its original Sanskrit (sat¯ı, a feminine noun derived from
(str¯ıdharma). The issue is usually raised in the context of
sat, meaning “goodness” or “virtue”) denotes not the practice
widowhood: some texts (such as Manusmr:ti) describe only
but the practitioner: the “good woman” who, by choosing
the duties of the widow for the woman whose husband has
to join her husband in death, refuses to become an inauspi-
died; some allow a choice between widowhood and sati; few
cious widow. In its traditional context, the term sat¯ı conveys
recommend sati. The standard objection is that sati is a form
supreme virtue, personal strength, and religious autonomy.
of suicide, and suicide is prohibited; the standard riposte is
The most common Sanskrit terms for the practice are sahaga-
that ritual death is not suicide. Other objections include that
mana (“going with”), anugamana (“going after”), and anu-
ritual death, appropriate in the legendary period of ancient
maraöa (“dying after”). In this article, the practice is denoted
India, no longer applies in the “degenerate era” (kaliyuga) of
by the modern term sati, and the Sanskrit word sat¯ı (“good
recorded history; that sati, traditionally a warrior or Rajput
woman”) is reserved for the person. (There is no parallel no-
custom, is prohibited to brahmin women; and that the ritual
tion of the “good man” who chooses to burn on the pyre of
applies only rarely and only to exceptionally virtuous
his dead wife, a fact that suggests that this one-sided practice
women. The arguments in favor of sati focus on the rewards
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SATI
accruing to the “good woman,” further evidence that this
SEE ALSO Gender and Religion, article on Gender and Hin-
form of ritual death was optional; that is, the ritual is open
duism.
to those women who actively seek the rewards described. By
about 700 CE, however, the merit bestowed by sati was so
BIBLIOGRAPHY
great that it cut across the usual implications of karma for
Anand, Mulk Raj, ed. Sati: A Write-Up of Raja Ram Mohan Roy
both wife and husband. The sat¯ı is credited with the power
about the Burning of Widows Alive. Delhi, 1989. Published
to rescue even a bad husband from hell, taking them both
soon after the death of Roop Kanwar in Deorala in 1987, this
(and, according to some sources, seven generations of ances-
volume juxtaposes the key texts of Ram Mohan Roy’s anti-
suttee campaign in the early nineteenth century and a range
tors on either side) to heaven. There is even some scriptural
of responses to the Deorala sati in the late 1980s.
justification for persuading, even forcing, a “bad” woman to
burn herself: whatever her reasons for joining her husband
Datta, V. N. Sati: Widow-burning in India. A Historical, Social and
on his pyre, her sacrifice purified them both.
Philosophical Enquiry into the Hindu Rite of Widow Burning
[sic]. Delhi, India, 1988.
Ethnographic evidence is somewhat different. Among
Fisch, Jörg. Tödliche Rituale: Die Witwenverbrennung und andere
traditional communities in Rajasthan even today, the sat¯ı is
Formen der Totenfolge. Frankfurt, Germany, 1998. A com-
no longer a woman: she is worshiped as a goddess, a deified
prehensive study of ritual death outside India and “widow-
eternal wife. According to belief, the pyre ignites solely by
burning” in India.
the power of the sat¯ı, that is, by the inner heat of sat, the
Harlan, Lindsey. Religion and Rajput Women: The Ethic of Protec-
force of virtue at her core. Fire is thus not so much the cause
tion in Contemporary Narratives. Berkeley, Calif., 1992. An
of her death but the essence of her being. There are three
account of Rajput women’s conceptions of what it is to be
stages in the life of the sat¯ı: as a married woman, she is the
a good Rajput woman. In this context, the term sat¯ıma¯ta¯ em-
devoted wife (pativrata¯); when she takes a vow to become a
braces both the woman who dies on her husband’s funeral
pyre and the “living sat¯ı”; in each case, the ideal of wifely de-
sat¯ı, she is termed a sat¯ıvrata¯; when she ends her life in spon-
votion (pativrata¯) is central.
taneous combustion, she has become a “sat¯ı-mother”
(sat¯ıma¯ta¯). The paradoxical notion of the “living sat¯ı” is ap-
Hawley, John Stratton, ed. Sati, the Blessing and the Curse: The
plied to saintly women who are believed to be possessed by
Burning of Wives in India. New York, 1994. This collection
of essays by Indian and Western scholars, written in response
sat, who have taken the vow to become sat¯ıs, but who are
to the sati of Roop Kanwar in Rajasthan in 1987, attempts
unable to fulfill those vows because sati is illegal. Such
to clarify the multiple realities of sati from the distant
women are worshiped as liminal beings, living on the cusp
past to the present day.
of the human and divine realms.
Leslie, Julia. “A Problem of Choice: The Heroic Sat¯ı or the
There has always been resistance to sati, even within or-
Widow-Ascetic.” In Rules and Remedies in Classical Indian
thodox and traditional Hinduism; hence the debates in San-
Law, edited by Julia Leslie, pp. 46–61. Leiden, 1991. Rul-
ings for the widow and the sat¯ı are compared with those for
skrit and vernacular texts. The Mughal rulers Humayun and
the male renouncer with a view to examining the traditional
Akbar both tried to abolish the practice. In the British colo-
idea that widowhood is a valid path of renunciation for
nial period, a vigorous campaign against sati—headed by the
women.
governor-general of India, Lord William Bentinck, and sup-
Leslie, Julia. “Suttee or Sat¯ı: Victim or Victor?” In Roles and Ritu-
ported by Hindu reformers such as Rammohun Roy—
als for Hindu Women, edited by Julia Leslie, pp. 175–191.
culminated in the Suttee Regulation Act of 1829. When the
London, 1991. An analysis of four different discourses on
British left India, the independent Indian government reaf-
sati: the British colonial, the radical feminist, the orthodox
firmed the illegality of sati. Despite the efforts of both British
Hindu text, and contemporary Indian experience.
and Indian governments, however, instances of sati contin-
Mani, Lata. “Contentious Traditions: The Debate on Sati in Co-
ued to occur, and the respect and devotion paid to the mem-
lonial India.” In Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History,
ories of those women remained unchanged.
edited by Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid, pp. 88–126.
Delhi, 1989. A feminist critique of official, native and mis-
The reemergence of sati in north India since the
sionary writings on sati in colonial India between 1780 and
1970s—including the celebrated sati of Roop Kanwar in De-
1833, this important study draws attention to the blindness
orala, Rajasthan, in 1987—has prompted renewed interest
of the patriarchies on both sides of the colonial divide to the
in the topic among activists (both for and against sati) and
physical agonies of the women under discussion.
commentators. As early as 1983, for example, the Rani Sati
Mani, Lata. Contentious Traditions: The Debate on Sati in Colonial
Sarva Sangh (largely funded by the Marwari community)
India. Berkeley, Calif., 1998. The 1989 article expanded to
launched a campaign to popularize sati, to administer sati
book length.
shrines, and to promote the building of additional sati tem-
Sharma, Arvind, ed., with Ajit Ray, Alaka Hejib, and Katherine
ples. Pro-sati activism of this kind is consistently met by anti-
K. Young. Sati: Historical and Phenomenological Essays.
sati campaigns, both giving rise to a complex debate among
Delhi, 1988. Twelve essays on sati in the context of the colo-
students of Indian religion, political and cultural commenta-
nial and Hindu-Christian encounter, as well as in terms of
tors, and Indian and Western feminists.
orthodox Hinduism.
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Van den Bosch, Lourens P. “A Burning Question: Sati and Sati
Samuel with a review of the critical problems, see P. Kyle
Temples as the Focus of Political Interest.” NUMEN 37, no.
McCarter, Jr.’s I Samuel, vol. 8 of the Anchor Bible (Garden
2 (December 1990): 174–194.
City, N.Y., 1980). A more detailed treatment of my own
Weinberger-Thomas, Catherine. Cendres d’immortalité: La crema-
views can be found in my book In Search of History: Histori-
tion des veuves en Inde. Paris, 1996. Translated by Jeffrey Me-
ography in the Ancient World and the Origins of Biblical Histo-
hlman and David Gordon White as Ashes of Immortality:
ry (New Haven, Conn., 1983), chap. 8.
Widow-Burning in India (Chicago, 1999). An experiential
New Sources
and psychoanalytic account of ritual self-sacrifice in South
Nicholson, Sarah. Three Faces of Saul: An Intertextual Approach to
Asia based on fifteen years of fieldwork in north India, draw-
Biblical Tragedy. Sheffield, U.K., 2002.
ing on both Sanskrit and vernacular texts.
JOHN VAN SETERS (1987)
JULIA LESLIE (2005)
Revised Bibliography
SATIRE SEE HUMOR AND RELIGION
SAULE. Written historical sources about the pre-Christian
religion of the ancient Latvians are fragmented and often un-
SAUL, or, in Hebrew, ShaDul, son of Kish, a Benjaminite,
reliable, but concur in condemning it as pagan idolatry and
was the first king of Israel (c. 1020 BCE). The beginning of
the worship of natural phenomena. In 1199 this attitude was
the monarchy under Saul, and with it the creation of a na-
consecrated in a papal bull from Pope Innocent III, who had
tional state out of a loose association of tribes and clans, is
conferred upon the conquest and Christianization of the Bal-
attributed in the tradition to external threats from east and
tic region the status of a crusade.
west. Saul’s kingship is presented in 1 Samuel as a transition
Nature worship was attributed to the ancient Baltic
from the time of the judges, temporary charismatic leaders
tribes in a variety of historical documents, many of which
of individual tribes or regions, to that of a more unified and
were compiled and analyzed by Wilhelm Mannhardt in his
permanent military rule.
impressive Letto-Preussische Go˝tterlehre (left unfinished at his
Saul’s ability to rally support from the Israelite tribes in
death in 1870, and only published in Riga in 1936). The ear-
order to relieve Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonite siege and
liest is a 1326 chronicle by the Christian knight Peter von
achieve a victory for the Transjordanian tribes (1 Sm. 11) was
Duisburg, in which he pithily states that Baltic peoples wor-
the actual occasion in the oldest tradition for making him
shipped the sun, the moon, the stars, and four-legged ani-
king. In subsequent military activity his forces also had some
mals. Later documents include occasional observations by
success against the Philistine garrisons in the central hill
travelers to the region, but mostly consist of records of witch
country (1 Sm. 13–14), but in a major encounter between
trials or reports of ecclesiastical inspections, aimed at elimi-
the two armies Saul and his sons lost their lives in battle
nating pre-Christian rites and beliefs—which seem to have
(1 Sm. 31).
survived many centuries of merciless persecution by both the
The length of Saul’s reign (cf. 1 Sm. 13:1) and the exact
Catholic and Protestant churches. The Romantic movement
extent of his domain are not known. His authority probably
caused a radical reversal in attitude by kindling scholarly in-
did not include Judah. His residence, in Gibeah of Benja-
terest in popular antiquities and in oral traditions containing
min, did not include an elaborate court. Yet he did much
archaic elements.
to pave the way for David’s later success (1 Sm. 14:47–51).
Evidence of a cult of the saule (“sun”; pron. sow-leh) as
The older traditions about Saul’s monarchy, including
part of an archaic nature religion, as well as prehistoric cos-
a folktale about his youth (1 Sm. 9–10:16), have been ex-
mogonic concepts linked to the sun may be found in Latvian
panded by the historian of Samuel and Kings in order to de-
folk legends, magical formulae, traditions, and beliefs, but
pict the prior divine election and designation of Saul as king
most of all in the hundreds of thousands of variants of lyrical
(1 Sm. 9:15–17, 10:1, 17–27) and his later rejection (1 Sm.
folk-song, or daina, texts.
13:8–15; cf. 1 Sm. 15) through the prophet Samuel. The au-
Within the most recent and complete collection of over
thor also expresses his ambivalence about the monarchy as
4,000 daina texts (V¯ık¸e-Freibergaand Freibergs, 1988) con-
both a divinely sanctioned institution and a possible source
taining words with the root form for “sun,” around 2,500
of religious waywardness, injustice, and corruption (1 Sm. 8,
texts refer literally to the sun as a celestial body or physical
12). Finally, in his account of David’s rise to power, the re-
phenomenon, either in its chronological or its meteorologi-
jected Saul is used as a foil for the virtues of David, God’s
cal aspect (V¯ık¸e-Freiberga, 1999; 2002). But even this physi-
chosen successor.
cal sun—which shimmers, glitters, glimmers, glares, blazes,
S
shines forth, and conveys its presence in a dozen more ways
EE ALSO David; Samuel.
for which there are Latvian words but no English equiva-
B
lent—has a profoundly magical and beneficial influence on
IBLIOGRAPHY
For the history of Saul’s reign, see John Bright’s A History of Israel,
all aspects of human life. Thus, for a man to be born in the
3d ed. (Philadelphia, 1981). For a discussion of the text of
summer while the sun is shining ensures that his rye will
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SAULE
grow tall, his barley will thrive, and his bay horses will breed
sun takes with her our sighs and our sorrows, our mishaps
vigorous and strong.
and misfortunes; she carries away blight, illness, disintegra-
tion, and decay. Most important of all, the main task of the
Around 1,500 numbered type-songs (some having over
setting sun is to bring along with her the souls of all those
100 variants) refer to the clearly personified, feminine figure
whose mortal bodies have been lain to rest that day:
of Saule, and contain motifs that are both mythological and
cultic in nature. This mythical Saule appears as a resplen-
My dear mother has left Along with the sun. I called
dent, richly dressed, generous, compassionate, and also play-
out, but she couldn’t hear, I ran after her, but in vain.
ful being: she dances “on a silver mountain, with golden slip-
(Saules dainas, p. 91, song nr. 4110)
pers on her feet,” she “strums her psaltery [kokles], while
Several texts stress the importance of completing burials be-
sitting in the East,” she plays with golden apples. Saule rides
fore sunset, for Saule carries away the keys to the gates to the
in her chariot across the Hill of Heaven or sails in a boat that
World of the Shades, which then become locked for the
she leaves behind after setting into the sea. She sits on a hill,
night. Saule (just like the ancient Greek god Hermes) is thus
with golden reins in her hand, while her horses bathe in the
clearly a psychopompos or leader of the souls of the dead. For
sea.
this reason, the period just after sunset each day had to be
Finally, a few hundred texts are “cosmological” in the
celebrated by interrupting all work in honor of the sacred
sense of reflecting a “mental model” of the universe, both in
“path of the Sun,” “under-the-sun’s steps,” or the “grey
its structural and in its dynamic aspects (V¯ık¸e-Freiberga,
hour.” Women in labor (and their husbands), however, also
1997). The sun is a major point of reference in the spatial
pray to Saule not to take away the keys. This suggests that
bisection of the Cosmos along the vertical plane between
Saule may hold the entrance key to “this sun” as well as the
above and below, in which the world (the earth and every-
exit keys.
thing on it) is pasaule, literally “the place under the sun.” The
In many texts the Sun Tree that stands at the entrance
sun also governs the temporal opposition between the brief
gate between the worlds has clearly become the World Tree,
limited span of a human life on earth (mu¯zˇs) and eternity as
or Axis Mundi. It grows on a stone in the middle of the sea—
expressed in the concept of the “life span of the sun” (saules
the Cosmic ocean—or, paradoxically, it may be a mere reed
mu¯zˇs). Finally, a third cosmological dimension combines
on which the sun rests at night. Or again, the live tree is re-
temporal with spatial aspects in distinguishing between tem-
placed by the axle of a celestial hand-mill:
poral life in “this sun” (ˇs¯ı saule) and eternal life in “that sun”
(vin¸a saule). The “other sun” or “nether sun” is the realm in
Whose is this waxen mill At the crown of a clear oak?
which the sun sleeps at night. Each new dawn demonstrates
The son of Dievs is the owner, The daughter of Saule
anew that the sun has not been destroyed by darkness, but
the miller. (Saules dainas, p. 181, song nr. 33796)
has only retired for a while into a different plane of existence,
Each night the constellations make a full circle around the
for “Does the sun rise in the same spot where it has set?” By
pole star, the only one to remain in a fixed position, as if it
being reborn every day, Saule becomes not just a symbol of
marked the tip of a cosmic axis around which everything
immortality, but also the main mediator between Life and
turns. The sons of Dievs (the supreme deity and sky god) are
Death. Saule is the one who knows the path of transition be-
linked (among other things) to the constellations. The
tween them, passing through double gates on the horizon,
daughter of Saule acting as a miller, turns the axle of a heavy,
each marked by a verdant tree. The red tree of sunrise is the
stone hand-mill like those formerly used by women on Latvi-
tree of life, youth, health, and beauty, and magically projects
an farms. Yet a vision of the Sun Tree may also refer to a
these qualities unto the East:
purely subjective state, acting as the symbol of a moment of
The sun rises every morning In a scarlet tree; Young
spiritual revelation. A number of longer songs describe a
lords grew old While seeking that tree. (Saules dainas,
marvelous oak tree suddenly discovered on a holy morn, with
p. 175, song nr. 33786)
its roots of copper, golden branches, and silver leaves. This
tree becomes a symbol of the dual nature of mankind: with
The other Sun Tree grows at the gate through which the sun
the roots of its physical existence deriving from Mother
exits at the end of her daily path, entering the “other sun”
Earth, the human soul in its evolution grows with arms
of night and death:
stretched up like the branches of a tree, with fingers like
Stately grows the oak tree At the end of Sun’s path;
leaves reaching for the sky.
There Saule hangs up her belt Each evening at sunset.
The status of Saule as a cult object becomes evident in
(Saules dainas, p. 186, song nr. 33827v4)
such motifs as that of the goddess in the tree, the numerous
The setting sun has lost the hale hues of morning and has
variants of which interchangeably describe Saule or Laima
grown pale, wan, and tired, just like a person who in old age
(the goddess of fate) or Ma¯ra (a form of the earth goddess)
has lost the rosy bloom and vigor of youth. As she leaves our
as sitting in a tree (willow, apple tree, or other), and bestow-
world, Saule takes along with her everything that has fulfilled
ing gifts upon humans (on the tree and gift-giving, see
its mission in this world and has come to the end of its cycle.
Bynum, 1978). Saule as benefactor is also a rich godmother,
As shown in magical formulae and incantations, the setting
“Reaching out her hands across the river, All fingers of both
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SAULE
8133
hands Covered with gold spiral rings” (Saules dainas, p. 228,
sundown, represent an abomination in both a social and a
song nr. 33932). In her generosity, Saule (just like Dievs and
cosmic sense. The consequences of such transgressions are
Laima) singles out the dispossessed and the needy, and even
symbolized by the Black Snake that grinds its grain on a
stands in for her dead mother at the wedding of an orphan
stone in the middle of the sea. Evildoers are meant to taste
girl, just like Me¯ness (the Moon) stands in for her father. In
of this bitter meal of divine retribution, for the white Sun
contrast, the maiden crown (i.e. the coronet that was the tra-
is also the all-seeing eye and ever-present witness. One turns
ditional head-gear of unmarried women) of a girl who had
to Saule with a prayer for help both in suffering and with
died was to be hung to bleach in a tree on the grave as a sort
regard to social injustice:
of offering to Saule.
Dear, white Saule in your course, Please “even out” this
A major function of Saule is to produce vegetal fruitful-
earth: The rich are quite ready To bury the poor alive.
ness, which is the central focus of the numerous all-night rit-
(Saules dainas, p. 226, song nr. 31244)
uals of Ja¯n¸i, the celebration of the midsummer solstice. The
The solar myth of the celestial wedding is not a narrative
bright vernal sun is not just an icon of growth and general
fixed in any canonical form, but rather a large corpus of vari-
fertility; like the Greek goddess Demeter and the Roman
ants on a number of wedding themes. Either Saule herself
Ceres, Saule is also the special patroness of grain crop
or her daughter is enjoined to dress in silver, for their drivers
fertility:
have come with “water horses, a stone carriage, a silvery
What shines, what shimmers, Back yonder field? It’s
sleigh,” or with “Dievs’ carriage, the horses of the wind.” The
Saule sowing silver Among stumps in the clearing.
link of myth to metaphor can best be seen in the motif in
(Saules dainas, p. 183, song nr. 54924)
which Saule as the bride’s mother distributes gifts
The gray cloud of pollen hovering over a rye field in bloom
(velt¯ıdama) from her daughter’s dowry by handing patterned
becomes a manifestation of Saule in her aspect as provider
mittens or a woven belt to the oak tree, a woolen cloak to
of fruitfulness:
the linden tree, and golden or green copper rings to the slim
alders, just as the setting sun simply gilds (zelt¯ıdama) the
Saule walks over the rye field, Wearing her grey skirts.
treetops in other song variants. The Daughter of Saule
Oh Saule, lift up your hem, Take care of the blossoms.
(Saules meita) is variously described as being courted by the
(Saules dainas, p. 212, song nr. 32532v6)
Sons of Dievs (Dieva d¯eli; clear analogues of the Vedic Ash-
As the primal cause of the fertility of the earth, Saule best
vins and the Greek dioskuroi), by Auseklis (the Morning Star,
embodies the boundless generosity of the Cosmic, scattering
or by Pe¯rkons (Thunder). Many poetic texts picture the Sons
her gifts over the earth as from a bottomless cornucopia:
of Dievs as looking at the daughter of the sun through blos-
“Dear Mother Saule, What are you doing in the granary?—
soms or branches, as heating the bathhouse for her (think of
I’m sifting silver, I’m filling the bins” (Saules dainas, p. 231,
mists swirling on summer evenings), as tangling up the gol-
song nr. 16566).
den cloth that they are weaving in the sky, or as teasing her
As inhabitants of a cool and frequently damp climate,
or even doing her violence. A separate motif involves the
the Latvians feel an especial affinity with the sun as giver of
wrath of Pe¯rkons over the abduction of the Daughter of
warmth, who lightens the burden of all those who have to
Saule; he strikes the Sun Tree standing at the gate and smash-
labor in the open, exposed to the elements. To the young
es it to pieces. Saule weeps for three years while picking up
children sent out at dawn to herd the flocks, the sun that
the pieces and only picks up the tip of the tree during the
dries the morning dew and dissipates the mists is just like a
fourth year. In other variants, Pe¯rkons as the heavenly smith
human mother who comforts her child by drying its tears
is forging a golden brooch or belt for the dowry of the
and warming it on her lap. Shepherd children and orphans
Daughter of Saule.
become a metonym for the dispossessed and the destitute in
In parallel to the purely celestial wedding, another motif
general, who have only Dear Mother Saule as their patroness
has the sun shining during rainfall as a sign that the Daugh-
and protector:
ter of Saule is getting married. But rather than coming from
Saule, dearest mother, Wearing your golden cloak!
heaven, her suitor comes from the land of the dead: “my
Take pity on all orphans, Dry (all) their tears. (Saules
brother died young, he is now taking a bride.” This motif
dainas, p. 230, song nr. F17,28624)
ties in with the concept of Saule as the gatekeeper to the land
of the dead.
With its measured and rhythmical daily and yearly course
across the vault of heaven, the sun serves not just as a heaven-
SCHOLARLY DEBATES. In spite of the richness and diversity
ly timepiece, but also becomes a visible embodiment of di-
of oral materials about Saule, no major study on the Latvian
vine law, order, regularity, and justice. On the social plane,
Sun-myth is available in the English language. The first seri-
these are translated as norms of social equity, fairness, and
ous study of the Latvian Sun-myth is to be found in Wilhelm
justice. Any transgression against these social norms then be-
Mannhardt’s monograph of 1875, in which he analyses a
comes a contravention of divine law as well, a threat to the
corpus of ninety Latvian Sun-songs. Mannhardt points to
harmonious equilibrium of the Cosmos. Thus, brutal mas-
the numerous analogies with the folklore and mythology of
ters, who require their serfs to work in the fields even past
other peoples found in Latvian Sun-songs, which he terms
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8134
SAULE
a “rich treasure trove of mythological poetry” (reiche Schatz-
form a coherent, solemn narrative about the birth, life strug-
kammer mythologischer Poesie). Referring to the then popular
gles, and adventures of gods or superhuman heroes. By tak-
theories of Adalbert Kuhn, Mannhardt concludes that the
ing narrative as a central defining characteristic of what is
Latvian folk songs contain genuine fragments of the original
mythical, Albert Lord (1989), for example, concludes that
Indo-European Nature religion in its still nascent, “precrys-
we should not talk of “mythical” dainas just because they
tallized” form. Eduard Zica¯ns (1936) has expanded this ap-
refer to a god or mythological figure, but should treat them
proach by analyzing the motif of the solar wedding in the
instead as courting, wedding, funeral, or other kinds of
dainas, along with its Indo-European parallels. A fascination
songs, according to their content or performance context.
with the Indo-European Sun-myth culminated in the nine-
Yet the very principle that narrative is a major defining
teenth century with the wildly popular scholarship of Max
characteristic of myth may be seriously questioned. Narrative
Müller, who came to see solar motifs or a “solar hero” in
involves character as well as plot, like two sides of the same
practically every myth and tale ever recorded. After decades
coin, while lyrical poetry puts the accent on characterization.
of unbridled enthusiasm, however, the mid-twentieth centu-
In his seminal work of 1875, Mannhardt offers a useful,
ry (at least in North America) saw not just “an eclipse of solar
broader definition of myth, proposing to treat “hymns, songs
mythology” (Dorson, 1955), but also a veritable scholarly
of praise, adoration and respectful prayers” as genuine mythi-
taboo on interest in the Sun-myth as well as in Indo-
cal materials. In other words, the attitude expressed toward
European studies.
the mythological figure should be a crucial component of our
The thread was picked up again within the Swedish so-
understanding of its significance.
ciological school of religious studies by Haralds Biezais
With respect to the Latvian Saule, Ludis Adamovicˇs
(1972), in an extensive and detailed study of Saule as a mem-
(1956, pp. 567–568) has noted that, along with undeniably
ber of “Die himmlische Go˝tterfamilie der alten Letten” (The
mythic and cultic elements in the Latvian materials, there are
Heavenly Family of God of the Ancient Latvians). Biezais
evident nature metaphors that may be merely the subjective
stresses the “sociological background” of gods or mythologi-
products of poetic fantasy. This implies a questionable di-
cal figures, whereby their functions are expressed mainly in
chotomy between myth that is “real,” that has some literal
terms of the family relationships among them. The feminine
meaning in the prosaic sense, and poetic imagery or meta-
Saule is presented as a heavenly farm wife (die himmlische
phor that is an “unreal” product of the imagination. In the
Hausfrau), married to the masculine Me¯ness (Moon) and liv-
same vein, the Lithuanian folklorist Jonas Balys (1953,
ing in what is essentially the projection upon the Hill of
pp. 7–9) claims that Latvians tend to overestimate the im-
Heaven of a prosperous Latvian farmhouse, with all its tools
portance of their own songs for mythological studies. Ac-
and implements. Similarly, under the influence of Émile
cording to Balys, folk poetry is much more unreliable than
Durkheim and the Swedish school of interest dominance
prose narrative in that regard, and he quotes with approval
among historians of religion, the German scholar Bauer, in
an assertion by Emil N. Setälä (1934) that poetry, after all,
his 1972 doctoral dissertation, stresses the importance of
is only poetry, and contains precious little of religion in the
“technomorph concepts” in Baltic (i.e., Latvian and Lithua-
proper sense of that word. But if religion should be prosaic
nian) mythology.
in order to be taken seriously, one wonders what to make of
The concrete objects and activities linked to Saule in the
so many books of the Old Testament?
Latvian dainas are certainly such as would be known from
Along the same lines, the famous Finnish scholar K. F.
the singers’ everyday life experiences and circumstances, only
Karjalainen (1921, pp. 20–21) has criticized the studies of
richer and shinier. Saule has servants who have to mow silver
Bernát Munkácsi on Vogul mythology (based on Vogul folk
meadows and plough golden mountains. She has silken skirts
poetry), claiming that the corpus examined by Munkácsi
which she puts out to air in the evening. The Daughters of
needed a serious weeding out of images of poetic fantasy and
the Sun (Saules meitas) in turn, may be washing tankards,
random contributions by individual singers before such a
bleaching cups, scrubbing linden tables, knitting mittens,
“song religion” could be placed on an equal footing with
weaving shirts, herding cows, sweeping paths, grinding meal,
“true” (prosaic?) folk beliefs. Even Biezais, who uncondition-
cooking dinner, and altogether as busily engaged in womanly
ally accepts Saule as part of the “heavenly enlarged family”
tasks as any farmer’s daughter ever could be. But do these
of ancient Latvian divinities, sees the poetic fantasy aspect as
poetic images derived from the “poorly differentiated life of
a sort of contamination in the otherwise valuable and rich
the Latvian peasants” reflect a religious experience that is
source of materials of the Latvian dainas. Poetic images are
equally undifferentiated, narrow, limited, and obtuse, when
said to appear without “rationally meaningful” motivation
it is not outright incoherent and irrational (Biezais, 1972,
(Biezais, 1972, p. 264) or details that are difficult to interpret
p. 391; Bauer, 1972, p. 194)? I would argue that they do not.
are treated as the meaningless products of poetic fantasy, due
to confusion (or worse) on the singers’ part (Biezais, 1972,
Along a different line of thought, some scholars have ar-
pp. 270–271).
gued that the Latvian dainas contain little of what could be
called “mythical” in the narrow sense of the word (adopted
To proponents of the sociological school of religion, the
by Mircéa Eliade, among others): that is to say they do not
fact that the personified Saule appears dressed and equipped
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SAURA HINDUISM
8135
in gold and silver is sufficient proof “that she belongs to the
ited by Vaira V¯ık¸e-Freiberga [Vaira V¯ık¸is-Freibergs],
celestial realm and is divinised” (Biezais, 1972, p. 214). This,
pp. 35–48. Montreal and Kingston, Ontario, 1989.
however, cannot be the sole criterion, since such ornamental
Mannhardt, Wilhelm. “Die lettischen Sonnenmythen.” Zeitschrift
or “focusing” epithets (V¯ık¸e-Freiberga, Mosaic 6, 1973) are
für Ethnologie 7 (1875): 73–104; 209–329.
applied to everything in the dainas, starting with the hum-
Mannhardt, Wilhelm. Letto-preussische Götterlehre. Riga, Latvia,
blest blade of grass. The metaphorical personification of a
1936.
natural phenomenon is a legitimate step in its divinization,
Setälä, Emil N. “Das rätsel vom Sampo.” Finnisch-ugrische For-
but not the ultimate one. The personified mythological fig-
schungen 22 (1934): 177–203.
ure must also have divine powers and functions attributed
V¯ık¸e-Freiberga, Vaira [Vaira V¯ık¸is-Freibergs]. “Myth and Meta-
to it and must be linked to metaphysical and cultic concepts.
phor in Latvian Dainas.” In Baltic Literature and Linguistics,
In the case of the Latvian materials, where sociological reduc-
edited by A. Ziedonis Jr., J. Puhvel, R. Sˇilbajoris, and M.
tionism would see Saule and her entourage as a projection
Valgemae, pp. 127–134. Columbus, Ohio, 1973a.
unto the Hill of Heaven of the ordinary ancient farmstead,
V¯ık¸e-Freiberga, Vaira [Vaira V¯ık¸is-Freibergs]. “The Poetic Imagi-
one could argue for the very contrary psychological process.
nation of the Latvian Dainas.Mosaic 6, no. 4 (1973b):
Personified nature metaphors, in this view, are the expres-
209–221.
sions of individual subjective experiences of the numenous,
V¯ık¸e-Freiberga, Vaira [Vaira V¯ık¸is-Freibergs], and Imants Frei-
of epiphanies linked to moments of religious revelation or
bergs. Saules dainas. Montreal, 1988.
of Cosmic illumination. The mythopoetic metaphor is an at-
tempt to express the inexpressible by encoding it in images
V¯ık¸e-Freiberga, Vaira. Treja¯da¯s saules: I. Kosmolog‘iska¯ saule. Riga,
derived from everyday experience. In the Latvian dainas, the
Latvia, 1997. An analysis of the themes in Latvian folksongs
about the sun.
whole of nature and its phenomena are seen as manifesta-
tions of divine forces, as the incarnation of the divine spirit
V¯ık¸e-Freiberga, Vaira. Treja¯da¯s saules: II. Hronolog‘iska¯ saule. Riga,
in matter. It is the divine or the spiritual that is projected
Latvia, 1999.
downward into matter, not the sociological or the meteoro-
V¯ık¸e-Freiberga, Vaira. Treja¯da¯s saules: III. Meteorolog‘iska¯ saule.
logical that is projected upward. One could go even further
Riga, Latvia, 2002.
and claim that a nature divinity such as Saule is seen as con-
Zica¯ns, Eduard. “Die Ewigkeitsahnung im lettischen Volksglau-
substantial with its analogue in physical nature.
ben.” Studia Theologica II (1940): 41-63.
S
VAIRA V¯IK¸E-FREIBERGA (2005)
EE ALSO Baltic Religion, overview article; Sun.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adamovicˇs, Ludis. “Senlatvieˇsu mitologija.” In Latvieˇsu tautas
SAURA HINDUISM is the branch of Hinduism in
dziesmas, edited by Arve¯ds Sˇva¯be, Ka¯rlis Straubergs, and
Ed¯ıte Hauzenberga-Sˇturma, vol. 11, pp. 557–568. Copen-
which the sun is worshiped as the principal deity. The first
hagen, 1956.
clear evidence of sun worship in India comes from the Vedas,
the collections of ritual hymns produced by the Aryans who
Balys, Jonas. “Parallels and Differences in Lithuanian and Latvian
entered India around 1500
Mythology.” In Spiritus et Veritas, edited by Auseklis, Soci-
BCE. Several devas (“powers” or
etas theologorum Universitatis Latviensis, pp. 7–9. Eutin,
“deities”) praised in the Vedas had solar qualities, and the
Germany, 1953.
sun was also a deva in his own right as Su¯rya or A¯ditya, the
visible sun, and as Savitr:, the stimulator of life. Vedic ritual
Bauer, Gerhard. “Gesellschaft und Weltbild im baltischen
Traditionsmilieu.” Ph.D. dissertation, Ruprecht-Karls-
practice honored the sun with daily recital of the Gaya¯tr¯ı
Universität, Heidelberg, 1972.
mantra to Savitr: and sacrifices to Su¯rya. Despite this recogni-
tion, however, the sun was never considered the most impor-
Biezais, Haralds. Die himmlische Götterfamilie der alten Letten.
tant deva during the Vedic period.
Uppsala, Sweden, 1972.
Bynum, David E. The Dæmon in the Wood: A Study of Oral Narra-
Vedic sacrificial religion was basically aniconic. The
tive Patterns. Cambridge, Mass., 1978.
only visible solar deva, Su¯rya was represented in some Vedic
Dorson, Richard M. “The Eclipse of Solar Mythology.” Journal
rituals by symbols such as a twelve-petaled lotus, a wheel, or
of American Folklore 68 (1955): 393–416. Reprinted in The
a golden disc, but the first anthropomorphic images of the
Study of Folklore, edited by Alan Dundes, pp. 53–83. Engle-
sun god were stone reliefs of Su¯rya in a one-wheeled chariot
wood Cliffs, N.J., 1965.
from Buddhist sites at Bodh Gaya¯ and Bhaja in the first cen-
Eliade, Mircéa. Cosmos and History: The Myth of the Eternal Re-
tury BCE. These images indicate the emergence of Su¯rya as
turn. New York, 1959.
a popular, but subsidiary, deity, a status that he maintained
throughout southern India. In the North, however, Su¯rya
Karjalainen, K. F. “Die Religion der Jugra-Völker. I.” Folklore Fel-
lows Communications 8, no. 41 (1921): 1–204. See especially
worship was transformed by foreign influence into Saura
pages 20–21.
Hinduism.
Lord, Albert B. “Theories of Oral Literature in the Latvian
The context of this transformation was the conquest of
Dainas.” In Linguistics and Poetics of Latvian Folk Songs, ed-
northern India late in the first century CE by 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

8136
SAUTRA¯NTIKA
Scythian empire of the Kushans, which extended from Cen-
Patnaik, N., ed. The Saora. Bhubaneswar, 1989.
tral Asia through Bactria to its capital at Mathura. Contact
THOMAS J. HOPKINS (1987)
with the neighboring Parthian empire opened the way for
Revised Bibliography
Iranian as well as Scythian influences during the century and
a half of Kushan rule. Together, these influences changed the
earlier solar religion into a popular theistic sect with distinc-
tive foreign features.
SAUTRA¯NTIKA. Most available sources agree that the
Sautra¯ntika school separated from the Sarva¯stiva¯da perhaps
The first change was the iconographic remodeling of
some four centuries after the death of S´a¯kyamuni Buddha.
Su¯rya to look like a Kushan ruler with a close-fitting Scythi-
Its followers were called Sautra¯ntika, meaning those who
an tunic and boots, an iconography that was preserved in all
take the su¯tras as the last word, because although they accept-
subsequent images of Su¯rya in northern India. The second
ed the two main parts of the Buddhist canon (the Tripitaka),
development, as described in the main text of Saura Hindu-
namely, the Vinaya and the Su¯tras, as the true word of the
ism, the Sa¯mba Pura¯n:a, was the creation of a major center
Buddha, they rejected the third part, the Abhidharma of the
of Su¯rya worship at Multan in the Punjab by Sa¯mba, a son
Sarva¯stiva¯da tradition, considering it later philosophical dis-
of Va¯sudeva Kr:s:n:a, who also brought magi from Iran to serve
quisition, which for them had no binding authority. Howev-
as priests. A major concern of the Sa¯mba was thus not only
er, the Sautra¯ntikas must have remained effectively a branch
to exalt the worship of Su¯rya as savior but to justify the use
of the Sarva¯stiva¯da, as they continued to follow the same
of magi as brahmans in the cultic ritual.
Vinaya, or monastic discipline, and their differences re-
There was already a major temple at Multan by the time
mained not so much practical as philosophical. They are
the oldest portion of the Sa¯mba was written early in the sixth
sometimes referred to by such variant names as
century; the text mentions further centers of Su¯rya worship
Su¯tra¯ntava¯dins or Su¯traprama¯n:ikas (meaning the same as
in Mathura and Orissa. Expansion continued throughout
Sautra¯ntika), or as Sam:kra¯ntiva¯dins, referring to their theory
northern India for many centuries, but the sect went into
of rebirth or transmigration (sam:kra¯nti). Names such as
rapid decline after the fifteenth century. The temple at Mul-
Saurodayika (“like the sunrise,” perhaps a reference to one
tan has not survived, and most Su¯rya temples show the ef-
of their famous teachers) and Da¯rs:t:a¯ntika (“users of similes”)
fects of long neglect. The eighth-century Su¯rya temple at
are also applied to them. As a philosophical movement deriv-
Martand in Kashmir and the eleventh century temple at
ing from the Sarva¯stiva¯da school, they distinguished them-
Modhera in Gujarat, however, show the range of Saura influ-
selves primarily from the Vaibha¯s:ikas, namely, those who ad-
ence, and the great thirteenth-century Sun Temple at Ko-
hered to the Vibha¯s:a (Philosophical disquisition), a text
narak in Orissa proves the grandeur of its vision.
based upon the (Sarva¯stiva¯da) Abhidharma literature, and
who maintained the reality of dharmas in all three times:
SEE ALSO Sun.
past, present, and future.
According to the Chinese monk Xuanzang, who visited
BIBLIOGRAPHY
India between the years 627 and 645, the Sautra¯ntika recog-
The qualities of all of the solar devas that appear in the Vedic
nized A¯nanda, the closest disciple of S´a¯kyamuni, as their
hymns are described in detail in A. A. Macdonell’s Vedic My-
chief master. According to another Chinese scholar their
thology (Strassburg, 1897; reprint, New York, 1974). The
founder was called Uttara. Some Tibetan sources say that this
evolution of Su¯rya images is comprehensively traced and ex-
school was called Uttar¯ıya (“superior”) in recognition of its
plained in Jitendra Nath Banerjea’s The Developement of
superiority with regard to Dharma. Bhavya relates that the
Hindu Iconography, 2d ed., rev. & enl. (Calcutta, 1956). The
Sam:kra¯ntiva¯da was also called Uttar¯ıya and that its founder,
historical and cultural context of the early Su¯rya sect is pro-
Uttara, seceded from the Sarva¯stiva¯da. Ta¯rana¯tha maintains
vided in John M. Rosenfield’s The Dynastic Arts of the Ku-
that the names Sam:kra¯ntiva¯da, Uttar¯ıya, and Ta¯mra´sat¯ıya
shans (Berkeley, Calif., 1967). The history, contents, and sig-
nificance of the Sa¯mba Pura¯n:a are given careful scholarly
all referred to the same school. A Chinese source asserts that
treatment in R. C. Hazra’s Studies in the Upapura¯n:as, vol. 1,
one Pu¯rn:a, who propagated the Vinaya and Abhidharma
Saura and Vaisnava Upapura¯n:as (Calcutta, 1958). Descrip-
teachings, encountered opposition from some monks who
tions and illustrations of the extant Su¯rya temples are provid-
thereupon took A¯nanda, the master of the Su¯tras, as their pa-
ed in Percy Brown’s Indian Architecture, vol. 1, Buddhist and
tron. Vasumitra believes that the Sautra¯ntika and the
Hindu Periods, 5th ed. (Bombay, 1965). A brief but interest-
Sarva¯stiva¯da held similar teachings, but Vasubandhu and
ing description of the Su¯rya temple at Multan in 641 CE is
Sam:ghabhadra concentrate mainly on the polemics between
given in the accounts of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuan-
these two schools. In the Abhidharma literature there are ref-
zang in Samuel Beal’s Si-yu-ki, Buddhist Records of the West-
erences to four people who are said to have been the “four
ern World (London, 1884; reprint, Delhi, 1981).
suns” of the Sautra¯ntikas: Kuma¯rala¯bha, reputed as the
New Sources
founder of this school, Dharmatra¯ta, Buddhadeva, and
Mahapatra, Sitakant. Tribal Wall Paintings of Orissa. Bhubanes-
S´r¯ıla¯bha. Some modern scholars assert that such well known
war, 1991.
Buddhist thinkers as Vasubandhu, Digna¯ga, or even
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SAUTRA¯NTIKA
8137
Dharmak¯ırti were adherents or sympatizers of the
(vijñapti) of volition, were classed as elements within form
Sautra¯ntikas.
or matter (ru¯paskandha). Thus, mental action would cause
the arising of vocal or physical action according to the nor-
Like the teachings of several other early Buddhist
mal process of karman throughout past, present, and future,
schools whose writings have been lost, Sautra¯ntika theories
and all elements in the process remain equally “real.” The
are known mainly from the surviving literature of other
Vats¯ıputriyas, on the other hand, argued that vocal and
philosophical schools, Hindu as well as Buddhist, who most
physical acts are not real elements or “things in themselves”
often refer to the Sautra¯ntikas in the process of refuting views
but a mere “process” or “motion” (gati) provoked by mental
at variance with their own. Although such references are
karman or volition, which receives expression (vijñapti)
bound to be partisan, it is nonetheless possible to gain a fair
thereby.
idea of Sautra¯ntika doctrines from them. In that these doc-
trines clearly serve as a link between the realistic atomizing
The Sautra¯ntikas rejected the concept of action as oper-
theories of the earlier schools and the “mind only”
ative in the past, present, and future; thus, strictly speaking,
(cittama¯tra) theories of the Yoga¯ca¯ra tradition, such an en-
an action cannot result in an effect in the future, since nei-
deavor is all the more rewarding.
ther past nor future can exist simultaneously with the pres-
While the Sautra¯ntika adhere to the fundamental Bud-
ent. The past has existed and the future will exist in relation-
dhist “dogma” of ana¯tman (“no-self,” i.e., no transmigrating
ship to the ever passing present, but only the present can
element) they reinterpret the earlier theory of dharmas (ele-
actually exist and its existence is momentary (ks:an:ika). Thus
mental particles), of which the five components (skandhas)
bodily and vocal action resulting from mental action (i.e.
of individual personality are said to be composed. Individual
thought) cannot exist in the manner envisaged by the
personality is essentially a nonentity (a “no self”), definable
Sarva¯stiva¯da or Vaibha¯s:ika, and their concept of pra¯pti as a
as a constant flux of elemental psychophysical particles, mo-
holding force can have no meaning. Likewise, vijñapti as the
mentarily composing themselves under the effect of karman
“expression” of thought has no real existence in itself; indeed,
as form or matter (ru¯pa), feelings (vedana¯), perceptions
it is only the mental action as volition that exists, possessing
(sam:jña¯), impulses (sam:ska¯ra), and consciousness (vijña¯na),
moral value as good, bad, or indifferent. The Sautra¯ntikas
namely as the five components. The main point at issue be-
analyze volition under three aspects: “deliberation”
tween the Vaibha¯s:ikas and the Sautra¯ntikas concerns the op-
(gaticetana¯), “decision” (ni´scayacetana¯), and “impulsion”
eration of karman upon the elemental particles resulting in
(kiran:acetana¯). It should be noted that all three terms include
a new interpretation of their nature. According to the
cetana¯, “mentation,” or the process of thinking. The first two
Sarva¯stiva¯da, all elements exist in past, present and future;
constitute the “action of thinking” (cetana¯karma), which in
hence their name, coined from sarva¯sti (“everything exists”).
effect is volition, manifest as mental reflection (manaska¯ra)
An individual personality is therefore an ever-changing flow
or thoughts (caitta). They both represent the “action of
of real elements, the components of which vary from mo-
thought” (manah:karma). The third aspect, “impulsion”
ment to moment in accordance with its karman. The
(kiran:acetana¯), is twofold: that which impels bodily move-
Sarva¯stiva¯da argue that every action projects its eventual ef-
ment and that which impels speech. This explanation re-
fect upon the fluctuating stream of elements in the form of
duces the actions of body and speech, conceived by the
a fresh type of elemental particle known as pra¯pti, literally
Vaibha¯s:ikas as realities (classed within the ru¯paskandha) that
“acquisition” or “appropriation.” Although itself of momen-
succeed mental action throughout a time process, to mere as-
tary existence like all other particles, pra¯pti continues to re-
pects of volition, which alone is a reality, manifesting itself
manifest itself in the general stream of elements until an ap-
momentarily in what is always effectively the present. It is
propriate combination with other elements, themselves the
thus thought alone that has moral value as good, bad, or in-
effects of subsequent actions, produces the “fruit” or retribu-
different.
tion of that particular action. Thus, pra¯pti may be regarded
The Sautra¯ntikas claim that the maturing of karman as
as the force that acts within a particular stream of elements
the “fruit” or effect of morally qualifiable volition can be ex-
(i.e., an individual personality) keeping it united as a seem-
plained by the manner in which the mental series evolves.
ingly coherent entity, not only within a single life-stream but
An action, being a thought associated with a particular voli-
also in the passage from one life to the next.
tion, is momentary (ks:an:ika). It disappears the very moment
Since personality is also regarded under the threefold as-
it is committed (and thus has no real duration as explained
pect of body, speech, and mind, action (karman) is definable
by the Sarva¯stiva¯da) but it impregnates (va¯sana¯) the mental
as physical, vocal, or mental. Probably all Buddhists agree
series (cittasam:ta¯na) of which it forms a starting point with
that mind or thought predominates in some way, but the ex-
a particular potentiality (´saktivi´ses:a). The impregnated series
tent and manner of its predominance presented a major area
undergoes an evolution (parin:a¯ma) of varied periods of time
of discussion and disagreement among the early schools. Ap-
and culminates in the final transformation-moment (vi´ses:a),
plying the theory of real elemental particles to everything, the
which constitutes the state of retribution. The evolution of
Sarva¯stiva¯da identified mental action as “volition” (cetana¯),
the series is compared to a seed and its gradual transforma-
while vocal and physical action, treated as an “expression”
tional growth until it matures as a fruit.
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SAUTRA¯NTIKA
The Sautra¯ntikas had to answer certain objections as to
The Sautra¯ntika rejected the existence of the uncondi-
what happens when the series is interrupted, as for instance
tioned elements (asam:skr:ta). For them, these elements were
in suspended meditation. A primitive interpretation, as rep-
not real or distinct entities but represented mere denomina-
resented by the Da¯rs:t:a¯ntika view, assumed the theory of two
tion of absence. Thus, space (a¯ka´sa) represented an absence
simultaneous series, one mental, constituted by the six con-
of tangible bodies (spr:s:t:avya) and nirva¯n:a denoted the non-
sciousnesses, and one material, constituted by the corre-
manifestation of passions and adverse psychophysical ele-
sponding sense organs. When the mental series is interrupted
ments. They also denied the reality of the fourteen “unasso-
it resumes in due course its evolution from its seeds or germs
ciated” elements (cittaviprayuktasam:ska¯ra), among which
(b¯ıja) that are preserved in the material series. Similarly, the
origination, duration, decay, and impermanence in particu-
material series, when it is interrupted (in death or in the
lar were viewed not as entities but as mere denominations
meditative trances of the a¯ru¯pyadha¯tu), becomes reborn from
of the flux of the elements.
its seeds preserved by the mental series. But where, it may
The Sautra¯ntika maintained that the objects of the ex-
be asked, is the continuity of the series as such? How are the
ternal world are not really perceived because, being momen-
germs retained? The answer of the Sautra¯ntikas is to assert
tary, they disappear before they can be perceived. Thus, the
the existence of a subtle thought (su¯ks:macitta) underlying the
object of cognition, being already passed as soon as it ap-
mental series and constituting its continuity.
pears, is not perceived directly; it leaves behind an image that
is reproduced in the “act of cognition.” Such a process gives
Subtle thought was defined by the Sautra¯ntika thinkers
the impression that it exists, while in fact it only did so in
in two different ways: some said it was mental consciousness
the now nonexistent past.
(manovijñana) free of concepts (sam:jña¯) and feeling
(vedana¯); others envisaged it as mental consciousness (citta)
In opposition to other schools, which maintained that
free of mentations (caitta). Both groups agreed that its objec-
only a person who was advanced on the path toward arhat-
tive sphere (i.e., its real nature) is “imperceptible”
ship might possess the potentiality (ana¯sravaskandha) of lib-
(asam:vidita). This subtle consciousness was known by such
eration, the Sautra¯ntika maintained that ordinary people
other names as ekarasaskandha (“aggregate[s] of one flavor
(pr:thagjana) had the same potentiality. Finally, they also as-
or nature”), mu¯la¯ntikaskandha (“origin and cause of the five
serted that apart from the Noble Eightfold Path
skandhas”), and parama¯rthapudgala (“true and real person”).
(a¯rya¯s:t:a¯n˙gama¯rga) there was no other way to destroy the
Later, the nature of “subtle consciousness” was explained by
skandhas; meditation and other practices can suppress the
distinguishing two kinds of thought: a multiple or complex
passions (kle´sas) but cannot eradicate them completely.
mind (na¯nacitta) as represented by the six kinds of active
SEE ALSO Buddhism, Schools of; Buddhist Philosophy;
consciousnesses, and a store or subtle thought (a¯cayacitta).
Dharma, article on Buddhist Dharma and Dharmas; Indian
The complex mind and the elements (dharmas), all of which
Philosophies; Sarva¯stiva¯da; Soul, article on Buddhist Con-
evolve simultaneously, impregnate the subtle thought with
cepts; Vasubandhu; Yoga¯ca¯ra.
their seeds or germs.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The complex mind functions through different objects
No single work treats the Sautra¯ntika school as whole. Our chief
(a¯lambana), aspects (a¯ka¯ra), and modalities (vi´ses:a). The
source of information on the tradition is Vasubandhu’s
Sautra¯ntikas argued that when these functions of complex
Abhidharmako´sa (and bha¯s:ya) and works composed in refer-
mind are absent, as in, for instance, a state of suspended
ence to it, especially Ya¯somitra’s Abhidharmako´sa
meditation, the state is deprived of thought in the sense that
sphut:a¯rthavya¯khya¯. The references listed below are sources of
the series is interrupted, but that in fact this absence does not
further information.
indicate total interruption because subtle thought continues
Lamotte, Étienne, ed. and trans. “Le traité de l’acte de Vasuband-
to exist, serving as a repository of all the seeds (sarvab¯ıja) de-
hu: Karmasiddhiprakaran:a.” Mélanges chinois et bouddhiques,
vol. 4, pp. 151–288. Brussels, 1935–1936.
posited by the complex mind. As the series evolves, the seeds
mature and produce their “fruit” (retribution), which con-
Masuda, Jiryo. “Origin and Doctrines of Early Indian Buddhist
Schools.” Asia Major 2 (1925): 1–78.
sists of a new (good or bad) complex mind and elements. As
the subtle consciousness is the sustainer of these new or ma-
Mimaki Katsumi. “Le chapitre de Blo gsal grub mthaD sur les
Sautra¯ntika, un essai de traduction.” Memoirs of the Research
tured seeds, it is also called the “consciousness of retribution”
Institute for Humanistic Studies (Kyoto) 16 (1979): 143–172.
(vipa¯kaphalavijña¯na). From the time of birth until the mo-
ment of death the subtle mind constitutes the continuity of
New Sources
Cox, Collett. “On the Possibility of a Nonexistent Object of Con-
the series and it transmigrates (sam:kra¯mate) from one exis-
sciousness: Sarva¯stiva¯din and Da¯rs:t:a¯ntika Theories.” Journal
tence to the next, assuming different manifestations (reincar-
of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 11, no. 1
nations). Once it reaches the moment of passing into nirva¯n:a
(1988): 31–87.
(final retribution or deliverance) it is cut off and completely
Cox, Collett. Disputed Dharmas, Early Buddhist Theories on Exis-
extinguished. This interpretation was criticized but also
tence: An Annotated Translation of the Section on Factors Dis-
adopted with modifications by the Vijña¯nava¯da and
sociated from Thought from Sanghabhadra’s Nya¯ya¯nusa¯ra.
Ma¯dhyamika schools.
Tokyo, 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

SAVONAROLA, GIROLAMO
8139
Klein, Anne, trans. Knowing, Naming, and Negation: A Sourcebook
its center, perhaps because they knew it would be difficult
on Tibetan Sautra¯ntika. With oral commentary by Geshe
to dislodge him without scandal among his widespread fol-
Belden Drakba. Ithaca, N.Y., 1991.
lowing. With Piero de’ Medici, who succeeded Lorenzo in
La Vallée Poussin, Louis de. Abhidharmako´sabha¯s:yam. Translated
1492, he seems to have been on good terms.
by Leo M. Pruden. 5 vols. Berkeley, 1988–1990.
By the 1490s rumbles of the earthquake that was to de-
Williams, Paul, with Anthony Tribe. Buddhist Thought: A Com-
stroy Italy’s facade of collective security were beginning to
plete Introduction to the Indian Tradition. London, 2000. See
be heard. Charles VIII (1483–1498) was heralded as the new
Chapter 4.
Charlemagne, who would restore French imperial glory,
TADEUSZ SKORUPSKI (1987)
cross the sea to conquer “the Infidel,” and convert the world
Revised Bibliography
into a single sheepfold under one shepherd. To Savonarola
he was the flagellum Dei who would scourge the church and
carry the children of Israel into captivity. Florence, that den
of iniquity, would suffer with the rest. In the fall of 1494
SAVONAROLA, GIROLAMO (1452–1498), was
Charles invaded Italy, and his opposition melted away as he
a Dominican preacher, reformer, and prophet. Savonarola
marched to the frontiers of Tuscany. A frightened Piero de’
was born in Ferrara, Italy, and under the eye of his grandfa-
Medici hurried to the king’s camp and surrendered the key
ther, the distinguished court physician Michele Savonarola,
Florentine strongholds. Returning to Florence, Piero en-
was educated in religious and liberal studies before going on
countered a city in revolt, and he fled. After sixty years of
to medicine. A story that he was disappointed in love, and
Medici domination Florence had recovered its liberty.
his early poem De ruina mundi give some insight into his de-
cision to enter the Order of Friars Preachers in 1475. In Bo-
Savonarola’s standing as a popular champion and
logna he completed his novitiate and attended the Domini-
prophet gave him unrivaled authority. Holding no civic of-
can Studium Generale. In 1482 he went to Florence as reader
fice, he exercised his influence through preaching (now sup-
in the Observant Dominican convent of San Marco. The re-
ported by visions), through meetings with civic leaders, and
cently rediscovered Borromeo Codex, containing Savonaro-
through political allies in the city’s councils. He charted a
la’s sermon notes, poetry, and other writings from this peri-
course between direct democracy and narrow oligarchic reac-
od, shows a young reformer in process of development rather
tion, the chief feature of which was a new Great Council
than the born prophet portrayed by his hagiographers. The
with hereditary qualifications for admission and sovereign
moralizing, ascetic sermon drafts contain none of the spec-
powers on the model of Venice. In the city’s religious institu-
tacular visionary themes, still less the millenarian themes, of
tions he changed little, but he sought to introduce a spiritual
Savonarola’s later preaching. Still under the influence of
revolution through moral reform. Ascetic conduct was urged
Scholastic homiletics with its labored, allegorical exegesis, he
from pulpits and enjoined by new laws and by youthful vigi-
was just beginning to find a more personal and direct, if as
lantes organized from San Marco. Religious processions re-
yet unflamboyant, style.
placed secular festivals; bonfires of “vanities” consumed the
tokens of “worldliness”; specially written lauds celebrated the
In 1484, ruminating on the wickedness of the world, he
millennial glories of a spiritually revitalized Florence. The
conceived “on the basis of scripture” that the church had im-
Jews, tolerated by the Medici regime, were expelled, and a
minently to be scourged and reformed, and he announced
public loan fund (Monte di Pietà), advocated by Franciscan
his new apocalyptic reading of scripture in his Lenten ser-
preachers, was set up. Ignoring his earlier warnings of tribu-
mons in San Gimignano in 1485 and again in 1486. He was
lation and doom, Savonarola now envisioned Florence as the
appointed magister studiorum in Bologna in 1487, and in the
New Jerusalem, center of liberty and virtue, from which
next few years he gained attention as a preacher in various
would radiate the new era, when Florence would be “richer,
north Italian cities. In 1490 he was reassigned to San Marco
greater, more powerful than ever.”
at the request of Lorenzo de’ Medici, unofficial ruler of Flor-
ence, who may have been prompted by Giovanni Pico della
Inevitably, however, Savonarola’s insistence that the
Mirandola, one of the friar’s admirers. Elected prior, he
French king was Florence’s divinely elected champion led to
briefly considered taking his friars into the woods of a nearby
the city’s political isolation in Italy, and the longer Charles
mountain valley, but instead he concentrated upon reform-
put off his return, the lower Savonarola’s credit dropped. His
ing San Marco and preaching in the city. He began to criti-
avoidance of the pope’s summons to Rome and his disobedi-
cize tyrants as corrupters of the people, and he warned of
ence to a command of silence led to his excommunication,
coming tribulations. He was aware that he might share the
and a papal interdict for harboring him threatened the city.
fate of other preachers, most recently Bernardino da Feltre,
All this created a situation that Savonarola’s enemies could
who had been expelled from Florence for stirring up unrest;
exploit. He was unable to block a Franciscan’s challenge to
but the city’s rulers made no effort to pluck this latest thorn
a trial by fire, and he bore the brunt of the blame when this
from the flesh of the body politic, perhaps because they were
eagerly awaited test failed to take place. A mob attacked San
pleased by Savonarola’s fruitful efforts to create a new Tus-
Marco, and Savonarola and two other friars were impris-
can congregation of Dominican houses with San Marco at
oned, interrogated, and tortured. Altered versions of Savona-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

8140
S:AWM
rola’s confession to false prophecy and political conspiracy
lims as well as “for those before you,” in order “that you be-
were published. On May 23, 1498 the three friars were
come pious” (2:183). The earmarking of Ramad:a¯n, the
hanged and burned on a specially constructed scaffold in
month in which “the QurDa¯n was sent down” (2:185), for
Florence’s main civic square.
fasting seems to be a recognition of the centrality of the
QurDa¯n in Muslim religious life and an attempt to reinforce
The Savonarolan republic survived until 1512, when
it. In Muslim understanding, fasting is a means of fostering
the Medici were restored by Spanish troops. It was revived
piety, of celebrating the glory of God, and of thanking him
by a revolt in 1527, in which piagnone, or Savonarolan, ide-
for revealing the QurDa¯n, “a guide for mankind, and clear
ology played a fundamental role. Once again revolutionary
signs for guidance, and judgment” (2:185).
millenarianism and puritanical republicanism flowed from
San Marco. Once again the Jews were expelled. Prostitutes
Except for a very few days of the year, Muslims may fast
were banned. Pro-Medicean utterances were made a capital
whenever they wish to as an act of supererogation. Fasting
offense. Enemies of the regime were exiled. Blasphemers and
is so meritorious that in addition to obligatory fasting pious
sodomites were put to death. Such uncompromising fanati-
Muslims frequently observe voluntary fasting (s:awm
cism alienated republican moderates and strengthened the
al-tat:awwu E), seeking self-purification and spiritual growth.
hand of the Medici, who came back to the city in 1530. As
Certain days and months have been specially recommended
a political movement “piagnonism” was finished, although
for voluntary fasting.
the cult of Savonarola thrived and has been revived periodi-
Fasting is obligatory for anyone who makes a vow to
cally up to the present day. Its traces can be discerned in the
fast. In certain circumstances fasting has been prescribed as
Risorgimento biography by Pasquale Villari, the Catholic
an alternative means of atonement. In addition, those who
modernist life by Joseph Schnitzer, and the cinquecentennial
miss any days of the Ramad:a¯n fast (apart from the elderly
biography by Roberto Ridolfi. Hagiography apart, Savonaro-
or incurably sick) must make up the fast at a later date.
la’s sermons and devotional works continued to be printed
and read in Italy, Spain, France, and Germany. Savonarolan
RAMAD:A¯N. As one of the “Five Pillars” of Islam, the fast of
piety, with its emphasis upon individual religious experience,
Ramad:a¯n has a special position in Muslim religious life. All
charity, and the way of the cross of Christ, was admired by
Muslims who have attained puberty and are in full possession
Martin Luther. A statue of the Dominican was erected in
of their senses are obliged to fast. Persons who are sick or
Wittenberg, although Savonarola surely belongs more to the
traveling, and pregnant or nursing women, are exempted.
Catholic than to the Protestant reformation.
Women in their periods of h:ayd: (“menstruation”) or nifa¯s
(“bleeding on the childbed”) are not allowed to fast, al-
B
though they are required to make up later for those days
IBLIOGRAPHY
Cattin, Giulio. Il primo Savonarola: Poesie e prediche autografe dal
missed. The elderly and the incurably sick are totally exempt-
Codice Borromeo. Florence, 1973.
ed from fasting, but for every day of fasting missed they
should feed one poor person.
Polizotto, Lorenzo. “The Piagnoni and Religious Reform, 1494–
1530.” Ph. D. diss., University of London, 1975.
Each day’s fast commences when “the white thread of
Ridolfi, Roberto. The Life of Girolamo Savonarola. Translated by
dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread” (2:187),
Cecil Grayson. New York, 1959.
and fasting restrictions remain applicable until sunset. This
Schnitzer, Joseph. Savonarola: Ein Kulturbild aus der Zeit der Re-
poses a problem in the polar regions, where days and nights
naissance. 2 vols. Munich, 1924.
are sometimes indistinguishable; it has been suggested, there-
fore, that the times of sunrise and sunset at the forty-fifth
Weinstein, Donald. Savonarola and Florence: Prophecy and Patrio-
parallel be considered standard for determining times for
tism in the Renaissance. Princeton, N. J., 1970.
fasting for places lying between the forty-fifth parallel and
DONALD WEINSTEIN (1987)
the pole.
It is recommended that those who fast should have a
meal (sah:u¯r) before dawn, preferably as late as possible. Like-
S:AWM in Islam signifies fasting, an act of worship that
wise, it is highly recommended that after sunset one should
consists of religiously intended abstention from eating,
hasten ift:a¯r, the breaking of the fast. Any food or beverage
drinking, and sexual intercourse from dawn until dusk.
may be taken for ift:a¯r, although dates or water is preferred.
Muh:ammad introduced it in AH 1 (622 CE) by fasting and
Ift:a¯r is usually a light meal and is taken hastily, since the ma-
asking his followers to fast on EA¯shu¯ra¯D, the tenth day of the
ghrib (“sunset”) prayer is performed minutes after sunset. It
month of Muh:arram, in deference to the Jewish practice.
is considered highly meritorious to provide ift:a¯r to others,
The following year came the QurDanic revelation (surah
especially to the poor. It is common among Muslims to have
2:183ff.) whereby the EA¯shu¯ra¯D fast was replaced by the fast
ift:a¯r together in the neighborhood mosque and to invite
of Ramad:a¯n.
friends, relatives, and neighbors to ift:a¯r parties.
The QurDa¯n indicates that fasting is an inalienable part
Infractions of fasting such as eating, drinking, smoking,
of the religious life of people, since it was prescribed for Mus-
sexual intercourse, or indulgence in love play leading to semi-
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SAXO GRAMMATICUS
8141
nal emission invalidate the fast. Such infractions variously
only the elementary level of fasting. At a higher level fasting
necessitate qa¯da¯ D (“restitution”) alone, or qa¯da¯D and kaffa¯rah
means keeping one’s ears, eyes, tongue, hands, and feet free
(“atonement”). Qa¯da¯ D consists of fasting one day for each day
from sin. And at a still higher level fasting means a withdraw-
of invalidated fasting, whereas kaffa¯rah necessitates the liber-
al of the heart and mind from unworthy concerns and world-
ation of one Muslim slave, two months of consecutive fast-
ly thought in total disregard of everything but God.
ing, or the feeding of sixty of the poor. Both qa¯da¯ D and
A major object of fasting, in al-Ghaza¯l¯ı’s view, is for hu-
kaffa¯rah are necessary when the fast of Ramad:a¯n is deliber-
mans to produce within themselves a semblance of the divine
ately and voluntarily broken without extenuating reasons
attribute of s:amad¯ıyah, freedom from want. Another scholar,
such as travel or sickness. The jurists are agreed that sexual
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawz¯ıyah (d. 1350), viewed fasting as a means
intercourse necessitates both qa¯da¯ D and kaffa¯rah. In cases of
of releasing the human spirit from the clutches of desire, thus
eating and drinking, the Sha¯fiE¯ı and H:anbal¯ı schools pre-
allowing moderation to prevail in the carnal self. Sha¯h Wal¯ı
scribe only qa¯da¯ D, whereas the H:anaf¯ı and Ma¯liki schools
Alla¯h (d. 1762), one of the most famous South Asian theolo-
prescribe qa¯da¯ D and kaffa¯rah.
gians, viewed fasting as a means of weakening the bestial and
Ramad:a¯n is a month of concentrated worship and chari-
reinforcing the angelic element in humans. A contemporary
ty. Muslims have been urged to perform special prayers in
Muslim thinker, Sayyid Abu¯ al-AEla¯ Mawdu¯d¯ı (d. 1979),
the evening called tara¯wih:. These consist, according to most
emphasized that fasting “for a full month every year trains
Muslims, of twenty rak Eahs, or prayer sequences; they are
a man individually, and the Muslim community as a whole,
generally performed in congregation, with the whole of the
in piety and self-restraint; enables the society—rich and poor
QurDa¯n recited over the month. The last ten days of
alike—to experience the pangs of hunger; and prepares peo-
Ramad:a¯n, especially the nights, are considered highly
ple to undergo any hardship to seek the pleasure of God.”
blessed, since one of them is Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of
SEE ALSO Islamic Religious Year; Worship and Devotional
Power, which is “better than a thousand months,” the night
Life, article on Muslim Worship.
in which “angels and the spirits descend and it is peace till
the rising of the dawn” (97:4–6). Devout Muslims spend the
B
better part of these nights praying and reciting the QurDa¯n.
IBLIOGRAPHY
No comprehensive monograph on fasting is available. For relevant
It is also recommended that Muslims observe i Etika¯f
materials, see the notes on the QurDanic verses 2:183–187 in
(“withdrawal”) during Ramad:a¯n, especially in its last ten
the major works of tafs¯ır (QurDanic exegesis) and the chapters
days. I Etika¯f consists of withdrawing to a mosque and devot-
on s:awm or s:iya¯m in the major h:ad¯ıth collections and works
ing oneself exclusively to worship. Moreover, following the
of fiqh. Al-Bukha¯r¯ı’s and Muslim’s collections of h:ad¯ıth are
example of the Prophet, whose charitableness and philan-
available in English translation: See The Translation of the
thropy were heightened during Ramad:a¯n, Muslims show
Meanings of S´ah:¯ıh: al-Bukha¯r¯ı, 4th ed., 9 vols., translated by
much greater propensity to charity at this time.
Muh:ammad Muh:sin Kha¯n (Chicago, 1977–1979), and
S´ah:¯ıh: Muslim, 4 vols., translated by Abdul Hameed Siddiqui
The end of Ramad:a¯n, signaled by the sighting of the
(Lahore, 1971–1975). See also Muh:ammad ibn EAbd Alla¯h
new moon, is celebrated in the E¯Id al-Fitr (the festival mark-
al-Khat:ib al-Tibr¯ız¯ı’s Mishka¯t al-mas:a¯b¯ıh:, 4 vols., translated
ing the end of fasting). The religious part of the E¯Id consists
by James Robson (Lahore, 1963–1965). For useful works in
of two rak Eahs of prayers in congregation and payment of
English with full chapters on s:awm, see Inner Dimensions of
a fixed charity, s:adaqat al-fit:r. The E¯Id, however, also has an
Islamic Worship (Leicester, 1983), a partial translation by
important social dimension. Muslim cities and villages take
Muhtar Holland of al-Ghaza¯l¯ı’s Ih:ya D Eulu¯m al-d¯ın; Abulha-
san Al¯ı Nadv¯ı’s The Pillars of Islam, translated by Moham-
on a festive look, people usually wear their best clothes, and
mad Asif Kidwai (Lucknow, 1972); and G. E. von Grune-
friends, relatives, and neighbors meet in mosques or on
baum’s Muh:ammadan Festivals (New York, 1951).
streets, congratulating, embracing, and kissing each other.
The exchange of visits is also quite common.
The impact of s:awm on the lives of people, especially the ways in
which Ramad:a¯n has been and is being observed in different
SIGNIFICANCE AND INNER DIMENSION OF S:AWM. The legal
Muslim lands, is a subject worth exploring. Good sources are
minutiae associated with s:awm sometimes prevent apprecia-
travel accounts written by Muslims as well as outsiders.
tion of its religious significance and inner dimension. Reli-
ZAFAR ISHAQ ANSARI (1987)
giously sensitive Muslims are not satisfied merely with obser-
vance of the outward rules, which serve as an assurance
against the invalidity of the fast but not of its acceptance by
God. The Prophet is reported to have said that “he who does
SAXO GRAMMATICUS (c. 1150–after 1216) was
not abandon falsehood and action in accordance with it,
a Danish historian whose writings (Gesta Danorum) consti-
God has no need that he should abandon his food and
tute one of the few important early sources on Germanic my-
drink.” The desire to make one’s fasting acceptable to God
thology and religion. Saxo studied in France and later be-
has led devout Muslims to emphasize the qualitative aspect
came secretary to the Danish archbishop Absalon, who
of fasting. Al-Ghaza¯l¯ı (d. 1111), for instance, emphasized
suggested that he write a history of Denmark. By 1200 he
that abstention from food, drink, and sexual satisfaction is
had completed seven books covering the monarchy from Ha-
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SAYERS, DOROTHY L.
rald II (known as Bluetooth) to Knut IV (a period from
de Vries, Altnordische Literaturgeschichte, 2d ed. (2 vols., Ber-
c. 950–1086.) During the next decade, he wrote nine more
lin, 1964–1967), contains much useful information on Saxo.
books on the mythical traditions of antiquity prior to Harald
JOHN WEINSTOCK (1987 AND 2005)
II. He drew upon all available sources, both oral and written,
and wrote excellent Latin, including verse in various classical
meters. He was well acquainted with Norse saga traditions,
which he had either heard as a boy or learned from Icelandic
SAYERS, DOROTHY L. (1893–1957) was a writer
poets. He wove the legendary material into a continuous nar-
whose theology found expression through many literary
rative, taking liberties as he pleased. Book 3 contains the ear-
genres. Sayers began her education in languages at the age
liest mention of the Hamlet story.
of seven when her father, a Church of England clergyman,
Saxo’s importance is threefold. Much of his material
began teaching her Latin. She gained first-class honors at
provides corroboration of other mythological documenta-
Somerville College, Oxford, in 1915, and in 1920 was
tion, in particular the works of Snorri Sturluson. Further-
among the first group of women allowed to take their B.A.
more, some of Saxo’s material is all that exists on certain top-
and M.A. degrees from Oxford. She earned her living as an
ics, because of the loss of original texts. Finally, his legendary
advertising copywriter while establishing herself as a poet and
tales demonstrate his euhemeristic method of transforming
as a writer of detective fiction, inventing her character Lord
myths into history. A fine example of all three points is the
Peter Wimsey. Her novel Gaudy Night, published in 1935,
saga of Hadingus (Gesta Danorum 1.5–8). The main charac-
is both a detective story and an unabashed defense of aca-
ter, Hadingus, is none other than the god Njord-r trans-
demic and intellectual work as undertaken by women, for
E
formed into a hero. The parallels are striking. Both figures
whom she was a provocative advocate throughout her life.
have two relationships with women. The earlier relationship
In her detective fiction she explored the emotional cost to
in each case is incestuous (Njord-r with his sister and Had-
Wimsey and others of establishing the truth about the cir-
E
ingus with the giantess Harthgrepa, who had nurtured him
cumstances of the various deaths of her fictional characters,
as a child). The later relationship for each comes about when
and she also explored the mediation of impartial divine jus-
the woman uses a special method of selecting her mate (Skad-i
tice through the relatively imperfect procedures of the rule
chooses Njord-r on the basis of his beautiful feet, while Re-
of law in the society of her day.
E
gnilda picks out Hadingus by his legs). In this saga, Saxo cor-
Thoroughly familiar with the Book of Common Prayer
roborates the information provided by Snorri on Njord-r.
E
and the Authorized Version of the Bible, and with her beliefs
Like Njord-r, Hadingus is a master of the ocean, having
E
formed and framed by the demanding theology of the
power over the winds and familiarity with the seas. Saxo pro-
Church of England’s matins and evensong, Sayers made out-
vides copious detail on how Hadingus acquired this mastery;
standing contributions to the development of religious
such detail in respect to Njord-r is completely lacking in other
E
drama, from works written for radio broadcast to plays writ-
sources. There are many other examples of Saxo’s euhemer-
ten for performance in cathedrals. Outstanding were her
ization of the Norse pantheon, such as his transformation of
twelve radio plays—the first broadcast on December 21,
Freyr to Frothi, Baldr to Balderus, and Skad-i to Ho⁄therus.
1941—collectively titled The Man Born to Be King. These
Saxo and Snorri used the same sources, but Snorri’s rendition
broke new ground in having the portrayed voice of Jesus of
of the old myths is more adept.
Nazareth “on the air,” and Sayers thus helped to open the
door to depicting the Gospel in various ways on stage and
SEE ALSO Germanic Religion; Njorðr; Snorri Sturluson.
E
screen.
In 1941 Sayers published a significant (and unjustly ne-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
glected) work on Trinitarian theology, The Mind of the
An English translation of Saxo’s Gesta Danorum is Hilda R. Ellis,
Maker, elaborating her conviction that human creativity pro-
ed., The History of the Danes, vol. 1 (Cambridge, 1979),
vides clues to divine creativity, and exploring the analogy of
translated by Peter Fisher; Fisher and Ellis wrote the com-
human and divine creativity via the concepts of “Creative
mentary that makes up volume 2 (Cambridge, U.K., 1980).
Idea,” “Creative Energy,” and “Creative Power.” Sayers also
A recent collection on Saxo is Carlo Santini, ed., Saxo Gram-
gave valuable stimulus to thinking again about the integrity
maticus: Tra storiografia e letteratura (Rome, 1992); see espe-
cially the articles by Teresa Paroli, Anatoly Liberman, Mats
of the arts and about their neglect in her day, despite their
Malm, Regis Boyer, and Margaret Clunies Ross. See also
roots in Christian tradition. Her work was of considerable
Karsten Friis-Jensen, Saxo Grammaticus As Latin Poet:
interest to authors as different as T. S. Eliot (1888–1965),
Studies in theVerse Passages of the Gesta Danorum (Rome,
C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), and Charles Williams (1886–
1987). Georges Dumézil’s From Myth to Fiction: The Saga of
1945).
Hadingus (Chicago, 1973) is a work on Saxo and his impor-
tance for Indo-European myth and religion. Dumézil’s Gods
Sayers owed a particular debt of gratitude to Williams,
of the Ancient Northmen (Berkeley, Calif., 1973), edited by
himself a writer and editor of poetry, novels, essays, and the-
Einar Haugen, contains his tripartite structure of Indo-
ology. In 1943 he published The Figure of Beatrice, which
European religion as reflected in the Germanic branch. Jan
plunged Sayers back into reading Dante Alighieri’s Divine
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SCAPEGOAT
8143
Comedy in its original Italian. She and Williams exchanged
SCAPEGOAT. Scapegoat rituals are among the oldest
an ecstatic series of letters during what turned out to be the
known rituals. A more rudimentary form is already found in
last nine months of Williams’s life. Sayers found in Dante
two texts from Ebla dating to the later third millennium BCE,
someone whose love for and recollection of a living human
but the first full-fledged descriptions come from outlying
person, Beatrice, enabled him to symbolize the full humanity
parts of the Hittite empire, Kizzuwadna, Hapalla, and Arza-
of women, for Dante’s Beatrice was a mistress of philosophy
wa (i.e., city-states in southeast Anatolia and northern Syria).
and science as well as of theology. He represented her as the
The prescription of Ashella, a man of Hapalla, which dates
perfect integration of the intellectual, the emotional, and the
to the thirteenth century BCE, reads:
bodily in her own great beauty, supremely well fitted for
When evening comes, whoever the army commanders
teaching Dante whatever he needed to know, as well as being
are, each of them prepares a ram—whether it is a white
for him the sacramental mediator of grace and salvation.
ram or a black ram does not matter at all. Then I twine
The reading and appreciation of Dante reinvigorated
a cord of white wool, red wool, and green wool, and the
Sayers’s own theology, and through her lectures and publica-
officer twists it together, and I bring a necklace, a ring,
tions on Dante she brought theology to a wide audience. Her
and a chalcedony stone and I hang them on the ram’s
translation and commentary in 1949 of Cantica I: Hell, the
neck and horns, and at night they tie them in front of
the tents and say: “Whatever deity is prowling about (?),
first section of The Divine Comedy, led to the only academic
whatever deity has caused this pestilence, now I have
honor she accepted after her first degrees: a doctorate of let-
tied up these rams for you, be appeased!” And in the
ters given to her in 1950 by England’s University of Dur-
morning I drive them out to the plain, and with each
ham. After Sayers’s unexpected death in 1957, Barbara Rey-
ram they take 1 jug of beer, 1 loaf, and 1 cup of milk
nolds completed Sayers’s translation of Cantica III:
(?). Then in front of the king’s tent he makes a finely
Paradise—a tribute to years of collaboration with her.
dressed woman sit and puts with her jar of beer and 3
loaves. Then the officers lay their hands on the rams
B
and say: “Whatever deity has caused this pestilence,
IBLIOGRAPHY
Dante Alighieri. The Comedy of Dante Alighieri the Florentine.
now see! These rams are standing here and they are very
Cantica I: Hell; Cantica II: Purgatory; Cantica III: Paradise.
fat in liver, heart, and lions. Let human flesh be hateful
Translated by Dorothy L. Sayers. Harmondsworth, Middle-
to him, let him be appeased by these rams.” And the of-
sex, England, 1949, 1955, 1962. The first two volumes in-
ficers point at the rams and the king points at the deco-
clude Sayers’s theological introduction, notes, and commen-
rated woman, and the rams and the woman carry the
tary on her translation; the third volume required
loaves and the beer through the army and they chase
completion of the translation by Barbara Reynolds, and ap-
them out to the plain. And they go running on to the
propriate notes and commentary.
enemy’s frontier without coming to any place of ours,
and the people say: “Look! Whatever illness there was
Loades, Ann. “The Sacramentalist’s Agenda: Dorothy L. Sayers.”
among men, oxen, sheep, horses, mules, and donkeys
In Feminist Theology: Voices from the Past by Ann Loades,
in this camp. And the country that finds them shall take
pp. 167–192. Oxford and Malden, Mass., 2001. This chap-
over this evil pestilence.” (Cited in Gurney, 1977,
ter assesses Sayers’s critique of the deficiencies of Christian
p. 49)
anthropology so far as women are concerned, and the re-
sources she found for her critique in the work of Dante.
The ritual is clearly an ad hoc purification performance and
not tied to the calendar. It is applied in times of pestilence,
Reynolds, Barbara. The Passionate Intellect: Dorothy L. Sayers’ En-
combines both a decorated human and an adorned animal,
counter with Dante. Kent, Ohio, 1989.
and finally, it is offered by the king and the army command-
Reynolds, Barbara. Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul. London,
ers to the hostile deity who has caused the pestilence. Inter-
1993. Major biography by Sayers’s collaborator, who also ed-
estingly, the ritual was appropriated from northern Syria by
ited the letters of Sayers, published in four volumes between
both the Greeks and the Israelites, each in a specific manner
1995 and 2000.
that fitted their own particular religion.
Sayers, Dorothy L. The Mind of the Maker. London, 1941.
THE GREEK UNDERSTANDING. In the Greek world, the ritu-
Sayers, Dorothy L. Introductory Papers on Dante. London, 1954.
als surface for the first time in the writings of the sixth-
Sayers, Dorothy L. Further Papers on Dante. London, 1957.
century Ionian poet Hipponax of Colophon, a city on the
Sayers, Dorothy L. Spiritual Writings. Selected and introduced by
western coast of modern Turkey, where Anatolian religious
Ann Loades. London, 1993. A selection, with introductions
influence is well attested. According to Hipponax, somebody
to each section, of Dorothy L. Sayers’s theological work in
was thrown down on a meadow and whipped with fig
a variety of literary genres.
branches and squills “like a scapegoat” to purify the city. The
scapegoat also received dried figs, bread, and cheese and even
ANN LOADES (2005)
reappears in the context of the Thargelia, a two-day festival
of first-fruit offering and seasonal renewal. According to
other descriptions, especially from Athens and Massilia, the
SCANDINAVIAN RELIGION SEE GERMANIC
scapegoats were often people of low standing in the commu-
RELIGION
nity but temporarily treated very well and dressed up in nice
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8144
SCAPEGOAT
clothes. At a certain day they were led out of the city—
ander the Great (356–323 BCE). The chapter is a complicat-
sometimes carrying food, such as loaves and beer or dried
ed mixture of several rituals. There is first the expiation for
figs, bread, and cheese—in a procession in which probably
the sins of the high priest, Aaron, and his house through the
the whole of the population had to take part and during
sacrifice of a young bull (Lev. 16:3). Regarding the scapegoat
which pipers played a specific, undoubtedly unharmonious
proper, Aaron had to select two goats (Lev. 16:5), the chea-
tune.
pest of the domesticated animals. After a lottery, one of them
was assigned to Yahweh, and the other was meant for Azazel,
Origen (c. 185–c. 254) even compared the Greek scape-
a still obscure deity or demon (Lev. 16:7–10). Second, Aaron
goats with Jesus: “They [the apostles] not only dared to show
then had to transfer the sins of the Israelites onto the goat
to the Jews from the words of the prophets that he was the
by laying his hands on the goat (Lev. 16:21), an archaic
prophesied one, but also to the other peoples that he, who
means of transfer that could still derive from the Hittite rites
had been recently crucified, voluntarily died for mankind,
but that is absent from the Greek material. Finally, some-
like those who died for their fatherland, to avert plague epi-
body (not further specified) had to take the goat to the desert
demics, famines, and shipwreck” (Contra celsum 1.31). Vol-
(Lev. 16:21), which was clearly structurally similar to the
untariness of a victim was an important part of Greek sacrifi-
enemy in the Hittite texts or the area beyond the borders in
cial ideology, which stressed that a victim was pleased to go
the Greek traditions. As was the case with the Greek scape-
up to the altar, sometimes could even hardly wait to be sacri-
goats, the Israelite goat apparently escaped with its life,
ficed. This voluntariness is also stressed in Greek scapegoat
which gave it its English name, (e)scapegoat, whereas the
rituals.
German Reformer Martin Luther wanted to emphasize the
Finally, the scapegoats were expelled from the city
transfer of the sins and therefore introduced the word Sünde-
through stoning and pelting. Yet it is clear (whenever suffi-
bock (sin-goat) into the German language.
cient information is available) that they were not killed.
The day of atonement also occurs in the Dead Sea
However, the effect must have been a social death and the
Scrolls from Qumran dated to the period around the times
corresponding myths always speak of a real death, which clas-
of Jesus, even though the ideas about atonement in the
sical scholars long, if erroneously, translated into a former
Qumran community have not yet been satisfactorily studied.
human sacrifice. The myths, especially as given shape in the
The beginning of the ritual is related in an Apocryphon of
tragedies of Euripides (c. 480–406 BCE), often mention a cult
Moses (4Q375), but the Temple Scroll (11Q19 25) mentions
for those scapegoats whose death had saved the city. In other
an expansion of the initial sacrifices. Instead of the bullock
words, those who had given their lives for the community
as sin-offering and the ram as burnt-offering, it describes a
also received a special honor from that community. Finally,
burnt-offering for Yahweh consisting of a bullock, a ram, and
the location of the scapegoat ritual on the Thargelia shows
seven yearling lambs; a sin-offering of a goat; and a burnt-
that the Greeks had incorporated the ritual into their festival
offering of two rams for the high priest with the house of his
calendar, but as pestilences always strikes unexpectedly, they
father (and presumably for the people, but the text is corrupt
also performed the ritual if need arose.
at this place). Further details are given about the exact treat-
In these Greek scapegoat rituals, there is a clear differ-
ment of the various parts of the offerings and the catching
ence with those of the Hittites. Whereas among the latter the
of their blood in a golden sprinkling bowl, but the expulsion
king and the army commanders play the main role in the rit-
of the scapegoat resembles that of Leviticus.
ual, in Greece it is the city that needs to be cleansed, as is
stated by Hipponax. This element gained in importance in
A few additional details can be gleaned from the Mish-
the classical period, when the polis became the center of a
nah treatise Joma, even though it was written after the de-
Greek’s life. Strikingly, the city is reportedly saved by girls,
struction of the Temple. According to the text, the position
perhaps in their capacity as the more expendable parts of the
of the high priest within the ritual had become more impor-
household. In these myths, the element of purifying, which
tant, because his role was dramatized: The preparations had
was so prominent in the ritual, has receded, whereas the sav-
been intensified (Joma I) and instead of linen clothes, he now
ing effect has come to the foreground. Although the ritual
wore golden ones (Joma III 4a). Also noted is the participa-
probably stopped being performed in the fourth century, this
tion of members of the Sanhedrin (Joma I 3a) and the aris-
aspect stayed alive through the telling of the myths, just like
tocracy of Jerusalem (Joma VI 4b)—apparently, the upper
the expendable quality of the scapegoats: Several of the terms
class of Israel had deemed it necessary to become visibly in-
to denote the victim (e.g., pharmakos, perikatharma, or perip-
volved in its most important religious ritual. The goat was
sema) long remained in use as insults.
adorned with a crimson thread around its head (Joma IV 2a,
VI 6a), very much like the Hittite scapegoat.
THE JEWISH INTERPRETATION. Whereas several notices from
all over Greece exist about the scapegoat ritual, knowledge
Evidently, Israel had also appropriated the Anatolian
of ancient Israel is limited to chapter 16 of the Book of Leviti-
scapegoat ritual, although the date and route of derivation
cus, which describes the day of atonement. The date of the
are still totally unclear. However, like the Greeks, the Israel-
final redaction of the chapter is much debated, but it seems
ites did not take over the ritual unchanged. Whereas the Hit-
safe to date it to the postexilic era before the arrival of Alex-
tites used both animals and humans as scapegoats, the Greeks
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SCAPEGOAT
8145
only selected humans and the Israelites, only animals. More-
some social order, the link between the two processes can be
over, in the postexilic period at the latest, they had integrated
easily argued, and thus the scapegoat mechanism perpetuates
the ritual into the temple service and thus fixed it at a specific
itself. Politicians who take the blame in a crisis may even re-
date, even though its archaic origin still remains visible.
ceive special praise and return to the political stage at a later
date. In other words, the mechanisms of the scapegoat pat-
EARLY CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING. An intriguing problem
tern are observable in contemporary society.
remains the influence of the scapegoat ritual on the birth of
the early Christian idea of the atonement. Clearly, Jesus him-
These observations led the French literary critic René
self did not yet interpret his coming death as an atoning sac-
Girard (b. 1923) to formulate a theory about the scapegoat
rifice for the salvation of humanity. Moreover, attempts at
that was enormously influential in the last decades of the
finding a Jewish background for the doctrine have also been
twentieth century. Girard noted the elements that have been
unsuccessful. This does perhaps suggest an influence from
previously mentioned: (1) a crisis, (2) the selection of victims
the Greek mythological tradition as inspired by the scapegoat
not because of real crimes but because they belong to a social
ritual, because only here do people voluntarily die to save the
(e.g., Jews, heretics, old women) or physical (e.g., disabled)
community from a catastrophe. Unfortunately, the exact
minority, (3) the restoration of the social order through the
road along which the early Christians came to this interpreta-
violence against the scapegoats. In this process, the commu-
tion has remained obscure, but Palestine was already highly
nity lets one member—preferably an outsider so that there
Hellenized in Jesus’ time and Euripides’ tragedies, which
will be no revenge and the violence perpetuated—die for the
often treat the theme of the saving human sacrifice, were also
whole. Girard has long been fascinated by the problem of vi-
well known to educated Jews. Still, there is much uncertain
olence, and his views have to be seen against this back-
here, and no consensus has been reached in this field.
ground. According to him, society is driven by a mimetic de-
sire: People long to have what other people long to have.
The notice of Origen quoted previously suggests that
These desires often result in violence, and the death of the
scapegoat rituals could also be performed at sea. Undoubted-
scapegoat that can eliminate this violence. Only religion is
ly, he thought in this connection of the story told in the
able, according to Girard, to keep a lid on human violence
homonymous Book of Jonah. The prophet Jonah is en route
by its disciplining character. Girard’s work is very stimulat-
to Nineveh when storms threaten to engulf his ship. The
ing, and his anthropological insights illuminating. Yet he evi-
crew concludes that one man is culpable and should be
dently often confuses mythical stories and history, and his
thrown into the sea. Jonah is saved only by a great fish (tradi-
grand theory should be taken as an incitement to reflect
tionally known as a whale), which spits him out after three
about violence rather than as a resolution of a problem that
days. The story exemplifies the principle that the death of
plagues human existence.
one person can save the whole of the community. It is un-
doubtedly an old principle. The Babylonian epic of creation
SEE ALSO Atonement; Sacrifice; Violence.
Enuma elish already mentions in a sentence of a guilty god:
“He alone shall perish that mankind shall be fashioned.” And
BIBLIOGRAPHY
indeed, parallels from all over the world show that this prin-
For general studies, see Walter Burkert, Structure and History in
ciple (i.e., to give up one or a few persons to save the group)
Greek Mythology and Ritual (Berkeley, Calif., 1979),
is very widespread and seems to be part of the human make-
pp. 59–77, 168–176; Jan N. Bremmer, “The Scapegoat be-
up. It was sometimes even ritualized in a very similar manner
tween Hittites, Greeks, Israelites and Christians,” in Kult,
to the scapegoat rituals previously discussed (e.g., in Tibet).
Konflikt und Versöhnung, edited by Rainer Albertz,
pp. 175–186 (Münster, Germany, 2001). For Jonah-type
SCAPEGOAT AS SOCIAL PHENOMENON. On a more general
stories see Lutz Röhrich, Gesammelte Schriften zur Volkslied-
level, it is clearly also a very widespread phenomenon that
und Volksballadenforschung, pp. 113–154 (Münster, Germa-
people consider that crises (economic, political, social) have
ny, 2002). For the Eblaite origin, see Ida Zatelli, “The Ori-
been caused by a specific person or minority. As a rule, peo-
gin of the Biblical Scapegoat Ritual: The Evidence of Two
ple do not like to blame themselves and would rather accuse
Eblaite Texts,” Vetus Testamentum 48 (1998): 254–263. The
others. This mechanism is already in place in the great Euro-
Hittite rituals are easily accessible in Oliver R. Gurney, Some
pean witch-hunts from the fourteenth to seventeenth centu-
Aspects of Hittite Religion, pp. 47–52 (Oxford, 1977). For the
ries. Here the culprits were especially looked for among old
Greek ritual, see Robert Parker, Miasma, pp. 258–280 (Ox-
ford, 1983); Jan N. Bremmer, “Scapegoat Rituals in Ancient
women (a very vulnerable group in earlier times), free ma-
Greece,” in Oxford Readings in Greek Religion, edited by
sons, Jews, and heretics. As these people must be considered
Richard Buxton, pp. 271–93 (Oxford, 2000).
guilty of some act, normally in these cases they are accused
For the Israelite ritual, see Bernd Janowski and Genrot Wilhelm,
of the most horrific crimes, such as incest, sodomy, or the
“Der Bock, der die Sünden hinausträgt,” in Religionsgesch-
killing of children. Such accusations were even put into writ-
ichtliche Beziehungen zwischen Kleinasien, Nordsyrien und
ing as in the notorious nineteenth-century anti-Semitic fake
dem Alten Testament, edited by Bernd Janowski, Klaus Koch,
The Protocol of the Elders of Zion and used to legitimate the
and Gernot Wilhelm, pp. 109–169 (Freiburg, Germany,
murder of the Jews by the Nazis. As the elimination of the
1993). The origin of the Christian idea of the atonement is
scapegoats often goes concomitant with the restoration of
much discussed. See especially Jan N. Bremmer, “The
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8146
SCARIFICATION
Atonement in the Interaction of Jews, Greeks, and Chris-
(1894–1896), a collection of popular essays on Jewish histo-
tians,” in Sacred History and Sacred Texts in Early Judaism,
ry and literature (1896), a good part of the Hebrew original
edited by Jan N. Bremmer and F. García Martínez,
of Ben Sira (1899), and the first volume of a large Yemenite
pp. 75–93 (Kampen, Germany, 1992) and Cilliers Breyten-
midrash on the Pentateuch (1902). Of still greater conse-
bach, “‘Christus starb für uns.’ Zur Tradition und paulinisc-
quence was Schechter’s dramatic foray in January 1897 into
hen Rezeption der sogenannten ‘Sterbeformeln,’” New Testa-
the long-abandoned genizah of Cairo, where he was com-
ment Studies 49 (2003): 447–475. For the ideas of Girard,
pelled “to swallow the dust of centuries” in order to exhume
see especially René Girard, Des choses cachées depuis la fonda-
tion du monde
(Paris, 1978) and Le bouc émissaire (Paris,
and bring to Cambridge an inexhaustible trove of manu-
1982).
scripts from ancient and medieval sources related to Jewish
society and culture.
JAN N. BREMMER (2005)
A scholar of international renown, a superb expositor of
Judaism in English, a charismatic personality, a religious
moderate, and a man of culture—these were the qualities
SCARIFICATION SEE BODILY MARKS
that made Schechter so attractive to the plutocracy of Ameri-
can Jews of German descent who were eager to revitalize the
Jewish Theological Seminary. For his part, Schechter wished
SCHECHTER, SOLOMON
to escape the growing burdensomeness of his religious isola-
(c. 1847–1915), was a
tion and inadequate salary at Cambridge.
Talmud scholar and educator. A product of four distinct Eu-
ropean cultural ambiences, Solomon Schechter came to New
Once in New York, Schechter moved to replicate the
York in 1902 to lead a reorganized Jewish Theological Semi-
academic model pioneered in Breslau, Vienna, Berlin, and
nary of America. During the thirteen years of his presidency
Budapest: a nonpartisan rabbinical school free of outside rab-
he exerted a formative influence on an emergent American
binic control whose graduates would be immersed in the aca-
Judaism by facilitating the gradual transfer of the academic
demic study of Judaism. Schechter insisted that every appli-
study of Judaism from the old to the new world and by creat-
cant have the B.A. degree, “bearing evidence of his classical
ing the institutions, leaders, and rhetoric of a movement for
training,” and recruited a young, largely European-trained
Conservative Judaism.
faculty of great promise to challenge the often unsympathetic
Christian scholarship on Judaism.
Born in the still largely traditional Jewish society of east-
ern Romania, Schechter came to Vienna in his mid-twenties
Religiously, Schechter articulated an inchoate concep-
with a formidable mastery of classical Jewish texts. A four-
tion of Judaism that was anti-Reform, pro-Zionist, while re-
year stay in the 1860s at the rabbinical school founded by
maining open to all historical expressions of Judaism, all-
Adolf Jellinek gave him rabbinic ordination, command of
embracing, and responsive to change. He rejected Reform’s
the new Western methods of Jewish scholarship, and a last-
excessive rationalism, eagerness to “occidentalize” Judaism,
ing affection for his teacher, Meir Friedmann. In 1879
preoccupation with Judaism’s mission, and minimal com-
Schechter moved on to Berlin to continue his training as a
mitment to the Hebrew language. His own broad embrace
Jewish scholar at the recently opened Hochschule für die
is best documented in his inimitable three-volume Studies in
Wissenschaft des Judentums, where he came under the influ-
Judaism (London, 1896, 1908; Philadelphia, 1924), which
ence of Israel Lewy, the outstanding critical Talmudist of his
cherishes every historical expression of Judaism. Choice and
generation. In 1882 he received an invitation from Claude
change are ultimately effected “by the collective conscience
Montefiore, whom he had befriended at the Hochschule, to
of Catholic Israel,” and history supplements scripture as a
come to England as Montefiore’s tutor in rabbinic literature.
medium of revelation. Despite the implicit historicism of
Five years later he gave resounding evidence of his scholarly
this view, Schechter failed to enunciate a procedure for sanc-
abilities with a model critical edition of an early homiletical
tioning change and, indeed, dedicated most of his energy to
rabbinic text, Avot de Rabbi Natan. Dedicated to Montefi-
defending what the past had sanctified. In 1906 he dared to
ore, it combined Friedmann’s love of midrash with Lewy’s
defy his own benefactors, the wealthy and anti-Zionist Jews
critical method.
who had brought him to the United States, by avowing Zi-
onism as an antidote to the erosion of Jewish identity.
By 1890 Schechter had achieved academic respectabili-
ty, though not financial security, with a lectureship (later a
The persistent weakness of the seminary forced
readership) in rabbinics at Cambridge University. During
Schechter by the end of his first decade of leadership to con-
the next decade he moved quickly to the forefront of a lack-
sider building a congregational base that would provide addi-
luster generation of Jewish specialists ensnared by the pulpit
tional support. After protracted deliberations, the United
and polemics. His scholarship was marked by a sweep, com-
Synagogue of America was founded in 1913 with Schechter
petence, and originality usually associated with the poly-
as its first president. The occasion, however, did not provide
maths who had founded the Wissenschaft des Judentums.
for further ideological clarification. The omission of any ref-
Prior to his departure for America, Schechter published the
erence to “Conservative” in the organization’s preamble epit-
first fruits of his eventual synthesis of rabbinic theology
omized the reluctance of Schechter and his associate Cyrus
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SCHELER, MAX
8147
Adler to form a “third party in Israel.” The coalescence of
but, rather, dependent on the “being of person,” and also be-
a religious movement was to be the achievement of others
cause (2) for Scheler all regions of consciousness through
during the interwar period, after Schechter’s death.
which entities are given in their particular nature (e.g., as ani-
mate or inanimate, etc.) are ultimately based in the region
SEE ALSO Conservative Judaism.
of the absolute, in which each person relates to what he holds
to be absolute. This made Scheler the forerunner of phenom-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
enology of religion.
Ben-Horin, Meir. “Solomon Schechter to Judge Mayer Sulzber-
ger.” Jewish Social Studies 25 (1963): 249–286, 27 (1965):
In Vom Ewigen im Menschen and other works Scheler
75–102, and 30 (1968): 262–271.
showed how this region of the absolute can be “filled” by var-
Bentwich, Norman De Mattos. Solomon Schechter. Philadelphia,
ious gods, fetishes, or even nihilism. Therefore, he posed a
1948.
basic question: What is it that gives itself adequately—and
Millgram, Abraham E., and Emma G. Ehrlich. “Nine Letters
how does it accomplish this—in this region of the absolute
from Solomon Schechter to Henrietta Szold.” Conservative
of human consciousness? His answer: God as person. For
Judaism 32 (Winter 1979): 25–30.
Scheler, God is experienceable only through “love” of divine
Oko, Adolph S. Solomon Schechter: A Bibliography. Cambridge,
personhood, not through rational acts. Love itself is an emo-
1938.
tive act and prior to perception and knowledge. Love reveals
an order (ordo amoris) in which values are “felt.” The highest
Parzen, Herbert. Architects of Conservative Judaism. New York,
value is the “holy.” The human heart, as the seat of love, has
1964.
its own “logic” (as Pascal held). In the heart, and not in
Rosenblum, Herbert. “The Founding of the United Synagogue of
knowledge, God as person is phenomenologically “given.”
America, 1913.” Ph. D. diss., Brandeis University, 1970.
New Sources
In his second period, Scheler abandoned this form of
Karp, Abraham J. Jewish Continuity in America: Creative Survival
theism, without however abandoning the primacy of love.
in a Free Society. Tuscaloosa, Ala., 1998.
He now conceived the deity as unperfected, becoming, and
Montefiore, Claude Goldsmid. Lieber Freund: The Letters of
in strife with itself. He explained this process in terms of two
Claude Goldsmid Montefiore to Solomon Schechter, 1885–
opposite divine attributes: urge (Drang) and spirit (Geist).
1902. Edited by Joshua B. Stein. Studies in Judaism. Lan-
Scheler reached his conclusion about the deity through a
ham, Md., 1988.
“transcendental elongation” of humanity’s own nature, that
Starr, David Benjamin. “The Importance of Being Frank: Solo-
is, by setting humanity’s own vital urge, which posits reality,
mon Schechter’s Departure from Cambridge.” Jewish Quar-
in opposition to the human mind, which bestows ideas on
terly Review 94 (2004): 12–18.
reality. The vital urge is humanity’s self-moving, self-
energizing life center in which the deity’s urge also pulsates.
ISMAR SCHORSCH (1987)
Revised Bibliography
Without urge and drives the mind would remain “powerless”
and “unreal.” There is no mind unless it is “in function” with
the self-propulsion of life. Hence, God’s spirit also requires
divine urge for its realization. The theater of this divine pro-
SCHELER, MAX (1874–1928). German philosopher.
cess is human and cosmic history, in which deity “becomes”
Scheler was born in Munich on August 29, 1874, and died,
as it struggles for its realization. Humanity is called upon to
after a dramatic life filled with personal misfortunes, in
“co-struggle” with this divine becoming.
Frankfurt on May 19, 1928. He taught philosophy at the
universities of Jena, Munich, and Cologne.
Scheler died without resolving the question whether or
not the theogenetic process would ever reach completion. He
His thought is divided into two periods. In the first, up
held, however, that the uncreated process of the becoming
to 1921, he concentrated on value ethics and the strata of
of human, world, and deity had reached a “midpoint” to-
human emotions; in the second, he was occupied with meta-
ward both spiritualization and divinization of both humanity
physics, sociology, and philosophical anthropology. Both pe-
and life. In 1926, Scheler envisioned the future as a new,
riods are characterized by numerous studies in religion, cul-
long, and perilous “world era of adjustment” between the
minating in the thought of the “becoming” Deity that is
too-intellectual and active West and the more passive East.
realizing itself in human history.
The future, thought Scheler, would reflect gradual balance
The first period centered on three major works: Wesen
and less struggle between spirit and urge; history will become
und Formen der Sympathie (1913), Der Formalismus in der
“less historical” as God ever more “becomes” in it.
Ethik und die materiale Wertethik (1913–1916), and Vom
Ewigen im Menschen
(1921). It is characterized by Scheler’s
BIBLIOGRAPHY
phenomenology and, extrinsically, by Roman Catholicism,
The best introductory reading of Scheler’s first period of philoso-
to which he had been converted in his early life. Scheler’s
phy of religion remains his own Vom Ewigen im Menschen,
phenomenology is distinct from Husserl’s in that (1) Scheler,
6th ed., in his Gesammelte Werke, vol. 5 (Munich, 1968).
unlike Husserl, did not conceive consciousness to be absolute
The English translation by Bernard Noble, On the Eternal in
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8148
SCHELLING, FRIEDRICH
Man (London and New York, 1960), is not always an accept-
spite his youthful break with church and orthodoxy, Schel-
able rendition of the German original. It should be read in
ling’s philosophy by 1802 had reexamined religion; his move
conjunction with part 2 of Scheler’s Der Formalismus in der
first to Würzburg and then to Munich was crucial, for these
Ethik und die materiale Wertethik, 6th ed., vol. 2 of his Ge-
cities placed him in contact with Franz von Baader, the reha-
sammelte Werke (Munich, 1980), translated as Formalism in
bilitator of Meister Eckhart and Jakob Boehme, and with the
Ethics and Non-Formal Ethics of Values (Evanston, Ill., 1973)
vigor and sacramental mysticism of the Bavarian renaissance
by myself and Roger L. Funk. Scheler’s Wesen und Formen
under Ludwig I. Stimulated particularly by Boehme, Schel-
der Sympathie (Bonn, 1931) has been translated by Peter
Heath as The Nature of Sympathy (London, 1954). Recom-
ling, in his important Essay on Human Freedom (1809), led
mended as general introductions are Process and Permanence
German philosophy from the consideration of structures of
in Ethics: Max Scheler’s Moral Philosophy, by Alfons Deeken,
consciousness to the enterprise of will. Beyond necessity and
S.J. (New York, 1974); and Max Scheler, by Eugene Keely
freedom, good and evil, a ground of the divine being in its
(Boston, 1977); as well as my own book, Max Scheler: A Con-
longing for its own identity sets in motion an exoteric pro-
cise Introduction into the World of a Great Thinker (Pitts-
cess. This process realizes itself in a triad of powers that
burgh, 1965). Scheler’s thought of the second period is avail-
guides the universe, human history, and God’s own life.
able in his Erkenntnislehre und Metaphysik, in his Gesammelte
Werke,
vol. 11 (Munich, 1979). Metaphysik des einen und ab-
After some years at the University of Erlangen, Schelling
soluten Seins (Meisenheim am Glan, 1975) by Bernd Brenk,
returned to join Baader, Joseph von Görres, Johann von
and my study “Gott und das Nichts: Zum Gedenken des
Döllinger, and Johann Möhler at the new University of Mu-
fünfzigsten Todestages Max Schelers,” Phänomenologische
nich. There, in 1827, he announced his final system, one
Forschungen 6/7 (1978): 118–140. A list of currently avail-
that was not an exploration of transcendental concepts but
able English translations of Scheler’s works can be found in
a presentation of the birth of God in a trinitarian dialectic:
the Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology 9 (October
a vast but real extension of dialectic into history, into reli-
1978): 207–208.
gion, and then into the incarnation and kenosis of Christ.
MANFRED S. FRINGS (1987)
Although Schelling presented this system for over fifteen
years, the final section on the age of the Holy Spirit and the
church—the synthesis in the Johannine church of the dy-
SCHELLING, FRIEDRICH
namics of both Peter (Catholic) and Paul (Protestant)—was
(1775–1854), German
never developed beyond a few pages.
philosopher. Born at Leonberg in Württemberg, Friedrich
Wilhelm Joseph Schelling received his early education at the
Theologically, Schelling was influenced by Neoplato-
preparatory seminary at Bebenhausen, where his father, a Lu-
nism, Lutheran Christianity, and forms of mysticism; he read
theran minister, was professor of Old Testament studies.
extensively in the theological writings, Protestant and Catho-
From an early age, Schelling was exposed both to Lutheran-
lic, of his time. From 1798 to 1830 he was the mentor of
ism and to the Swabian mystical pietism of Bengel and Oet-
progressive Catholic theologians in the south, while Protes-
inger. Precociously entering the University of Tübingen at
tant theologians such as Karl Daub were initially impressed
fifteen, he enthusiastically espoused (with his comrades
with his work. Schelling influenced Russian philosophy and
G. W. F. Hegel and Friedrich Hölderlin) the ideas of the
theology and, through Coleridge, English culture; although
French Revolution and the philosophy of Kant. At the time
rejected by the young Kierkegaard and Engels, in thinkers
of his first professorship in 1798, at Jena, Schelling had met
such as Paul Tillich and Gabriel Marcel the existentialism of
J. G. Fichte, had published in significant journals, and had
his final thought touched the twentieth century. The cente-
offered a synthesis of the new philosophy and the new natu-
nary year of his death, 1954, began a new interest in Schel-
ral sciences.
ling, while the 1970s saw mature works on him as well as
Schelling’s philosophical career unfolded in four major
the initiation of a critical text.
periods: Fichtean transcendentalism (to 1796); systems syn-
thesizing the history of consciousness and nature (to 1806);
BIBLIOGRAPHY
explorations of the ground of freedom and consciousness in
Complete bibliographies on Schelling’s writings and secondary lit-
the mode of mysticism (to 1820); and the final system,
erature on him do not reach beyond the 1970s: Guido Sch-
whose second and third parts describe the unfolding of ideal-
neeberger’s Vriedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling: Eine
ism in the history of religion (1827–1843). Because of the
Bibliographie (Bern, 1954); Hans Jörg Sandkühler’s Friedrich
years of friendship with Hegel at Jena after 1800 and their
Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (Stuttgart, 1970); and my “F. W. J.
years of enmity after Hegel’s first publications, we can only
Schelling: A Bibliographical Essay,” Review of Metaphysics 31
(December, 1977): 283–309.
suspect Schelling’s creative influence in ideas that today are
associated with Hegel.
On Schelling and Christianity see the two dissertations by Paul
Tillich available in English translations; Walter Kasper’s Das
Of the great philosophers of the early nineteenth centu-
Absolute in der Geschichte: Philosophie und Theologie der
ry, Schelling remains comparatively little known, and his
Geschichte in der Spätphilosophie Schellings (Mainz, 1965); my
thought is usually falsely presented as a sterile, unwieldy
Romantic Idealism and Roman Catholicism: Schelling and the
structure of mental forms drawn from his early works. De-
Theologians (Notre Dame, Ind., 1982). Emilio Brito has
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SCHIMMEL, ANNEMARIE
8149
published large studies on Schelling and religious themes as
Little is known of her personal life. Her first marriage
has Marc Maesschalk. Xavier Tilliette’s two-volume work,
ended in divorce; a primary factor in the couple’s incompati-
Schelling: Une philosophie en devenir (Paris, 1970), led to a
bility was that her husband was less religiously committed
number of volumes of essays in this field—some touch on
and observant than she. She had no children and died of can-
the “speculative Christology” of German idealism—and ends
cer at the age of fifty-two.
with the magisterial study, Schelling: Biographie (Paris,
1999).
The Bai`s YaEak:ov movement suffered a terrible blow in
Work on the critical text is reaching the writings done after 1800,
the Holocaust. Most of the students and teachers who had
and the previous volumes have been accompanied by a series
been involved with Bai`s YaEak:ov between 1918 and 1939 did
of specialized studies on areas touching the volumes pub-
not survive. After the war, Bai`s YaEak:ov and Bno`s were rees-
lished by Frommann-Holzboog in Stuttgart. The basic text
tablished and expanded in the United States, Israel, and Eu-
of Schelling was republished by the Wissenschaftliche Buch-
rope—with more of an eye, however, to conserving tradition
gesellschaft in 1976. There are some recent translations into
than to bridging tradition and modernity, as was its aim in
English, including four early works translated by Fritz Marti,
Schenirer’s lifetime.
three works published by Thomas Pfau including the “Stutt-
gart Seminars,” a translation of Die Weltalter by Judith Nor-
SEE ALSO Agudat YisraDel.
man, and one by Victor Hays of segments of the philosophies
of myth and revelation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
THOMAS F. O’MEARA (1987 AND 2005)
The most sophisticated analysis of Bai`s YaEak:ov as a religious, cul-
tural, and political movement, and of Schenirer’s role in it,
is Deborah Weissman’s “Bai`s YaEak:ov: A Historical Model
SCHENIRER, SARAH (1883–1935), was a pioneer
for Jewish Feminists,” in The Jewish Woman: New Perspec-
in religious education for Jewish females and founder of Bai`s
tives, edited by Elizabeth Koltun (New York, 1976),
YaEak:ov educational institutions. Born to a Belzer Hasidic
pp. 139–148. A more personal portrait of the woman and
the movement is drawn by Judith Grunfeld-Rosenbaum, a
family in Kraków, descendant of rabbinic scholars, Schenirer
former teacher in the Bai`s YaEak:ov institutions in Poland, in
was a devout Jew who worked as a seamstress by day and
her article “Sarah Schenierer,” in Jewish Leaders, 1750–1940,
spent her evenings in the private study of biblical texts and
edited by Leo Jung (New York, 1953), pp. 405–432. The
rabbinic legends, a discipline begun in her youth. This was
most valuable source of information is Em be-Yisra Del: Kitvei
unusual for a woman in her times and even as a child she
Sarah Shenirer, 4 vols. (Tel Aviv, 1955–1960), a collection
was affectionately teased as “the little pious one.”
of Schenirer’s writings translated into Hebrew from the orig-
In 1914, inspired by a sermon, Schenirer conceived the
inal Yiddish, including her diary, stories, and plays, as well
idea of Jewish classes for women. Until that time, Jewish ed-
as articles she wrote for the Bai`s Ya Eak:ov Journal.
ucation in eastern Europe was designed exclusively for men,
New Sources
inasmuch as rabbinic tradition interpreted the command-
Teller, Hanoch. Builders: Stories and Insights of Three Primary
ment to study Torah as incumbent upon males only. But Sc-
Builders of the Torah Renaissance. New York, 2000.
henirer’s religious fervor and love of sacred texts, combined
BLU GREENBERG (1987)
with her fear of the inroads of cultural assimilation, secular
Revised Bibliography
Zionism, and Polish feminism, led her to radical innovation:
the creation of a school that would both increase the knowl-
edge and strengthen the faith of young Jewish women.
SCHIMMEL, ANNEMARIE. Annemarie Schimmel
Despite initial setbacks, Schenirer persisted. Securing
(1922–2003) was a German Orientalist and historian of reli-
the blessings of the influential rebe of the Belzer H:asidim,
gions. Born in Erfurt to a Protestant family, she started learn-
in 1918 she opened her first school in her home, with two
ing Arabic at the age of fifteen and studied Arabic, Persian,
young aides whom she sent off after a year to establish
and Turkish beginning in 1939 in Berlin, where she com-
schools in other communities. In 1919, the Orthodox Agu-
pleted her Ph.D. in 1941 at the age of nineteen, with a doc-
dat YisraDel movement adopted and expanded the network
toral thesis on “Calif and Cadi in Late Medieval Egypt [i.e.,
of Bai`s YaEak:ov (Yi., House of Jacob). By 1925, twenty
in the late Mamluk period].” Schimmel then prepared her
schools were operating, including several high schools. In
Habilitation on the military class in Mamluk Egypt and fin-
combining religious studies with secular and professional
ished it, after World War II, in Marburg in 1946. While
training, Bai`s YaEak:ov represented a synthesis of Polish Ha-
teaching Islamic languages and literature she prepared anoth-
sidic piety and Western enlightenment.
er thesis in Religionswissenschaft under the guidance of Frie-
Schenirer soon relinquished executive duties but re-
drich Heiler, and she completed the newly established doctor
mained a central figure in the movement, a role model and
of science in religion degree in 1951 with a thesis on the con-
personal source of inspiration to the students. She also
cept of love in Islamic mysticism. Although Schimmel was
founded the Bai`s YaEak:ov Teachers’ Seminary and estab-
not a Muslim, she was given a five-year appointment as full
lished the Bno`s (Daughters) Youth Organization for reli-
professor of history of religions in the Islamic theological fac-
gious females.
ulty of Ankara University in Turkey, a position she held from
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SCHIMMEL, ANNEMARIE
1954 to 1959. She later taught Islamic languages at the uni-
In the field of Islamic mysticism, Schimmel follows the
versities of Marburg (1959–1961) and Bonn (1951–1967)
German tradition represented by Hellmut Ritter, Fritz
and at Harvard University (1967–1992), where she was
Meier, and Richard Gramlich, and she used the vocabulary
given the newly founded Chair of Indo-Muslim Cultures.
of German Christian mysticism as the prototype for transla-
Schimmel lectured in Bonn after her retirement from
tion of Islamic terms. Schimmel was one of the few represen-
Harvard in 1992, and continued there until shortly before
tatives of this type of research. Along with Friedrich Max
her death. She also lectured in universities around the world,
Müller, Schimmel was an important pioneer on research into
addressing audiences of all levels in Asia, Europe, and Ameri-
the Indo-Muslim and Sanskrit Indian context. In the phe-
ca. The various prestigious posts she held included serving
nomenology of religion she was loyal to Heiler’s approach,
on the editorial board of Mircea Eliade’s Encyclopedia of Reli-
despite the development of new approaches in the study of
gion (1987) and as president of the International Association
religions.
for the History of Religions (1980–1990). Schimmel also re-
Schimmel’s numerous books and articles show a re-
ceived many honorary doctorates and was highly decorated
markably wide range of knowledge in all kinds of cultural
by academic and cultural institutions in both Western and
phenomena, both Islamic and Western. Her works are equal-
Islamic countries. Among her many awards was the 1995
ly appreciated by both Muslim and non-Muslim academics.
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, which caused some
She is one of the rare non-Muslims whose work has found
political controversy due to a television interview in which
uncontested acceptance in the world of Islam, and her writ-
she expressed some sympathy with the Muslims who were
ings have helped make Muslim thought known across Islam-
offended by Salmon Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. Because of this
ic cultures. The fact that Schimmel quotes from Sindhi,
episode, and because of meetings she had with Pakistan’s Zia
Pashto, Punjabi, Urdu, Persian, Turkish, and Arabic sources
lu-Haq and other dictatorial Muslim leaders, this award was
allowed her to widen the horizons of Muslims, as well as
criticized. Though reports often circulated in the Islamic
non-Muslims, to the great variety of religious expression
world about her conversion to Islam, in her will she request-
within the Islamic world. Since she translated many of her
ed a Protestant funeral, which was held in Bonn.
books herself from her native German into English, and vice
Schimmel’s work concentrates on Islamic mysticism
versa, most of her work is available in both languages. More-
(Mystical Dimensions of Islam, 1975); on mystic poetry (As
over, she published works in several other languages (Asian
Through a Veil, 1982; A Two-Colored Brocade, 1992); on in-
and Western) so that her research could be understood in
dividual mystic writers (I Am Wind, You Are Fire: The Life
various linguistic contexts. In addition, many of her works
and Work of Rumi, 1992; Gabriel’s Wing: A Study into the Re-
have been translated into countless languages around the
ligious Ideas of Sir Muhammad Iqbal, 1963); on forms of Is-
globe.
lamic veneration (And Muhammad Is His Messenger, 1983);
on everyday Muslim practice (Islamic Names, 1989); and on
BIBLIOGRAPHY
other cultural expressions, such as calligraphy (Islamic Callig-
For Schimmel’s English-language works on Islamic mysticism, see
raphy, 1970; Calligraphy and Islamic Culture, 1984); as well
Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1975). On
as on surveys on specific literatures (Islamic Literatures of
mystic poetry, see As Through a Veil: Mystical Poetry in Islam
India, 1973; Sindhi Literature, 1974; Classical Urdu Litera-
(New York, 1982); and A Two-Colored Brocade: The Imagery
ture from the Beginning to Iqbal, 1975) and on Islam in India
of Persian Poetry (London and Chapel Hill, N.C., 1992). On
and Pakistan (Islam in the Indian Subcontinent, 1980; Islam
individual mystic writers, see I Am Wind, You Are Fire: The
Life and Work of Rumi
(Boston, 1992); and Gabriel’s Wing:
in India and Pakistan, 1982).
A Study into the Religious Ideas of Sir Muhammad Iqbal (Lei-
In the phenomenology of religion, Schimmel’s inspiring
den, 1963). On forms of Islamic veneration, see And Mu-
Gifford Lectures, “Deciphering the Signs of God: A Phe-
hammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Is-
nomenological Approach to Islam” (1994), attempt to apply
lamic Piety (London and Chapel Hill, N.C., 1983). On
Heiler’s categories of “Erscheinungsformen und Wesen der
everyday Muslim practice, see Islamic Names (Edinburgh,
Religion” (Forms of manifestations and the essence of reli-
1989). On calligraphy, see Islamic Calligraphy (Leiden,
gion) to a specific religion, and to thus present a phenome-
1970); and Calligraphy and Islamic Culture (New York,
nological introduction to a religion. The main thesis of her
1984). For surveys on specific literatures, see Islamic Litera-
tures of India
(Wiesbaden, Germany, 1973); Sindhi Litera-
book Wie universal ist die Mystik? Die Seelenreise in den
ture (Wiesbaden, Germany, 1974); and Classical Urdu Liter-
grossen Religionen der Welt (How universal is mysticism? The
ature from the Beginning to Iqbal (Wiesbaden, Germany,
journey of the soul in the world’s great religions, 1996) is
1975). On Islam in India and Pakistan, see Islam in the Indi-
that behind all the dogmatic differences in religious teachings
an Subcontinent (Leiden, 1980); and Islam in India and Paki-
there is a common ground accessible through mystic experi-
stan (Leiden, 1982).
ence. These works explain why Schimmel distanced herself
Besides the English-language works listed above, several of Schim-
more and more from Religionswissenschaft, for which meth-
mel’s German publications deserve mentioning. For Islamic
odological approaches from such human sciences as the soci-
mysticism, see “Sufismus und Volksfrömmigkeit” in Der
ology of religion or the psychology of religion were more im-
Islam, vol. 3, Islamische Kultur-Zeitgenössische Strömungen-
portant than sympathy with religious experience.
Volksfrömmigkeit (Stuttgart, Germany, 1990); Meine Seele ist
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SCHISM: AN OVERVIEW
8151
eine Frau: Das Weibliche im Islam (Munich, 1995); Jesus und
parent body. Rather, they have new ideas about how the faith
Maria in der islamischen Mystik (Munich, 1996); and Sufis-
should be practiced or how the religious body should be or-
mus: Eine Einführung in die islamische Mystik (Munich,
ganized; but in the course of promulgating their ideas, these
2000). For Islamic literature, see Nimm eine Rose und nenne
reformers are found intolerable by the parent body and
sie Lieder: Poesie der islamischen Völker (Cologne, Germany,
forced out. Such a process was most visible in the Protestant
1987); Aus dem goldenen Becher: Türkische Gedichte aus sieben
Reformation of the sixteenth century. But it also occurred
Jahrhunderten (Cologne, Germany, 1993); Rumi: Sieh! Das
within Protestantism as, for instance, when Puritan dissi-
ist Liebe, Gedichte (Basel, Switzerland, 1993); and Die schöns-
ten Gedichte aus Pakistan und Indien: Islamische Lyrik aus

dents such as Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams were
tausend Jahren (Munich, 1996). For cultural topics, see Die
cast out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony as heretics, forcing
orientalische Katze (Cologne, Germany, 1983); Das Mysteri-
them to form new schismatic groups. Although reformers
um der Zahl: Zahlensymbolik im Kulturvergleich (Cologne,
may declare the current leadership and practice of their body
Germany, 1984); Friedrich Rückert: Lebensbild und Ein-
to be corrupt, in this kind of schism the body itself is not
führung in sein Werk (Freiburg, Germany, 1987); “Kün-
usually condemned until the separation is imminent.
stlerische Ausdrucksformen des Islam” and “Europa und der
islamische Orient” in Der Islam, Vol. 3, Islamische Kultur-
In the second instance, schism may occur when a de-
Zeitgenössische Strömungen-Volksfrömmigkeit (Stuttgart, Ger-
parting group declares the parent body to be illegitimate, and
many, 1990); Die Träume des Kalifen: Träume und ihre Deu-
the parent body seeks to retain the schismatics within the
tungen in der islamischen Kultur (Munich, 1998); Im Reich
fold. Such an occurrence is most common when the schism
der Grossmoguln: Geschichte, Kunst, Kultur (Munich, 2000);
parallels clear political or ethnic divisions. The parent body
Kleine Paradiese: Blumen und Gärten im Islam (Freiburg,
seeks to retain a broad definition of itself and its power, and
Germany, 2001); and Das islamische Jahr: Zeiten und Feste
the schismatics seek more local, independent control. For in-
(Munich, 2001).
stance, the Philippine revolution of 1897–1898 was followed
For autobiographical information, see A Life of Learning: Charles
in 1902 by a schism of many local churches away from the
Homer Haskins Lecture (Washington, D.C., 1993); Morgen-
Roman Catholic hierarchy. Because the church had become
land und Abendland: Mein west-östliches Leben (Munich,
a symbol of imperial rule, religious schism followed political
2002); and Auf den Spuren der Muslime: Mein Leben zwischen
independence. Throughout their history, the Sikhs of the
den Kulturen, edited by Hartmut Bobzin and Navid Kermani
(Freiburg, Germany, 2002).
Punjab have claimed that their way of life should be both po-
litically and religiously independent of Hindu India, whereas
PETER ANTES (2005)
India has taken a more inclusive (some would say imperialis-
tic) stance. In the United States, various nineteenth-century
Protestant schisms resulted from ethnic and cultural differ-
SCHISM
ences introduced by immigrants. As in the 1963 split in the
This entry consists of the following articles:
(American) Serbian Orthodox church, these schismatic
groups came to see the parent body as unresponsive to their
AN OVERVIEW
CHRISTIAN SCHISM
needs and probably irredeemable. Schisms took place despite
protests from the parent group.
SCHISM: AN OVERVIEW
The third kind of schism is probably the most common.
Schism is the process by which a religious body divides to
Here each side comes to see the other as having deviated
become two or more distinct, independent bodies. The divi-
from the true path. Although each may try for a time to con-
sion takes place because one or each of the bodies has come
vert the other, their final separation is a recognition that they
to see the other as deviant, as too different to be recognized
can no longer work and worship together. This pattern has
as part of the same religious brotherhood. Often disputes
been typical for American Protestantism, from the regional
over doctrine or organization brew for years before some trig-
divisions of the mid-nineteenth century to the fundamental-
gering incident incites the final break. During that prepara-
ist departures of the 1920s. Since no single Protestant body
tory period, groups of adherents slowly come to understand
monopolizes religious authority, charges of heresy can be
their procedures and convictions as being fundamentally dif-
made by almost anyone. When the charge has found fertile
ferent from those of the opposing group. The psychological
ground in popular discontent, Protestant doctrinal disputes
and sociological process of separation is often complete be-
have often led to schism.
fore an organizational break occurs.
IDEOLOGICAL FACTORS. Religious schism, of course, by defi-
TYPES OF SCHISMS. One way to classify schisms is to look
nition is an ideological matter. Differences in belief and prac-
at who defines whom as deviant. Either the parent group or
tice are almost always at stake. In Eastern cultures, the scale
the departing group, or both, may see the other as having di-
is likely to tip toward differences in religious practice as the
verged from the true faith. In the first instance, when the par-
source of division, whereas in Western society, dogma as-
ent group defines the schismatic group as deviant, the charge
sumes a more central role. The ultimate values of most
against it (or more often against its leader) is usually heresy.
groups are vague enough to allow for differences in practical
Ironically, such heretics do not usually set out to leave the
interpretation. In religious groups those practical differences
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SCHISM: AN OVERVIEW
can create divergent paths to salvation and opposing defini-
Beyond these divisions within advanced capitalist socie-
tions of good and evil, with each side nevertheless seeking
ties, changes in the world economic order as a whole can also
to justify its beliefs in terms of the same core of sacred values.
create a climate for schism. When either masses or elites find
themselves in a new economic context, displayed from old
Even organizational and political disputes, when they
loyalties, living in a world that operates by different rules, re-
occur within religion, are infused with sacred meaning. In
ligious revolutions are possible. In medieval Japan, political
The Religion of India (1958), Max Weber argues that the
and economic chaos provided the setting in which the Pure
original division between Hinaya¯na¯ and Maha¯ya¯na Bud-
Land and Nichiren sects were formed within Buddhism. It
dhism was more organizational than dogmatic. The
was no accident that the Protestant Reformation occurred in
Maha¯ya¯na tradition began to allow more leniency in rela-
the context of declining feudalism and rising nationalism. It
tionships to worldly affairs, the laity, and money. Today,
is also no accident that the independent churches in Africa
leaders of religious organizations are not just subject to accu-
today have arisen with the decline of imperialism. Again in
sations of inefficiency and poor administration but to
Japan, cultural change since the middle of the nineteenth
charges of violating a sacred trust. When dissidents seek to
century has been enormous, and there has been a parallel
reform a religious organization, they often charge that those
proliferation of new religious movements. Changes in the
in power have corrupted the true ideals of the group. Typical
economic and political order create new religious questions
bureaucratic intransigence can become proof of evil intent.
and leave spaces into which new religious solutions can fit.
The battle cries of religious conflict originate in arguments
Modernization. Much of the social change that leaves
about ultimate truth, and for that reason they must be taken
people open to religious reorganization and schism can be
seriously as factors in the divisions that occur from time to
seen as part of the longterm process of modernization. To
time.
be modernized is, among other things, to learn new skills for
SOCIAL FACTORS. It is, however, impossible to treat religious
encountering and manipulating the world, among the most
schism exclusively as a theological matter. The ideas over
important being literacy. Having personal knowledge of sa-
which believers fight and divide make sense only as a part
cred texts often distinguishes a schismatic group from its par-
of the lives of people in a given time, place, and social posi-
ent body. As early as the fourteenth century, reformers such
tion. When social change occurs, people’s understanding of
as John Wyclif were teaching their followers to read and
the religious life changes as well. Separation occurs not only
thereby sowing the seeds of the revolt from Catholicism that
because people come to hold incompatible views about
would follow. More recently, David B. Barrett (1968) has
salavation but because those views are born of different life
demonstrated that African independent churches are spring-
experiences. The kinds of social differences that can lead to
ing up most predictably in the areas where the Christian
religious schism fall into three broad, interrelated categories.
scriptures are available in the vernacular. Having personal ac-
cess to scripture is part of a climate of individualism that is
Economic differences. H. Richard Niebuhr claims that
neither necessary nor possible in an unmodernized world. It
“the division of the churches closely follows the division of
is also part of the social process of religious schism.
men into the castes of national, racial, and economic groups”
Modernization not only creates social dislocation and
(1929, p. 6). Although class divisions are rarely a perfect pre-
encourages individualism, it also creates a world in which
dictor of religious schism, they often play an important role.
there are multiple versions of truth, in which there is plural-
Niebuhr’s argument is that sects (that is, schismatic groups)
ism. Ironically, one of the factors most important in predict-
arise as the socially disinherited seek a religion that more
ing schism is a preexisting state of division. Where differ-
nearly meets their needs. They are more concerned with
ences are already an everyday fact of life, religious schism is
emotion, informality, ethical purity, and the coming new age
more likely and more easily accomplished. For this reason,
than more established, well-to-do believers either need or
it is not surprising that in the Philippines, Protestantism was
wish to be.
most successful in precisely the same areas that had first expe-
More recently, Dean R. Hoge (1976) has demonstrated
rienced schism from the Roman church as part of the devel-
that the class base for current divisions is not so much in ob-
opment of the Philippine Independent Church. When Islam
jective differences in income, occupation, or region as in the
began to dominate India in the fifteenth century, one of the
degree to which individuals perceive middle-class values to
responses to its spread was new religious differentiation with-
be threatened by change. At a theological level, the differ-
in Hinduism. Likewise, Barrett has documented that schism
ences are seen in disagreements over the dualistic nature of
in Africa is more likely where independent African churches
humanity. At an organizational level, the two parties differ
have been established in neighboring tribes, where the cul-
on how the church should order its priorities. The result is
ture is not dominated by Islam, and where there is a relatively
an incipient schism across American Protestantism that pits
large Christian population. Where monolithic religious au-
the traditional conservatism of the upper class and of the
thority is absent and examples of divison are at hand, schism
lower middle class against the innovation of those in the
is more likely.
upper middle class who are neither so entrenched nor so inse-
Political differences. Religious schisms also occur be-
cure as to feel threatened by change.
cause religious life cannot be separated from the political cir-
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SCHISM: AN OVERVIEW
8153
cumstances in which people exist. The Donatist schism,
Conversely, organizations that have too little dogma,
among the earliest divisions in the Catholic church, hap-
too loose an identity, are equally vulnerable. The incredible
pened in part as a result of political tensions between North
diversity of Hinduism can in part be accounted for by the
Africa and Rome. Later, during the Middle Ages, the formal
lack of concrete dogma, organized clergy and congregations,
schism between the Eastern and Western churches had its
or any central group giving it limits of belief and practice.
greatest practical reality in places like Russia, where religious
Equally important, the form of authority in the organi-
schism followed the lines of political animosity between Rus-
zation provides the raw materials out of which schisms can
sians and Poles. The Protestant Reformation might have
occur. The more democratic the group’s polity and the more
taken very different form but for the rivalries among various
autonomous its constituent units, the more it is susceptible
heads of state and between them and Rome. Likewise, the
to division. As authority is dispersed, it is more easily claimed
shape of Protestantism in America has been undeniably af-
and protected by dissident groups. Schism is, after all, at least
fected by divisions among ethnic and immigrant groups, di-
in part a struggle for organizational power. It is an attempt
visions over slavery, and divisions between frontier and city,
to impose one group’s views on the whole. That imposition
local and cosmopolitan.
can take place only as long as the instruments of power are
In most of Asia, religion and communal life have been
also under the group’s control. Decentralized religious orga-
so inextricably intertwined that political change has, by defi-
nizations provide niches of power that can be used by dissi-
nition, meant religious change, and vice versa. The nine-
dents mobilizing a revolt.
teenth-century Daibing rebels in China adopted a religious
An implication of the foregoing is that parent bodies
synthesis of Christian and Confucian thought that propelled
with effective means of social control are less likely to experi-
them into military conflict with the Manzhu rulers. Today,
ence schism. When organizational hierarchies know what
religious divisions often parallel political ones within the In-
their members are doing and are able to apply effective sanc-
dian subcontinent. The prejudices and divisions of everyday
tions, dissidents are less able to mobilize. Heretics who are
life are more often reflected in religious separation than over-
banished or burned only occasionally become the inspiration
come by religious unity.
for later schisms.
ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS OF SCHISM. All of the theolog-
Conditions in the dissenting body. To achieve a suc-
ical, cultural, economic, and political factors that give rise to
cessful withdrawal from a parent body, dissenters must mo-
schism are necessary causes, but they are not sufficient causes
bilize a variety of resources. They must make it rewarding
in themselves. They cannot explain why one missionized cul-
for people to participate in their movement by offering them
ture experiences schism and another does not, why some eth-
opportunities to lead, to be recognized, and to feel they are
nic groups share a religious heritage, and others see each
defending important values. Followers must be promised not
other as religiously alien. To explain those differences, one
only a more sure path to eternal salvation but a way to
must take into account the organizational structures in
achieve more tangible goals as well. Where punishment
which divisions are encountered. Some organizations make
seems more immediately likely than reward, reformers must
schism likely, whereas others prevent division from occur-
be able to turn even that to their advantage.
ring. Those who have studied social movements have identi-
Most especially, dissenters must be able to manipulate
fied various ingredients in organizations that may make
symbols of good and evil so as to define the conflict in cosmic
schism possible. The factors they list may be divided into two
terms. A dissenting group must therefore develop effective
broad categories.
means of communicating its ideas and overcoming the coun-
Conditions in the parent body. Most basically, condi-
terarguments of the parent body. The emphasis on literacy
tions that produce cohesiveness also inhibit schism. If there
in schismatic groups nicely serves this purpose.
are strong incentives of loyalty and reward binding people
All of these undertakings require resources of time,
to the parent body, splinter groups will have difficulty form-
money, and skill. Often it is those at the bottom of the social
ing. Likewise, when the members have few competing ties
structure who can contribute time, a powerful benefactor
to other organizations, their religious commitments are more
who can contribute money, and trained people on the fringes
central and less likely to be disturbed.
of the parent organization who can contribute skill.
However, since conflict is always a possibility in the ap-
Finally, most schismatic movements need a charismatic
plication of religious values to everyday life, organizations
leader. One person provides the ideas and inspiration that
that learn to control conflict can avoid schism. Often this
motivate others to follow.
means simply hearing and responding to grievances. It may
CONCLUSION. Schism, then, is a division in a religious body
mean establishing structures in which disagreements can be
in which one or each of the separating groups defines the
contained and made useful (e.g., the establishment of monas-
other as having departed from the true faith. It always in-
tic orders in Catholicism). When organizational hierarchies
volves conflict over what is ultimately true and how that
are too authoritarian to change or to allow diversity, they
truth should affect human lives. Yet schism also occurs in a
may be confronted by schism.
social context in which economic divisions and changes, the
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SCHISM: CHRISTIAN SCHISM
process of modernization, and political differences impinge
Walker, Deward E. Conflict & Schism in Nez Percé Acculturation:
on the way people organize themselves into religious bodies.
A Study of Religion and Politics (1961). Reprint. Moscow, Id.,
Those structural conditions provide the background and raw
1998.
materials of schism, and specific organizational conditions
Zuckerman, Phil. “Gender Regulation as a Source of Religious
provide the means by which a separation is finally accom-
Schism.” Sociology of Religion 58 (Winter 1997): 353–373.
plished.
NANCY T. AMMERMAN (1987)
S
Revised Bibliography
EE ALSO Heresy; Modernity; Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy;
Orthopraxy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SCHISM: CHRISTIAN SCHISM
Baker, Derek, ed. Schism, Heresy and Religious Protest. Cambridge,
In ecclesiastical contexts, schism is both a technical term and
U.K., 1972. This collection of papers read at the Ecclesiasti-
cal History Society in London illustrates the diverse theologi-
a general term referring to a split or division within a seg-
cal and social sources of the many divisions that have affected
ment of the Christian church or between segments of the
the Christian church.
Christian church. It is a category of ecclesiology that is basic
Barrett, David B. Schism and Renewal in Africa: An Analysis of Six
to understanding the history of the Christian church, be-
Thousand Contemporary Religious Movements. Nairobi, 1968.
cause the church, in its understanding of itself as an institu-
A thorough study of the political, historical, and cultural fac-
tion, has placed great emphasis on the unity and integrity of
tors that explain the explosion of new, independent African
structure, order, and dogma.
churches.
Schism appeared early in the history of Christianity and
Hoge, Dean R. Division in the Protestant House: The Basic Reasons
took a variety of forms, which makes it difficult to apply any
behind Intra-Church Conflicts. Philadelphia, 1976. An excel-
one legal or canonical definition to the phenomenon or the
lent piece of research from the Presbyterian denomination
term. Schisms were noted in the earliest documents of the
that examines the intertwining of theological, psychological,
and sociological factors in creating two opposing parties in
church, including the New Testament. The first and second
contemporary American Protestantism.
letters of John note the centrality of ecclesiastical harmony
Niebuhr, H. Richard. The Social Sources of Denominationalism
and the danger of heretical distortions of the teaching hand-
(1929). New York, 1957. The classic statement of the causes
ed down. The same fear of divisions (schismata) is noted in
of schism in Protestantism.
other letters, such as Paul’s letters to the Corinthians.
Takayama, K. Peter. “Strains, Conflicts, and Schisms in Protes-
Historically, the notion of schism has been and contin-
tant Denominations.” In American Denominational Organi-
ues to be important to a large part of the Christian commu-
zation: A Sociological View, edited by Ross P. Scherer,
nity because of its emphasis on theological and eucharistic
pp. 298–329. Pasadena, Calif., 1980. A leading researcher in
unity as fundamental to the nature of the church. But
the sociology of religious organizations proposes hypotheses
schisms are inherent in any society that claims to have access
for predicting schism and examines two recent divisions in
light of those propositions.
to the truth and believes that truth is essential to salvation.
Schism makes sense only in communities that have the will
Wilson, John. “The Sociology of Schism.” In A Sociological Year-
book of Religion in Britain 4. London, 1971. A little–known
and the agency—whether pope, council, or Bible—to estab-
article that provides a useful model for understanding the or-
lish norms of behavior and parameters of belief without ex-
ganizational processes involved in schism.
cluding the possibility of diversity in theological emphasis.
Zald, Mayer N. “Theological Crucibles: Social Movements in and
The foundational nature of this unity was made evident
of Religion.” Review of Religious Research 23 (June 1982):
from different perspectives in the writings of Ignatius of An-
317–336. A leading proponent of “resource mobilization”
tioch in the first century and Irenaeus in the second century
theory applies his ideas to religious movements. He first re-
in response to confrontations with heresy. Ignatius empha-
views the cultural conditions that make religious change and
sized the centrality of the local bishop, and Irenaeus stressed
division more likely and then argues that such movements
can happen only if the organizational conditions are also
the importance of the canon of scripture and apostolic suc-
right.
cession. In addition to the theological affirmation, the birth
of the church within the Roman empire and its expansion
New Sources
in the Byzantine milieu heightened this sense of institutional
Clarke, Peter B. Mahdism in West Africa: The Ijebu Mahdiyya
and dogmatic unity within the context of the diversity en-
Movement. London, 1995.
couraged by geography and distance. In an empire as mul-
Hillis, Bryan V. Can Two Walk Together Unless They Be Agreed?:
tinational as the Byzantine empire, it is easy to understand
American Religious Schisms in the 1970s. Brooklyn, 1991.
how schism came to be a political threat and why, as in the
McKivigan, John R. Abolitionism and American Religion. New
example of Constantine and the Donatists, immediate impe-
York, 1999.
rial intervention was called for.
Rochford, E Burke, Jr. “Factionalism, Group Defection, and
Schism in the Hare Krishna Movement.” Journal for the Sci-
While schisms have had a variety of causes, they did ex-
entific Study of Religion 28 (June 1989): 162–179.
hibit similar sociological dynamics. For instance, they tended
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SCHISM: CHRISTIAN SCHISM
8155
to be aggravated as the initial causes and antagonists became
tary support that the Byzantine emperor could not supply.
lost in the phenomenology of the separation itself. In fact,
The crowning of Charlemagne in 800 by Leo III was both
it is not unusual in Christian history to find that the original
a symptom and a cause of the growing ecclesiastical hostility
factors and personalities causing a schism were forgotten as
between Rome and Constantinople.
each party to the dispute forced its own position to a logical
In the ninth century, through the agency of the Carolin-
extreme in opposition to the other. Hence the very diversity
gians, the issue of the filioque was thrust into the already hos-
that the early church and even the medieval church demon-
tile relations between Rome and Constantinople. The filio-
strated became perverted as differences in emphasis became
que, Latin for “and the Son” (asserting that the Holy Spirit
dogmas in opposition, as in the cases of monophysitism and
proceeds from both God the Father and from God the Son)
Nestorianism.
had been inserted into the Nicene Creed in sixth-century
EARLY SCHISMS. Among the earliest schisms of any signifi-
Spain to protect the divinity of the Son against residual Ari-
cance were those related initially to historical phenomena
anism and adoptionism. Charlemagne welcomed, endorsed,
and ecclesiastical discipline. Such was the case with the
and adopted the filioque officially at the Council of Frankfurt
Donatists in North Africa and the Meletians in Egypt during
(794) and used its absence among the Byzantines as the basis
the early fourth century. These two cases, as well as the
for charges of heresy. By the mid-ninth century, the two
Novatian schism in Rome in the third century, demonstrate
main issues that would characterize East-West ecclesiastical
the historical conditioning of schism (in these cases persecu-
disputes, the filioque and papal primacy, were defined.
tion) and that questions of order and discipline can and did
develop into theological and ecclesiological issues.
Photian schism. In 858, Photios assumed the patri-
archate of Constantinople on the occasion of the deposition
The first significant schisms to affect the Christian
and later resignation of Patriarch Ignatius (847–858). Igna-
church were those based on heresy or a one-sided emphasis
tius’s partisans appealed to Rome for his restoration. Their
on a particular, albeit accepted, aspect of Christian belief.
cause was taken up by Nicholas I, who was looking for an
These were the withdrawals of Nestorian Christians in Persia
opportunity to intervene in Eastern ecclesiastical affairs to
in 431 as a result of the Council of Ephesus, and the so-called
enhance his authority. A Roman council in 863 excommuni-
monophysite Christians in Syria, Egypt, Armenia, and Ethi-
cated Photios as a usurper and called for the restoration of
opia in 451 after the Council of Chalcedon. Political and
Ignatius, but the council had no way of enforcing its deci-
cultural factors would crystallize these churches in their isola-
sions in the East, and the Byzantines bitterly attacked the
tion from the mainstream of Christianity, consisting of Latin
move as an uncanonical interference in their affairs.
and Greek portions of the empire.
During the same period, the Byzantines had collided
Unity was not guaranteed between the two largest
with the Frankish missionaries operating in central Europe
geocultural portions of the Christian church—the Latin
and Bulgaria over the question of adding the filioque to the
West and the Greek East. The efforts of Emperor Zeno
creed as well as its theological propriety, both of which Pho-
(474–475; 476–491) to reconcile the monophysites to the
tios was to attack in his Mystagogia. In 867, Photios held a
official church by publication of the Henoticon (482) occa-
council and excommunicated Nicholas. In the same year he
sioned the thirty-five-year schism between Rome and Con-
addressed a letter to the Eastern patriarchs, condemning
stantinople. The Henoticon, compromising the Chalcedoni-
Frankish errors being propagated in Bulgaria.
an formulations, was opposed by Felix II, who
excommunicated both Zeno and his patriarch, Acacios. The
The schism, though short-lived, was significant in that
schism lasted from 484 to 519, when it was brought to an
it embodied two of the main issues that would poison ecclesi-
end by Emperor Justin I and Pope Hormisdas (514–523).
astical relations until the fifteenth century. In 867, Photios
The churches of Rome and Constantinople continued to ex-
was deposed and then, in 877, restored to the patriarchate.
perience minor and short-lived conflicts based on theological
The schism ended when the Latin church, through the atten-
and political issues in the seventh-century Monothelite Con-
dance of three papal legates at the council of 879/880, en-
troversy and the eighth-century Iconoclastic Controversy.
dorsed by John VIII, confirmed Photios’s restoration and the
end of the internal schism between the Photians and the Ig-
ROME AND CONSTANTINOPLE. Relations between the
natians.
churches of Rome and Constantinople continued to degen-
erate during the eighth century as these churches grew in-
Fourth marriage controversy. The next schism be-
creasingly hostile as well as distant in their ecclesiology and
tween the churches of Rome and Constantinople concerned
politics. The most notable feature of the ecclesiastical devel-
the fourth marriage of Emperor Leo VI (886–912). Though
opments of the eighth century was the new alliance that the
married three times, Leo had failed to produce a male heir.
papacy forged in mid-century with the new Carolingian
When he did sire a son, it was with his mistress, whom he
kings. The logical result of the geographical and cultural iso-
wished to marry so that he could legitimize his son as his suc-
lation to which Rome was subjected was its turn toward the
cessor, Constantine VII. Because Byzantine canonical tradi-
Franks, consummated by Pope Stephen II’s alliance with
tion grudgingly permitted only three marriages, Patriarch
Pépin III in 754. The Franks could give the papacy the mili-
Nicholas I refused to permit the emperor to marry a fourth
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SCHISM: CHRISTIAN SCHISM
time. Leo appealed to the Eastern patriarchs and to the pope,
es, restore formal relations, and confirm an alliance against
Sergius III, for a dispensation. In 907 a council approved the
the Normans. Leo sent three legates east. Seeing the legates
fourth marriage, partially on the basis of the dispensation of
as part of a plot to achieve a papal-Byzantine alliance at the
Sergius. Nicholas I resigned and was replaced by the more
expense of his position and the Byzantine Italian provinces,
cooperative Euthymios. A schism resulted within the Byzan-
Michael broke off discussions.
tine church between supporters of Nicholas and supporters
The attacks of Humbert of Silva Candida (c. 1000–
of Euthymios.
1061), one of the legates, on the Byzantine church made
When Leo VI died in 912, his successor, co-emperor Al-
clear for the first time the nature of the reform movement
exander I reappointed Nicholas to the patriarchate. Nicholas
and the changes that had taken place in the Western church.
addressed a letter to Pope Anastasius III (911–913), optimis-
In his anger at Byzantine opposition to papal authority,
tically informing him that the schism within the Byzantine
Humbert issued a decree of excommunication and deposited
church had ended and asking him to condemn the authors
it on the altar of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. In it he
of the scandal, but he did not name either Leo or Sergius.
censured the Byzantines for permitting married clergy, simo-
The letter was never answered, and Nicholas removed An-
ny, and removing the filioque from the creed. The value of
astasius’s name from the diptychs, the ecclesiastical docu-
the excommunication is questionable, because Leo had died
ment maintained by each church that records the names of
several months earlier. A Constantinopolitan synod, giving
legitimate and recognized hierarchies, effecting thereby in
up hopes for an alliance, excommunicated the legates.
912 a formal schism whose significance depends on the value
By the mid-eleventh century, it became clear to the By-
accorded the diptychs.
zantines that they no longer spoke the same ecclesiological
In 920 a council in Constantinople published a tome
language as the church of Rome. This was to become even
of union, which condemned fourth marriages and restored
more evident during the pontificate of Gregory VII (1073–
harmony to the two Byzantine factions. By 923, John X sent
1085), whose Dictates of the Pope could find no resonance
two legates to assent to the 920 agreement and anathematize
in Byzantine ecclesiology.
fourth marriages. The formal schism between Rome and
What is interesting about the mutual excommunica-
Constantinople ended in 923 with the restoration of the
tions of 1054 is their insignificance. As John Meyendorff
pope’s name to the Constantinopolitan diptychs.
notes in his Living Tradition (Tuckahoe, N.Y., 1978), “One
The Great Schism. The issue of the filioque was to arise
of the most striking facts about the schism between the East
again in the eleventh century. In 1009, Pope Sergius IV
and the West is the fact that it cannot be dated” (p. 69). In
(1009–1012) announced his election in a letter containing
fact, when in December 1965 Pope Paul VI and Patriarch
the interpolated filioque clause in the creed. Although there
Athenagoras lifted the anathemas of 1054, they noted that
seems to have been no discussion of the matter, another
nothing had actually happened. The anathemas were direct-
schism was initiated. The addition of the filioque was, how-
ed against particular people, not churches, and they were not
ever, official this time, and the interpolated creed was used
designed to break ecclesiastical communion. In addition to
at the coronation of Emperor Henry II in 1014.
this, Humbert had exceeded his power when he excommuni-
cated Michael and his supporters in the name of a deceased
As the papacy moved into the mid-eleventh century, the
pope.
reform movement was radically altering its view of the pope’s
The equivocal nature of the events of 1054 was made
position and authority. This movement, as well as the mili-
evident in 1089 when the emperor Alexios I (1081–1118),
tary threat of the Normans to Byzantine southern Italy, set
seeking the West’s assistance against the Turks in Anatolia
the stage for the so-called Great Schism of 1054.
(modern-day Asia Minor) as well as papal support against
The encounter began when Leo IX (1049–1054), at the
Norman designs on Byzantine territory, convoked a synod
Synod of Siponto, attempted to impose Latin ecclesiastical
to consider the relations between the two churches. An inves-
customs on the Byzantine churches of southern Italy. Patri-
tigation produced no documentary or synodal evidence to
arch Michael Cerularios (1043–1058) responded by order-
support a formal schism. Patriarch Nicholas III (1084–1111)
ing Latin churches in Constantinople to conform to Byzan-
wrote to Pope Urban II (1088–1099), offering to restore the
tine usage or to close. Michael continued this attack on an
pope’s name to the diptychs on receipt of an acceptable con-
aggressive reform-minded papacy by criticizing Latin cus-
fession of faith. There is no evidence that the pope responded
toms, such as the use of azyme (unleavened bread) in the Eu-
to this offer. What is clear is that what was lacking in the rela-
charist and fasting on Saturdays during Lent. The issues of
tionship between East and West could have been rectified by
the eleventh-century crisis were almost exclusively those of
a simple confession of faith. The theological issue of the filio-
popular piety and ritual; the filioque played a minor part.
que was considered by Byzantine theologians to revolve
Michael’s reaction did not suit Emperor Constantine IX
around a misunderstanding stemming from the crudeness of
(1042–1055), who needed an anti-Norman alliance with the
the Latin language.
papacy. Michael was forced to write a conciliatory letter to
Effect of the Crusades. If the intensity of the reform
Leo IX offering to clarify the confusion between the church-
movement in the West accelerated the process of schism, the
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SCHISM: CHRISTIAN SCHISM
8157
Crusades were the factor that formalized it on a popular
the papal residence from Rome to Avignon in 1309. It re-
level. Early in the crusading enterprise, Pope Urban II was
mained there, in “Babylonian Captivity,” until 1377. The
able to maintain harmonious relations between the Crusad-
stage for the Great Western Schism was set in the corruption
ers and the Christians of the East. With his death in 1099,
and decadence of an exiled papacy.
however, relations between Latin and Eastern Christians in
The papal thrust for independence from the French
the Levant degenerated after the appointment of Latin-rite
kingdom came in the context of the need to protect its Italian
patriarchs in Jerusalem and Antioch in 1099 and 1100, re-
holdings. The Romans threatened to elect another pope
spectively. It is with the establishment of parallel hierarchies
should Gregory XI (1370–1378) not return. Gregory arrived
that one can first pinpoint a schism on the structural level.
in Rome in January 1377.
The close contacts between Latin and Greek Christians made
differences immediately obvious; not only were they two dif-
When Gregory died in 1378, the cardinals elected the
ferent peoples, they were also two different churches.
Italian Urban VI (1378–1389). Although the majority of the
cardinals in Rome were French and would have gladly re-
The Fourth Crusade painfully brought the reality of the
moved the papacy to Avignon, the pressure of the Roman
schism home to the Byzantines with the Latin capture, sack,
popular demands forced the election. Urban immediately
and occupation of Constantinople and the expulsion of Pa-
went about reforming the Curia Romana and eliminating
triarch John X Kamateros. Pope Innocent III (1198–1216)
French influence. The French cardinals proceeded to elect
established a Latin hierarchy and demanded an oath of alle-
another pope, Clement VII (1378–1394), who after several
giance from Byzantine clergy. With the Fourth Crusade the
months moved to Avignon. The schism within the Western
central issue of the developing separation of the Eastern and
church had become a reality.
Western churches came to the fore: the nature of the church
itself—the universal jurisdiction of the papacy and the locus
This second election would not have been so significant
of authority within the church. The existence of parallel hier-
if Urban and Clement had not been elected by the same
archies in Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem, the cen-
group of cardinals and had not enjoyed the support of vari-
ters of Eastern Christendom, marks the fruition of the
ous constellations of national interests. The schism severely
schism. The dating of the schism, therefore, depends on the
compromised papal universalism. The Roman line of the
locale.
schism was maintained by the succession of Boniface IX
(1389–1404), Innocent VII (1404–1406), and Gregory XII
During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, both
(1406–1415). The Avignon line was maintained by Benedict
the Latin West and the Greek East formalized their theolo-
XIII (1394–1423).
gies in two radically divergent schools of thought: Thomistic
scholasticism and Palamite hesychasm, respectively. Thus, by
In the context of the schism, it was difficult to maintain
the fourteenth century the schism was formalized on popu-
even the appearance of a unified Western Christendom. The
lar, doctrinal, and methodological planes.
schism produced a sense of frustration as theologians and
canonists searched for a solution. In 1408 the cardinals of
There were several noteworthy efforts to heal the schism
both parties met in Livorno and, on their own authority,
between the churches of Rome and of the East, but it is iron-
called a council in Pisa for March 1409, composed of bish-
ic that it was the union efforts of Lyons (1274) and Florence
ops, cardinals, abbots, heads of religious orders, and repre-
(1439–1441) that formalized the schism, crystallized Byzan-
sentatives of secular rulers. The council appointed a new
tine opposition, and provoked schisms within the church of
pope, Alexander V (1409–1410; succeeded by John XXIII,
Constantinople itself. Union efforts failed during the thir-
1410–1415), replacing the Roman and Avignon popes, who
teenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries because there was
were deposed.
no agreement on the locus of authority in the church and
because the Eastern and Western churches had developed
The newly elected Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund
not only different theologies but also divergent methods of
(1410–1437), and Pope Alexander V called a council to meet
doing theology. Rome sought submission and Byzantine
at Constance in 1414. Voting by nations, the council de-
military assistance against the Turks. With the capture of
clared that it represented the Roman Catholic church and
Constantinople by Mohammed II in 1453, all possibility for
held its authority directly from Christ. John XXIII and Bene-
union was lost.
dict XIII were deposed, and Gregory XII resigned. With the
election of Martin V (1417–1431), Western Christendom
THE GREAT WESTERN SCHISM. The church of Rome, for
was united once again under one pope. But the papacy had
which centralization was essential, underwent one of the
to contend with the challenge of the council that had settled
most significant schisms in the history of Christianity. Its be-
the conflict.
ginnings lay in the opening of the fourteenth century, when
Pope Boniface VIII (1294–1303) lost the battle with Philip
By 1441 the schism between the Latins and the Greeks
IV (1285–1314) over nationalization of the French king-
was declared ended, and conciliarism was effectively eviscer-
dom. In 1305, the cardinals, divided between Italians and
ated by the success of Eugenius IV (1431–1447) in uniting
Frenchmen, elected Clement V (1305–1314) to succeed
the Greeks, who sought union as well as military assistance
Boniface. Philip pressured Clement, a Frenchman, to move
against the Turks, and other Eastern Christians with Rome.
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SCHISM: CHRISTIAN SCHISM
For many modern historians, however, the tragedy of the pe-
Crusade. Concludes that the Byzantine church never rejected
riod was the failure of the councils and the papacy to face
Roman primacy, but does not define the differing Roman
the need for ecclesiastical reform. This failure laid the foun-
and Byzantine interpretations of primacy.
dation for the Reformation of the sixteenth century.
Every, George. The Byzantine Patriarchate, 451–1204. 2d rev. ed.
T
London, 1962. Still the best introduction to the Byzantine
HE REFORMATION. The Reformation of the sixteenth cen-
tury was the second great split to strike Christianity. The
church from the fifth to the twelfth centuries; highlights the
major conflicts between Rome and Constantinople, includ-
same issues that determined the relations between Rome and
ing the role of the filioque, the Crusades, and papal primacy.
the East figured in the separation of a large number of the
Concludes that the progressive estrangement between the
Christians in Germany, Scotland, and Scandinavia. Martin
two portions of Christendom was not a straight-line process.
Luther gradually moved from objecting to specific practices
The timing of the schism, the author notes, depends on the
of the church of Rome to challenging papal authority as nor-
place.
mative. Authority does not reside in the papacy, but rather
Meyendorff, John. Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doc-
in scripture; sola scriptura became the hallmark of his re-
trinal Themes. 2d ed. New York, 1979. A superb presentation
forms.
of Eastern Christian thought and doctrinal and historical
trends that clarifies the roots of the schism. The author con-
The Reformation was a schism in the Western church
siders the process nature of the final separation between the
and had nothing fundamentally to do with the Orthodox
two churches and notes the underlying agenda of authority
East. It was not, however, uncommon for Western ecclesias-
in the church.
tical dissidents to use the Eastern church as an example of
Runciman, Steven. The Eastern Schism (1955). Reprint, Oxford,
an ancient “popeless” Christianity. For many contemporary
1963. A highly readable account of the relations between the
Eastern Christians, however, the reformers were but another
papacy and the Eastern churches during the eleventh and
example of the heresy spawned by the schism in the Roman
twelfth centuries. The author maintains that the traditional
church. As late as the nineteenth century, Eastern Christians,
reasons of doctrinal and liturgical practices for the schism are
such as Aleksei Khomiakov, noted that all Protestants were
inadequate; the schism was due to the more fundamental di-
but cryptopapists, each Protestant being his own pope.
vergence in traditions and ideology that grew up during earli-
er centuries. He highlights the proximate causes as the Cru-
The history of schism, particularly the schism between
sades, the Norman invasions of Byzantine Italy, and the
the churches of the East and the West, may be considered
reform movement within the papacy.
from the perspective of social, cultural, and political factors.
Sherrard, Philip. Church, Papacy, and Schism: A Theological Inqui-
While these are necessary to an adequate understanding of
ry. London, 1978. A theological analysis of schism in general.
conflict in Christianity, they are not sufficient. Only a con-
The author focuses on the schism between Rome and the
sideration of theological and ecclesiological factors allows full
Eastern churches. He argues from the historical perspective
appreciation of the roots of schism in Christian history.
that doctrinal issues, which he enumerates, were at the root
of the schism and continue to be the reason for separation
SEE ALSO Crusades; Donatism; Heresy, article on Christian
between the churches of the East and the West.
Concepts; Iconoclasm; Icons; Monophysitism; Nestorianism;
Ullmann, Walter. The Origins of the Great Schism: A Study in
Papacy; Reformation.
Fourteenth Century Ecclesiastical History (1948). Reprint,
Hamden, Conn., 1972. Insightful and thorough presenta-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tion of the Great Western Schism in the context of four-
Bouyer, Louis. The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism. London,
teenth-century ecclesiastical and political events.
1956. Offers an excellent introduction to the theological
New Sources
hallmarks of the Reformation and their Roman Catholic
Bruce, Steve. A House Divided: Protestantism, Schism, and Secular-
sources. Bouyer, a Roman Catholic, considers each Reforma-
ization. London and New York, 1990.
tion principle as a basis for unity and for schism. The ap-
Fahey, Michael Andrew. Orthodox and Catholic Sister Churches:
proach is valuable for considering the Reformation as a
East Is West and West Is East. Milwaukee, Wisc., 1996.
schism.
Frend, W. H. C. The Donatist Church: A Movement of Protest in
Dvornik, Francis. The Photian Schism: History and Legend (1948).
Northern Africa. Oxford and New York, 1952; reprint, 2000.
Reprint, Cambridge, 1970. A brilliant summary of the au-
thor’s research on the ninth-century patriarch Photios, eluci-
Meyendorff, John. Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions: The
dating the misunderstandings of the complex relationships
Church, 450–680 AD. Crestwood, N.Y., 1989.
of the ninth century. The author concludes that Photios was
Nicols, Aidan. Rome and the Eastern Churches: A Study in Schism.
not opposed to Roman primacy and that the idea of a se-
Collegeville, Minn., 1992.
cond Photian schism was a fabrication of eleventh-century
Papadakis, Aristeides, and John Meyendoff. The Christian East
canonists.
and the Rise of the Papacy: The Church, 1071–1453 A.D.
Dvornik, Francis. Byzantium and the Roman Primacy. New York,
Crestwood, N.Y., 1994.
1966. A historical survey of the relations between the church
Storman, E. J., ed. and trans. Towards the Healing of Schism: the
of Rome and the Byzantine East. Although tendentious in
Sees of Rome and Constantinople: Public Statements and Corre-
its defense of Roman “primacy,” it provides excellent cover-
spondence between the Holy See and the Ecumenical Patriarch,
age of events from the Acacian schism through the Fourth
1958–1984. New York, 1987.
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SCHLEIERMACHER, FRIEDRICH
8159
Stump, Phillip M. The Reforms of the Council of Constance, 1414–
Germany. Despite his prejudices, Friedrich Schlegel can be
1418. Leiden and New York, 1994.
regarded as a pioneer in the Western study of Indian
J
religions.
OHN LAWRENCE BOOJAMRA (1987)
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Sedlar, Jean W. India in the Mind of Germany: Schelling, Schopen-
SCHLEGEL, FRIEDRICH
hauer and Their Times. Washington, D.C., 1982. A few
(1772–1829), was one of
pages on Schlegel within a general characterization of Ger-
the leading figures of the German Romantic movement.
man interest in India at the end of the eighteenth century
Schlegel’s personality was influenced by various poets and
and in the first half of the nineteenth.
thinkers, including Schiller, Goethe, Kant, Fichte, Schleier-
Wiese, Benno von. Friedrich Schlegel: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte
macher, Leibniz, and Spinoza. It was not unusual for him
der romantischen Konversionen. Berlin, 1927. An important
first to be attracted by a philosopher or poet and then to turn
study of Schlegel’s “conversions” and his place within Ger-
vehemently against him. Thus Schlegel’s personal develop-
man romanticism.
ment was marked by a constant search for new intellectual
Wilson, A. Leslie. A Mythical Image: The Ideal of India in German
horizons. He never developed a system of thinking as such,
Romanticism. Durham, N.C., 1964. A short presentation of
but rather turned ultimately, in 1805, to Roman Catholi-
Schlegel’s ideal of India in the light of German romanticism.
cism. Hence his concern with general religious history was
limited to particular phases of his life.
New Sources
Finlay, Marike. The Romantic Irony of Semiotics: Friedrich Schlegel
After studying law, classical philology, and philosophy
and the Crisis of Representation. Berlin and New York, 1988.
at Göttingen and Leipzig, Schlegel devoted himself to Greek
Roche-Mahdi, Sarah. “The Cultural and Intellectual Background
classicism. In his first publications he propounded the idea
of German Orientalism.” In Mapping Islamic Studies, edited
that the Greek image of humanity was the most perfect ex-
by Azim Narji, pp. 108–127. Berlin, 1997.
pression of the human ideal of harmony and totality. Yet
HANS J. KLIMKEIT (1987)
soon, in turning to Romantic poetry, he rejected the notion
Revised Bibliography
that the classical ideal was universally valid, emphasizing in-
stead the necessity for a continuing development of the
human spirit.
Of Schlegel’s various intellectual activities, the most in-
SCHLEIERMACHER, FRIEDRICH (1768–
teresting for the historian of religions is his concern with In-
1834), German Evangelical theologian, philosopher, and
dian religion. While at Paris from 1802 to 1804, he studied
pedagogue. His reappraisal of the task and content not only
Sanskrit, for he sought in India the source of human wisdom.
of Christian dogmatics but also of the whole of Christian life,
The writings of the Indians, which he initially found digni-
faith, and theology earned him the title “church father of the
fied, sublime, and significant in their reference to God,
nineteenth century.” His distinctive approach to Christian
would point, so he believed, to an original revelation of the
doctrine also gave him an importance for the beginnings of
true (i.e., Christian) God, one that might be perceived de-
nontheological ways of studying religion, and as an eminent
spite the superstition and error that had crept into the Indian
figure in church, academy, and society he influenced public
tradition. In Schlegel’s view, one of the major errors of Indi-
life and culture in Germany well beyond the circle of profes-
an thinking was the lack of a pronounced ethical conception
sional theologians.
of the divine; another was the idea of emanation, the idea
LIFE AND WORKS. Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher
that God continually unfolds himself to create the world.
was born on November 21, 1768, in Prussian Breslau, Lower
Feeling a strong aversion to the pantheistic belief that God
Silesia (now, as formerly, Wrocław, in southwestern Poland).
and the universe are identical in substance, he yet saw pan-
His father, Gottlieb Schleiermacher, was a Reformed pastor
theism as having a provisional value in that it formed an es-
and a chaplain in the army of Frederick the Great. Previously
sential stage in the development of religion, which culminat-
a thinker of the “enlightened” variety, Gottlieb Schleierma-
ed in Christianity.
cher encountered the Herrnhutian community (stemming
Increasingly, however, Schlegel came to believe that the
from the Moravian movement) at Gnadenfrei and under-
religion of the Indians, whose language he believed to be the
went a spiritual reawakening. Five years later (1783) his four-
world’s oldest, did not yield evidence of an original, pure
teen-year-old son Friedrich attended the Herrnhutian Peda-
faith. After the publication of On the Language and Wisdom
gogium at Niesky (1783–1785) and then the community’s
of the Indians (1808), which contains a linguistic analysis of
theological seminary at Barby (1785–1787).
Sanskrit, a discussion of various Indian systems of thought,
The impress of Herrnhutian Pietism on Schleiermacher
and translations of portions of Indian scriptures, Schlegel
was permanent. Many years later (in 1802) he recalled that
abandoned Indian studies. Yet his enthusiasm for things In-
in the Brethrens’ circles he first awoke to humanity’s rela-
dian had been communicated to his brother August Wil-
tionship with a higher world, acquiring the religious tenden-
helm, who was to become the first professor of Sanskrit in
cy that carried him through all the storms of skepticism. He
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SCHLEIERMACHER, FRIEDRICH
professed himself “a Herrnhutian of a higher order” (Schlei-
Monologen (1800) he viewed his intellectual progress after
ermacher, Kritische Gesamtausgabe, sec. 5, vol. 5, 1999–,
leaving the Herrnhutian community almost as a second con-
p. 392). But the time of his experience among the Herrnhu-
version brought about by a revelation that did not come to
tians ended in crisis and break. In the seminary he and a
him from any philosophy but from his experiences and views
group of friends smuggled in forbidden works of Johann
he encountered within the Romantic circle of Berlin. Indeed
Wolfgang von Goethe, Immanuel Kant, Christoph Martin
he had fallen in with the group of intellectuals that gathered
Wieland, and others. Doubts grew about the truth of the
around Friedrich Schlegel (1772–1829), with the journal
dogmatic doctrines of community until Schleiermacher con-
Athenäum as the organ of their new Romanticism. “I discov-
fessed that he could no longer believe in the divinity of
ered humanity,” Schleiermacher wrote, “and knew that
Christ and in his vicarious sacrifice (Schleiermacher, Kritische
henceforth I should never lose it” (Schleiermacher, Kritische
Gesamtausgabe, sec. 5, vol. 1, 1985–, p. 50).
gesamtausgabe, sec. 1, vol. 3, 1988, p. 16) His first two major
Schleiermacher moved on to a period of study at the
books, written when he was Reformed chaplain at the Char-
now rationalist University of Halle (1787–1789), followed
ité Hospital in Berlin (1796–1802), were the fruits of this
by a brief stay (1789–1790) with his maternal uncle Samuel
revelation.
Stubenrauch, who had exchanged a professorship at Halle for
The first book, Über die Religion: Reden an die Gebilde-
a pastorate in Drossen (Osno). Schleiermacher took the first
ten unter ihren Verächtern (1799; On Religion: Speeches to Its
theological examination prescribed by his church, doing well
Cultured Despisers, 1988), introduces a radical shift in the
or excellently in all subjects except dogmatics, and he accept-
comprehension of religion, understood as an indispensable
ed a post as tutor in the family of Count Dohna in Schlobit-
aspect of full humanity. The second one, Monologen: Eine
ten, East Prussia (1790–1793). After the second and final ex-
Neujahrsgabe (1800; Soliloquies: A New Year’s Gift, 1926), is
amination, in which Schleiermacher’s performance in
its ethical counterpart in the form of the author’s deep medi-
dogmatics was again undistinguished, he assumed an assis-
tations on the course of his own inner life. Herein the convic-
tant pastorate at Landsberg (Gorzów Wielkopolski, 1794–
tion finds expression that each person is meant to represent
1796), where he remained until his move to Berlin.
humanity uniquely in his or her own way. Not the outward,
Direct evidence of Schleiermacher’s thought in the peri-
physical world but the free spirit within is the primary reality,
od between matriculation at Halle and arrival in Berlin
and the world is its creation. Those who have learned to look
(1787–1796) is provided not only by sermons and letters
within, to the domain of the eternal and the divine, can even
published later, but also by a series of unpublished manu-
enjoy in imagination what they cannot attain in fact. For
scripts, mainly on ethical subjects. They remained virtually
those who instead are acquainted with merely looking out-
unknown until Wilhelm Dilthey included them in part in
side, old age itself is only a self-inflicted evil, and Schleierma-
an appendix to his life of Schleiermacher, published uin
cher promises that he at least will remain young until the day
1863. They subsequently became accessible in the first vol-
he dies.
ume of Kritische Gesamtausgabe (1983). They show Schleier-
Because of tensions and personal splits within the Ro-
macher above all struggling with Kantian philosophy, dis-
mantic circle, Schleiermacher moved from Berlin and, for
cussing key ethical issues as the highest good, freedom, and
two years (1802–1804), served as pastor in the East Pomera-
the value of life. Against Kant he contends that moral experi-
nian town of Stolp (Slupsk), in what was then West Prussia.
ence may ground the ideas of God and immortality. He par-
He began to carry out alone the project previously agreed
ticularly maintains that “transcendental” (as distinct from
upon with Schlegel of translating Plato’s dialogues (the first
merely psychological) freedom is not contained within the
volume, containing an important programmatic introduc-
requirements of morality. Moreover, through Friedrich
tion, appeared in 1804), and he published his first strictly
Heinrich Jacobi’s writings on Barukh Spinoza and the fol-
philosophical work, Grundlinien einer Kritik der bisherigen
lowing debate on pantheism, Schleiermacher had become ac-
Sittenlehre (Outlines of a Critique of Previous Moral Philoso-
quainted with the philosophical perspectives of Spinoza.
phy) in 1803. Schleiermacher then received a call for the first,
This reflection led him to some of his earliest thoughts on
brief stage of his career in the academy. A previous call to
the concept of the “individual,” on the notion of feeling or
the new University of Würzburg, in Bavaria, lost all attrac-
self-consciousness, and to the first shape of the “paradigm of
tiveness when the Prussian authorities invited him to return
inherence” that joins together Kant’s transcendental perspec-
as professor and preacher at his own university, Halle. In his
tive and Spinoza’s ontological view. This philosophical frame
lectures at Halle (1804–1806), which ranged widely from
increasingly formed the striking features of Schleiermacher’s
philosophical ethics and hermeneutics to theological ency-
intellectual world.
clopedias, New Testament exegesis, church history, dogmat-
It is not difficult to trace lines of continuity from these
ics, and Christian ethics, Schleiermacher’s intellectual system
early philosophical beginnings to Schleiermacher’s first
began to take shape. His little book Die Weihnachtsfeier: Ein
books. And one must not underestimate the extent to which
Gespräch (1806; Christmas Eve: A Dialogue, 1967) gave clear
he was also drawing inspiration, like so many of his contem-
evidence of a fresh approach to traditional Christian beliefs,
poraries, from the ancient Greek philosophers. Yet in his
taking its point of departure neither from dogma nor from
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SCHLEIERMACHER, FRIEDRICH
8161
the biblical story, but from the fact of the Christian commu-
experience. Religion is an experience that men and women
nity and its experience of redemption.
have; the whole subject takes part in an experiencing that is
not enclosed within the circle of subjectivity but is referred
The work begun in Halle had to be resumed in Berlin.
to another term (as it were, outside the subject himself or
In 1806 Halle was taken by Napoleon’s troops, and its uni-
herself), namely to a reality that gives up itself to be experi-
versity was closed. Schleiermacher remained for a while,
enced. Eighteenth-century debates between deists, skeptics,
preaching, translating Plato, and writing a commentary on
and rational theists commonly presupposed on all sides that
1 Timothy. But the next year (1807) he went back to Berlin,
religion is a system of factual beliefs alleged to have immense
where he became active in politics as a German patriot and
moral significance. At issue was which beliefs are essential to
a constitutional monarchist. In a succession of appointments
religion, whether or not the essential beliefs are rationally de-
he became a civil servant in the Department of Education
fensible, and whether or not they really have the beneficial
(1808), Reformed pastor at Trinity Church (1809), and fi-
nally professor at the new University of Berlin (1810). At
consequences attributed to them. The Christian apologist
various times in the climactic stage of his career (1810–1834)
was expected to show that Christian beliefs were essential and
he also served as a member of the commission for organizing
true, or at least could not be refuted, and that civic virtue
the University of Berlin, columnist for Der preussische Corre-
would collapse without them. Kant’s critical philosophy un-
spondent, dean of the theological faculty (four times), rector
dercut the debate by moving the idea of god out of the do-
of the university, and secretary of the Prussian Academy of
main of theoretical knowledge and giving it the status simply
Sciences (of the philosophical section, which then was
of a moral postulate. But against traditional paradigms for
changed by Schleiermacher into the historical-philological
the comprehension of religion (fundamentally, the rational-
section). In addition, as a leading ecclesiastical statesman, he
istic and the supernaturalistic ones), Schleiermacher intro-
became embroiled in controversies over the union between
duced two theoretical shifts.
the Lutherans and the Reformed, and over the liturgy, con-
The first shift contends the supernaturalistic stance.
stitution, and confession of the union church.
With this shift Schleiermacher states that religion is essential-
The thirty-three volumes of Schleiermacher’s collected
ly an experience; that is, a lived experience. It involves the
works (Friedrich schleiermacher’s sämmtliche Werke, 1834–
subject with his or her innermost fibers. Therefore it cannot
1864) disclose the extraordinary breadth of his intellectual
be brought back to external, extrinsic motives or factors, like
activities. In his lectures at Berlin he continued all the sub-
news or information (a notitia Dei), doctrines or a doctrinal
jects he had taken up at Halle and ventured into so many
corpus, moral or social patterns, traditions or communities.
new ones (including dialectics and life of Jesus research) that
As experience religion deals with reality, namely with the
every branch of theology except Old Testament is represent-
unique reality an individual is dealt. It has to do primarily
ed in the first division of the collected works and every
neither with the conceptual order nor with projections of
branch of philosophy in the third. Ten volumes of sermons
one’s moral striving. It brings one into direct contact with
make up the second division. Schleiermacher’s correspon-
a peculiar reality; that is, a specific region of reality different
dence and the incomplete translation of Plato’s dialogues (six
from all other regions. Religion then does not endure any
volumes) were not included, and a great deal of manuscript
other purpose or being in function of other realities than that
material remained unpublished, some of which is included
it brings about. Instead, it owns an inner principle, a proper
in the new edition of his works (Kritische Gesamtausgabe).
ground, of which one has to highlight the peculiar constitu-
And yet Schleiermacher did not leave a completed system.
tion. With the second shift, Schleiermacher contends the ra-
He died of pneumonia in the midst of his labors on February
tionalistic stance. Therewith he states that religion is essen-
12, 1834. Besides, he always felt more at home in speech
tially and ultimately demarcated from any other relationship
than in writing. Most of the volumes in the Sämmtliche
with reality within human experience. It is a specific, peculiar
Werke had their origins in the spoken word; many of them
way to get in touch with reality, a way a person cannot gener-
represent lectures never revised for publication by Schleier-
ate out of himself or herself. It is so specific and peculiar that
macher, who neither preached nor lectured from a full
it encloses, carries, and establishes the contact with a “total
manuscript. Of the finished works most important for reli-
other” reality. In this alternative understanding one seeks re-
gious studies, the first book, Über die Religion, was cast in
ligion within an original connection of existence; that is,
the form of addresses, and Der christliche Glaube (1821–
within a fundamental, existed connection. In this connec-
1822/1830–1831; The Christian Faith, 1928), the ripest
tion, two existing subjects or terms relate to each other in an
fruit of the mature period, grew out of his lectures on dog-
asymmetrical relationship. It is then an experience that de-
matics.
centralizes the human subject engaged in it. This originally
existing relationship makes up a peculiar experience of reality
INTERPRETATION OF RELIGION. In On Religion: Speeches to
that is provided with an irreducible intentionality of its own.
Its Cultured Despisers, Schleiermacher pursues an anthropo-
logical theory of religion, aiming at recognizing the transcen-
Consequently, what the cultured despisers despise, ac-
dental constitution of religious experience. According to this
cording to Schleiermacher, is not religion but dogmas and
theory, religion is constituted as a specific region of human
usages—only the husks and not the kernel, a mere echo and
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not the original sound. But what the defenders of religion
of religious experience. If one does not grasp the proper core,
defend is not religion either, since they make of it a mere
the essence, of an individual historical religion—of a histori-
prop for morals and social institutions. Religion has a sphere
cally lived religion—one cannot get appropriate criteria for
of its own, which it can maintain only if it renounces all
testing how its features are shown to be authentic or inau-
claims on anything that belongs either to knowledge or to
thentic, or even for assessing its historical development. This
morality. To make the idea of God the apex of science, for
is the criterion the fifth speech points out as decisive for de-
instance, is not the religious way of having God. And to
termining the nature and content of a given religion and,
make religion a matter of good behavior is to miss its true,
specifically, of Christianity as an historical religion.
passive nature: it is not human activity but being acted upon
The second step consists of a comparative theory of reli-
by God. If human nature is not to be truncated, religion
gions. Given the historical-positive individuality of religions,
must be allowed to take its place as an indispensable third
as well as the transcendental structure of religious experience
alongside knowing and doing.
(according to the paradigm established by Schleiermacher
Two results of great importance stem from this para-
with the Speeches on Religion), a comparative approach is nec-
digm constructed by Schleiermacher. First, it allows one to
essary in understanding religion. Still it gets neither a leveling
overcome the critical judgment; that is, the judgment that
nor a competitive meaning. Its purpose, rather, is to set out
affords the suspicion with which rationalism (or the despisers
the values (not only in doctrines but also in worships, morals,
of religion) approaches religion and its manifestations. In
and experiences of salvation) embodied in the single religions
this perspective the reality of religion is brought back to what
compared. While this approach makes use of analogies be-
does not actually constitute it. In contrast, Schleiermacher
tween religious phenomena, it does not establish a premier
sets to work and enhances a “heuristical reason,” one that es-
rank or subalternity among religions. It has, rather, at the
tablishes, or tries to focus on, the genealogical instance that
same time a critical and an evaluating function. The first al-
constitutes religious experience and accounts for its peculiar
lows one to recognize specific differences that prelude the
reality and the specific mode of its experiencing as well. It
highlighting of the individuality of each historical-religious
highlights the framework of religion as an actual experience
formation. The second is engaged in recognizing the ele-
of humans, and thus explains why religion is a decisive, inde-
ments that validate the specificity of a religious formation,
feasible component of the human, historical world. Second,
thus clarifying its essential character that makes up its histori-
it takes into account historical, positive, inidividual reli-
cal reason for being. The latter accounts for its very historical
gions—religions that are provided with a principium in-
trajectory or evolution, for the history of a religion is precise-
dividuationis of their own; it distinguishes them from each
ly connected with the circumstances of its actual evaluation.
other and shows them as ethical realities that belong to the
Within the third speech such a comparative approach is
lived experience of individuals. This includes two peculiar
based upon the effort to tackle the main factors influencing
features of this comprehension of religion. On the one hand,
the historical life of religion, namely creativity and free com-
one is engaged in accounting for the historicity and individu-
munication of one’s own religious life. At the same time it
ality of religions. In other words, it is a question of under-
leads to a threefold typology of religions, which anticipates
standing why the framework of religious experience is con-
the one worked out in the introduction to The Christian
tracted into the historical plurality of religions and into a
Faith.
complex phenomenology of the individual religions them-
selves. According to Schleiermacher they are all entitled to
The third step focuses on the thematization of the es-
equal dignity insofar as they all fulfill the original structure
sence of religion. This is perhaps the most specifically philo-
of religious experience and contract it into a specific histori-
sophical feature of this paradigm for understanding religion.
cal province of human ethos. On the other hand, one sets
It encloses two moments. First is the highlighting of the con-
up an exercise of critical reason that is able to discriminate,
stituting structure of religious experience (namely the reli-
within the complex phenomenology of individual religions,
gious a priori) that accounts for such an experience—that is,
what is authentic in them and what is inauthentic—that is,
for the constitution of that region of human experience un-
mixed up in them, substituting or surrogating some of their
derlying the historical phenomenology of religious facts. Sec-
authentic elements.
ond is the focusing on the reasons why such a structure is
contracted into a plurality of individual formations; they are
In this paradigm for comprehending religion, Schleier-
all constituted by that transcendental structure but still are
macher points out four main moments or steps. The first
different from each other as inalienable and untransferable
step leads to the comprehension of the historical-positive ele-
individuals. Uniquely, in this context, religion (as a condi-
ments that occur at the heart of religious experiences. It in-
tion of possibility that warrants such an experience as the one
cludes the exercise of both critical and heuristical reason. The
of the relationship with the Universum) shows itself to be
first aims at discriminating authentic from inauthentic ele-
meaningful for human beings and their history. This is in-
ments. It is an inescapable moment of every investigative ap-
deed the main argument of the second speech. Here Schleier-
proach to religions. The second aims at an insight into the
macher argues that religion, in its transcendental core (inso-
individuality and essential features of a given historical form
far as it is the “function” that brings about and determines
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the “systems” of religious experience and belief) sets up a re-
nical skill (i.e., they rule a practice). Both are conceived and
lationship with a term (called Universum) that withdraws
practiced by Schleiermacher not only in his exegetical work
from humans’ finite experience and accordingly calls into
within the field of the New Testament; they rule his whole
question what people do and are and experience, even
effort in the field of ancient philosophy, as witnessed by his
though it is to be apprehended as that which makes sense of
translation of Plato. That is why hermeneutics falls within
the ultimately human condition—as that which fulfills
the fields of both philosophy and theology. Fundamentally,
human existence.
it understands the spoken or written word as free creative ex-
pression of the union between nature and reason (the core
The last step unfolds a theory of religious communica-
of the ethical process). Thus hermeneutics is based upon gen-
tion. Within this human experience, religion is linguistically
eral principles (that pertain to philosophy) and induces spe-
set up in a communication. This brings about a community
cial trends, according to the philological or exegetical treat-
that is shaped by both symbolizing and organizing elements,
though with the prevalence of the former. Communication
ment of texts handed over by tradition. “Hermeneutics as art
is not an accidental, superfluous, accessory moment of reli-
of understanding does not exist yet generally, but only in sev-
gious experience, but communication belongs to religion’s
eral hermeneutical practices” (Schleiermacher, 1974, p. 75).
innermost nature and is enclosed within the sources of its
Schleiermacher’s contribution aims at framing a general her-
concrete constitution. This is the constituting reason of the
meneutics as ground for special hermeneutical practices.
particular formation of religious experience that is communi-
Therefore he puts this general frame into shape through two
ty (church, generally speaking). Community accounts for
theses. The negative one states, “Misunderstanding grows
both the individuality of a religious formation and its histo-
out by itself and in every point one must want and strive for
ricity. It also accounts for free, responsible, and creative ad-
understanding” (Schleiermacher, 1974, p. 82). The positive
hesion, or membership, of single individuals who, within
one says we have to “reconstruct [Nachkonstruiren] the his-
community, are linked up by bonds of reciprocal communi-
torical and divinatoric, objective and subjective of a given
cation. As is well known, community and communication
speech” (Schleiermacher, 1974, p. 83).
are the main theme of the fourth speech.
Thus Schleiermacher articulates both theses into four
Schleiermacher’s first book offered much more than a
canons ruling hermeneutical practice. He distinguishes be-
shrewd, ad hominem defense of Christianity; it inaugurated
tween grammatical and psychological or technical interpreta-
a fresh stage in the critical analysis of religion. The impor-
tion (Schleiermacher, 1974, p. 77) that on the other side is
tance of his search for a distinctive religious category is ac-
open to comparative or divinatory methods (Schleiermacher,
knowledged even by those who reject his findings. He not
1974, p. 105). Every oral or written witness is a subjective
only exposed the urgent need to reconceive the task of theol-
act of speakers, but at the same time is embedded in an over-
ogy, he also opened the way to more profound and sympa-
individual, objective, linguistical context. The grammatical
thetic treatments of the psychology and history of religion
interpretation (Schleiermacher, 1974, pp. 86–103) discloses
than either traditional theology or freethinking critiques had
the objective sphere of language. The psychological interpre-
been able to achieve. Christian theologians and freethinkers
tation (also called “technical,” because a skill is involved)
had agreed in treating the study of world religions as the
aims at the subjective act and attempts to grasp “the principle
anatomy of a sickness (the difference being that the free-
that causes the writer to be in motion” (Schleiermacher,
thinkers were not inclined to make Christianity an excep-
1974, p. 103). This double hermeneutical approach is joined
tion). Schleiermacher looked at religions as manifestations of
together with another double perspective. One might address
human wholeness. Misunderstandings of Schleiermacher’s
a linguistic act in its peculiarity by approaching it through
position have sometimes been occasioned by his own lan-
comparative means; that is, in comparison with other similar
guage. He did not really mean to move religion out of the
(semiotic) phenomena. This is a comparative process. Texts
domains of knowledge and morals and to confine it within
might also be grasped from the inside—that is, in a congenial
the domain of the emotions. He expressly denied that he in-
way—inasmuch as they are caught in an immediate act of
tended any such separation. By “intuition and feeling” he
understanding. Here the divinatory approach is at stake.
meant the immediate, prereflective self-consciousness that
These four perspectives of interpretation are connected
cannot be confined to any single department of human self-
with each other, even though they show specific affinities.
hood but underlies the whole of it. Neither did he fall into
The grammatical interpretation matches to a greater degree
a psychologism that would shut the religious subject up in
the comparative approach, while the psychological matches
its own subjectivity. For all his interest in the imagination,
the divinatory. The ultimate purpose of interpretation is “to
his theory of religion is marked by a strong sense of the reali-
better understand an author than he was able to give account
ty of the transcendent, even though he thought it impossible
of himself” (Schleiermacher, 1974, p. 138). Since, to an au-
to have the transcendent as an object.
thor, a lot remains unconscious that must be set out to un-
HERMENEUTICS. The impressive influence of Schleierma-
derstand his work, the interpreter brings a surplus of under-
cher’s hermeneutics was first brought out by Dilthey. Her-
standing in his or her interpretation. That is why the process
meneutics is a twin discipline of criticism, each a sort of tech-
of interpretation remains unfinished and is able to achieve
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its goal only approximatively. Even the hermeneutical “cir-
Dasein,” Schleiermacher’s hermeneutics gained new impor-
cle” (Schleiermacher, 1974, p. 86) is to be solved only at the
tance. Schleiermacher was acknowledged as a “classic of her-
initial stages. Indeed the comprehension of a single point al-
meneutics,” even though more of a philosophical than of a
ways presupposes an understanding of the whole, but this is
theological sort. Still the influence of his hermeneutical theo-
to be gained only by working through the single points
ry and activity persevered, along with some reductive per-
(Schleiermacher, 1974, p. 144).
spectives. Already Dilthey had laid stress on the psychologi-
cal interpretation. His emphasis brought about
In connection with general hermeneutics, Schleierma-
misunderstandings, causing the loss of the connection be-
cher constantly gave lectures on criticism. In comparison
tween hermeneutics and criticism, grammatical and psycho-
with hermeneutics, criticism gets its start in the suspicion
logical interpretation, and the link that united general with
that what is present does not meet the original state of mat-
special hermeneutics applied to the New Testament. Under
ter. This disagreement took place either through mechanical
the heading of “doubtfulness of Romantic hermeneutics,”
errors or through free actions. Consequently, Schleiermacher
(Gadamer, 1965, part 2, sec. 1) Hans-Georg Gadamer holds
articulates criticism into two main parts (doctrinal and his-
that Schleiermacher lays all the stress on the psychological
torical) that echo the traditional distinction of a lower and
interpretation, and consequently, gets rid of the objective
a higher criticism. Critical endeavors aim at determining the
understanding. On this point the subsequent investigations
original state of matter both from a historical viewpoint (the
brought about necessary corrections, pointing to Schleierma-
historical event witnessed) and through philological means.
cher’s contribution in linking up general and special herme-
Both philological and historical criticism make use of exter-
neutics, hermeneutics and criticism, grammatical and psy-
nal and internal signs to ascertain the congruence with the
chological interpretation.
original state. Schleiermacher held that it is difficult to draw
PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEM. It is worth highlighting Schleier-
a boundary between higher and lower criticism. The first one
macher’s philosophical thinking, as it provides the frame-
determines—largely by approximation, and therein seeks the
work of his intellectual activities. In his doctrine of science,
congruence of internal and external evidence—what pertains
the Dialektik (Schleiermacher, Kritische Gesamtausgabe, sec.
to the original fact or state historically witnessed. External
2, vol. 10, 2002–, pp. 1–2), Schleiermacher is searching for
evidence probes for the closeness of analyzed elements to its
the highest knowing as a transcendental ground that has to
core. Internal evidence probes for their agreement with such
function as the condition of possibility for the unity of think-
a core. The task of lower criticism is to separate out, as accu-
ing and being. The relation of thinking with being has to rely
rately and convincingly as possible, the original reading of
on this transcendental ground. On the other hand, the origi-
a text. It is actually an endless task. Exactly the same sort of
nal unity of thinking and being accounts for the various rep-
criteria is to be applied to any kind of text. The critical spe-
resentations that are different in their content. Here Schleier-
cialist uses every scrap of available evidence. Even in service
macher refers to the immediate self-consciousness (or feeling,
of a theological aim, criticism does not rely on dogmatic
in this precise meaning) and understands it as showing an
rules. Exegetical inquiry is comprised of both hermeneutics
analogy with the transcendent ground. This is the pivotal
and criticism. According to Schleiermacher they are thor-
point of his research, even though it withdraws from every
oughly interdependent. Hermeneutic, as the craft of inter-
knowing effort. In the second, formal part of his search,
pretation, is a historical and philological enterprise, and as
Schleiermacher investigates which technical rules are needed
such is conditioned by linguistics and criticism. At the same
to overcome, still only approximately, the difference in
time hermeneutical principles exert a decisive influence both
thinking toward the unity of knowing. Basing his work upon
upon the operations of criticism and upon the finer percep-
a theory of construction and combination, he develops the
tions of linguistics. The effect is on the operations of criti-
rules of connection from which he derives a system of sci-
cism. In no way does proper hermeneutical effort obviate
ences: ethics, physics, and historical and natural sciences.
critical principles. Indeed Schleiermacher suggests that, as a
form of historical criticism, while making its own distinctive
Moreover Schleiermacher has addressed ethics, setting
contributions, hermeneutics relies upon the exact standard
out the principles and structures of reason’s action upon na-
of textual criticism.
ture. Here he does not stick to individuals and their faculties
but also encompasses the sound forms of ethical process in
Schleiermacher’s importance within the field of herme-
their framework. In this manner he articulates ethics as a
neutics goes back to his conception of a general theory of in-
doctrine of goods, virtues, and duties. While the doctrine of
terpretation. This had considerable influence on philosophi-
goods treats the objectivations of reason that are brought
cal discussion. He constantly thought of New Testament
about by ethical subjects, the doctrine of virtues has to show
hermeneutics and criticism as a special case of general doc-
the “forces” on which individual activities rely, and the doc-
trine and method; within this frame he exercised his mani-
trine of duties treats the resultant modes of human behavior.
fold exegetical and philological practice concerning both
Schleiermacher understands every unity of reason and nature
New Testament and ancient philosophy. In the context of
as “good”; accordingly the variety of goods is formally divid-
the revival of hermeneutical issues in the twentieth century,
ed into four spheres: political community (state), social com-
above all through Martin Heidegger’s “hermeneutics of
munity, science community, and religious community
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SCHLEIERMACHER, FRIEDRICH
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(church). Only the set of all four spheres together makes up
In his Kurze Darstellung des theologischen Studiums: Zum
the “highest Good,” which in its turn is approached in our
Behuf einleitender Vorlesungen (1811/1830; Brief Outline of
ethical endeavors as the end of the ethical process.
Theology as a Field of Study, 1966), Schleiermacher exemplar-
ily presents his views of what Christian theology is and how
REINTERPRETATION OF DOGMA. The ethical notion of
the work of theology as science can be seen as a whole. Here
church, as one of the four “goods,” provides the formal
theology is defined as “positive science” that directly refers to
framework for Schleiermacher’s theology. Religiosity (or
actual historical experience within a set of given social rela-
piety, Frömmigkeit) then gets its natural place within the de-
tions (church) and to serve a practical function (the leader-
velopment of ethical life. Some of the ground traversed in
ship of the Christian Church). Every theological discipline
the Speeches is covered again in the introduction to his theo-
may be regarded as a contribution to the understanding of
logical masterwork, Der christliche Glaube (The Christian
the essence or distinctive nature of Christianity. The general
Faith). In this work, Schleiermacher began with religiosity
form of this understanding, as compared with the nature of
as a general human phenomenon and defined the irreducible
other religious communities, is supplied through “philo-
essence of religion as “the feeling of absolute dependence”
sophical theology.” Such a discipline points to the features
(§ 4). A little introspection will show, according to Schleier-
that distinguish community both from outside (apologetics)
macher, that consciousness of self and world are a reciprocal
and within itself (polemics). The norm or the essential core
relationship, that is, a mutual or relative dependence. But a
of this understanding is clarified through a series of historical
second look reveals one’s own immediate self-consciousness
studies, whose whole is called “historical theology,” which
as coming in its entirety “from somewhere else” (§ 4.4). This
begins with “exegetical theology,” continues with “church
deeper consciousness cannot arise from the influence of the
history,” and ends with “historical knowledge of the present
world because humans exercise a counterinfluence upon the
condition of Christianity” (dogmatics and statistics) (Schlei-
world and consequently are relatively dependent on it; it is
ermacher, 1811/1830, § 85, 2: 1, 2, 3). The application of
precisely an immediate self-consciousness that encompasses
this understanding is contained in “practical theology.” The
both self and world together as absolutely dependent. God
whole of Christian theology is contained in these three over-
is then the origin (the “out of”) of this immediate self-
lapping areas.
consciousness or feeling. In the feeling of absolute depen-
dence, God is actually experienced in the only possible way,
Dogmatics then is a feature of historical theology focus-
and to be conscious of being absolutely dependent is to be
ing on the present state of the Christian community and its
conscious of being in relation to God.
actual experience. Thus the object of the knowledge that
constitutes The Christian Faith is the particular way of being
Schleiermacher explained it in a letter on The Christian
conscious of God that takes its bearing from the central his-
Faith to his friend Friedrich Lücke, “What I understand by
torical fact of the “redemption accomplished by Jesus of Naz-
‘religious feeling’ . . . is the original attestation of an imme-
areth” (§ 11). Most properly, dogmatics is about religious
diate existential relationship” (Schleiermacher, Kritische Ge-
consciousness, but it is also the theologian’s task to develop
samtausgabe, sec. 1, vol. 10, 1990, p. 318). This feeling, how-
out of religious consciousness such conceptions of God and
ever, simply draws the transcendental frame of religious
the world as are implicit in it and can be understood as repre-
experience. Actually, it comes about concretely in the mani-
sentations of it. Schleiermacher executed the task in two
fold elements or “stimulations” (Erregungen) of lived experi-
parts: the first presents the religious self-consciousness that
ence, which show themselves within the context of objective
is presupposed by the specific mode of Christian faith, and
or sensible consciousness in its ever different features. That
thus does not yet set forth the opposition on which pivots
is why, among other things, the limits of one’s own con-
the experience of redemption; the second presents such a
sciousness of God have to be overcome through a reciprocal
self-consciousness taking into account the opposition upon
communication that forms the base of a religious community
which turns the whole experience of redemption. They are
(church). The religious community is defined as the commu-
respectively the doctrine of creation-preservation and the
nity in which, within determined limits, an ever-renewed cir-
doctrine of redemption. Here Schleiermacher pioneered a
culation of religious self-consciousness takes place and an or-
genuinely modern reconstruction of Christian belief im-
derly, harmonious promotion of religious stimulations is
mune from the devastating effects of eighteenth-century nat-
made possible. The task of a philosophy of religion (in
ural science and historical criticism.
Schleiermacher’s meaning) is then to set out the individual
differences of each single church and each religion. In this
The doctrine of creation, which Schleiermacher takes
frame Schleiermacher understands Christianity as a teleolog-
up in part one of The Christian Faith, is reconceived as an
ical trend of religiosity that belongs to Monotheismus. Teleo-
attempt to thematize the feeling of absolute dependence.
logic means here that in Christianity the concern with ethical
“Creation” is not about a particular divine act (or series of
tasks dominates with the idea of the kingdom of God. All
divine acts) in the primeval past, but is instead about the
the features of Christian religiosity are referred to the impulse
creature consciousness that is a universal phenomenon of
originally caused by Christ, the founder, each time linked up
human existence in every time and place. The doctrine of
with further historical development.
creation is therefore indistinguishable in content from the
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doctrine of preservation: it is concerned with what can be
ated through the community he established. But the work
said of the continuous divine activity on the basis of the reli-
of Christ, which is nothing other than the imparting of his
gious consciousness of absolute dependence. The question of
own sense of God, is nonetheless unique, because it radiates
a temporal beginning of the world and humankind is irrele-
out from one who possessed a uniquely powerful, indeed per-
vant to dogmatics. If it nevertheless intrudes, it tends to give
fect, consciousness of God. Only this affirmation answers to
rise to misrepresentations of God’s activity, as though it were
the Christian consciousness that dogmatics seeks to describe.
akin to the activity of a human craftsperson. Schleiermacher
And although Schleiermacher did not shirk the historical
finds a corresponding misrepresentation in the intervention-
problems of the New Testament, as his lectures on the life
ist view of Providence, which pictures God as one cause or
of Jesus demonstrate, he clearly believed that dogmatics
one agent (albeit preeminent) interacting with others, arbi-
could and should deduce its Christological affirmations di-
trarily suspending the progress of natural events or undoing
rectly from the Christian consciousness: he asked what
the effects of human behavior.
Christ must have been like if one is to account for his per-
ceived effects upon the Christian community.
Schleiermacher’s God does not intervene in the closed
causal system of nature (as viewed by modern natural sci-
SCHLEIERMACHER’S LEGACY. The historical importance of
ence) but is identified as its timeless and spaceless ground—
Schleiermacher is hardly in question, but, from his own day
this is the meaning of the eternity and omnipresence of the
on, it has been hotly disputed whether or not his approach
divine causality. That God is “omnipotent” does not mean
and his positions amount to permanently fruitful gains in the
that he can do whatever he pleases—that he can even inter-
history of religious thought. Theologically he has been as-
rupt a course of events he did not approve and make things
sailed from both the left wing and the right. The left-wing
turn out differently than they otherwise would. This would
critics have been more impressed with his approach to histor-
imply that, even if only for one fleeting moment, some chain
ical science. In his focusing on the Christological problem
of events had slipped outside the divine causality, whereas
from the Jesus of history to the Christ of faith, as David Frie-
the proper sense of “omnipotence” is exactly that God’s
drich Strauss pointed out, in Der Christus des Glaubens und
power does and effects all—not, however, in the same way
der Jesus der Geschichte. Eine Kritik des schleiermacherschen Le-
finite causes do and effect things. God is omnipotent in the
bens Jesu (1865), Schleiermacher seems to have known in ad-
sense that the entire system of nature rests on his timeless and
vance what he wanted to find in the Gospels, namely the Sav-
spaceless causality; the world is as it is solely by virtue of “the
ior of his Herrnhutian piety.
divine good-pleasure” (§ 120.4). Schleiermacher supplies
The theological right objects that Schleiermacher made
similar treatment for other divine attributes. One does not
the initial methodological blunder of beginning with human
call the divine omnipotence “omniscient” or “spiritual” be-
experience and then moved on to force the Christian revela-
cause God has a consciousness like one’s own or because he
tion into a preconceived theory of religion. Historians of reli-
is a kind of sentient world soul, but because the feeling of
gion, on the other hand, are more likely to reverse this line
absolute dependence is unlike a feeling of dependence on
of criticism and object that, despite his good intentions,
blind and dead necessity. There is simply no better way to
Schleiermacher’s treatment of religion remained incorrigibly
denote this difference than to contrast the dead and the blind
Christian and dogmatic. All this, of course, would not neces-
with the living and the conscious, conscious life being the
sarily imply the unfruitfulness of his approach as a venture
highest thing humans know.
in the fields of religious studies, Christian theology, and, last
but not least, philosophy. One might sum up his contribu-
Schleiermacher held that the consciousness of absolute
tions in these areas in the following way: he introduced a new
dependence is present in every actual religion and that the
paradigm for understanding religion, made experience into
doctrine of creation articulates it in a monotheistic form that
the principle of theology, and settled dialogue as the basic
is not peculiar to Christianity. In Christianity, however, crea-
condition of human, truth-productive efforts.
ture consciousness is contained within the consciousness of
redemption through Christ: it is as believers in Christ that
SEE ALSO Empiricism; Hermeneutics; Phenomenology of
Christians are aware of themselves as God’s creatures. In this
Religion.
experience of redemption, according to Schleiermacher, the
purpose of divine omnipotence is made known as the pur-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
pose of omnipotent love. The kingdom of God established
In the nineteenth century Schleiermacher’s works were published
by Christ must extend its influence throughout the world.
in thirty-three volumes in three sections—Theology, Ser-
The figure of Christ makes up the core topic of the sec-
mons, and Philosophy—as Friedrich Schleiermacher’s säm-
mtliche Werke
(Berlin, 1834–1864). In the late twentieth
ond part of The Christian Faith. He was the second Adam,
century a collection in five sections—Writings and Drafts,
the completion of the creation of humanity, and there was
Lectures, Sermons, Translations, and Letters—began publi-
an actual existence of God in him. To be sure, the way Christ
cation, Kritische Gesamtausgabe, edited by Hans-Joachim
works upon Christians, as Schleiermacher sees it, may be
Birkner et al. (Berlin, 1980–). Dialektik, in two tomes, is in
compared to the personal influence of a strong, historical
sec. 2, vol. 10. Other important editions by Schleiermacher
personality—except that his influence is now indirect, medi-
include Kurze Darstellung des theologischen Studiums: Zum
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SCHMIDT, WILHELM
8167
Behuf einleitender Vorlesungen (Brief outline of theology as a
Schleiermacher (Munich, 2001); Richard R. Niebuhr’s Schlei-
field of study; Berlin, 1811; 2d ed., Berlin, 1830); Der chr-
ermacher on Christ and Religion: A New Introduction (New
istliche Glaube: Nach den Grundsätzen der evangelischen Kir-
York, 1964); Kurt Nowak’s Friedrich Schleiermacher: Leben,
che im Zusammenhange dargestellt (The Christian faith: Sys-
Werk, und Wirkung (Göttingen, Germany, 2001); and Mar-
tematically presented according to the principles of the
tin Redeker’s Schleiermacher: Life and Thought (Philadelphia,
evangelical church; Berlin, 1821–1822; 2d ed., Berlin,
1973). Studies of particular aspects of Schleiermacher’s
1830–1831); and Hermeneutik, edited by Heinz Kimmerle
thought are Christian Albrecht, Schleiermachers Theorie der
(Heidelberg, Germany, 1974).
Frömmigkeit (Berlin and New York, 1994); Christian Berner,
La philosophie de Schleiermacher: “Herméneutique,” “Dialec-
The Edwin Mellen Press has undertaken an English edition of
tique,” “Éthique” (Paris, 1995); Albert L. Blackwell, Schleier-
Schleiermacher’s works with the series Schleiermacher
macher’s Early Philosophy of Life: Determinism, Freedom, and
Studies and Translations, including Brief Outline of Theology
Phantasy (Chico, Calif., 1982); Martin Diederich, Schleier-
as a Field of Study, translated by Terrence N. Tice (Lewiston,
machers Geistverständnis (Göttingen, Germany, 1999); Wil-
N.Y., 1990); The Christian Household: A Sermonic Treatise,
helm Dilthey, Aus Schleiermachers leben. In briefen, vol. 1–4
translated by Dietrich Seidel and Terrence N. Tice (Lewis-
(Berlin, 1858–1863); Jack Forstman, A Romantic Triangle:
ton, N.Y., 1991); On Freedom, translated by Albert L. Black-
Schleiermacher and Early German Romanticism (Missoula,
well (Lewiston, N.Y., 1992); On the Highest Good, translated
Mont., 1977); Hans-Georg Gadamer, Wahrheit und Met-
by H. Victor Froese (Lewiston, N.Y., 1992); Luke: A Critical
hode (Tübingen, Germany, 1965); Marlin E. Miller, Der
Study, translated by Connop Thirlwall (Lewiston, N.Y.,
Übergang: Schleiermachers Theologie des Reiches Gottes im Zu-
1993); On What Gives Value to Life, translated by Edwina
sammenhang seines Gesamtdenkens (Gütersloh, Germany,
Lawler and Terrence N. Tice (Lewiston, N.Y., 1995); Re-
1970); Giovanni Moretto, Etica e storia in Schleiermacher
formed but Ever Reforming: Sermons in Relation to the Celebra-
(Naples, Italy, 1979) and Ispirazione e libertà: Saggi su Schlei-
tion of the Handing Over of the Augsburg Confession (1830),
ermacher (Naples, Italy, 1986); John Sungmin Park, Theolog-
translated by Iain G. Nicol (Lewiston, N.Y., 1997); Letters
ical Ethics of Friedrich Schleiermacher (Lewiston, N.Y., 2001);
on the Occasion of the Political Theological Task and the Send-
Gunter Scholtz, Die Philosophie Schleiermachers (Darmstadt,
schreiben (Open Letter) of Jewish Heads of Households, trans-
Germany, 1984) and Ethik und Hermeneutik: Schleiermachers
lated by Gilya G. Schmidt (Lewiston, N.Y., 2001); Brouillon
Grundlegung der Geisteswissenschaften (Frankfurt am Main,
zur Ethik (1805/1806): Notes on Ethics (1805/1806), translat-
1995); Markus Schröder, Die kritische Identität des neuzeitlic-
ed by John Wallhauser and Edwina Lawler; Notes on the The-
hen Christentums (Tübingen, Germany, 1996); Sergio Sor-
ory of Virtue (1804/1805), translated by Terrence N. Tice
rentino, Schleiermacher e la filosofia della religione (Brescia,
and Edwina Lawler (Lewiston, N.Y., 2003). Other notable
Italy, 1978) and Ermeneutica e filosofia trascendentale (Bolo-
translations of Schleiermacher’s writings and lectures include
gna, Italy, 1986); Craig Stein, Schleiermacher’s Construction
The Life of Jesus, edited by Jack C. Verheyden, translated by
of the Subject in the Introduction to “The Christian Faith”
S. Maclean Gilmour (Philadelphia, 1975); Hermeneutics: The
(Lewiston, N.Y., 2001); David Friedrich Strauss, Der Chris-
Handwritten Manuscripts, translated by James Duke and Jack
tus des Glaubens und der Jesus der Geschichte: Ein Kritik des
Forstman (Missoula, Mont., 1977); On the “Glaubenslehre”:
schleiermacherschen Lebens Jesu (Berlin, 1865); John E. Thiel,
Two Letters to Dr. Lücke, translated by James Duke and Fran-
God and World in Schleiermacher’s Dialektik and Glaubensle-
cis Fiorenza (Chico, Calif., 1980); On Religion: Speeches to
hre: Criticism and the Methodology of Dogmatics (Bern, Swit-
Its Cultured Despisers, translated by Richard Crouter (Cam-
zerland, and Las Vegas, 1981); and Robert R. Williams,
bridge, U.K., 1988); Introduction to Christian Ethics, trans-
Schleiermacher the Theologian: The Construction of the Doc-
lated by John C. Shelley (Nashville, Tenn., 1989); Christmas
trine of God (Philadelphia, 1978). Important collected works
Eve: Dialogue on the Incarnation, translated by Terrence N.
are Hans-Joachim Birkner, ed., Schleiermacher-Studien (Ber-
Tice (San Francisco, 1990); Occasional Thoughts on Universi-
lin and New York, 1996); Günter Meckenstock, ed., Schlei-
ties in the German Sense: With an Appendix regarding a Uni-
ermacher und die wissenschaftliche Kultur des Christentums
versity Soon to Be Established (1808), translated by Terrence
(Berlin and New York, 1991); Ruth Drucilla Richardson,
N. Tice and Edwina Lawler (San Francisco, 1991); Dialectic;
ed., Schleiermacher in Context (Lewiston, N.Y., 1991); and
or, The Art of Doing Philosophy, translated by Terrence N.
Sergio Sorrentino, ed., Schleiermacher’s Philosophy and the
Tice (Atlanta, 1996); Hermeneutics and Criticism and Other
Philosophical Tradition (Lewiston, N.Y., 1992).
Writings, translated and edited by Andrew Bowie (Cam-
bridge, U.K., 1998). Some important older editions are The
B. A. GERRISH (1987)
Christian Faith, edited by H. R. Mackintosh and J. S. Stew-
SERGIO SORRENTINO (2005)
art from the second edition (New York, 1963); and Schleier-
macher’s Soliloquies,
translated by Horace Leland Friess (Chi-
cago, 1979).
SCHMIDT, WILHELM (1868–1954), German an-
A brief introductory study of Schleiermacher is B. A. Gerrish, A
thropologist and Roman Catholic priest, was born on Febru-
Prince of the Church: Schleiermacher and the Beginnings of
ary 16, 1868, in Hörde (now Dortmund-Hörde) Germany,
Modern Theology (Philadelphia, 1984). See also, from the
point of view of religious studies, Burkhard Gladigow, “Frie-
the son of a factory worker. In 1883 he entered the mission-
drich Schleiermacher (1768–1834),” in Klassiker der Reli-
ary school in Steyl, Netherlands, that served as the mother-
gionswissenschaft: Von Friedrich Schleiermacher bis Mircea
house of the Societas Verbi Divini (the Society of the Divine
Eliade (Munich, 1997). More detailed introductions are
Word), which was founded in 1875. There he completed his
Hermann Fischer’s accurately updated Friedrich Daniel Ernst
secondary philosophical and theological studies, and he was
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SCHMIDT, WILHELM
ordained a priest in 1892. He studied Semitic languages at
women; (2) a “higher hunting culture” controlled by men
the University of Berlin from 1893 to 1895. In 1895
and associated with totemism; (3) a patriarchal pastoral cul-
Schmidt was appointed professor of several theological disci-
ture based on nomadic animal husbandry.
plines at the Society of the Divine Word Mission Seminary
of Saint Gabriel in Mödling, Austria (established 1889).
Each one of the three primary “culture areas” identified
by Schmidt arose, in his view, only once in a given geograph-
Various questions and problems of missionaries (espe-
ical area and then spread through migration. This idea forms
cially from New Guinea) prompted Schmidt to undertake
the basis of his so-called diffusionism.
studies in linguistics, ethnology, and comparative religion.
In 1906 he founded Anthropos, as international review of eth-
Through the intermingling of the primary cultures, sec-
nology and linguistics, and in 1931 he established the An-
ondary and tertiary cultures took shape that in turn grew into
thropos Institute in Mödling, an organization affiliated to
the high cultures. The aforementioned changes in the eco-
the Society of the Divine Word, and he served as the insti-
nomic bases of culture also had an effect on society as well
tute’s director until 1950. (In 1962 the institute relocated to
as religion. In his work Die Sprachfamilien und Sprachenkreise
Sankt Augustin, near Bonn.) From 1921 until 1938 Schmidt
der Erde (Linguistic families and linguistic circles of the
was a professor at the University of Vienna.
world, 1926) Schmidt attempted an ethnological-linguistic
synthesis. Later Schmidt sought to elaborate on Graebner’s
Schmidt directed the establishment of the Missionary
culture-historical method in his Handbuch der Methode der
Ethnological Museum in Rome (1922–1926) under the au-
kulturhistorischen Ethnologie (1937; published in translation
thorization of Pope Pius XI, and from 1927 to 1939 Schmidt
as The Culture Historical Method of Ethnology, 1939) and at
was director of the museum. After the Anschluss of Austria
the same time to organize his own ideas into a thoroughly
in March 1938, Schmidt resettled with the Anthropos Insti-
systematic form. With his overview of the development of
tute in Switzerland and became a professor at the University
cultures, Schmidt wanted to substitute a historically ground-
of Fribourg (1939–1951). On February 10, 1954, Schmidt
ed system for the evolutionist position, which had been in-
died in Fribourg, Switzerland; he was buried at the seminary
fluenced by the natural sciences. Schmidt’s critics, however,
in Mödling. Schmidt was a member of many scholarly socie-
realized that this new approach was too rigid and schematic.
ties and held honorary degrees from six universities.
Although the cultural forms he identified cannot be consid-
SCHMIDT’S WORKS. Schmidt began his linguistic studies by
ered historical realities, for his followers they were neverthe-
examining the native languages of New Guinea, but he soon
less valuable as tools for classification.
expanded his field of research to include all of Oceania. He
Soon after 1900 the main objective of Schmidt’s re-
showed the relationships between the Austronesian lan-
search became the elucidation of the development and the
guages and a certain group of the Southeast Asian mainland
origin of religion. This problem has now been abandoned by
that Schmidt called “Austroasiatic” languages. His study Die
scholars, because it is not possible to provide an adequate sci-
Mon-Kmer-Völker: Ein Bindeglied zwischen Völkern Zentrala-
entific response. Schmidt’s interest in this topic was decisive-
siens und Austronesiens (The Mon-Khmer peoples: A link be-
ly aroused by Andrew Lang. In 1898, in The Making of Reli-
tween peoples in central Asia and Austronesia, 1906) was of
gion, Lang contradicted the then influential theory of E. B.
particular importance.
Tylor that animism was the origin of all religion. Lang point-
Schmidt’s interest gradually shifted to ethnology. In
ed out the overt presence of belief in a Supreme Being among
1910 he published a book on Pygmy peoples, Die Stellung
Australian Aborigines and other simple peoples. Relying on
der Pygmäenvölker in der Entwicklungsgeschichte Menschen
his own studies, Schmidt published, from 1908 to 1910, a
(The place of Pygmies in the historical development of man),
series of articles under the general title “L’origine de l’idée
and in 1924 he published Völker und Kulturen, which he
de Dieu” in the journal Anthropos. In these articles Schmidt
wrote with Wilhelm Koppers. The latter is an attempt at a
took issue with existing theories of the origin of religion and
worldwide presentation of cultural history based on a system
thoroughly examined the material available on southeastern
of “culture areas” (Kultukreise). Schmidt’s interest in this di-
Australia, disregarding the significant problem of the struc-
rection came from the work of the anthropogeographer Frie-
ture of religious thought, which is now at the center of an-
drich Ratzel and the ethnologists Leo Frobenius and Fritz
thropological considerations, especially cognitivist anthro-
Graebner.
pology (Boyer, 1994). Schmidt wrote this work in French
to support the struggle the Catholic Church was then waging
According to Schmidt’s system, the oldest culture of hu-
against Modernism, a movement particularly prevalent in
manity (what he called the Urkultur) was that of the hunter-
France.
gatherers, remnants of which are found among the Pygmies
and pygmoids as well as in the Arctic-American area and in
The German original of “L’origine de l’idée de Dieu”
southeastern Australia. From this Urkultur there arose, inde-
was published in revised form in 1912 as volume one of Der
pendent of one another, the three “primary cultures”: (1) a
Ursprung der Gottesidee (2d ed., 1926). Volumes two
culture based on the cultivation of plants and associated with
through six (1929–1935) of this work deal with the religions
matriarchy, developing out of the plants-gathering of
of “primeval peoples” (Urkulturvölker). Volumes seven
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SCHMIDT, WILHELM
8169
through twelve (1940–1955) treat the nomadic peoples of
World War I; (2) to win over, once again, colonial peoples,
Africa and Asia.
who had often seen the Catholic Church as an instrument
of colonial penetration; and (3) to reaffirm the principle of
Schmidt arrived at the following conclusions in Der
the supranationality and universality of the church, which
Ursprung der Gotteidee. First, he noted that monotheism is
had been questioned by many (Leone, 1980, p. 124).
the religion of the extant hunter-gatherer peoples investigat-
ed by him; their Supreme Being, the creator of the world,
Certainly Schmidt was the driving force behind this re-
is tied to their ethics and is venerated with a cult. Second,
structuring process, in which his Weeks on religious ethnolo-
he argued that because these peoples represent the oldest ac-
gy (international meetings organized for making known the
cessible form of human culture, it stands to reason that mo-
Catholic idea of this science) also played an important part,
notheism is the oldest religion of humanity. Third, he de-
but he was more than that. On many issues (the family, na-
clared that because the religions of these peoples, especially
tionalism, sex) he represented the viewpoint of the good
their representations of the Supreme Being, display so many
Catholic. It is no coincidence that, for example, as Ernest
characteristic points of agreement, one must concede that
Jones (1953) recalls, Sigmund Freud regarded him as an
they have a single historical origin. Fourth, Schmidt specu-
enemy for this reason and held him responsible for the sup-
lated that the image of the Supreme Being held by primitive
pression of the Rivista Italiana di Psicoanalisi.
peoples is so sublime that it could not have been acquired
from human experience and therefore it must be traced back
Methodologically speaking, one may say that Schmidt’s
to a divine primitive revelation. Finally, he postulated that,
concept of cultural diffusionism harked back to what George
in the course of later developments, progress in external cul-
W. Stocking (1987) has termed “biblical paradigm.” Used
ture was achieved by many peoples, yet decadence often oc-
by various scholars in different historical contexts, this is a
curred in religion and ethics.
method of interpretation that considers history as the result
of a hereditary process, the origins of which are recoverable
According to Schmidt, the original idea of God is con-
by applying linguistic methodology to cultural phenomena,
served with the greatest relative purity in nomadic peoples’
finding the roots of different linguistic expressions by com-
belief in a heavenly God; in other cultures the idea lost
parative means. In this process changes have occurred as a
ground. Sun worship and magic came to prevail in totemistic
result of degeneration, and human beings, who are placed
cultures, and the matriarchal planting cultures made room
within it, have become inured to and live in a patriarchal
for earth and fertility cults, lunar mythology, and worship
society.
of the dead.
The stress upon the hereditary aspect above all and the
CRITICAL DEBATE CONCERNING SCHMIDT. In the world of
failure to examine the system of internal relations between
anthropologists and religious historians, the work of Schmidt
cultural environments have led anthropologists to take little
finds particular support among those scholars who, certain
interest in the thinking of Schmidt, especially because func-
criticisms and objections notwithstanding, refer to the his-
tional and structural analysis, which have become established
torical method, share the same concept of the world as the
in this discipline, have been so fruitful. This has allowed the
Austrian anthropologist, and appreciate the wide scope of his
development of a productive relationship with natural sci-
scientific undertaking (cf. Demarchi, 1989). Among other
ence, which the followers of the culture-historical method
scholars, as Alan Barnard writes (2000), the theory of diffu-
had opposed. The patchy interest in the works of Schmidt
sionism, which forms the basis for spatial dislocation and the
has also resulted from a lack of knowledge of German on the
structure of different cultural environments, is not particu-
part of scholars.
larly popular, even if some of its ideas survive in the debate
between archaeologists and physical anthropologists on the
In short, biblical paradigm, characterized by diffusion-
question of cultural similarity. Notwithstanding this, it is im-
ism, consists of taking the Bible as a tool for the interpreta-
possible to disagree with Barnard when he states that diffu-
tion of human history, the origins of which are identified
sionism has been important in the development of the idea
with the institutions of monogamy and monotheism and are
of “cultural area,” an element of modern anthropological
the product of a single source. Such paradigms form the basis
thought.
of the anti-evolutionism of Schmidt, even if many scholars,
such as Marvin Harris (1968), regarding him as a follower
To fully understand the figure of Schmidt and the influ-
of Joseph François de Maistre and thus a reactionary thinker,
ence his thinking has retained in some intellectual circles,
have emphasized the evolutionary nature of some of his
one should not overlook his association with the cultural and
theories.
political outlook developed by the Catholic Church in the
1920s and still prevalent in some parts of it. His indefatigable
The belief of Schmidt that involved going back to so-
organizational role stemmed from his embodiment of the
called primordial religion derived from the human tendency
Catholic political mission, explicitly stated in the encyclical
to seek out the origins of religion (and to seek it in a probable
Maximum Illud of 1919. This encyclical of Pope Benedict
divine revelation) is the aspect of his thinking that is most
XV had certain important objectives: (1) to reorganize the
discussed. On this topic there was a heated debate (Man,
missions in the Third World that had been weakened by
1910) between Schmidt and Alfred R. Radcliffe-Brown, in
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SCHMIDT, WILHELM
which Lang also became involved, concerning the figure of
heaven, a god of the forest, or a god of hunting. Contrary
the Andaman Island god Puluga. In essence, Radcliffe-
to what Schmidt thought, it is a Supreme Being who is dual-
Brown accused Schmidt of interpreting Andaman religion in
ist in nature, that is, both chthonic and celestial.
a prejudiced manner by referring it back to his own religious
One more general aspect of the historical ideas of
beliefs. Other scholars repeated the charge, against which he
Graebner and Schmidt, which has even been criticized by
was in part defended by Ernest Brandewie (1990), who could
those who make reference to the culture-historical method,
not, however, help linking the philosophical outlook of
is the notion of the fixed, permanent nature of cultural ele-
Schmidt to Thomism and the Scholastics, and thus to the
ments, which would allow one to go back to primordial cul-
traditional view of the Catholic Church regarding the origin
tural forms. For example, Fritz Bornemann (1982), director
of religion and the relation between faith and reason.
of the Anthropos Institute from 1950 to 1955, stated that
Brandewie (1990) also recognized in Schmidt’s work an ob-
this was an a priori assumption that took for granted what
jective of apologetics as well as science. Henryk Zimón
the culture-historical inquiry needed to prove, namely the
(1986), on the other hand, holds that Schmidt was not moti-
chronological collocation of the culture being studied.
vated solely by a desire to reconcile Catholic dogma with eth-
This consideration convinced him to avoid using the term
nological research, especially since some Catholic theologians
Urkultur.
did not support his degenerationist views or his ideas regard-
ing monotheism and primordial revelation.
This and other more detailed criticisms of the culture-
historical method led some of those who had originally sup-
The critical advance of Raffaele Pettazzoni (1957), in
ported Schmidt and Koppers (for example, Josef Haekel) to
which he held that true monotheism stems from an antipoly-
distance themselves from the theory of “culture areas.” If the
theistic revolution instigated by a religious reformer, is also
theory of the origin of monotheism proposed by Schmidt
important. The sociological critique developed by Guy E.
were accepted, it would make meaningless all the research
Swanson (1960) is often neglected. Swanson opposed the
conducted by historians who have sought to reconstruct ac-
Austrian anthropologist by holding that monotheism was
curately the course and historical contexts (Mesopotamia,
not the actual religion of the simplest and most archaic socie-
Egypt, ancient Israel) in which—according to Marcel Gau-
ties. For monotheistic belief to surface required the existence
chet (1985), via the influence of a complex series of factors,
in society of at least three dominant groups, which in his
such as the idea of an absolute Lord as a counterpoint to an
opinion consisted of an organization exercising independent
earthly ruler—the monotheism that characterizes modern
authority in a given social sphere.
Western civilization emerged.
Another important methodological problem has been
SEE ALSO Frobenius, Leo; Graebner, Fritz; Kulturkreise-
raised by another follower of Schmidt, Joseph Henninger,
lehre; Pettazzoni, Raffaele.
who wonders whether the similarities between the Supreme
Beings of different peoples demonstrates the unique histori-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cal origin of belief in a Supreme Being (see first edition of
Barnard, Alan. History and Theory in Anthropology. Cambridge,
Encyclopedia of Religion [1987]). Furthermore, he observes
U.K., 2000.
that Schmidt, in claiming that revelation is proved by the
Bornemann, Fritz. “Verzeichnis der Schriften von P. W. Schmidt,
presence of a belief in a Supreme Being among such peoples,
S.V.D. (1868–1954).” Anthropos 49 (1954): 385–432.
oversteps the bounds of the historical study of religions and
Bornemann, Fritz. P. Wilhelm Schmidt, S.V.D., 1868–1954. Ana-
makes philosophical and theological statements. The com-
lecta Societatis Verbi Divini no. 59. Rome, 1982. Includes
plex nature of the figure of the Supreme Being in different
additions to Bornemann’s 1954 bibliography.
cultures has been documented by Edward B. Tylor, who
Boyer, Pascal. The Naturalness of Religious Ideas: A Cognitive Theo-
thought that in all probability the missionaries themselves
ry of Religion. Berkeley, Calif., 1994.
had interpreted the religious ideas of the native peoples so
Brandewie, Ernest. Wilhelm Schmidt and the Origin of the Idea of
as to extract the figure of a monotheistic god from them.
God. Lanham, Md., 1983. Contains a translation of selec-
Schmidt has also been criticized for his failure to clearly
tions from vols. 1–6 of Der Ursprung der Gottesidee.
define the categories he used, such as Supreme Being and
Brandewie, Ernest. When Giants Walked the Earth: The Life and
monotheism. For this reason even if one accepts his assump-
Times of Wilhelm Schmidt, SVD. Fribourg, Switzerland,
tions (which were not been critically evaluated by him), they
1990.
cannot be easily harmonized with his own theories because
Demarchi, Franco, ed. Wilhelm Schmidt, un etnologo sempre attu-
they are subject to ambiguous interpretation. Besides, as
ale. Pubblicazioni dell’Istituto di scienze religiose in Trento
Zimón stated (1986), when returning to this subject and an-
14. Bologna, Italy, 1989.
alyzing the religion of the Bambuti Pygmies, it is always best
Gauchet, Marcel. Le désenchantement du monde. Paris, 1985.
to make clear in concrete terms the nature of the monothe-
Harris, Marvin. The Rise of Anthropological Theory: A History of
ism of the group being studied. In this case it seems not to
Theories of Culture. New York, 1968.
have been a clear and unequivocal idea of a Supreme Being
Henninger, Joseph. “P. Wilhelm Schmidt, S.V.D. (1868–1954):
called upon under various names and identified as a god of
Eine biographische Skizze.” Anthropos 51 (1956): 19–60.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SCHNEERSON, MENACHEM M.
8171
Henninger, Joseph. “Wilhelm Schmidt, S.V.D. (1868–1954).”
Rabbi SchneDur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812), the founder
Verbum SVD 20 (1979): 345–362.
of the Habad-Lubavitch school of Hasidism. He was given
Jones, Ernest. The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud. Vol. 3. New
a traditional Jewish education with private tutors and also
York, 1953.
studied at the Talmudic Academy (yeshivah) in Yekatrinos-
Lang, Andrew. “Puluga.” Man no 30 (1910): 51-53.
lav, headed for a time by the Vilna Talmudist Rabbi Haim
Ozer Grodzinsky (1863–1940). Menachem Mendel was re-
Leone, Alba Rosa. “La politica missionaria del Vaticano tra le due
garded as a brilliant scholar with a wide grasp of languages
guerre.” Studi storici 21 (1980): 123–156.
and general studies as well as of Jewish thought. He came in
Pettazzoni, Raffaele. L’essere supremo nelle religioni primitive. No-
contact with the leading Talmudist Rabbi Joseph Rozin
vara, Italy, 1957.
(1858–1936), the gaon (genius) of Rogachov, whose writings
Schmidt, Wilhelm. Wege der Kulturen: Gesammelte Aufsätze.
he would often quote.
Studia Instituti Anthropos, vol. 20. Saint Augustin bei Bonn,
Germany, 1964. A memorial volume containing a collection
In the 1920s he began to associate closely with his rela-
of representative articles.
tive Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneersohn (1880–1950), the sixth
Radcliffe-Brown, Alfred R. “Puluga: A Reply to Father Schmidt.”
Lubavitcher Rebbe, who was endeavouring to preserve tradi-
Man 17 (1910): 33–37.
tional Jewish observance in the secularist USSR, and was
consequently arrested in 1927 and expelled from Russia.
Schmidt, Wilhelm. “Puluga,the Supreme Being of the Andaman-
ese.” Man 2 (1910): 2–7.
Menachem Mendel married Schneersohn’s daughter Chaya
Mussya (1901–1988) in 1928.
Schmidt, Wilhelm. Nochmals: “Puluga, das höchste Wesen der
Andamanesen.” Man 38 (1910): 66–71.
The couple lived in Berlin and, from 1933, in Paris. In
Schmidt, Wilhelm. Nochmals: “Puluga, das höchste Wesen der
both cities Rabbi Menachem Mendel attended university
Andamanesen.” Man 47 (1910): 82–86.
courses, earning a diploma in electrical engineering from the
Stocking, George W. Victorian Anthropology. New York, 1987.
Ecole Speciale des Travaux Publiques engineering college in
Paris. He was also involved in editing the Habad rabbinic
Swanson, Guy E. The Birth of the Gods: The Origin of Primitive
journal HaTamim, published in Warsaw from 1935 to 1939.
Beliefs. Ann Arbor, Mich., 1960.
This combination of secular study with traditional Torah
Waardenburg, Jacques. Classical Approaches to the Study of Reli-
knowledge was unusual in the Eastern European Hasidic
gion. 2 vols. The Hague, 1973–1974. Contains selections
movement, which championed the exclusive study of the
from The Origin and Growth of Religion and High Gods in
Talmud and related literature. The Habad branch of Hasi-
North America.
dism had always emphasized rationality. The term Habad
Waldenfels, Hans. “Wilhelm Schmidt (1868–1954).” In Klassiker
(popular spelling: Chabad) is an acronym of three Hebrew
der Religionswissenschaft: Von Friedrich Schleiermacher bis
words meaning wisdom, understanding, knowledge. The
Mircea Eliade, edited by Axel Michaels. Munich, 1997.
combination of “worldly” knowledge with intensive religious
Zimón, Henryk. “Wilhelm Schmidt’s Theory of Primitive Mono-
concern was to characterize Rabbi Menachem Mendel’s later
theism and Its Critique within the Vienna School of Ethnol-
work as a religious leader.
ogy.” Anthropos 81 (1986): 243–260.
Zwernemann, Jürgen. Culture History and African Anthropology:
When World War II broke out Rabbi Joseph Isaac was
A Century of Reasearch in Germany and Austria. Uppsala,
trapped in Poland and Menachem Mendel in France. Even-
Sweden, 1983.
tually the U.S. branch of Habad managed to rescue both rab-
bis and some of the members of their families; other relatives
JOSEPH HENNINGER (1987)
A
perished in the Holocaust. Rabbi Menachem Mendel and his
LESSANDRA CIATTINI (2005)
Translated from Italian by Paul Ellis
wife reached New York in 1941.
ASSIMILATION. In the United States, based in Brooklyn,
Rabbi Joseph Isaac tried to promote traditional Jewish edu-
SCHNEERSON, MENACHEM M. Rabbi Men-
cation and practice among American Jews, with the motto:
achem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994) was the seventh-
“America is not different.” His older son-in-law Rabbi Sa-
generation leader of the Habad-Lubavitch Hasidic move-
marias Gurary (d.1989) headed an advanced Talmudic
ment in the period following World War II who played a
Academy (yeshivah) and a network of Jewish schools. This
significant role in the modern Jewish world. He was born in
endeavour was paralleled by similar work undertaken by
Nikolayev, Ukraine, to Rabbi Levi Yitzhak Schneerson
other Jewish leaders who had escaped from Europe, although
(1878–1944) and Chana Yanowsky (1880–1964). In 1909
the Lubavitch yeshivah included qabbalistic Hasidic teach-
the family moved to Yekatrinoslav (Dnepropetrovsk) where
ings in its curriculum.
Rabbi Levi Yitzhak, a noted Talmudic and qabbalistic schol-
Rabbi Menachem Mendel, with the support of his fa-
ar, was appointed Hasidic chief rabbi.
ther-in-law, embarked on a different course, undertaking the
Menachem Mendel was named for his paternal ancestor
singular task that was to dominate the remainder of his life:
the third Lubavitcher Rebbe (1789–1866), grandson of
the attempt to turn the tide of Jewish assimilation; to regen-
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SCHNEERSON, MENACHEM M.
erate traditional Jewish values and practice; and to find “lost
aged artists and writers to believe that their creative talent
Jews” wherever they might be. His father-in-law created for
could strengthen Judaism. Through letters and personal con-
him, or appointed him to lead, publicist and activist organi-
tact he maintained close relationships with thousands of in-
zations with goals such as promoting religious education for
dividuals in many walks of life, including academics, military
American Jewish children, including those in the public
figures, politicians, and members of the wider public, as well
school system; setting up Jewish schools for girls; providing
as prominent rabbis, always endeavouring to increase peo-
spiritual outreach to Jewish farmers and soldiers; and making
ple’s religious observance and, more particularly, to encour-
contact with Jewish men and women in outlying communi-
age them to become spiritual leaders themselves.
ties. Thus during the 1940s a number of Lubavitch emissar-
This effort, combined with other factors, such as the
ies were sent from Brooklyn to work as rabbis and teachers
moral turbulence of the sixties and the 1967 Six-Day War,
in locations around the United States.
which brought the Temple site in Jerusalem back into Jewish
In January 1950 Rabbi Joseph Isaac passed away and
hands, contributed to the creation of a Return to Judaism
was succeeded, after a period of uncertainty, by Rabbi Men-
movement. In talks and letters Menahem Mendel presented
achem Mendel, who became the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe.
the outreach ideal as a central facet of Orthodoxy, citing an
Over the next four decades he became known for his out-
early Hasidic motif (with strong messianic connotations) of
reach work, which was creating a global phenomenon of un-
“spreading the wellsprings to the outside” in an effort to
paralleled proportions in the Jewish community. Through
combat what he saw as the imminent dissolution of tradi-
his many emissaries (some three thousand before his death)
tional Jewish values and practice among most Jewish people.
he aimed to address assimilated Jews and also those who felt
Traditional Lubavitch values such as love of your fellow and
staunchly Jewish but did not observe all the distinctive mit-
accepting people despite their spiritual failings were impor-
svot (traditional observances).
tant in this process. The Return to Judaism movement even-
OUTREACH. Many traditional Orthodox Jewish immigrants
tually grew far beyond Lubavitch and is now a major focus
from Eastern Europe tried to protect themselves from the
in the work of many other Jewish movements.
secularization of their new society by living in closed, ho-
Rabbi Schneerson also addressed the non-Jewish world.
mogenous communities. Rabbi Schneerson, through his rab-
Controversially, he campaigned to promote a moment of si-
binic teachings, appealed to this group to open its borders
lence for spiritual reflection in the U.S. public schools, and
to less observant Jews. In 1952 he wrote an open letter ad-
drew attention to a statement by Maimonides that the Jews
dressed to students at all yeshivot asking them to befriend and
have the duty to communicate the Seven Noahide Laws—
communicate with other Jews less observant than them-
the basic elements of biblical religious morality, including re-
selves. Over the years he repeatedly claimed that the Jewish
spect for the sanctity of life and traditional sexual ethics—to
people are one, despite apparent differences in observance
the larger society around them.
and belief. A favorite image was the idea that the individual
members of the Jewish people are like the letters of a Torah
At the same time he campaigned for adherence to the
scroll: if one letter is missing, the entire scroll is unfit for use;
traditional formulation of Jewish identity: one born of a Jew-
each individual is essential.
ish mother or converted in accordance with strict Jewish law.
He thus tried to present the controversial and almost self-
To help foster Jewish religious identity, he established
contradictory idea that a Jew should be a person who lives
Lubavitch outreach organisations, which made contact with
according to seemingly exclusivist traditional laws, but at the
Jews on college campuses and in less-traditional communi-
same time feels a sense of responsibility to Gentile society.
ties. Adult education programs were created, including spe-
cial yeshivot providing supplementary Jewish education for
Scholarly work. In Hasidic gatherings Rabbi Schneer-
hitherto acculturated Jews. Kfar Chabad, a large village of
son would frequently give scholarly talks which were tran-
Chabad followers in Israel, presented itself as a welcoming
scribed by a team of rabbis. His edited writings fill more than
showcase of tradition for many Israelis.
a 150 volumes in Hebrew and Yiddish and include commen-
tary on the Pentateuch, discussions of the Talmud and
A key issue for Schneerson was combating the wide-
Zohar, qabbalistic Hasidic discourses, and some thirty vol-
spread idea that modern science had displaced traditional
umes of letters.
Jewish belief. In a 1952 letter addressed to a scientist in Israel
he employed the concept of axioms to argue that science pro-
His teachings expound traditional Jewish-Hasidic ideals
vides what he called a narrative, but not truth. Science gener-
such as the spiritual virtues of loving one’s fellows, Torah
ates a narrative in that if you agree to such-and-such a set
study, and prayer and fulfilment of the mitsvot. He discusses
of axioms, factors x and y are likely to result in z. However,
issues particularly relevant to modernity, such as faith versus
if you change the axioms, a different result may ensue. He
reason, the role of the woman, and the significance of the
contrasted this relativistic view of science with what he saw
individual. Negative aspects of people (“sins”) are viewed as
as the truth of the Torah. He also claimed that scientific ad-
an opportunity for repentance, and this and all other positive
vances and Torah teachings, especially as interpreted in Ha-
values are presented as leading to the redemption of the indi-
sidic thought, were approaching the same goal. He encour-
vidual and ultimately of the whole world.
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SCHOLARIOS, GENNADIOS
8173
Chabad houses. During the 1980s Rabbi Schneerson
Despite the internal and external controversies this final
developed the concept of Chabad House. This is a house run
messianic thrust produced, since his death the Lubavitch
by a rabbi and his wife sharing the role of spiritual leadership,
movement has continued to grow. He left no children and
which aims to combine the hospitality of the home with the
no designated successor and, seemingly by unanimous con-
sanctity of the synagogue. A Chabad House can be seen as
sent among his followers, none has been appointed. His will
rivaling the more formal synagogue on the one hand and the
designated the central committee of the Chabad movement
less religiously rigorous Hillel House or Jewish Center on the
as the trustees of his affairs. That body, based in Brooklyn,
other. Rabbi Schneerson’s emissaries run Chabad Houses in
provides the centralized focus for the worldwide outreach
almost every country where there are Jews. In some cases, his
movement he created.
Jewish outreach work had to be more discreet. During the
His life combined contrasts: Talmudic and Jewish mys-
Cold War he maintained secret contact with the Jews of the
ticism combined with secular education; a miracle-working
USSR. After the fall of Communism Lubavitch schools and
Hasidic rebbe who reached out to the Reform Jew and the
other institutions have flourished throughout the former So-
unaffiliated; a practical organizer and activist who was also
viet Union.
seen as a mystical Messiah. He sought to bring Jewish spiritu-
ality out of its self-imposed ghetto enclave and into the pub-
A central feature of Rabbi Schneerson’s teaching was the
lic domain. His voluminous teachings, many recorded on
empowerment of women, claiming that each woman has the
audio-tape and video, remain as evidence of a rare combina-
ability—in some ways greater than that of a man—to change
tion of Jewish law, tradition, mysticism, and modernity.
the world. This contrasts with conventional Jewish Ortho-
doxy and especially Hasidism, which are often described as
SEE ALSO Hasidim, article on Habad Hasidism; Messia-
casting women in a secondary role. Women continue to have
nism, article on Jewish Messianism.
a key place in the Lubavitch movement.
M
B
ESSIANISM. The founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Israel Baal
IBLIOGRAPHY
Shem Tov (d.1760), had been told in a visionary experience
Torah Studies (London, 1986), by British chief rabbi Professor
Jonathan Sacks, provides an in-depth view of Rabbi Schneer-
that the Messiah would come when his Hasidic teachings
son’s discussions of the Bible and rabbinic sources, combin-
had spread to “the outside.” Rabbi Schneerson hoped that
ing both spiritual and socially relevant levels of interpreta-
the global attempts by his followers to strengthen Jewish ob-
tion. The Letter and the Spirit (New York, 1998) is an
servance and spread Hasidic teachings would indeed lead to
anthology of Rabbi Schneerson’s English letters on various
the messianic Redemption. After the passing of his wife in
topics, edited by Rabbi Dr. Nisan Mindel, his secretary of
1988, Rabbi Schneerson wrote a legal, anticipating his own
many years. Simon Jacobson’s Towards a Meaningful Life:
demise, will but also began to teach that the messianic trans-
The Teachings of the Rebbe (New York, 1995) extracts his per-
formation was imminent. His messianic teachings intensified
sonal, spiritual, and social directives from their rabbinic con-
text and presents them in the form of a universal guide to
during his last years. In 1991 he interpreted the Gulf War
life. Dr Aryeh Solomon’s The Educational Teachings of Rabbi
in messianic terms. He described yearning for the Messiah
Menachem M. Schneerson (Northvale, N.J., 2000) provides
as a key element in the spirituality of Judaism.
an academic investigation of his unusually positive approach
as an educationalist. For an informed and scholarly account
A highly controversial result of these teachings was to
of the messianic movement that arose around him, see Pro-
generate a movement focused on him as the potential messi-
fessor Rachel Elior’s “The Lubavitch Messianic Resurgence:
anic redeemer. Observers are divided as to whether this was
The Historical and Mystical Background, 1939–1996” in
his deliberate intention. A faction of his followers initiated
Toward the Millenium: Messianic Expectations from the Bible
a poster campaign depicting him as the Messiah, which still
to Waco, edited by Peter Schafer and Mark R. Cohen (Lei-
continues, undeterred by his death in 1994. The campaign
den, Netherlands, 1998).
has been repeatedly condemned by the official leadership of
NAFTALI LOEWENTHAL (2005)
Lubavitch, and, in his lifetime, by Rabbi Schneerson himself.
Many voices have been raised against these messianists from
various sectors of the Jewish community, some comparing
them with Jewish messianists of the past, such as the follow-
SCHOLARIOS, GENNADIOS (c. 1400–1478),
ers of the seventeenth-century Shabbatai Tzvi. Others point
born Georgios Scholarios and also known as Georgios
out that unlike the Shabbatians they are in no way antinomi-
Kourtesios, was a patriarch of Constantinople (1454–1456;
an and that the phenomenon underlines the messianic ele-
1463; 1464–1465), educator, philosopher, theologian, and
ment in Hasidism, of which there are several examples in the
defender of Orthodox Christianity. Born in Constantinople,
nineteenth century. Within the Habad movement the more
Scholarios began as a student of Mark Eugenikos, metropoli-
extreme messianists are seen as negating Menahem Mendel’s
tan of Ephesus, an opponent of the papacy. Later, Gennadios
outreach ideal. They are accused of promoting only the over-
schooled himself in the humanities, philosophy, and theolo-
tly messianic teachings communicated in his talks from 1990
gy. Unlike most Greeks of the time, Gennadios also learned
to 1992, and ignoring the main body of his writings.
Latin and was an admirer of Thomas Aquinas, some of
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SCHOLASTICISM
whose works he translated into Greek. While still a layman,
scholasticism signifies principally the type of training used
he preached regularly at court, taught in his own school, and
in the schools, and secondarily, the doctrine given, usually
served the Byzantine emperor John VIII (1425–1448) as im-
in the universities of the Latin Middle Ages. In a pejorative
perial secretary and Judge General of the Greeks.
sense, it connotes dictatorial or authoritarian methods, or a
Gennadios has usually been pictured as a supporter of
hidebound and unimaginative view, much like the “correct”
the union of the Latin and Greek churches at the abortive
answer that a schoolmaster would demand from his pupil in
Council of Florence (1438–1439), but he subsequently
the classroom.
made an about-face following the death of his teacher, Mark
METHOD. Principally Scholasticism indicates a method of
of Ephesus, and became the leader of antipapal forces during
training and learning that developed in Christian schools be-
the last days of Byzantium. In fact, his complete change in
tween about 1000 and 1650 and reached its peak in the thir-
attitude had caused some scholars to believe that there was
teenth century. It arose naturally and spontaneously in the
more than one person named Georgios Scholarios. Recent
early Middle Ages as teachers lectured on a fixed text, paus-
scholarship, however, has unanimously discarded the latter
ing to explain a difficult passage by posing a question and
notion. Moreover, the latest substantive study on Scholarios
lining up authorities pro and con, sic et non. Divergent reso-
questions the authenticity of some of the pro-Latin writings
lutions of difficulties were often written in the margins of the
attributed to him, so that according to this view, Scholarios
Bible or lawbook. Abelard’s work Sic et non is both a collec-
was consistent in his opposition to Latin theology, and,
tion of seemingly contradictory theological texts and a rea-
therefore, to the union of churches based on the acceptance
soned methodology for resolving such apparent contradic-
of Latin doctrines.
tions. The underlying supposition was the commonly held
conviction that truth cannot contradict itself and that all
Shortly before the fall of Constantinople to the Otto-
truth is from God. Thus, logic, coupled with a respect for
man Turks (1453), Scholarios became a monk, and accord-
antiquity, was always considered the chief instrument of
ing to tradition changed his name from Georgios to Genna-
Scholastic teaching in the Middle Ages.
dios. Taken captive following the capture of the city, he was
released at the instigation of Sultan Mehmed II, who saw in
From its earliest beginnings in the classroom two dis-
Gennadios, because of his antipapal views, the ideal candi-
tinct elements appeared, which developed independently
date for the vacant patriarchal throne. Enthroned on January
into two Scholastic functions by the thirteenth century: the
6, 1454, Patriarch Gennadios maintained a friendly relation-
lecture (legere), or explanation of the text, eventually restrict-
ship with the sultan, and together they worked out the terms
ed to the morning sessions; and the academic disputation
under which Orthodox Christians would live under the Ot-
(disputare) of a special point, eventually restricted to the af-
tomans for the next five centuries.
ternoon sessions and to special days. In the patristic period
only the bishop or a qualified delegate could expound the sa-
Despite the friendship of Mehmed II, however, Genna-
cred text or settle disputes; in the Middle Ages these became
dios’s tenure as patriarch was a stormy one. He strove to re-
the formal functions of a “master” (magister). Thus a medi-
tain order within the Orthodox church, and in order to pre-
eval commentary is the master’s statement (sententia) of the
vent conversions to Islam attempted to relax marriage
meaning intended in the text; and a medieval “disputed
canons; however, he was opposed by those who demanded
question” is the master’s resolution (determinatio) of the de-
strict adherence to the letter of the law. Gennadios was suc-
bate.
cessful in reorganizing the Patriarchal Academy in Serres
(present-day Serrai, Greece), recognizing the important need
When universities (studium generale, in the singular)
of a higher institution of learning for the training of the fu-
were founded in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centu-
ture leaders of the Greek people and church. After serving
ries, the association of masters established rules for the induc-
as patriarch for three brief terms, he finally abandoned the
tion of new masters into the guild. The basic liberal arts
throne and took up residence in the Monastery of Saint John
studies, prior to theology or other higher faculties and re-
the Baptist at Serres.
quired of all, took about eight years and led to the master
of arts degree at the age of twenty-one (minimum), followed
BIBLIOGRAPHY
by two or more years of teaching the arts. There were three
Joseph Gill’s Personalities of the Council of Florence and Other Es-
higher faculties: theology (the minimum age for the master
says (Oxford, 1964) presents the traditional view on Scho-
being thirty-five), law (civil and canon), and medicine. Each
larios. The revisionist perspective can be found in Theodore
faculty had its own masters with chairs, required textbooks,
Zissis’s Gennadios II Scholarios: Bios, sungrammata, didaskalia
and agreed upon statutes by which the faculty was governed
(Thessalonica, 1980).
by a chancellor, dean, or rector. The preferred term for a
NOMIKOS MICHAEL VAPORIS (1987)
qualified teacher in the Middle Ages was “master,” but by
the thirteenth-century Bolognese lawyers preferred to be
called “doctor.”
SCHOLASTICISM. An abstract noun formed from
By 1230, in the faculty of theology, there were appren-
the Latin-Greek stem scholastic-, pertaining to “school,”
tices called “bachelors,” who assisted the master in the per-
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SCHOLASTICISM
8175
formance of his duties by reading the text to the younger stu-
sition in the thirteenth century; and late medieval, usually
dents in a cursory manner and by responding to questions
considered as declining around 1350, after the Black Death.
raised by the students. Soon the subordinate role of the bach-
In early Scholasticism special emphasis was given to
elor was subdivided into that of the cursor biblicus, who did
grammar and logic during training in arts prior to a long
the preliminary reading of the Bible, and that of the bache-
study of the scriptures. Among its outstanding masters were
larius sententiarum, who lectured on the Sentences of Peter
Alcuin at York; Lanfranc and Anselm, first at Bec, then at
Lombard (1100–1160), a collection of patristic texts orga-
Canterbury; Anselm and his brother Ralph at Laon; Ive and
nized according to doctrinal points.
his successors at Chartres; Peter Abelard in and around Paris;
In all scholastic training the chief instrument of learning
and the canonist Gratian at Bologna. Although the problem
was logic, the purpose of which was to acquire scientific
of “universals” ranked high, the principal theological prob-
knowledge (scientia) through definition, division, and argu-
lems concerned the Eucharist, the trinity of persons in one
ment. For this art the fundamental source was Aristotle, orig-
God, and the incarnation of the Son of God.
inally in the version of Boethius (d. 524). Before all of Aris-
High Scholasticism, incorporating the works of Aristot-
totle was known in the late twelfth century, studies
le in the universities and assimilating his thought, notwith-
preliminary to the study of Bible or any of the higher subjects
standing a background of Augustinian Platonism, necessarily
consisted in studying the seven liberal arts (logic, grammar,
includes the vast works of Albertus Magnus, Robert Grosse-
rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy), with
teste, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Henry of Ghent, John
special emphasis given to logic and grammar. Organization
Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Thomas Bradwardine,
of universities at Bologna, Paris, and Oxford took place just
and their contemporaries—with all their philosophical dif-
as the “new learning” made its appearance in the Latin West
ferences and similarities. This was the age of assimilation and
from Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew sources in the twelfth cen-
of new syntheses of thought, such as Thomism, Scotism, and
tury. New works of logic (the rest of Aristotle’s Organon) and
nominalism (Ockham). Within these syntheses one should
Ptolemaic and Arabic astronomy were simply worked into
note the varying influences of Ibn S¯ına¯ (Avicenna), Ibn
the known seven arts, but other books—namely those on
Rushd (Averroës), and certain pseudo-Aristotelian works,
natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and first philosophy,
such as Liber de causis.
or metaphysics—could only be added to the arts as “the three
philosophies” to make up the faculty of arts and sciences.
Late Scholasticism, depending on where one makes the
division (some put it at 1277, others around 1315), is gener-
The method of teaching these new sciences, although
ally considered to be a period of intellectual and spiritual de-
basically the old method, was perfected by these books of
cline before the Italian Renaissance (fifteenth century) or the
“the new logic,” especially Posterior Analytics. A distinct
Protestant Reformation (sixteenth century). Wherever its
philosophical content was given to medieval teaching in arts,
bounds, the period witnessed the rapid spread of universities,
which inevitably flowed over to theology, thus creating a di-
a special stirring of popular devotion (Devotio Moderna) in
versity of scholasticisms.
prayer, hymns, and sermons, and a widespread interest in the
The Scholastic method, therefore, was universally one
spoken word of God (the Bible), especially in the vernacular.
and the same throughout the Middle Ages: (1) it was always
Heiko Oberman sees this period as the ripening of medieval
in Latin, of varying proficiency and elegance on an approved
thought preparatory to Luther’s harvest of Christianity.
text universally acknowledged as worthy of study; (2) it was
While one must recognize the flowering of art, the spread of
structured according to the Aristotelian logic of defining, di-
printing, the expansion of global exploration, and a growing
viding, and reasoning in its exposition of the text and its reso-
literacy among the laity, one must nevertheless admit that as
lution of difficulties; and (3) all studies, even the related field
far as Scholasticism is concerned, the period yielded a sterile
of law, led to theology as the “Queen of the Sciences,” that
and barbarous formalism performed with perfunctory
is, to the understanding of the Bible. But considering the
brevity.
great diversities that existed among outstanding masters and
Second scholasticism is a term given to the brief spring
their followers in terms of loyalties and priorities, it is possi-
of scholastic thought in the sixteenth century, when the
ble to speak of various schools, movements, and -isms among
Summa theologiae of Thomas Aquinas replaced the Sentences
Scholastics of different periods.
of Peter Lombard in major Catholic universities. This
TEACHINGS. Scholasticism as a doctrine is usually divided
change was accomplished mainly by Dominicans such as
into three periods: (1) medieval, up to the Reformation; (2)
Peter Crokaert in Paris, Thomas de Vio Cajetan at Pavia,
second scholasticism, or the renewed Thomism of the six-
Konrad Koellin at Heidelberg and Cologne, and Francisco
teenth century; and (3) a revival of Thomistic philosophy
de Vitoria at Salamanca. All of these men had many disciples
from around 1850 to the Second Vatican Council, or Leo-
with considerable influence later. This revival was given spe-
nine Thomism. Medieval Scholasticism is also divided into
cial impetus when the Council of Trent (1545–1563) rede-
three periods: early medieval, before the introduction of Aris-
fined much of Catholic doctrine, utilizing Thomistic as well
totle to the universities around 1200; high medieval, a vigor-
as traditional patristic teaching, and when the prestigious So-
ous assimilation of Aristotelian thought despite strong oppo-
ciety of Jesus (Jesuits) was founded by Ignatius Loyola in
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SCHOLASTICISM
1534, pledging to follow the teaching of Thomas Aquinas
cans over the publication of Molina’s Concordia (1588), a
and subsequently renovating Catholicism throughout the
new Thomism emerged in the writings of Francisco de
world. The revival found expression not only in official doc-
Suárez (1548–1617), that tried to reconcile Thomism with
uments like the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent,
Scotism. After 1607 theology was reduced to repetition and
but also in its Catechism of the Council of Trent, issued by
division into diverse specialties, courses, and tractates; and
order of Pius V in 1566, and in the innumerable textbooks
moral theology bogged down over probabilism and, later,
of scholastic philosophy and theology (iuxta mentem S. Tho-
Jansenism. For all practical purposes, scholasticism was dead
mae) for use in colleges and seminaries established under the
by 1650.
Tridentine reform. The leading Jesuit scholastics of this peri-
od were Roberto Bellarmino, Francisco de Toledo, Francisco
A third appearance of scholasticism occurred in more re-
Suárez, Luis de Molina, professors of the Collegio Romano
cent times, when there was a revival of solely the philosophi-
founded by Ignatius in 1551, and the Complutenses, name-
cal aspects of Thomism, blessed and fostered by Pope Leo
ly, teachers at the Jesuit college at Alcalá, founded by Cardi-
XIII in his encyclical Aeterni Patris (1879). Dissatisfaction
nal Francisco Ximénes de Cisneros in 1508.
with the inadequacy of contemporary philosophy to solve
pressing problems had been expressed in Italy early in the
The scholasticism of this period was not simply a repeti-
nineteenth century by teachers of philosophy in Catholic
tion of older views, but its theology was substantially invigo-
colleges and seminaries. These professors were concerned
rated by clashes with the reformers and its philosophy by a
primarily with future priests and the state of the world vis-à-
renewed interest in the science of nature. Its theology is best
vis philosophy. Seminary textbooks were often thoroughly
seen in the polemical literature and the great number of ex-
Cartesian, and “Christian” only by reason of a few biblical
ceptional commentaries on Thomas’s Summa. Its philosophy
quotations and references to Augustine or Bossuet without
is best seen in treatises on motion and in thoughtful com-
a mention of Thomas Aquinas or the Middle Ages. In the
mentaries on Aristotle’s Physics, De caelo, and other books on
Rhineland the distinguished Georg Hermes (1775–1831)
nature, notably by Domingo de Soto, Diego de Astudillo,
sought to adjust Roman Catholic principles to the supposed
and Juan de Celaya at Paris, and the Jesuit professors, nota-
requirements of Immanuel Kant; his adjustment was con-
bly Christopher Clavius (1538–1612), at the Collegio Ro-
demned in 1835. In Vienna the prolific Anton Günther
mano. One should distinguish these progressive Artistoteli-
(1783–1863) sought to do the same for Hegel; his works
ans from the textual type, who were more interested in
were placed on the Index of Forbidden Books in 1857. The
editing and translating from books than from nature.
principal errors of the day were listed in the Syllabus of Errors
of Pius IX (1864), ranging from pantheism and liberalism
Within the context of this revivified philosophy must
to communism and indifferentism. In the eyes of many only
be seen the astronomy and the two new sciences of Galileo
the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas could bring humankind
(1564–1642), and to a much lesser extent, the new philoso-
back to sanity.
phy of René Descartes (1596–1650). Galileo’s early writings
depend heavily on the lecture notes of Jesuit professors of
Small beginnings were made by Vincenzo Buzzeti in
philosophy at the Collegio Romano; the butt of his gibes
Piacenza, Joseph and Joachim Pecci (later Pope Leo XIII) in
turns out to be the parrots who would not look at the heav-
Perugia, and the Sordi brothers and Taparelli among the Je-
ens, but only at the text. Descartes, on the other hand, had
suits in Naples and Rome. By 1850 the ideas of Thomas were
a less venturesome scholasticism from the Jesuits at La Flèche
again familiar to readers of Civilità Cattholica and the five-
(1609–1613). While later Descartes sought to replace their
volume Philosophia Christiana (Naples, 1853) by Gaetano
teaching with entirely new first principles, their roots, as
Sanseverino (1811–1865). These beginnings were augment-
Étienne Gilson has shown, were medieval and scholastic.
ed in Germany by Josef Kleutgen, in France by Henri Lacor-
Nevertheless both Galileo and Descartes dealt the deathblow
daire, in Spain and the Philippines by Zeferino Gonzales,
to scholasticism and laid the foundation of modern thought.
and in Italy by Tommaso Zigliara. The first major encyclical
issued by Leo XIII, Aeterni Patris, called for “the restoration
Meanwhile Catholic theology, which felt the greatest
in Catholic schools of Christian philosophy according to the
impact from this revival, experienced a second spring. Under
mind of St. Thomas, the Angelic Doctor.” In all subsequent
Pius V, Thomas Aquinas was declared a doctor of the
encyclicals Leo promoted the teaching of Thomas applied to
church, the first so considered since the patristic age; and the
the modern world, with the result that by the time of his
first edition of his multivolume Opera omnia was published
death in 1903 Leo had rehabilitated Thomas.
in Rome (1570–1571). Notable commentaries on Thomas’s
Summa began to appear, such as those of Thomas de Vio Ca-
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Scholas-
jetan (Lyons, 1540–1541), Conrad Koellin (Cologne, 1512),
tic philosophy of Thomas began to take root in all the main
and Franciscus Silvester Ferrariensis on the Summa contra
centers of the Catholic world. In this revival, philosophy, not
gentiles (Paris, 1552). The original constitution of the Jesuits
theology, was the central issue, since reason seemed to be
(1550) obliged its members to study and promote the teach-
common to Christianity and the secular world. In this case
ing of Thomas alone. But in the bitter controversy over grace
scholasticism was identified with Thomistic philosophy,
(De auxiliis, 1597–1607) that broke out with the Domini-
somehow conceived as perennial (perennis) and common to
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SCHOLEM, GERSHOM
8177
all great minds of all ages. For Leo XIII this philosophy was
1944–1950); I neotomisti italiani del XIX secolo, 2 vols., ed-
to be found in the Summa theologiae of Thomas. When cries
ited by Paolo Dezza (Milan, 1942–1944); and Years of Tho-
were raised about other philosophies, such as those of Bona-
mism: Aeterni Patris and Afterwards, edited by Victor B. Brez-
venture and Suárez, the reply from Rome (1907–1950) was
ik (Houston, 1981).
that all others were to be evaluated by the standard of Thom-
New Sources
as. This did not mean that other philosophies were wrong,
Asselt, William J. van, and Eef Dekker, eds. Reformation and Scho-
but rather that only the philosophy of Thomas was to be pro-
lasticism: An Ecumenical Enterprise. Grand Rapids, 2001.
moted urgently for the church in the modern world.
Cabezón, José Ignacio, ed. Scholasticism: Cross-Cultural and Com-
Throughout this same period there were many Catholics
parative Perspectives. Albany, 1998.
who were unconvinced and impatient, insisting that a more
Colish, Maria L. Remapping Scholasticism. Toronto, 2000.
modern and relevant philosophy was needed. These were
known as “modernists,” eager to secularize Christian princi-
Gallagher, David A., ed. Thomas Aquinas and His Legacy. Wash-
ples in order to be accepted.
ington, D.C., 1994.
Kretzmann, Norman, Anthony Kenny, and John Pinberg, eds.
Before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) al-
The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy. Cambridge,
most all Catholics were exposed to some shades of Thomistic
U.K., and New York, 1982.
philosophy, especially through seminaries and colleges, de-
spite the specter of modernism. During the first half of the
McGrath, Alister E. Reformation Thought: An Introduction. Ox-
ford and New York, 1988.
twentieth century a large number of distinguished Thomists,
both Catholic and non-Catholic, addressed important issues
Oakley, Francis. Omnipotence and Promise: The Legacy of the Scho-
in almost every field of human interest: historical, philosoph-
lastic Distinction of Powers. Toronto, 2002.
ical, sociological, psychological, scientific, and political.
Rummel, Erika. The Humanist Scholastic Debate in the Renaissance
Countless journals were founded throughout the world
& Reformation. Cambridge, Mass., 1995.
claiming to be scholastic or Thomistic, and the names of Gil-
Southern, Richard William. Scholastic Humanism and the Unifica-
son, Maritain, Adler, Grabmann, and Chenu became house-
tion of Europe. Oxford and Cambridge, Mass., 1995.
hold names. For many reasons, none of them philosophical,
the Second Vatican Council served as a watershed for Leo-
JAMES A. WEISHEIPL (1987)
Revised Bibliography
nine scholasticism.
SEE ALSO Modernism, article on Christian Modernism;
Nominalism; Trent, Council of.
SCHOLEM, GERSHOM (1897–1982), was the
founder of a school of rigorous historical and philological
BIBLIOGRAPHY
study of Jewish mysticism (Qabbalah). Although earlier Jew-
For such a vast subject, it is perhaps best to start with overviews.
ish historians had treated Qabbalah, they generally regarded
As such, several entries in The New Catholic Encyclopedia
it either as disreputable or, at best, as a part of Jewish philoso-
(New York, 1967) can be recommended: “Scholasticism,” by
phy. Scholem showed that the mystical tradition was a disci-
Ignatius Brady, J. E. Gurr, and me; “Thomism,” by me; and
pline in its own right, and, by the discovery and dating of
“Scotism,” by C. Balic and me; each has an extensive bibliog-
hundreds of manuscripts, he established its textual and intel-
raphy.
lectual history. A prolific writer, he issued his findings in nu-
On Scholastic method, the standard work by Martin Grabmann,
merous publications.
Die Geschichte der scholastischen Methode, 2 vols. (1909–
1911; reprint, Basel, 1961), can serve as a starting point for
Scholem was born in Berlin to a family of printers. Al-
the early period, or even Anders Piltz’s The World of Medieval
though his parents were partly assimilated, Scholem became
Learning (Oxford, 1981). For clarification of its technical
a passionate Jew and a committed Zionist. He taught himself
meaning, one should consult Artur M. Landgraf’s “Zum Be-
Hebrew and acquired a Jewish education while still in sec-
griff der Scholastik,” Collectanea Franciscana 11 (1941):
ondary school. Opposed to World War I on Zionist
487–490; M.-D. Chenu’s Toward Understanding Saint
grounds—that it was against the interests of the Jews—he
Thomas (Chicago, 1964); and Les genres littéraires dans les
was expelled from school for circulating a pamphlet against
sources théologiques et philosophiques médiévales: Définition,
critique et exploitation
(Louvain-la-Neuve, 1982).
the war.
As for the various doctrines taught, one must read the primary
Scholem was initially influenced by Martin Buber but
texts, important secondary sources about each scholastic, or
broke with him over the question of the war. He criticized
volumes dealing with particular themes. A simple modern
Buber for using mystical categories to support the German
manual is useful for philosophy, such as Désiré Mercier’s A
war effort. Later, he developed this criticism of Buber into
Manual of Modern Scholastic Philosophy, 8th ed., 2 vols.
a polemic against Buber’s ahistorical treatment of Jewish
(London, 1917); Gallus Manser’s Das Wesen des Thomismus,
sources, especially Hasidism.
3d ed. (Freiburg, 1949); Karl Werner’s Die Scholastik des
späteren Mittelalters,
5 vols. (1881; reprint, New York,
In 1919, Scholem decided to write his doctoral disserta-
1960); Carlo Giacon’s La seconda scolastica, 3 vols. (Milan,
tion on Qabbalah, and he chose as his subject the early qab-
E N C Y C L O P E D I 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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SCHWEITZER, ALBERT
balistic text Sefer ha-bahir. Completing this work in Munich
a kind of religious anarchism. Scholem held that only in a
in 1922, the following year he emigrated to Palestine, where
Jewish state could nonapologetic history be written, and only
he found a position as librarian in the emerging Hebrew
there could the Jews again become the subjects of their own
University. When the university opened in 1925, he was ap-
history. He saw the Judaism that would come out of the Zi-
pointed lecturer in Jewish mysticism and was promoted to
onist movement as something different from either Ortho-
professor several years later. He served in this capacity until
doxy or the rationalism of the nineteenth century. Similar
his retirement in 1965.
to his version of historical Judaism as a dynamic conflict be-
tween opposing forces, the new Judaism would be pluralistic
Scholem’s studies of the history of Jewish mysticism can
rather than monolithic.
be found in 579 entries in his bibliography. His most impor-
tant works include Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (first
SEE ALSO Qabbalah; Zohar.
published in 1941), Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah (He-
brew ed., 1957; rev. English ed., 1973), Ursprung und An-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
fänge der Kabbala (1962), and The Messianic Idea in Judaism:
Scholem’s complete bibliography to 1977 was published by the
And Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality (1971).
Magnes Press of the Hebrew University (Jerusalem, 1977).
At the heart of Scholem’s historiography is the belief
For biographical information, see Scholem’s From Berlin to
Jerusalem,
translated by Harry Zohn (New York, 1980). For
that myth is crucial to the vitality of a religious tradition, an
an analysis of Scholem’s thought, see my Gershom Scholem:
idea that betrays the influence of German romantic thinkers
Kabbalah and Counter-History (Cambridge, Mass., 1979).
such as von Baader. Scholem identified the central myth of
Qabbalah as Gnostic. He argued that already in late antiqui-
New Sources
ty, Jewish mystics had developed a monotheistic version of
Dan, Joseph. Gershom Scholem and the Mystical Dimension of Jew-
ish History. New York, 1987.
Gnostic dualism. This Jewish Gnosticism persisted in under-
ground traditions and made its way from Babylonia via Italy
Jacobson, Eric. Metaphysics of the Profane: The Political Theology
and Germany to southern France, where it surfaced in Sefer
of Walter Benjamin and Gershom Scholem. New York, 2003.
ha-bahir. In a number of important books and articles,
Schäfer, Peter. Gershom Scholem Reconsidered: The Aim and Pur-
Scholem described how these ideas sparked the development
pose of Early Jewish Mysticism. Oxford, 1986.
of the qabbalistic movement of Provence and Spain in the
DAVID BIALE (1987)
thirteenth century. He showed how this movement culmi-
Revised Bibliography
nated in Sefer ha-zohar (The book of splendor), which he
demonstrated to have been the work of Mosheh de León at
the end of the thirteenth century.
SCHWEITZER, ALBERT (1875–1965), was philos-
Scholem traced the history of the Gnostic myth of Qab-
opher, theologian, musicologist, and humanitarian physi-
balah through sixteenth-century Lurianic Qabbalah to the
cian. Schweitzer was born in a Lutheran parsonage in Kayser-
Shabbatean messianic movement of the seventeenth century.
sberg, Upper Alsace, which was then in Germany. This
His work on Shabbateanism argued that this heretical move-
locale, which included his childhood hometown of Güns-
ment was not a marginal phenomenon in Jewish history but
bach, and his university city, Strassburg, later became part
instead the central event of the seventeenth century. By un-
of France.
dermining the hegemony of the rabbis, Shabbateanism be-
came the great watershed between the Middle Ages and mo-
In 1899 Schweitzer received a doctorate in philosophy
dernity and foreshadowed the rise of antinomian secularism.
and in 1900 a doctorate in theology from Strassburg. Yet
Thus, Scholem argued that the rise of modern Judaism was
philosophy and theology could not contain all his energies,
a consequence of an event within the Jewish religious tradi-
some of which he directed to music. Between 1905 and 1911
tion and not simply the result of outside influences. Secular-
he began making intensive studies and contributions to the
ism, rather than constituting a break from Jewish history,
literature on Johann Sebastian Bach, whose organ music he
was a product of a dynamic within Jewish history itself.
also edited. Regarded by his teachers and critics as a man
with sufficient talent to be world-renowned as an organ per-
Scholem’s history of Jewish mysticism sweeps from late
former, he chose instead to write on the almost mystical spir-
antiquity to the threshold of modernity, and in his hands,
ituality of Bach. Schweitzer later took a zinc-lined organ with
Qabbalah became the key to the history of the Jews during
him to the damp climate of equatorial Africa and occasional-
this long period. Scholem argued that Judaism is not a mo-
ly returned to his Günsbach bench and performed elsewhere
nolithic tradition but consists instead of a dialectical inter-
in Europe to raise funds for his African ventures.
play of conflicting forces. Only by understanding this tradi-
It was these African endeavors that made a world citizen
tion in its anarchistic entirety can one grasp the “essence” of
out of Schweitzer and that led to his winning the Nobel
Judaism.
Peace Prize in 1952. After having shown his ability to excel
Behind Scholem’s historiographical achievement lay a
in philosophy, theology, and music, Schweitzer felt a call to
philosophy of modern Judaism that combined Zionism with
become a physician so that he could address human suffer-
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SCHWEITZER, ALBERT
8179
ing. He recognized a vocation to this role after having been
revitalized Christianity around the figure of “the historical
moved by a Strassburg statue of an African, and he chose for
Jesus.”
his work a site called Lambaréné in Gabon, in French Equa-
Schweitzer devastated the reputation of many predeces-
torial Africa. There he went with his wife, physician and re-
sors by showing that their search for the historical Jesus was
searcher Hélène Bresslau, after he received the M.D. degree
not sufficiently historical. There was no “historical Jesus” to
in 1913, and there he spent most of his remaining fifty years.
be found, he said, since the biblical records left such figures
Schweitzer became one of the best-known figures in the
irretrievable, and he showed that German scholars had usual-
world, a pioneer in a form of humanitarianism that was to
ly stopped their quest short, at the point where they found
know no boundaries of ideology, nation, or religion. Al-
a Jesus who projected their own liberal ideals. The evidence,
though the administration of his hospital clinic was often ar-
Schweitzer said, reached instead to a Jesus who turned out
bitrary, patriarchal, and paternalistic, and although his atti-
to be virtually useless for such purposes. Jesus was an apoca-
tude toward African blacks was so condescending as to be
lyptic zealot who had thought that God would break into
regarded as racist by critics, Schweitzer gained and held cre-
world history and usher in his Kingdom after Jesus began his
dentials because of his ability to serve suffering natives. He
ministry. When God failed to do this, Jesus by his own suf-
attracted volunteers from all over the world, and for decades
ferings tried to bring on that divine action. There was no way
Lambaréné was a goal for pilgrimages. Visitors ordinarily
such an eschatologically minded figure could be anything
brought back enthusiastic, almost unrestrained, reports of
but alien to moderns.
Schweitzer’s motivation and a humane spirituality that ema-
Paradoxically, this did not mean the end of following
nated from his work and life. Lambaréné was an easy image
the spirit of Christ. Schweitzer often wrote in almost mystical
to grasp, one that left a much bigger stamp on the religious
terms about following Jesus. In the eyes of many he success-
world than did anything Schweitzer was to write or say.
fully promoted a search for the divine will in the path of this
remote and mysterious Jesus. While Schweitzer’s positive
Yet the physician also had much to say in philosophy
theology held limited appeal, serious biblical scholarship has
and religion, and some of his writings on the New Testament
subsequently had to build its New Testament historical re-
found a permanent place in the canons of biblical criticism.
search on new foundations.
It is clear that Schweitzer wanted to make his mark through
a multivolume Kulturphilosophie (1923), which was translat-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ed as Philosophy of Civilization. He worked on its third vol-
Taken together, two biographies—Schweitzer (New York, 1971),
ume for many years between surgical operations in Africa.
by George N. Marshall and David Poling, and Albert
Its first volume, with its survey of history, has had little im-
Schweitzer (New York, 1975), by James Brabazon—provide
pact and would be little read were it not for curiosity about
a comprehensive portrait of Schweitzer’s eclectic talents and
the author.
undertakings. Jackson Lee Ice restricts himself to a study of
a single aspect of Schweitzer’s career, namely, his impact on
The second volume, however, includes Schweitzer’s per-
theological and historical studies of Christianity, in Schweit-
sonal religious philosophy, identified by his famous phrase
zer: Prophet of Radical Theology (Philadelphia, 1971), and
“reverence for life.” One day in 1915 on a boat on the Og-
Henry Clark probes The Ethical Mysticism of Albert Schweit-
zer: A Study of the Sources and Significance of Schweitzer’s Phi-

ooué River, Schweitzer had an almost mystical revelatory ex-
losophy of Civilization (Boston, 1962). Concise presentations
perience. This led him to concentrate his disparate energies
of the highlights of Schweitzer’s life and work abound in Al-
on the notion and ethos of reverence for all life. It was this
bert Schweitzer: An Anthology, edited by Charles R. Joy (Bos-
passion that made the doctor well known, sometimes notori-
ton, 1965), which reprints excerpts, organized by topic, from
ous, because he did not want to kill mosquitoes or bees or
Schweitzer’s prolific writing career, on issues ranging from
any other living things, even though they add to misery by
“Bach’s World-View” to “The Cause of the World War,”
spreading diseases. He felt that reverence for life, for which
and in In Albert Schweitzer’s Realms, edited by A. A. Roback
he presented little philosophical justification but toward
(Cambridge, Mass., 1962), a collection of addresses and es-
which he assembled all his religious energies, made its own
says presented at a symposium in his honor. The latter in-
claims on humans, whose future depended upon how they
cludes articles by Jacques Maritain, Paul Tillich, and Tom
regarded all life.
Dooley. Many of the themes in these works are discussed in
George Seaver’s substantial study, Albert Schweitzer: The
Schweitzer’s more vivid theological work concentrated
Man and His Mind, 6th ed. (New York, 1969).
on radical studies of Jesus. Gradually his Lutheranism was
New Sources
transformed into a reverent attention to the “spirit of
Bentley, James. Albert Schweitzer: The Enigma. New York, 1992.
Christ,” and some thought of him as a Unitarian. His Die
Berman, Edgar. In Africa with Schweitzer. Far Hills, N.J., 1986.
Mystik des Apostels Paulus (1930) elaborated on some of these
Meyer, Marvin W., and Kurt Bergel. Reverence for Life: The Ethics
themes, but Von Reimarus zu Wrede (1906), translated as The
of Albert Schweitzer for the Twenty-First Century. Syracuse,
Quest of the Historical Jesus (1910), had epochal significance.
N.Y., 2002.
The book traces the history of biblical criticism, chiefly in
Schweitzer, Albert. Out of My Life and Thought: An Autobiography.
Germany, through a century of liberal efforts to establish a
Rev. ed. New York, 1990.
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SCIENCE AND RELIGION
Schweitzer, Albert. The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Critical
The Chinese were gifted with social organization and,
Study of Its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede. (1910) Balti-
like other ancients, developed sophisticated weapons for war.
more, Md., 1998.
Other Chinese craft achievements included the compass,
Starobeltsev, A. “Life Is Indivisible: Albert Schweitzer’s Ethic of
gunpowder, ceramics, block printing, and the stirrup. Re-
Love.” Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate no. 10 (1989):
naissance Europe imported East Asian porcelain, and even
37–41.
today westerners calls their dishes “china.” Yet what the
MARTIN E. MARTY (1987)
moderns know as the method of scientific discovery and
Revised Bibliography
technological innovation seems inimical to the mystical and
occult practices of Daoism and Buddhism and to the hierar-
chical social philosophy of Confucianism. Thus, from the
SCIENCE AND RELIGION. During the final third
beginning of the twentieth century through the Communist
of the twentieth century an interdisciplinary field arose that
revolution to century’s end, many Chinese intellectuals em-
claims the name science and religion. By science it refers to
braced a Chinese form of scientism. Science, it was thought,
natural sciences such as physics, cosmology, evolutionary bi-
could do what the previous philosophical and religious tradi-
ology, genetics, and the neurosciences; and it includes sup-
tions had failed to do, namely, restore China to its proper
porting disciplines such as history of science and philosophy
place on the world stage and provide liberation from poverty
of science. Although on occasion scholars in this field will
and backwardness.
dip into one or another social science, for the most part the
Buddhism retains its ancient roots and is showing buds
field limits itself to the natural sciences. By religion it refers
that could flower in contemporary discussions with science.
to two regions of religious thought. The first is generically
Buddhism is open to three types of relationship with science.
spiritual, wherein research scientists are asked to explore ways
First, a supportive relationship is possible where existing sci-
in which their understandings of nature emit evidence or
ence and technology can be employed to support Buddhist
lack of evidence of transcendence. The second is doctrinally
projects, such as employment of engineering to construct
conceptual, wherein Christian systematic theology, as well as
shrines and statues. Second, a more integral relationship can
the philosophical or conceptual components to traditions
be found in the five fields of monastic knowledge: linguistics,
such as Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese
logic, speculative philosophy, medicine, and creative arts.
traditions, are placed in dialogue with the sciences to reconc-
One of the central philosophical issues has been causality, al-
eive God’s relation to the world in creation, providence,
ready raised in Buddhism’s four noble truths, where unsatis-
moral guidance, and related interactions. Science and reli-
fied craving is the cause of suffering. This opens Buddhism
gion is a field of academic study that invites contributions
to integration with physical causality as science investigates
from a variety of sciences and a variety of religious commit-
it. Third, a consequential relationship obtains when Bud-
ments; it is not itself a religious tradition or homogeneous
dhists, who believe in reincarnation, find themselves fasci-
school of thought.
nated with such sciences as embryology. If an extensive dia-
The science that is relevant here is primarily modern sci-
logue with science develops among Buddhists, it can be
ence. Contemporary heirs to ancient religious traditions face
expected to look different from the dialogue between science
upsetting challenges from the revolutionary spirit of the
and Western theists (Richard Payne, “Buddhism and the Sci-
modern world, and science marches as the vanguard of mo-
ences,” in Peters and Bennett, 2002, pp. 153–172).
dernity. Its ruthless dedication to empirically derived truth
renders science brutal in its disregard for previous beliefs,
ANCIENT GREECE AND ANCIENT ISRAEL. It is widely as-
even sacred beliefs. No appeal to traditional religious author-
sumed that for science as a method of discovery to arise three
ity can stand in the face of repudiation by modern scientific
things must be affirmed. First, the natural world must be
theory or its companion, technology. Awareness of this
structured rationally if not mathematically. Second, the ra-
threat occasionally precipitates defensive religious reactions.
tional structure of the human mind must correspond to the
Such reactions are frequently temporary, however, and even-
structure of nature itself. That is, human beings need the ca-
tually most religious leaders find ways to make peace with
pacity to understand the world of nature. Third, the natural
the new apprehension of reality heralded by science.
world must be contingent, not eternal or divine or capri-
cious. It must be the case that the world as it is known is not
ANCIENT ASIA. Science as the world knows it today was born
necessary—it could have been different than it is. Hence, the
in western Europe in the sixteenth century and has migrated
pursuit of knowledge of this world must follow a specific
around the globe challenging traditional societies with a ma-
course of research based upon observation of specific phe-
terialistic and humanistic view of reality. However, ancestral
nomena in order to discern specific causal connections.
examples of quizzing nature to learn its secrets and of inge-
nious technological innovation can be found in many parts
The correspondence between the rational structure of
of ancient Asia. For example, the decimal system, including
the world and that of the human mind was discerned in an-
place notation using zero, first appeared in ancient India. As
cient Greece. From the Greek logos we derive our concepts
knowledge traveled to central Asia, algebra developed, ad-
of logic and terms ending in logy, meaning “study of.” Euclid
vancing to second degree equations.
gave us geometry. Pythagoras saw the physical world orga-
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nized according to number. Hipparchos discovered the pre-
Without a unifying orthodoxy, a variety of Islamic ap-
cession of equinoxes. Archimedes analyzed the lever. Aristar-
proaches developed to deal with Eilm, or systematized knowl-
chos of Samos proposed a heliocentric picture of the
edge, that included not only the natural sciences but also phi-
universe, while Ptolemy’s universe, with the earth at the cen-
lology, lexicography, philosophy, jurisprudence, and
ter, won the day temporarily and dominated Western
theology. The study of nature was pursued on an intellectual
thought until Nicolaus Copernicus in the sixteenth century.
soccer field with religious law (shar¯ı Eah) at one end and
Aristotle set the stage for biology, physics, and metaphysics,
philosophical theology (kala¯m) at the other. Abu¯ H:a¯mid
all celebrating human rational capacity.
al-Ghaza¯l¯ı (1058–1111) distinguished shar¯ı Eah (sciences de-
rived from divine law and coming from the QurDa¯n and the
What ancient Israel contributed was reflection on its ex-
prophets) from the ghayr shar¯ı Eah (sciences not having to do
perience with contingency. The world created by its cove-
with divine law, such as arithmetic, which comes from rea-
nanting God could have been different, but this world exists
son, and medicine, which is produced by experiment). Some
because the God of Israel freely decided to make it this way.
proponents of religious law insisted that it should govern all
Contingency could be combined with Greek reason. God
spheres of life, including personal and public conduct; they
has “arranged all things by measure and number and weight”
also argued that religious law should set the parameters for
(Wis. 11:20). The God of eternity and power can be “under-
what science can and cannot do.
stood and seen through the things he has made,” says Saint
Paul (Rom. 1:20). Many scholars believe that the fertilization
A significant intellectual development at the kala¯m, or
of reason by contingency provided the embryonic beginning
philosophical, end of the field is indirectly relevant for any
of what would eventually gestate into modern Western
future dialogue Muslims might take up with modern science.
science.
Kala¯m theologians concerned themselves with understand-
ing God (Alla¯h) as the creator and sustainer of all that is in
Stanley L. Jaki theorizes that the role of the incarnation
the material world. The school of Abu¯ al-H:asan al-AshEar¯ı
in Christian theology was decisive. Because the incarnation
(874–935) contended that God is the only and direct cause
of God in Jesus Christ is a one-time-only event, the created
of all events in the material world, even human actions.
world in general is rendered nondivine. As a result, under-
Causal agency is restricted to God. This doctrine, sometimes
standing the world requires direct physical examination rath-
called occasionalism, has the consequence of eliminating reli-
er than indirect idealist speculation. “A created universe had
ance upon efficient causation in the physical realm. Without
to be rational and consistent, but also contingent, that is,
assuming the world to be consistent due to unbreakable caus-
only one of an infinite number of possibilities available to
al efficacy or to reliable consistency in divine action, science
an infinite creator who cannot but be infinitely powerful and
has nothing to investigate.
rational” (Jaki, 1987, vol. 13, p. 129). This leads to a posteri-
Turning to medieval Europe, long before the advent of
ori rather than a priori reasoning and, hence, the experimen-
Islam, Christian theologians had been wrestling with Greek
tal method of research.
knowledge in the form of natural philosophy. Although Ter-
I
tullian (160–220) had exclaimed rhetorically, “what has Ath-
SLAM AND MEDIEVAL EUROPE. Islam’s history is long, cov-
ering a broad sweep of civilizational development; therefore,
ens to do with Jerusalem?!” indicating the independence of
one should expect considerable diversity of approaches to the
theology from pagan thought, Augustine of Hippo (354–
relationship of science to faith. The root question through-
430), in contrast, absorbed as much Greek learning as possi-
ble, declaring science and philosophy to be a welcome hand-
out Islamic history is the relationship between science inter-
maid to theology. This affirming attitude prevailed through
nal to Islam—that is, within the purview of the QurDa¯n or
E
the Middle Ages with the development of the Two Books
ulu¯m al-EArab (science of the Arabs)—and science that is ex-
doctrine, according to which the book of nature reveals God
ternal—that is, deriving from either the natural human ca-
as creator and the book of Scripture reveals God as redeemer.
pacity to reason or from pre-Muslim traditions. The early
Medieval Christians read both books, for the scientists and
Abbasid rulers in the late eight and early ninth centuries vig-
the theologians were typically the same people.
orously promoted the rational and pre-Islamic sciences. They
funded the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-H:ikmah) to retrieve
One of the central theological tasks of the early Middle
ancient wisdom and enhance it through translations into Ar-
Ages was to reconcile Platonic philosophy, especially the Ti-
abic of works in Greek, Syriac, Pahlavi, and Sanskrit. Includ-
maeus, with biblical pictures of creation. This task changed
ed in these translation projects were the works of Aristotle
sharply in the eleventh and twelfth centuries when, with
and, of course, Ptolemy’s Almagest. In addition to reading
Islam as the conduit, new translations appeared of the entire
Ptolemy, Muslim scientists engaged in solar and stellar obser-
corpus of ancient Greek learning. Now, instead of Plato, it
vations and created astronomical tables. Abu¯ YaDqu¯b al-
became Aristotle who interviewed for the job of theology’s
Kindi (800–870) articulated the philosophy of the era by af-
handmaid. Islamic scholars such as Ibn S¯ına¯ (Avicenna,
firming an appreciation of the truth wherever it comes from,
980–1037) and Ibn Rushd (Averroës, 1126–1198) provided
even if it comes from races distant and nations different from
texts and commentaries for Latin Christians to examine, re-
the Arabs.
flect on, question, and integrate.
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Both Muslim and Christian theologians found prob-
in natural science. Luther heard tales of Copernicus’s new
lematic Aristotle’s assumption that the elements of creation
thought but apparently had no serious engagement. One off-
were eternal, thereby challenging biblical notions of creation
hand remark appears in 1539—four years prior to the as-
from nothing (creatio ex nihilo), as well as divinely promised
tronomer’s major book—in Table Talk, where Luther pon-
eschatological transformation. Aristotle’s notion of the soul
ders a rumor that Copernicus believes the earth moves rather
as the form of the body, which denied the soul’s independent
than the sun and the sky. Luther is said to have quipped that
existence, seemed incompatible with previously Platonized
this would be comparable to somebody riding on a cart or
Muslim and Christian anthropologies. Methodologically,
in a ship and imagining that he was standing still while the
Aristotle’s rationalized universe seemed to threaten reliance
earth and the trees were moving. Luther added that it was
upon specially revealed knowledge. The exhaustive scope of
the sun that was commanded to stand still, not the earth, in
the causal nexus and sense of determinism seemed to pre-
the biblical description of Joshua fighting at Jericho (Jos.
clude miracles (Peters, Iqbal, and Haq, 2002, pp. 18–27;
10:12–14). Such remarks did not come from Luther’s own
Ferngren, 2000, p. 263). Initial attempts to exclude Aristote-
authored writings but from students who took notes. Spoken
lian philosophy eventually gave way to embrace and intellec-
in jest, such items ought not be interpreted as indicating any
tual celebration, however, culminating in the synthetic
general opposition to science.
achievements of Albert the Great (1193–1280) and Thomas
Aquinas (1225–1274).
While Luther was attending to the interpretation of
scripture and reforming the church, his own Wittenberg Ref-
Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica Christianized Ar-
ormation colleagues, a mathematician named Georg Joachim
istotle and Aristotlianized Christianity. On the one hand,
Rheticus and a pastor named Andreas Osiander, in 1543 exe-
this synthesis also scientized Christianity, insofar as Aristot-
cuted an agreement with Copernicus to publish the first edi-
le’s view of nature amounted to the reigning science of the
tion his major work, De revolutionibus. Twelve hundred cop-
day. The historian David C. Lindberg reports that “the late-
ies appeared from a Nuremburg printing press. The
medieval scholar rarely experienced the coercive power of the
anonymous preface, written by Osiander, includes the con-
church and would have regarded himself as free (particularly
troversial line: “It is not necessary that these hypotheses
in the natural sciences) to follow reason and observation
should be true, or even probable; but it is enough if they pro-
wherever they led. There was no warfare between science and
vide a calculus which fits the observations.” Significant here
the church” (Ferngren, 2000, p. 266). On the other hand,
are two items: first, the acceptance of hypothesis as a compo-
permanent reliance upon this synthesis rendered Christian
nent to developing new ideas; and, second, that this work has
thought vulnerable to the challenges of what would later be-
scientific value even if not true. What may have motivated
come modern science, which replaced much of the Aristote-
such a prefatory statement in anonymous form was most
lian cosmology with empirically derived knowledge.
likely a desire to make it easier for Roman Catholics to adopt
Copernicus’s ideas by softening the conceptual threat and by
THE COPERNICAN REVOLUTION AND THE PROTESTANT
deleting any references to Lutheranism. Copernicus saw his
REFORMATION. The Copernican revolution and the Protes-
book and the preface only on his deathbed in 1543 (Owen
tant Reformation were siblings, sharing the same century and
Gingerich, “The Copernican Revolution,” in Ferngren,
exhibiting together a momentary youthful rebellion within
2000, pp. 334–339).
the Western Latin church. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–
1543), who was a cathedral canon in Cracow, Poland, sur-
Both Luther and Calvin distinguished between astrolo-
mised that the worldview he had inherited, namely the Ptole-
gy and astronomy, and both rejected astrology as idolatry
maic worldview of ancient Greece, needed revision. The
while celebrating astronomy as science. Philip Melanchthon
Ptolemaic or geocentric understanding held that the earth is
(1497–1560) wrote on astrology, and this annoyed Luther,
immovable and that the sun and the other planets orbit the
who trusted the more scientific and less superstitious ap-
earth. Copernicus, relying upon his own observations (with-
proach to the stars. For Calvin as well as Luther, sciences
out a telescope), plus his own mathematical calculations,
such as astronomy and medicine provide valuable knowledge
wrote De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the revolu-
of this world, while human minds are asked to rise beyond
tions of the heavenly bodies) in 1543, advancing the hypoth-
this world to appreciate the glory of the God who made it.
esis that the sun, not the earth, stood at the center of the uni-
The historical bridge figure between Copernicus and Galileo,
verse. The Copernican heliocentric view held that the
the Lutheran astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), ad-
earth—like the other planets—revolves around the sun. The
vanced heliocentrism and suggested that scripture is written
evidence Copernicus raised was not decisive, yet it did pro-
for common-sense understanding and should not be taken
vide a hypothetical scheme for calculating what could be ob-
as a textbook in science.
served in the night sky with the unaided human eye.
It is frequently assumed in contemporary discussion
Copernicus was a devout Roman Catholic; his six-
that the so-called Copernican revolution consisted of decent-
teenth-century counterpart was Protestantism. For the most
ering the earth and changing the place of human beings in
part, Martin Luther (1483–1546) and John Calvin (1509–
the hierarchy of the cosmos. Historical evidence does not
1564) paid little attention to the incipient revolution begun
confirm such an interpretation. That Copernicus’s theory led
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to a significant change in scientific cosmology is indisputa-
vinity ascribed to natural objects or forces. Once divine ca-
ble. That his heliocentric view upset a prevailing religious
priciousness was removed from the nexus of natural causa-
view that allegedly relied upon earth centrism and human
tion, scientists were ready to plot with confidence the
centrism is disputable. For the most part, the new cosmology
mechanics of the world machine. Thus, the mechanistic
elicited relatively little theological attention and certainly no
model—the model of the natural world as a clock—could
discernable religious excitement. Some Jesuit scholars in En-
establish itself. This is what Newton provided and what be-
gland were working in the 1570s to relocate heaven among
came the Western worldview until Einstein.
the stars in light of Copernicus’s new cosmology, but this
only testifies to the absence of any initial dismay or disorien-
Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) authored influential sci-
tation on the part of the church’s theologians.
entific works such as Philosophia naturalis principia mathe-
matica
(1687), Opticks (1704), and Arithmetica universalis
GALILEO’S CONDEMNATION. A modern myth perpetuated
(1707). He is remembered and applauded for unifying the
by those wishing to see warfare between science and religion
heavens with the earth in a single mathematical concept of
is to list martyrs for scientific truth who were allegedly perse-
nature united by the laws of mechanics and the law of gravi-
cuted by an atavistic and dogma-bound ecclesiastical author-
ty. By invoking the idea that all bodies everywhere operate
ity (White, 1896, chap. 3). Although this interpretation is
with mutual gravitation, he ascertained that the forces that
exaggerated, a kernel of truth in the condemnations of Gali-
keep the planets in their orbits must be reciprocally the
leo Galilei (1564–1642) fuels the fire of scientific-martyr re-
squares of their distances from their centers. Newton applied
membrance.
what was known about terrestrial mechanics to the heavenly
The central issues had to do with interpretations of bib-
bodies and thereby erased any previously presumed gulf of
lical passages such as Psalms 104:4 and Joshua 10:12–14,
difference. Arrival at such knowledge is through experiment
which picture a world with a stable earth and movements by
with mathematical calculations. Scientific knowledge be-
the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies. Both the authori-
came mundane and objective, liberated from subjective pro-
ty of the Bible and the authority of the papacy to interpret
jections of transcendental value or moral bias.
the Bible seemed to be at stake, not loyalty to Ptolemy
Following fellow English scientist Robert Boyle (1627–
per se.
1691) in likening the natural world to a well-designed clock,
Galileo defended Copernicus against Ptolemy in his
Newton emphasized that the world needs God as the clock-
Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mundo (Dialogue con-
maker—that is, it needs a divine first cause. In addition, the
cerning the two chief world systems) of 1632, buttressing the
world clock also needs God for frequent adjustment and re-
earlier argument for heliocentrism with telescopic observa-
pair. Newton was a theist with Unitarian rather than Trini-
tions as evidence. During nearly two decades of controversy,
tarian leanings, believing in an active God whose concursus
Galileo argued that biblical allusions to a stationary earth and
with nature performed necessary tasks, such as determining
a moveable sun should be seen as the cosmological frame
the actual paths of planets in their orbits. Historians of sci-
rather than the theological focus of the Bible’s message. Such
ence view this as a mistake on Newton’s part, as later research
a principle of interpretation would permit changes in scien-
would provide a scientific explanation for actions he had
tific worldview while holding to biblical authority in matters
thought to be divine. When asked by Napoleon (in an al-
of faith. During the controversies, Cardinal Cesare Baronius
leged conversation) about God’s intervention into planetary
(1538–1607) bequeathed to history the famous aphorism,
orbits, Pierre-Simon, the Marquis de Laplace, answered, “I
“The Bible tells us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens
have no need of that hypothesis.” What subsequent scientific
go.”
history would carry beyond Newton is the image of nature
Such a hermeneutic of Scripture failed to win the day,
as a universal and mathematizable mechanism, dependable
however, and papal condemnations in both 1616 and 1632
and discernible, with no need for divine intervention (Dil-
defended a stable earth and a moveable sun on the grounds
lenberger, 1960, p. 125).
that the Bible presumes this; that is, heliocentrism would
Sparked by the publication of five extraordinary scien-
amount to a violation of scriptural authority. Copernicus’s
tific papers by Albert Einstein (1879–1955) in 1905, people
De revolutionibus was placed on the Index Expurgatorius in
in the twentieth century began to think of the natural world
1616, and Galileo’s Dialogo was added in 1632, meaning
as much more mysterious than the Newtonian clock model
that Catholics were forbidden to read these works. Curious-
might allow. Einstein’s special theory of relativity made both
ly, Jesuits in China, who had already begun to teach the Co-
duration and length relative to motion, undercutting the as-
pernican cosmology, had to reverse themselves and begin
sumption that the universe is framed by a stable or absolute
teaching earth centrism, a pedagogical change that created
container of time and space. Incorporating gravity into this
confusion among their Asian students.
theory in 1915 to produce his general theory of relativity,
THE NEWTONIAN AND EINSTEINIAN WORLDS. As the story
Einstein showed that space and matter act on one another
of astronomy winds through Western intellectual history, the
so as to deform space itself: space tells matter how to move,
advance in Copernicanism was accompanied by a retreat of
and matter tells space how to curve. In Einstein’s non-
Aristotelianism, especially a retreat from the sacredness or di-
Euclidian world of diverging and intersecting parallel lines,
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SCIENCE AND RELIGION
the shortest path from one point to another in the presence
awareness of historical relativity and the sociology of knowl-
of a gravitational field can become a curved line. Thus gravity
edge. Philosophers such as Michael Polanyi, Norwood Han-
is said to “bend” light.
son, Thomas Kuhn, Stephen Toulmin, and Imre Lakatos
placed scientific knowing into historically conditioned com-
Perhaps the most pervasive sense of mystery was intro-
munities of knowing. This challenged alleged scientific ob-
duced with what became known as quantum theory in phys-
jectivity. The result was a new picture of scientific knowledge
ics, according to which nature’s smallest particles, such as
that began to look like humanistic knowledge, and even like
electrons, do not behave mechanistically. Rather, their be-
theological knowledge.
havior seems indeterminate and unpredictable; only over the
long run, or statistically, do lawlike or mechanical patterns
The third intellectual factor was a ripening for dialogue
emerge. Still further, the act of observing subatomic behavior
within theology. The reign was coming to an end for the gi-
influences such behavior, thereby compromising the Newto-
ants of neo-orthodox and existentialist Protestant theology—
nian sense of objectivity or nonparticipatory observation in
Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr,
scientific method. Subjectivity seems constitutive of the real-
H. Richard Niebuhr, Anders Nygren, Gustaf Aulen, and
ity being observed (Ravindra, 1987, 5.72).
others. This school of thought had immunized theology
from science by embracing the Two Language model, ac-
One of the implications of Einstein’s early work was the
cording to which science and faith each speak a different lan-
concept of an expanding universe, a concept that by the time
guage. Science speaks of facts, whereas religion speaks of
of its definitive confirmation in 1965 became broadly accept-
meaning. Because the languages are untranslatable, so it was
ed as Big Bang cosmology—the notion that all of physical
assumed, science could have no relevance for matters of faith.
reality could be traced back to a singularity 13.7 billion years
Science and faith are allegedly separate realms. One disciple
ago, when time and space began—sent intellectual shock
of Paul Tillich and Reinhold Niebuhr, Langdon Gilkey,
waves through the religious imagination. With the Big Bang,
flooded theological discussion in the 1960s with published
the physical world appears to have an edge, something be-
works calling attention to the cultural impact of science,
yond time and space; with this edge, questions of transcen-
making science a theological issue because it is a cultural
dence arose within physical cosmology. Even Saint Augus-
issue. Science was knocking at the theological door, even if
tine’s forbidden question—what was God doing before there
it was not being invited in.
was time?—could be re-asked, now by physicists. The mys-
teries of the quantum world along with the Big Bang led
In Roman Catholic theology, the Second Vatican
physicists such as Paul Davies to suggest that now “science
Council (1962–1965) had taken aggiornamento as its
offers a surer path to God than religion” (Davies, 1983,
theme—that is, opening the windows of the church so the
p. ix).
winds of the modern world could blow through. The mood
THE FIELD OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION. What is known
of the mid-1960s was one of exuberant openness, and this
today as the field of science and religion gained its present
openness soon included openness to science.
definition during the 1960s. The American Scientific Affilia-
It was in this intellectual environment that a new vision
tion, founded in 1941 by evangelical scientists, set a prece-
for the interaction of science and religion evolved. For conve-
dent. Yet the 1960s marked a significant transition in intel-
nience, this emergence is marked with the 1966 publication
lectual culture.
of Issues in Science and Religion by Ian G. Barbour (b. 1923).
Three factors in the intellectual environment of evolu-
Barbour grew up in China with a scientist father and theolo-
tionary adaptation led to the emergence of the new field.
gian mother, and he was present the day in 1929 when Jesuit
First, from within the new science, as reported above, ques-
paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin arrived with the
tions of transcendence arose. The confirmation of Big Bang
skull of what would later be called Beijing Man. Educated
cosmology in 1965 was perhaps the most decisive. Continu-
in both physics and theology, Barbour’s first book defined
ing debates over quantum indeterminacy and complemen-
the nascent field for four decades to follow. Barbour’s publi-
tarity began to place physics on the theological agenda. Al-
cations, including his Gifford Lectures (1989–1991), have
though the double-helix structure of DNA had been
continued to shape it.
discovered earlier (in 1953) the development of molecular
Barbour inspired a youthful colleague, Robert John
biology in the 1960s, accompanied by startling new pros-
Russell (b. 1946), a United Church of Christ pastor with a
pects in genetic engineering, raised questions of human na-
Ph.D. in physics, to establish in 1981 the Center for Theolo-
ture for philosophers and questions of ethics for religious
gy and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) at the Graduate Theo-
leaders. Science seemed to be asking for religious involve-
logical Union in Berkeley, California. CTNS has sought the
ment and interpretation.
creative mutual interaction between science and faith. The
The second intellectual factor was the turn taken in the
center also publishes the journal Theology and Science. Pope
field of philosophy of science. The strict empiricism, positiv-
John Paul II exonerated Galileo early in his pontificate, and
ism, and reductionism that had held sway for the first two
from 1987 to 2003 the pope sponsored a sustained research
thirds of the twentieth century was challenged by a new
program dealing with “scientific perspectives on divine ac-
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SCIENCE AND RELIGION
8185
tion,” conducted cooperatively by the Vatican Observatory
Scientism. In the contemporary West, the term scien-
and CTNS.
tism refers to naturalism, reductionism, or secular human-
ism—that is, the belief that there exists only one reality,
Beginning in the 1970s, centers and societies for the
namely, the material world, and that science provides the
study of science and religion sprang up around the world.
only trustworthy method for gaining knowledge about this
At Oxford University the biologist-theologian Arthur Pea-
material reality. Science has an exhaustive monopoly on
cocke organized the Society of Ordained Scientists and, fol-
knowledge, rendering all claims by religion about knowledge
lowed by historian John Hedley Brooke, nurtured the Ian
of supernatural realities as fictions or pseudo-knowledge. All
Ramsey Centre for research in this field. German-language
explanations are reducible to secularized material explana-
discussions were prompted by the Karl Heim Gesellschaft,
tions. Religion is defeated in the war by ignoring it.
founded in 1974, which publishes an annual summary of re-
search. At the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, the
Here, scientism does not mean exactly what it did a cen-
Zygon Center for Science and Religion, founded by Ralph
tury ago in China. Science then appeared as a potential sav-
Wendel Burhoe and supported by the Center for Advanced
ior, an antireligious and anti-traditional force of revolution
Study in Religion and Science and the Institute for Religion
that would liberate modern people from their oppressive
in an Age of Science, was directed (as of 2004) by Antje Jack-
past. In contemporary intellectual debate, scientism still con-
elen, with Philip Hefner serving as editor of Zygon: Journal
notes liberation from oppressive religion, but it is restricted
of Religion and Science. The European Society for the Study
to methodology rather than politics and economics.
of Science and Theology meets biennially on the European
Scientific imperialism. This is scientism that does not
continent. The Association of Science, Society, and Religion
ignore religion; rather, it uses materialist reductionism to ex-
in India, the Australian Theological Forum, and the Center
plain religious experience and reassess theological claims. Sci-
for Islam and Science in Islamabad and Edmonton, are ex-
entific imperialists grant value to religion and religious val-
amples of centers that draw scientists and religious leaders
ues, and may even grant the existence of God, yet they claim
into academic conversation and generate publications that
that science provides a method for discerning religious truth
expand the field.
that is superior to that of traditional theology. In contempo-
In the 1990s the John Templeton Foundation of Rad-
rary discussion this approach is taken by some physical cos-
nor, Pennsylvania, whose leaders believe interaction with sci-
mologists when explaining creation or eschatology, and by
ence will facilitate “progress in religion” began funding nu-
sociobiologists or evolutionary psychologists proffering a bi-
merous individuals and organizations. The Templeton
ological explanation for cultural evolution including religion
Foundation was financial midwife at the 2002 birth of the
and ethics. Here religion is defeated in the war by conquering
multi-religious International Society for Science and Reli-
and colonizing it.
gion centered at Cambridge University, with the physicist-
Ecclesiastical authoritarianism. According to this
theologian John Polkinghorne as its first president. The an-
model, which defends the reverse of the previous two mod-
nual Templeton Prize for contributions to religion are fre-
els, modern science clashes with religious dogma that is au-
quently given to scholars in the field of science and religion;
thoritatively supported by ecclesiastical fiat, the Bible, or in
recipients have included the physicists Freeman Dyson, Paul
Islam by the QurDa¯n. The 1864 Syllabus of Errors, promulgat-
Davies, and John Polkinghorne; the philosophers Seyyed
ed by the Vatican, asserts that scientific claims must be sub-
Hossein Nasr and Homes Rolston III; as well as Barbour and
ject to the authority of divine revelation as the church has
Peacocke.
discerned it. The Second Vatican Council affirmed academic
freedom for natural science and other secular disciplines, re-
WARFARE AND NONWARFARE MODELS OF INTERACTION
moving the Vatican from warfare and placing it in the Two
BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RELIGION. The idea that natural sci-
Language model.
ence and Christian faith are locked into perpetual warfare de-
rives from the late-nineteenth-century controversy over Dar-
The battle over Darwinian evolution. A war is cur-
winian evolution (Draper, 1874; White, 1896). This
rently being fought between the Darwinian theory of evolu-
reinterpretation of previous history served the agenda of
tion, especially the concept of natural selection, on the one
some scientists in England and North America who at that
side, and scientific creationists, Intelligent Design advocates,
time were seeking to dislodge disciplines such as theology
and some factions within Turkish Islam, on the other side.
from university accreditation. However, the “warfare thesis,”
The scientific creationists are heirs to fundamentalist Protes-
sometimes called the “conflict” model, is but one way to
tantism; they argue that a fair assessment of the science will
think of the relation of science to religion. The agenda of the
show the inadequacy of natural selection to explain what ap-
field of science and religion is to find a nonwarfare or cooper-
pears to be evolution from one species to another, and this
ative pattern of interaction (Peters, 1998, pp. 13–22; Bar-
failure to provide a satisfactory scientific explanation indi-
bour, 1990, pp. 3–30). At the beginning of the twenty-first
rectly supports the biblical description of creation. Intelligent
century, eight patterns of interaction are discernable, four fit-
Design advocates similarly criticize the explanatory adequacy
ting the warfare interpretation and four that embrace peace-
of natural selection, arguing that evolution from one species
ful cooperation, if not integration.
to another constitutes a leap in complexity, and that ad-
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vances in complexity require intervention by a transcendent
from advances in biotechnology both enlist creative coop-
intelligent designer—in other words, materialist explana-
eration.
tions are inadequate. Some Muslims in Turkey are showing
New Age spirituality. Having left the conflict or war-
interest in these two Christian groups because of their desire
fare model behind, synthetic spiritualities, such as those
to combat the secular orientation toward education in a tra-
found in the New Age movement, seek to construct a world-
ditionally religious society. That a war is being fought is
view that integrates and harmonizes science with religion.
clear. However, because the actual points at issue deal specifi-
Evolution becomes an overarching concept that incorporates
cally with the explanatory adequacy of natural selection, it
the sense of deep time and imbues the development of a
would be misleading to simply dub this a war between sci-
global spiritual consciousness as an evolutionary advance for
ence and religion. The evolution battlefield is primarily
the cosmos. Many here are prompted by the visionary theol-
North America, Australia, and Turkey, with little or no no-
ogy of Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), although this Je-
tice in Europe or in other discussions of science and religion.
suit forerunner could not himself be categorized as New Age.
The Two Languages. The notion that science speaks
Others in the New Age movement seek to integrate the expe-
one language, the language of facts, and religion speaks a dif-
rience of mystery with advanced discoveries in physics, such
ferent language, the language of values, is the dominant non-
as indeterminacy and quantum theory.
warfare model. The Two Language model—sometimes re-
Whereas these final four models take us beyond conflict
ferred to as the “independence” model—is the prevailing
or warfare, the Two Language view presumes independence,
view of both scientists and theologians in Western intellectu-
while hypothetical consonance, ethical overlap, and New
al life. Science attends to objective knowledge about objects
Age spirituality seek a fuller integration. When it comes to
in the penultimate realm, whereas religion attends to subjec-
research, publication, and conferencing within the field of
tive knowledge about transcendent dimensions of ultimate
science and religion, most frequently the assumptions of hy-
concern. Modern persons need both, according to Einstein,
pothetical consonance prevail with dialogue pressing toward
who claimed the following: “Science without religion is lame
creative mutual interaction.
and religion without science is blind” (Nature 146 [1940]:
605–607). This Two Language model should not be con-
THE PROBLEM OF “PLAYING GOD.” The two models of hy-
fused with the classic model of the Two Books, according
pothetical consonance and ethical overlap provide the frame-
to which the book of Scripture and the book of nature each
work for assessing one particular pattern of interaction of sci-
provide an avenue of revelation for God. The difference is
ence with the larger culture, namely, public-policy
that the Two Books model sees science as revealing truth
controversies that invoke abhorrence to “playing God.” The
about God, whereas the Two Language model sees science
phrase “playing God” refers to the power that science confers
as revealing truth solely about the created world.
upon the human race to understand and control the natural
world.
Hypothetical consonance. Going beyond the Two
Language view by assuming an overlap between the subject
When the phrase “playing God” is used, it may connote
matter of science and the subject matter of faith, consonance
one of three overlapping meanings. The first meaning is asso-
directs inquiry toward areas of correspondence between what
ciated with basic scientific research, wherein one may “learn
can be said scientifically about the natural world and what
God’s awesome secrets.” Some research elicits a sense of awe
can be said theologically about God’s creation. Even though
and wonder over the complexity and majesty of the natural
consonance seems to arise in some areas, such as the apparent
world that the human mind is apprehending. Science is like
correspondence of Big Bang cosmology with the doctrine of
a light shining down into the hitherto dark and secretive cav-
creation out of nothing, consonance has not been fully con-
erns of natural mystery, revealing what previously was hid-
firmed in all relevant shared areas. Hence, the adjective hypo-
den. It is the revelatory power of science that leads us to think
thetical applies to theology as well as science. The central hy-
we are gaining godlike powers. Few would ask us to cease our
pothesis of this model is that there can be only one shared
investigation, because “learning for learning’s sake” remains
domain of truth regarding the created world, and science at
the morality of scientific knowledge.
its best and faith at its best both humble themselves before
truth; one can therefore trust that consonance will eventually
The second meaning of “playing God” belongs to the
emerge. Hypothetical consonance provides the warrant for
field of medicine, where doctors seem to have gained power
what some call “dialogue between science and theology,”
over life and death. In a medical emergency, the patient feels
and others the “creative mutual interaction of science and
helpless, totally dependent upon the scientific training and
theology.”
personal skill of the physician attending. The surgeon, and
the scientific training he or she has been exposed to in medi-
Ethical overlap. Building on the Two Language model,
cal school, stands between the patient and death. Similarly,
wherein mutual respect between scientists and religious lead-
large-scale research programs dedicated to finding a cure for
ers is affirmed, some exhibit a strong desire for cooperation
cancer or AIDS provide the larger society with hope in the
on public-policy issues deriving from science and technolo-
face of helplessness. Here, “playing God” takes on a redemp-
gy. The ecological crisis and human values questions deriving
tive or salvific connotation. The genre of jokes about doctors
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who think of themselves as gods reflects the wider anxiety
enter the realm of the sacred will precipitate vengeful de-
people have about their helplessness, as well as their depen-
struction. The Bible provides a variant: “Pride goes before
dence upon doctors and their skills.
destruction” (Prv. 16:18).
This medical meaning of “playing God” makes two as-
For modern people who think scientifically, no longer
sumptions. First, that decisions regarding life and death be-
does Zeus play the role of the sacred. Nature does. It is nature
long to God’s prerogative. The second follows from the first:
who will strike back in the Frankenstein legend or its more
a human being with the power of life and death is thought
contemporary geneticized version, Michael Crichton’s novel
of in a godlike role. This elicits additional anxiety—namely,
Jurassic Park (1990) and the subsequent movies. The theme
worry that the person in the godlike role will succumb to the
has become a common one: the mad scientist exploits a new
temptation of pride, of hubris. The concept of hubris articu-
discovery, crosses the line between life and death, and then
lates the more inchoate fear that we will presume too much,
nature strikes back with chaos and destruction.
overreach ourselves, violate some divinely appointed limit,
Some religious leaders have spoken out in theological
and reap destruction. Anxiety over hubris marks the overlap-
language to plead for caution in the face of human pride. A
ping transition from the second to the third use of the phrase
1980 task-force report, Human Life and the New Genetics,
“playing God.”
includes a warning by the U.S. National Council of Church-
The third use of “playing God” connotes the human
es: “Human beings have an ability to do Godlike things: to
ability to alter life and influence human evolution. Here, sci-
exercise creativity, to direct and redirect processes of nature.
ence and technology team up so that understanding leads to
But the warnings also imply that these powers may be used
control. Genetic engineering, wherein we alter the DNA and
rashly, that it may be better for people to remember that they
perhaps alter our own essence, is the primary area of science
are creatures and not gods.” A United Methodist Church
that provokes fears of playing God. Yet such fears also arise
Genetic Science Task Force report to the 1992 General Con-
in nuclear physics and ecology. The scientific community be-
ference stated similarly: “The image of God, in which hu-
comes a microcosm of the entire human community, ex-
manity is created, confers both power and responsibility to
pressing excessive pride over human powers at the expense
use power as God does: neither by coercion nor tyranny, but
of God. Humans substitute their own judgment and powers
by love. Failure to accept limits by rejecting or ignoring ac-
to determine what nature will be, placing themselves where
countability to God and interdependency with the whole of
only God belongs.
creation is the essence of sin.” In sum, humans can sin
through science by failing to recognize their limits and,
The God of “playing God” is not necessarily the God
thereby, violate the sacred.
of the Bible. Rather, it is divinized nature. In Western cul-
ture, nature has absorbed the qualities of sacredness, and sci-
Genetics is the field of research that elicits the most anx-
ence and technology risk profaning the sacred.
iety regarding the threat that scientists will play God. This
is because DNA has garnered cultural reverence. The human
Today’s fear of “playing God” is reminiscent of the an-
genome has become tacitly identified with the essence of
cient Greek myth of Prometheus. When the world was being
what is human. A person’s individuality, identity, and digni-
created, according to the myth, the sky god Zeus was in a
ty have become connected to his or her DNA. Therefore, if
cranky mood. The Olympian decided to withhold fire from
people have the hubris to intervene in the human genome,
earth’s inhabitants, leaving the nascent human race to relent-
they risk violating something sacred. This tacit belief is called
less cold and darkness. The Titan Prometheus, whose name
by some the “gene myth,” by others “the strong genetic prin-
means “to think ahead,” could foresee the value of fire for
ciple” or “genetic essentialism.” This myth is an interpretive
warming homes and providing lamplight for reading late at
framework that includes both the assumed sacrality of the
night. He could anticipate how fire could separate humanity
human genome plus the fear of Promethean pride.
from the beasts, making it possible to forge tools. So Prome-
theus craftily snuck up into the heavens where the gods dwell
Systematic theologians find themselves questioning the
and where the sun is kept. He lit his torch from the fires of
gene myth, doubting the equation of DNA with human es-
the sun, and then he carried this heavenly gift back to earth.
sence or human personhood. A person is more than his or
her genetic code. The National Council of Churches of Sin-
On Mount Olympus the gods were outraged that the
gapore put it this way in A Christian Response to the Life Sci-
stronghold of the immortals had been penetrated and
ences (2002): “It is a fallacy of genetic determinism to equate
robbed. Zeus was particularly angry over Prometheus’s im-
the genetic makeup of a person with the person” (p. 81).
pertinence, so he exacted merciless punishment on the rebel.
Such a theological anthropology combats the gene myth and
Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock where an eagle could
opens the door for ethical approval of cautious genetic engi-
feast all day long on the Titan’s liver. The head of the pan-
neering.
theon cursed the future-oriented Prometheus: “Forever shall
the intolerable present grind you down.” The moral of the
Cautious employment of genetic technology to alter
story, which is remembered to the present day, is this: human
human DNA leads to considerations regarding the distinc-
pride or hubris that leads us to overestimate ourselves and
tion between therapy and enhancement. At first glance, ther-
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apy seems ethically justifiable, whereas enhancement seems
bition against “playing God” serves here as a warning to
Promethean and dangerous. The term gene therapy refers to
avoid rushing in prematurely with what appears to be an im-
directed genetic change of human somatic cells to treat a ge-
provement but could turn out to be a disaster. Ethicists fre-
netic disease or defect in a living person. With four to six
quently appeal to the precautionary principle—that is, to re-
thousand human diseases traceable to genetic predisposi-
frain from germ line modification until the scope of our
tions—including cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, Al-
knowledge is adequate to cover all possible contingencies.
zheimer’s disease, and many cancers—the prospects of gene-
It is important to note that the precautionary principle
based therapies are raising hopes for dramatic new medical
does not rely upon the tacit belief in DNA as sacred. Rather,
advances. Few if anyone find ethical grounds to prohibit so-
it relies upon a principle of prudence that respects the com-
matic cell therapy via gene manipulation.
plexity of the natural world and the finite limits of human
The term human genetic enhancement refers to the use
knowledge.
of genetic knowledge and technology to bring about im-
The limits of scientific knowledge include two extras-
provements in the capacities of living persons, in embryos,
cientific yet relevant areas, namely, values and transcendence.
or in future generations. Enhancement might be accom-
The problem of playing God deals primarily with values, eth-
plished in one of two ways: either through genetic selection
ics, and public policy. Questions of transcendence also ap-
during screening or through directed genetic change. Genet-
pear on the agenda of the growing field of science and
ic selection may take place at the gamete stage, or more com-
religion.
monly as embryo selection during preimplantation genetic
R
diagnosis (PGD) following in vitro fertilization (IVF). Ge-
ESEARCH QUESTIONS IN THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN SCIENCE
netic changes could be introduced into early embryos, there-
AND RELIGION. Because science raises some questions that
only religion can answer, dialogue largely consists of shared
by influencing a living individual, or by altering the germ
exploration of issues emerging from science and treated by
line, influencing future generations.
both disciplines. Questions regarding the grounding of val-
Some forms of enhancement are becoming possible. For
ues, and especially questions of transcendence, set the dia-
example, introduction of the gene for IGF-1 into muscle
logue agenda.
cells results in increased muscle strength and health. Such a
Physics. In the field of physics, quantum theory affirms
procedure would be valuable as a therapy, to be sure, yet it
contingency and perhaps even indeterminism at the sub-
lends itself to availability for enhancement as well. For those
atomic level, giving rise to questions regarding rationality in
who daydream of so-called designer babies, the list of traits
the universe and the possibility of noninterventionist divine
to be enhanced would likely include increased height or in-
action in the physical realm. Newtonian physics led to a
telligence, as well as preferred eye or hair color. Concerns
mechanistic picture of nature wherein the universe appeared
raised by both secular and religious ethicists focus on eco-
like a clockwork, as a closed nexus of cause and effect. The
nomic justice—that is, wealthy families are more likely to
rational structure of a clock provided the model for the ratio-
take advantage of genetic enhancement services, leading to
nal structure of nature. If the universe is causally closed, then
a gap between the “genrich” and the “genpoor.”
divine action within the world seems forbidden. Divine ac-
The most ethical heat to date has been generated over
tion would require God to intervene as an outside cause, per-
the possibility of germ line intervention, and this applies to
haps in the form of a miracle, and this would upset the nexus.
both therapy and enhancement. The term germ line interven-
With the advent of quantum theory, natural events are now
tion refers to gene selection or gene change in the gametes,
viewed as contingent. The world no longer looks like a clock-
which in turn would influence the genomes of future genera-
work but more like a history of natural events. For scientists
tions. Because the mutant form of the gene that predisposes
such as Albert Einstein, beyond physical contingency God
for cystic fibrosis has been located on chromosome four, a
provides the universe with its rational structure, making it
plan to select out this gene and spare future generations of
understandable to the human mind. For theologians of sci-
the suffering caused by this debilitating disease is easily imag-
ence such as Robert John Russell, quantum theory designates
inable. This would constitute germ line alteration for thera-
a fundamental realm of physical activity where God can act
peutic motives. Similarly, in principle, one could select or
creatively and providentially in an objective yet noninterven-
even engineer genetic predispositions to favorable traits in
tionist way (Russell et al., 2001, pp. 293–328). In sum, phys-
the same manor. This would constitute germ line alteration
ics raises philosophical and theological questions that tran-
for enhancement motives.
scend what science alone can address.
Both of these are risky for the same reason. Too much
Indian Buddhists are finding that their own questions
remains unknown about gene function. It is more than likely
of causality provide a point of contact with both Newtonian
that gene expression works in delicate systems, so that it is
and post-Newtonian physics. The classic scholastic system of
rare that a single gene is responsible for a single phenotypical
speculative philosophy and psychology, abhidharma, dealt
expression. If one removes or engineers one or two genes, it
with multiple theories of causality. Discussions of physics
might unknowingly upset an entire system of gene interac-
among such Buddhists begin with religious questions and
tion that could lead to unfortunate consequences. The prohi-
move toward possible integration with science.
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Scientific cosmology. This field also raises questions
Darwinian theory, what drives the dialogue are questions re-
that place physics and theological doctrines of creation and
garding discernable purpose or direction within biological
providence into dialogue. Two areas are worth special men-
processes. The field of sociobiology has prompted wide-
tion: Big Bang cosmology and the anthropic principle.
spread discussion regarding the influence of genetic deter-
minism on human culture and religion. Special attention is
The standard Big Bang model of the beginning of our
given to the possible biological origins of human evil and suf-
universe posits an original singularity and an apparent origi-
fering from evil, with a concomitant study of reciprocal al-
nal moment for the onset of time, t = 0 (time equals zero).
truism in both the animal and human realms.
Physical time seems to have its own beginning. Although de-
bates continue regarding just how old the universe actually
Even if the evolution controversy is marginal to scholars
is, estimates based upon observations by the Hubble Space
in the field of science and religion, the controversy looms
Telescope cluster around 13.7 billion years. Before the mo-
large in the public debate. Five positions are discernable,
ment of the Big Bang, before time and space existed, what
making it much more complicated than the image of a sim-
was the nature of reality? No known physical experiment can
ple war between science and religion might connote. The
test for this, nor can any theory regarding contemporary
first position would be that of evolutionary biology strictly
physical reality be extrapolated backward more than 13.7 bil-
as science without any attached ideological commitments.
lion years. Time and space seem to have an edge, and philos-
The reigning theory is neo-Darwinian, combining Charles
ophers and theologians rightly ask what lies beyond the edge.
Darwin’s original nineteenth-century concept of natural se-
Might we have here scientific confirmation for the classic
lection with the twentieth-century concept of genetic muta-
Jewish and Christian doctrine of creatio ex nihilo? (Russell
tion to explain the development of new species over 3.8 bil-
et al., 1987, pp. 273–296; Peters and Bennett, 2002,
lion years. Defenders of quality science education in the
pp. 55–56).
public schools most frequently embrace this “science alone”
approach.
Since the Big Bang, the universe has been steadily ex-
panding. A key scientific question is this: is the universe open
The second position combines neo-Darwinism with
or closed? If it is open—that is, if the amount of mass is in-
materialist ideology, including repudiation of any divine in-
sufficient to stop the process, then it will continue to expand
fluence on the course of evolutionary development.
until the principle of entropy overtakes it. All the original
Spokespersons for sociobiology, such as E. O. Wilson or
heat will dissipate, and any remaining matter will fall into
Richard Dawkins, are aggressive and vociferous. Evolution
a state of equilibrium—in short, it will freeze out of exis-
here provides apparent scientific justification for scientism,
tence. However, if the universe is closed—that is, if the
scientific imperialism, and in some cases atheism.
amount of mass is above the relevant threshold, then at some
The third position is scientific creationism. During the
point expansion will stop. Gravity will cause its motion to
fundamentalist era of the 1920s, biblical creationists ap-
reverse, and all matter will reconverge on a central point,
pealed to the authority of the Bible to combat the rise in in-
heating up on the way toward its doom in an unfathomably
fluence of Darwinism. Since the 1960s, creationists have
hot fireball—in short, it will fry. Whether freeze or fry, the
based their arguments not on biblical authority but rather on
future of the cosmos is finite. Might this be scientific discon-
counterscience—hence their label, scientific creationists. They
firmation of the biblical promise of an eschatological new
argue, for example, that the fossil record will contradict stan-
creation?
dard appeals to natural selection over long periods of time.
The anthropic principle was formulated within physics,
Those known as “young earth creationists,” such as the lead-
not theology. Because of the appearance of complex life
ers of the Institute for Creation Research near San Diego,
forms on planet earth, physicists have been asking the follow-
California, hold that the planet earth is less than ten thou-
ing: what must have been the initial conditions at the mo-
sand years old and that all species of plants and animals were
ment of the Big Bang to eventually make life possible, or
originally created by God in their present form. They deny
even inevitable? Such factors as the amount of mass, energy,
macroevolution—that is, they deny that one species has
rate of expansion, and so on could not have been different
evolved from prior species; although they affirm microevolu-
in fractions such as one to a million, or life would have been
tion—that is, evolution within a species. Key here is that
impossible. The universe seems to be fine-tuned for the ap-
creationists justify their arguments on scientific grounds.
pearance of life. Fine-tuning raises questions of intelligent
The fourth position is Intelligent Design. Advocates of
design. The weak anthropic principle asks: Was the universe
Intelligent Design sharply attack neo-Darwinian theory for
designed to make life possible? The strong anthropic princi-
overstating the role of natural selection in species formation.
ple asks: Was the universe designed to make life inevitable?
They argue that slow incremental changes due to mutations
(Peters and Bennett, 2001, p. 57).
are insufficient to explain the emergence of new and more
Evolutionary biology. In evolutionary biology, schol-
complex biological systems. Many of the life forms that have
ars in the field of science and religion curiously avoid the
evolved are irreducibly complex, and this counts as evidence
public controversy with creationism and Intelligent Design,
that they have been intelligently designed. Intelligent Design
at least for the most part. Rather, assuming the validity of
scholars such as Michael Behe, Philip Johnson, and William
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Dembski posit that appeal to a transcendent designer is nec-
out revenge upon us Frankenstein style? Would such scien-
essary for the theory of evolution to successfully explain the
tific activity mark a trespassing of something sacred? Should
development of life forms. Here, scientific questions lead to
DNA be treated as sacred?
theological answers.
A second and related issue became the moral status of
The fifth position is theistic evolution, according to
the human embryo. In both the cloning and the stem-cell
which God has employed evolutionary processes over deep
controversies, the early embryo would be subject to genetic
time to bring about the human race and perhaps even carry
engineering and, in some experimental situations, destroyed.
the natural world to a redemptive future. Theistic evolution
Does the engineering of the embryo constitute playing God?
first appeared in the late nineteenth and early twentieth cen-
Does the destruction of an engineered embryo constitute
turies, even in the work of conservative Princeton theologian
abortion?
B. B. Warfield, for whom God’s concursus with nature
The most articulate theological voice and the most
brought about the human race, just as God’s concursus wrote
forceful ethical voice in the public debate has been that of
the Scripture with human minds and hands. Teilhard de
the Vatican. The way the ethical question gets formulated
Chardin is perhaps best known for his evolutionary cosmolo-
everywhere on the world scene has been influenced by the
gy directed by God toward a future “Point Omega.” Among
formulation of Rome. In its “Declaration on the Production
contemporary scholars at work in the field of science and reli-
and the Scientific and Therapeutic Use of Human Embryon-
gion, the roster of theistic evolutionists includes Arthur Pea-
ic Stem Cells” (2000), the Vatican states the issue this way:
cocke, Philip Hefner, Robert John Russell, Nancey Murphy,
“Is it morally licit to produce and/or use human embryos for
Kenneth Miller, John Haught, Martinez Hewlett, and How-
the preparation of ES [embryonic stem] cells? The answer is
ard van Til. This school of thought is not occupied with de-
negative.” Further, “the ablation of the inner cell mass of the
fending evolution against attacks by advocates of scientific
blastocyst, which critically and irremediably damages the
creationism or Intelligent Design; rather, it seeks to work
human embryo, curtailing its development, is a gravely im-
through questions raised by randomness and chance in natu-
moral act and consequently is gravely illicit.” The U.S. Na-
ral selection in light of divine purposes and ends.
tional Conference of Catholic Bishops has argued that any
Genetics. In genetics, especially molecular biology, new
intentional destruction of innocent human life at any stage
discoveries regarding the life of the early embryo, as well as
is inherently evil, and that no good consequence can mitigate
proposed medical technologies employing cloning (somatic-
that evil.
cell nuclear transfer) and embryonic stem cells, have given
Roman Catholic bioethicists appeal authoritatively to
rise to intense public-policy debates. Behind these public de-
two precedents, Donum Vitae (1987) and Evangelium Vitae
bates are religious anthropologies. Questions arise regarding
(1995). The central tenet is that morally protectable human
the rightness or wrongness of using genetic technology to
personhood becomes applied to the zygote, the egg fertilized
alter inherited human nature; the question “should we play
by the sperm. These two documents contend that the result
God?” is asked when contemplating the power of the present
of human procreation, from the first moment of its existence,
generation to influence the future of human evolution. Ethi-
must be guaranteed the unconditional respect that is morally
cal questions also arise over the use of early embryos for med-
due to the human being in his or her totality and unity in
ical research. In sum, genetic science gives rise to questions
body and spirit: the human being is to be respected and treat-
regarding human nature and the grounding of human
ed as a person from the moment of conception; therefore,
dignity.
from that same moment his or her rights as a person must
be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviola-
Public-policy controversies over what is permissible in
ble right of every innocent human being to life.
genetic research have appeared superficially to be warfare be-
tween science and religion, although a closer look will find
The ethics is supported by metaphysics. Morally protec-
both scientists and theologians lining up on both sides of
table dignity is derived from the presence of the immortal
each debate. The gene patenting controversy of 1995, the
soul within the mortal body. In a 1996 elocution on evolu-
cloning controversy of 1997, and the stem-cell controversy
tion, Pope John Paul II affirmed that it is by virtue of the
at the turn of the twenty-first century led to widespread pub-
spiritual soul that the whole person possesses such dignity,
lic-policy debates that incorporated multiple religious con-
even in his or her body. Not reducible to biological evolu-
siderations. Two specific issues are worth mentioning. One
tion, the spiritual soul is immediately created by God. This
involved the question of playing God. Should scientists re-
makes John Paul II an adherent to creationism, an ancient
ceive intellectual property rights (patents) on information
view that God creates a new soul for the birth of each new
gained about the human genome, something nature placed
child (not to be confused with scientific creationism de-
within human beings? Should scientists enter the human ge-
scribed above). What is significant for the controversy is this:
nome and alter it, thereby altering essential human nature?
the biological sciences cannot on their own discern the pres-
Would technological intervention into something so essen-
ence or absence of an immaterial and immortal soul, only
tially human as DNA be such a mark of Promethean hubris
theologically informed philosophy can. Furthermore, belief
or pride that it might backfire—that is, would nature take
in the presence of the soul justifies morally protectable
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human dignity. The ethical implication of this view is that
Some Historical Perspectives (Cambridge, U.K., 1991), re-
early embryos may not be destroyed for purposes of stem cell
placed the vitriolic late nineteenth-century accounts by John
research, nor may they be produced through cloning or other
W. Draper, History of the Conflict between Religion and Sci-
artificial means.
ence (New York, 1874) and A. D. White, A History of the
Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom
(New York,
Bioethicists do not uniformly agree with the Vatican.
1896). See also the predecessor article to this one, Stanley L.
Most Jewish ethicists have made their peace with the abor-
Jaki, “Science and Religion,” in The Encyclopedia of Religion,
tion controversy by dating morally protectable human digni-
edited by Mircea Eliade (New York, 1987), vol. 13,
ty at birth, relieving them of the pressure to protect the pre-
pp. 121–133. For an excellent treatment of the Protestant
implantation embryo in research. Because they argue that
Reformation see John Dillenberger, Protestant Thought and
God has commissioned the human race to engage in healing,
Natural Science: A Historical Interpretation (Garden City,
N.Y., 1960).
and hence in the practice of medicine, they endorse medical
science, including human embryonic stem-cell research.
Recommended contemporary anthologies that cover the spectrum
of the field within Christianity include Science and Theology:
Some Protestants have drawn upon the distinction be-
The New Consonance, edited by Ted Peters (Boulder, Colo.,
tween nonmalificence and beneficence. The Vatican pro-
1998). Christian and selected non-Christian religious entries
scription depends upon nonmalificence, that is, doing no
are included in Bridging Science and Religion, edited by Ted
harm to the embryo. Those countering the Vatican make
Peters and Gaymon Bennett (London, 2002). Two encyclo-
their appeal to beneficence, that is, the biblical mandate to
pedias cover the field: J. Wentzel Vrede van Huyssteen, ed.,
pursue the good—loving one’s neighbor—creatively. Our
Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, 2 vols. (New York,
2003) and Gary B. Ferngren, ed., The History of Science and
ethical mandate is to improve human health and well-being,
Religion in the Western Tradition: An Encyclopedia (New
and supporting the advance of medical science, including
York, 2000).
stem-cell research, treats existing and future suffering people
The contemporary discussion of science within Islam is taken up
with care as well as dignity.
by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature
Neuroscience. The neurosciences raise questions of bi-
(Oxford and New York, 1996); Muzaffar Iqbal, Islam and
ological determinism and reductionism. Speculative hypoth-
Science (Aldershot, U.K., and Burlington, Vt., 2003); and
eses are being asked about the prospect of explaining com-
God, Life, and the Cosmos: Christian and Islamic Perspectives,
edited by Ted Peters, Muzaffar Iqbal, and Seyd Nomanul
plex human behavior, including religious experience, in
Haq (Aldershot, U.K., and Burlington, Vt., 2002).
terms of genetic determinism and neural firings in the
Broad integrations of the various natural sciences with Christian
human brain. As with evolution and genetics, questions are
systematic theology are best exemplified by Arthur Pea-
raised: Is religion a form of adaptive behavior that developed
cocke’s Theology for a Scientific Age: Being and Becoming—
when the human brain was expanding in capacity? Is there
Natural, Divine, and Human (Minneapolis, 1993), plus two
a “God spot” or region of brain activity in which the poten-
sets of Gifford Lectures, John Polkinghorne, The Faith of a
tial for religious experience is physically prepared? If so, is it
Physicist (Princeton, 1994), and Ian G. Barbour, Religion in
reducible to biological determinism, or does it mark an open-
an Age of Science (San Francisco, 1990), as well as Barbour’s
ing to transcendence? (Herzfeld, 2002; Peterson, 2003; Rus-
Ethics in an Age of Technology (San Francisco, 1993).
sell et al., 1999).This is a new field within the sciences, and
On epistemological and methodological connections between sci-
to date its relevance for religion is the least cultivated.
ence and theology, see Nancey Murphy and George F. R.
Ellis, On the Moral Nature of the Universe: Theology, Cosmolo-
For the theological or philosophical dimensions of each
gy, and Ethics (Minneapolis, 1996); Wolfhart Pannenberg,
of the world’s religious traditions, the question of truth is a
Toward a Theology of Nature: Essays on Science and Faith
driving force. The theological motivation to engage in dia-
(Louisville, Ky., 1993); and Niels Henrik Gregersen and J.
logue with natural science is an inherent impetus rising out
Wentzel Vrede van Huyssteen, eds., Rethinking Theology and
of religious consciousness, out of what Mircea Eliade called
Science: Six Models for the Current Dialogue (Grand Rapids,
“ontological thirst,” or thirst for reality. The scientific moti-
Mich., 1998). On divine action within the physical world,
vation to engage in dialogue with religion rises out of the re-
see Paul Davies, God and the New Physics (New York, 1983);
alization that questions of transcendence cannot be avoided
Philip Clayton, God and Contemporary Science (Grand Rap-
in physics and cosmology, nor can questions of value and
ids, Mich., 1997); Robert John Russell, William R. Stoeger,
and George V. Coyne, eds., Physics, Philosophy, and Theology
meaning be avoided in genetics and evolutionary biology.
(Vatican City State and Notre Dame, Ind., 1987); Robert
The emerging field of science and religion plays host to this
John Russell, Philip Clayton, Kirk Wegter-McNelly, and
dialogue.
John Polkinghorne, eds., Quantum Mechanics: Scientific Per-
spectives on Divine Action
(Vatican City State and Berkeley,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2001); Hans Schwarz, Creation (Grand Rapids, Mich.,
The pioneer of the field now known as science and religion is Ian
2002); and Antje Jackelen, Zeit und Ewigkeit (Neukirchen,
G. Barbour, whose breakthrough book Issues in Science and
Germany, 2002). See also Ravi Ravindra, “Einstein, Albert,”
Religion (New York, 1966) provided a reliable history of the
in Encyclopedia of Religion (New York, 1987) vol 5, 71–72.
interaction between science and faith in the West. This
On genetics, ethics, and social policy, see the National Council
work, along with John Hedley Brooke’s Science and Religion:
of Churches of Singapore, A Christian Response to the Life Sci-
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8192
SCIENTOLOGY
ences (Singapore, 2002); Vatican document, “Declaration on
tive mind. The analytic mind thinks, plans, observes the
the Production and the Scientific and Therapeutic Use of
world, and records memories. However, at particular mo-
Human Embryonic Stem Cells” (Vatican City State, August
ments, especially at times of severe distress or pain, the ana-
2000; available from http://www.cin.org/docs/stem-cell-
lytic mind recedes, and the reactive mind takes over. The re-
research.html); Holmes Rolston III, Genes, Genesis, and God:
active mind simply observes, records, and stores memories
Values and Their Origins in Natural and Human History
at times when the analytic mind is not functional. Such
(Cambridge, U.K., 1999); Celia E. Deane-Drummond, Biol-
memories are generally not available to the conscious self but
ogy and Theology Today: Exploring The Boundaries (London,
2001); and Ted Peters, Playing God? Genetic Determinism
may be the source of irrational and dysfunctional behavior.
and Human Freedom (New York, 2002).
Dianetics was designed to rid people of the effects of the reac-
tive mind and bring them to a state of clear.
On anthropology, see Philip Hefner, The Human Factor: Evolu-
tion, Culture, and Religion (Minneapolis, 1993); Noreen L.
When Dianetics became a popular movement, Hub-
Herzfeld, In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human
bard gathered his most enthusiastic supporters, including a
Spirit (Minneapolis, 2002); Niels Henrik Gregersen, Willem
number of physicians, into a board and founded several orga-
B. Drees, and Ulf Gorman, eds., The Human Person in Sci-
ence and Theology
(Edinburgh, 2000); and Warren S. Brown,
nizations to structure the movement. He continued to ob-
Nancey Murphy, and H. Newton Malony, eds., Whatever
serve people undergoing Dianetic counseling or auditing,
Happened to the Soul?: Scientific and Theological Portraits of
which explored individuals’ memories. During these process-
Human Nature (Minneapolis, 1998). On the evolution con-
es Hubbard began to encounter memories that seemed to
troversy, see Ted Peters and Martinez Hewlett, Evolution
reach to a time prior to birth and even to a previous existence
from Creation to New Creation (Nashville, 2003), and Robert
in a different body. This experience and other factors led him
John Russell, William R. Stoeger, and Francisco J. Ayala,
to refocus his primary concern from the mind to the human
eds., Evolutionary and Molecular Biology: Scientific Perspec-
spirit, that permanent part of the self that he believed could
tives on Divine Action (Vatican City State and Berkeley,
continue past death and into reincarnation, a different physi-
1998). On the relevance of brain research to theology, see
cal existence in a new body.
Robert John Russell, Nancey Murphy, Theo C. Meyering,
and Michael A. Arbib, eds., Neuroscience and the Person: Sci-
Speculation on the human spirit seemed to be suggest-
entific Perspectives on Divine Action (Vatican City State and
ing the movement toward religion, a direction that many of
Berkeley, 1999), and Gregory R. Peterson, Minding God:
Hubbard’s associates (including some board members) re-
Theology and the Cognitive Sciences (Minneapolis, 2003).
jected. Hubbard persisted in developing his thought, howev-
Leading journals include Islam and Science: Journal of Islamic Per-
er, which as early as 1952 he called Scientology. The first
spectives on Science (Center for Islam and Science, Canada);
Church of Scientology was founded in Los Angeles in 1954;
Omega: Indian Journal of Science and Religion (Kerala, India);
Theology and Science (U.K.); Zygon: Journal of Religion and
another opened in Washington, D.C., the following year,
Science (U.K.), Australian Theological Forum (Adelaide, Aus-
with Hubbard serving as its executive director. Other
tralia); and Glaube und Denken: Jahrbuch der Karl Heim Ge-
churches soon emerged in New Zealand, South Africa, En-
sellschaft (Tübingen, Germany).
gland, and Ireland.
TED PETERS (2005)
SCIENTOLOGY BELIEFS. Scientology most closely resembles
a Western esoteric-Gnostic system. In the early 1950s Hub-
bard posited the existence of a spiritual being called a thetan
SCIENTOLOGY is a spiritual movement that grew out
that was neither body nor intellect. He hypothesized that the
of the ideas and practices advocated by Layfayette Ronald
thetan could live apart from the body (a phenomenon he
(L. Ron) Hubbard (1911–1986), a writer and former U.S.
called exteriorization) and had existed in other bodies prior
naval officer. After his discharge from the navy, Hubbard be-
to the present one. Further, he concluded, it was the essential
came a writer of popular fiction, but even before he left the
nature of the thetan to survive, and it attempted to do so
service he dedicated himself to determining both the cause
around a set of ever more inclusive concerns that he termed
of the human situation and the means of correcting it. His
the eight dynamics. First, it seeks to survive as an individual—
efforts led him to author several book-length manuscripts in
finding expression in creativity, sexuality, and family life. It
the late 1940s and to publish several articles. Then in 1950
then seeks to survive by identification with various human
his book Dianetics, released by a small publishing house,
groupings, humanity as a whole, all life-forms, and eventual-
jumped onto the New York Times best-seller lists.
ly larger concerns—the universe, spirituality, and the infinite
or Supreme Being. Hubbard’s discussion of the infinite
Dianetics was the name Hubbard gave to the system of
aligns with both Eastern and Western mystical speculations.
thought and practice that grew out of his concentrated explo-
ration of the human mind. He believed humanity’s problems
Scientology is structured toward grasping the eight dy-
were caused by mental aberrations (called engrams); he pro-
namics sequentially, beginning with the seemingly mundane
posed a form of counseling termed auditing as the means to
issues of individual and social issues, gradually reaching levels
rid the self of the engrams. Dianetics teaches that the human
at which (in Western eyes) more traditional religious con-
mind has a twofold structure: the analytic mind and the reac-
cerns are addressed. The church teaches that until the basic
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8193
issues of life are set right, the larger issues of spirituality and
and services for operating thetans. The basic OT levels (I-V)
God are difficult to bring into focus.
are provided at the several Advanced Organizations (in Los
Hubbard also set the thetan’s path to enlightenment
Angeles, Sydney, Copenhagen, and East Grimstead, United
into a fairly familiar myth of entrapment and escape. The-
Kingdom). OT VI and VII are delivered through the Flag
tans are thought to have come into existence billions of years
Service Organization in Clearwater, Florida. OT VIII, the
ago. Along the way, they fell into the universe of matter, en-
highest level available to church members in the early twen-
ergy, space, and time (MEST). Although thetans had created
ty-first century, is offered aboard an oceangoing vessel, the
MEST, they eventually forgot they were the creators and be-
Freewinds. Additional levels are expected to be offered, but
came imprisoned in their own creation. The thetans as a
their release awaits enough members having attained OT
group also went through several horrendous cosmic events
VIII.
that further stripped them of their abilities and even the con-
Auditors—ministers found in every church facility—are
scious memory of what had happened to them. Their various
trained at the Saint Hill organizations in Los Angeles, Syd-
adventures have led them to the present time on earth.
ney, and East Grimstead, which function as seminaries. In
As with other forms of esotericism (alchemy, Qabbalah,
addition the church has developed a special concern to serve
hermetics), Scientology proposes an explanation of the
individuals in the arts, many of whom lead public lives. To
human condition, a means of escape, and a way to return to
allow such members the privacy to pursue their own spiritual
the spiritual world of the pre-MEST thetan. When individu-
advancement, the church supports a number of celebrity cen-
als reach the state of clear, they are no longer bound by the
ters where they may go for auditing and other Scientology
reactive mind and are ready to confront the barriers to com-
course work. A number of Hollywood entertainers have
plete freedom—those products of the early cosmic events
joined the church, and a few, such as Tom Cruise, Isaac
that still affect their lives. Scientology literature describes the
Hayes, John Travolta, and Kirstie Alley, have served as
cosmic career of the thetans in mythic stories similar to those
spokespersons.
in ancient Gnostic and Hindu myths. The full content of
In 1967 Hubbard created a fraternity of dedicated
these myths are revealed only to the church member as they
Scientologists to whom he assigned the exacting task of deliv-
move through the upper levels of church life.
ering the higher OT levels to the membership. The group,
By the time they reach the higher or operating thetan
known as the Sea Organization, evolved into an ordered
(OT) levels of church membership, members have become
community (analogous to monastic orders) of men and
intimately familiar with auditing, the basic counseling tech-
women who committed their lives to working for the spread
nique that rids them of engrams and the reactive mind. At
of Scientology worldwide. Following the reorganization of
the higher levels, auditing is also used to confront additional
the church in the early 1980s, the Sea Organization assumed
encumbrances on the thetan produced by its cosmic history.
leadership of the church internationally; everyone who holds
Auditing uses an instrument called an e-meter, a modified
policy-making and administrative positions at the continen-
whetstone bridge that measures subtle changes in the electri-
tal and global levels is a Sea Organization member.
cal current moving through the body. In the hands of a
CONTROVERSY. Controversy has plagued Scientology from
trained auditor, it is believed that the e-meter can register
its earliest days. Many early participants rejected the change
changing states in the thetan and greatly assist the process
from secular Dianetics to religious Scientology. Many early
of gaining awareness.
observers, noting the difference between Scientology and the
C
more dominant Western religions, missed the many religious
HURCH ORGANIZATION. The Church of Scientology is or-
ganized hierarchically. At the lowest level are the local
trappings with which they were familiar. Controversy
churches and missions that introduce people to the church
reached a new height in 1963, when U.S. government agents
and provide members with basic teachings and auditing lead-
seized the church’s e-meters and accused it of practicing
ing to clear. Local churches are tied together by the Church
medicine without a license. This action had international re-
of Scientology International, which operates similarly to the
percussions. Scientology was banned for a time in parts of
Mother Church of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Local
Australia, and other governments began to limit the church’s
churches and missions are autonomous but are bound to the
activities. The Guardian’s Office was established in 1966 to
international body by a set of licenses that grant the use of
handle attacks on the church.
Scientology copyrights and trademarks. Local churches also
Controversy peaked in 1979, when members of the
agree to follow the procedures (called the technology) laid
Guardian’s Office, in their attempt to locate government re-
down in Hubbard’s writings in all of the classes and auditing
cords about the church, infiltrated government offices and
they provide for members. The copyrights and trademarks
made copies of official documents. After the arrest and con-
are held by a unique church structure, the Religious Tech-
viction of the office’s leadership, the church was completely
nology Center, whose chair is considered the true head of the
reorganized under the Religious Technology Center and the
church.
Church of Scientology International.
In addition to local churches, there is a set of special
Much of the ongoing controversy concerning the
church facilities designed to provide the materials, teachings,
church concerns its structure as an esoteric organization (in
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8194
SCRIPTURE
which teachings are only revealed to the higher-level mem-
designated a self-evident and simple religious phenomenon
bers) and its finances. The church works on a basis of reci-
readily identifiable anywhere in the world, namely the idea
procity—that is, members give of their time and energy, and
of a “sacred book.” However, as a concept adequate to en-
the church delivers its services. Most often members donate
compass the functional roles of the great sacred texts of histo-
money for which they receive auditing or classes. This struc-
ry, scripture is a term of considerable ambiguity and com-
ture, though widely used among esoteric groups, has caused
plexity.
many, including some governments, to question the church’s
religious nature and brand it a business operation. Before
In the first instance, the specific form and content of
granting the church tax-exempt status in the early 1990s, for
scriptural books vary sharply from tradition to tradition and
example, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service conducted the
even within a single scriptural corpus. Ritual books, legal
longest investigation in agency history to that date.
maxims and codes, myths and legends, historical accounts,
divine revelations, apocalyptic visions, ecstatic poetry, words
As the anticult movement emerged in the 1970s, critics
of teachers and prophets, and hymns or prayers to a deity can
of Scientology labeled it a cult and published a number of
all be found in scriptural texts. The love lyrics of the Song
books and shorter writings attacking it. The church fought
of Songs in the Hebrew Bible, the talismanic prayers against
back in the courts, and while frequently winning, gained a
evil in the last two surahs of the QurDa¯n, Kr:s:n:a’s self-
reputation for litigiousness. In subsequent years, critics have
revelation in chapter 11 of the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯, and the Bud-
contested every aspect of the church’s life, while the church
dha’s parable of the burning house in chapter 3 of the Lotus
has aggressively defended its founder and program.
Sutra have had significant roles as scripture, yet they have lit-
In spite of ongoing problems with several European
tle or nothing in common in their style, form, subject matter,
countries and its frequent court appearances, the Church of
or intent. Such disparity makes any reasonably comprehen-
Scientology experienced steady growth through the first half-
sive yet still simple definition of scripture as a literary genre
century of its existence. Since 1954 congregations and mis-
impossible.
sions have opened in more than seventy countries around the
world, and the basic text Dianetics has been translated into
Second, a major obstacle to delimiting the phenomenon
more than fifty languages. The church sponsors a spectrum
of scripture definitionally is its very medium of expression.
of social programs to combat illiteracy, drug abuse, crime,
The term scripture is usually reserved for religious texts that
and the breakdown of social ethics.
have been committed to the written or printed page, as the
word itself and its common equivalents (e.g., “holy writ”)
SEE ALSO Anticult Movements; Hubbard, L. Ron.
suggest. Yet in most religious traditions, sacred texts were
transmitted orally in the first place and written down only
BIBLIOGRAPHY
relatively late. Nor do written sacred books exhaust the full
Christensen, Dorthe Refslund. Scientology: Fra terapi til religion.
range of texts that function clearly as scripture. The Hindu
Copenhagen, 1997.
tradition, for example, presents a major problem for defining
Church of Scientology International. Scientology: Theology and
“scripture” in terms of the written word. Its holiest texts, the
Practice of a Contemporary Religion. Los Angeles, 1998. In-
Vedas, have been orally transmitted for three millennia or
cludes brief articles by a spectrum of scholars on Scientology.
more—for most of that time in explicit preference to (and
Church of Scientology International. What Is Scientology? Los An-
even firm rejection of) writing them down. Despite their
geles, 1998.
great length, they were not committed to writing but instead
Friends of Ron, comp. L. Ron Hubbard: A Profile. Los Angeles,
preserved in memory and verbatim recitation until compara-
1995. A comprehensive biographical work from the Church
tively recent centuries. It may also be argued that nonliterate
of Scientology.
communities have oral texts that function in similar ways to
Hubbard, L. Ron. Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.
written sacred texts in literate societies, insofar as these cul-
New York, 1950; reprint, Los Angeles, 2000.
tures use traditional recitations in cultic practice or hold cer-
Melton, J. Gordon. The Church of Scientology. Salt Lake City,
tain myths or other oral texts sufficiently sacred to be worthy
Utah, 2001.
of transmission over generations. For these reasons, a de-
Whitehead, Harriet. Renunciation and Reformulation: A Study of
scriptive distinction between oral and written scriptures (or
an American Sect. Ithaca, N.Y., 1987.
oral and written uses of the same scripture) may on occasion
J. GORDON MELTON (2005)
be necessary, even though etymologically “oral scripture” is
a contradiction in terms and “written scripture” a redun-
dancy.
SCRIPTURE is the generic concept used in the modern
A further ambiguity of “scripture” as a conceptual cate-
West and, increasingly, worldwide, to designate texts that are
gory lies in the wide variety of texts that might be classified
revered as especially sacred and authoritative in all of the
as “scriptural.” A key problem in this regard involves those
largest and many smaller religious traditions.
“classic” texts in literate cultures that have many cultural, so-
AS A GENERAL CONCEPT. In popular and even in scholarly
cial, and often even religious functions usually associated
use today, the term scripture is commonly used as though it
with more overtly “religious” texts. Examples would be the
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8195
Iliad of Homer in later antiquity; the five (or six, nine,
meaningless, nonsensical, or even perversely false text for an-
twelve, or thirteen) “classics” (jing) and the four “books”
other.
(shu) in traditional Chinese culture; the great Sanskrit epics,
This relational, or contextual, quality is of paramount
the Maha¯bha¯rata and Ra¯ma¯yana, in India; and the Nihongi
importance for the study of “scriptural” texts in the history
(Chronicles of Japan) and Kojiki (Records of Ancient Mat-
of religion. The “scriptural” characteristics of a text belong
ters) in Shinto¯ tradition. Such texts do have “scriptural”
not to the text itself but to its role in a community. “Scrip-
qualities, such as the veneration they inspire and the authori-
ture” is not a literary genre but a religio-historical one.
ty they command, and thus might be treated as “scripture”
in certain contexts.
ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCEPT. Whatever
the subtleties and difficulties of defining it, scripture is a
Another problem in delimiting and defining “scripture”
major phenomenon in the history of religion and thus an im-
is distinguishing the primary sacred text(s) of a religious tra-
portant concept in the study of religion. Whence it came and
dition from others that are also sacred but secondarily so.
how it has come to serve as a general as well as a culture-
Such distinction between a community’s preeminent scrip-
specific concept are questions basic to understanding and
ture(s) and the rest of its sacred texts is helpful in understand-
using it intelligently and adequately as a descriptive term.
ing many religious traditions, but others not at all: in some
cases, the panoply of texts revered is so great and the relative
The idea of a heavenly book. The development of the
distinctions of authority and sacrality among them so unclear
concept of a scriptural book is often linked to the notion of
or unimportant that all have some legitimate claim to the
a heavenly book. The idea of a heavenly book containing di-
title of scripture. In the Maha¯ya¯na Buddhist tradition as a
vine knowledge or decrees is an ancient and persistent one
whole, the number of texts treated as sacred is so vast that
found primarily in the ancient Near Eastern and Greco-
it is not possible to single out some as more deserving of the
Roman worlds and in subsequent Jewish, Christian, and Is-
title scripture than others, save in particular segments of the
lamic traditions. As Leo Koep points out in Das himmlische
tradition where one su¯tra is given extraordinary status (e.g.,
Buch in Antike und Christentum (Bonn, 1952), it can take
Nichiren Buddhist veneration of the Lotus Su¯tra in Japan).
one of several forms, typically that of a book of wisdom,
Even in a community with a scriptural book or canon that
book of destinies, book of works, or book of life. References
is clearly more sacred than other revered texts, the decision
to a celestial book or tablet of divine wisdom appear in an-
to reserve the status of “scripture” only for the former can
cient Babylonia and ancient Egypt and recur in almost all
be a debatable one. For example, the Pura¯n:as function scrip-
subsequent Near Eastern traditions, apparently as an expres-
turally across a wide spectrum of Indian society even though
sion of divine omniscience. Geo Widengren argues (The As-
they are not ´sruti; in rabbinic Jewish tradition, the Mishnah
cension of the Apostle and the Heavenly Book, Uppsala, 1950;
is held to be the oral Torah, also revealed at Sinai; the h:ad¯ıth
Muhhammad, the Apostle of God, and His Ascension, Uppsala,
serve in Islam not only to clarify and to explain but to supple-
1955, esp. pp. 115–139) that such a book was coupled in
ment the QurDa¯n as a religious authority, especially in mat-
the ancient Near East, in Judaism, and finally in Islam to a
ters of practice; and in Thera¯vada Buddhist traditions, texts
messenger figure to whom the book is given in a personal en-
such as Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga are greatly revered
counter with God or validated through such an encounter
even though they do not report the “word of the Buddha”
(e.g., Moses at Sinai, Muh:ammad on his ascension). The
(buddhavacana) in the strict sense.
idea of a book of destinies or fates, in which the allotted days
and assigned end of human lives are written down, was
AS A RELATIONAL CONCEPT. As these considerations indi-
known, as art and textual evidence show, in ancient Babylo-
cate, neither form nor content can serve to identify or to dis-
nia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and especially late antiquity. Israel
tinguish scripture as a general phenomenon. It is true that
also knew this motif (see Ps. 139:16–17), and the sealed book
the form, content, or other specific attributes of a text may
mentioned in Revelation 5:1ff. may well be a Christian in-
be perceived by the faithful as the guarantee of the extraordi-
stance of it. The similar notion of a book of works, in which
nary character of their major scripture (note, for example,
a heavenly record of human deeds is kept, was also widely
Muslim faith in the literary “matchlessness” [i Eja¯z] of the
known of old. References to the writing down of good and
QurDanic style). Nevertheless, from the historian’s perspec-
bad deeds, often in connection with a last judgment, are
tive, the sacrality or holiness of a book is not an a priori attri-
found among the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians,
bute but one that is realized historically in the life of commu-
and Hebrews, as well as Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Chris-
nities who respond to it as something sacred or holy. A text
tian writers of later antiquity. However, it is in the biblical
becomes “scripture” in living, subjective relationship to per-
traditions of Judaism and Christianity (cf. Ex. 32:32, Phil.
sons and to historical tradition. No text, written, oral, or
4:3) that the notion of a book of life, in which the names
both, is sacred or authoritative in isolation from a communi-
of God’s elect are inscribed, finds a special place.
ty. A text is only “scripture” insofar as a group of persons per-
ceives it to be sacred or holy, powerful and meaningful, pos-
While the precise relationship of these ideas to that of
sessed of an exalted authority, and in some fashion
a revealed scriptural book remains to be clarified, elements
transcendent of, and hence distinct from, other speech and
of all of them do appear in the developed concepts of Jewish
writing. That which is scripture for one group may be a
and Christian scripture and the QurDa¯n, and all of them do
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reflect the antiquity and strength of the idea of a written
and the plurals were used in a collective sense for the whole.
book as the repository of divine knowledge or divine decrees.
For example, Daniel 10:21 employs bi-khetav emet (Septua-
The idea of a sacred book. The quintessential “book
gint, en graph¯e al¯etheias; Vulgate, in scriptura veritatis), “in
religions” are those that trace their lineage in some fashion
a true writing/scripture”; Luke 4:21 employs h¯e graph¯e aut¯e
to the Hebrews, the prototypical “people of the book.” It is
(Vulgate, haec scriptura), “this [passage of] scripture” (refer-
not yet fully understood how Judaic ideas of the sacred or
ring to Is. 61:1f.), and Matthew 21:42, Acts of the Apostles
heavenly book joined historically with influences from other
17:11, and other passages employ hai graphai (Vulgate: scrip-
sectors of the ancient Near Eastern world and the growing
turae), “the [Old Testament] scriptures.” The Christian fa-
status of the book in later antiquity to set in motion the
thers used both singular and plural forms collectively to refer
“book religion” that plays so large a role in Christianity,
to the Old and New Testament books (e.g., Epistle of Barna-
Manichaeism, and, most spectacularly and pronouncedly, in
bas 4.7, 5.4; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 2.24.3, 2.27.1). Al-
Islam. Wilfred Cantwell Smith has, however, pointed to the
though in the New Testament these terms in singular or plu-
gathering strength in the period after Alexander the Great,
ral refer uniformly to scriptural as opposed to other kinds of
and especially from the second century CE, of the idea of a
writings, there is some dispute as to whether the singular
sacred book or “classic,” a text that carries ultimate authority.
graph¯e (scriptura) ever refers collectively to the whole of the
Christianity’s increasing emphasis on authoritative writings,
scriptures or only to one or a part of one of them (as in Jn.
the point of departure for which was Jewish reverence for the
10:35 or Rom. 11:2).
Torah, was especially decisive in this development. Mani’s
self-conscious effort to produce books of scriptural authority
Other terms, usually also associated with writing or
reflects the degree to which by his time (third century CE)
books, were used in like fashion to refer to sacred, authorita-
a religious movement had to have its own scripture or scrip-
tive writings. In Greek, grammata (sg., gramma, “what is
tures to be legitimate. The fourth century in particular seems
written; writing”; Lat., littera), used generally for literature
to have been a time when scriptures, notably the Christian
or documents (as in the Septaugint, where it usually trans-
and Manichaean, were coming into their own. But it was the
lates the Hebrew sefarim/sifrei, plural of sefer, “writing,
QurDa¯n’s insistence upon the centrality of the divine book,
book”), came in Hellenistic times, in pagan as well as Jewish
given now in final form as a recitation of divine speech, that
and Christian contexts, to refer especially to any sacred text
carried the development of book religion to its apogee in the
(e.g., 2 Tm. 3.15, ta hiera grammata; Vulgate, sacras litteras).
early seventh century. Later developments such as Sikhism’s
Scriptural citations in the New Testament and early Chris-
veneration of its “book” (Granth) have to be seen as but new
tian works are commonly introduced by the formula used in
variations on a theme already fully articulated in Islam, the
the Septuagint: “(As) it is written,” (Katho¯s) gegraptai (Mt.
book religion par excellence (Smith, 1993, ch. 3, pp. 45–64).
4:4, 4:6, 21:13; Rom. l:17, 2:24; 1 Cor. 2:9, etc.). The Greek
Semantic background. The most basic meaning of
biblos (“book”), or, more commonly in the Septuagint and
scripture, as of its Indo-European cognates (Ger., Schrift;
New Testament, its diminutive form, biblion (pl., biblia), re-
Ital., scrittura; Fr., écriture; etc.), is “a writing, something
ferred originally to any type of written document—scroll,
written.” It is derived from the Latin scriptura, “a writing”
codex, book, or letter. In the Septuagint and subsequent Jew-
(pl., scripturae). The Latin word translated the Greek graph¯e
ish and Christian Greek sources (for example, the Greek
(pl., graphai), which corresponded in Classical and Hellenis-
preface to Ben Sira, 1 and 2 Maccabees, 1 Clement, and the
tic usage to the postexilic Hebrew use of ketav (pl., ketuvim/
writings of Philo Judaeus, Josephus Flavius, and Origen), al-
kitvei) as a term for a writing: a letter, inscription, written
though not in New Testament writings, terms like hiera
decree, or a holy writing. These terms could even refer to the
biblos, “sacred book,” and (hierai) bibloi, “(sacred) books,”
written law (Plato, Laws 11.934)—in the Septuagint, specifi-
were used for the Pentateuch or the entire Hebrew scriptures.
cally to the Mosaic law, or Torah (1 Chr. 15:15). In the Med-
From the earliest days of the Christian church, in which “the
iterranean world of later antiquity, pagan, Jewish, and Chris-
books” (Heb., ha-sefarim; Gk., ta biblia) of Hebrew scripture
tian writers used these words (or their plurals) to refer to
were “the bible of the church” (Hans von Campenhausen,
various kinds of written texts in the Hebrew Bible, the Greek
Aus der Frühzeit des Christentums, Tübingen, 1963,
Septuagint, and the Old Testament books of the Latin Vul-
pp. 152–196), the Greek neuter plural biblia or the Latin
gate (e.g., Ex. 32:16, Tob. 8:24, Ps. 86:6). By the time of the
biblia (a neuter plural formed from the Greek) was used in
Christian New Testament writers, however, the terms had
Christian contexts to refer specifically to the Hebrew scrip-
gradually come to be used especially for sacred books, above
tures. It appears that by the end of the second century, or
all the three divisions of the Hebrew scriptures, the Penta-
at least by the end of the fourth, the generally recognized
teuch (Torah), Prophets (NeviDim), and (other) Writings
writings of the emerging New Testament were also included
(Ketuvim). In early Christian usage, they were extended also
in “the books” (Harnack, 1928). In the Middle Ages (cer-
to the Gospels, Pauline epistles, and other texts that eventu-
tainly from the twelfth century and probably earlier), biblia
ally formed the New Testament.
came to be treated commonly as a feminine singular, whence
In Jewish and Christian usage, the singular forms were
such modern singular forms arose as the Bible, die Bibel, and
applied primarily to a particular passage or particular writing,
la Bibbia.
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8197
In the New Testament (e.g., Rom. 1:2, 2 Tm. 3:15) and
daeans, and later even in some cases to Hindus because of
in the works of the Christian fathers, and as well as in Philo
the Veda. There seems, however, to be no evidence of direct
and Josephus, various adjectives were added to the words for
influence of the Muslim use of kutub on modern Western
“scripture(s)” and “book(s)” to emphasize their special, holy
generic usage. It appears rather that it was the growing West-
character: for example, hieros, hagios, sanctus (“holy”); theios,
ern awareness in the eighteenth century of the Indian Veda
divinus (“divine”); theopneustos (“divinely inspired”);
in particular, and the Chinese “classics” to some degree, that
kuriakos (“of the Lord”). Such usage had much earlier prece-
led to wider acceptance of the idea that there were other
dents, such as the use in Ptolemaic times of ta hiera gram-
scriptures and books of wisdom beyond the Bible that could
mata, “the holy writings,” to refer to the sacred Egyptian hi-
claim great antiquity as well as importance in their own cul-
eroglyphic literature in contrast to the demotic writings, or
tures in much that way the Bible has in the West.
the use of the Hebrew equivalents, kitvei ha-qodesh (“the
In English, clearly generic use of scripture can be found
Holy Scriptures”) in rabbinic writings, or sifrei ha-qodesh
at least as early as the eighteenth century. George Sale wrote
(“the sacred books”) in later, medieval writings, for the sa-
in the introduction to his QurDa¯n translation of 1734 that
cred scriptures.
the QurDa¯n shares things with “other books of scripture”
Generalization of the concept. In these ways, the Jew-
(pace the Oxford English Dictionary, which can cite no use
ish and Christian worlds gradually appropriated the use of
of scripture to refer to non-Christian religious texts before
such terms as scripture, holy scripture(s), books, sacred books,
1764). By the nineteenth century, the generic use of the term
and so forth, primarily as proper-noun designations for their
or of approximate equivalents like sacred writings was much
own holy texts. In particular, as Christian culture and reli-
more common. The ambitious series of translations of the
gion triumphed in the Mediterranean, especially in southern
great scriptures of the world that was inaugurated in 1879
Europe, (sacred) scripture came to mean specifically the
by Max Müller under the title “The Sacred Books of the
Christian Bible. Such limitation of the idea of scripture to
East” reflects a clear recognition by this time in the modern
a proper noun referring only to the Old and New Testa-
West of the worldwide existence of texts that function “scrip-
ments continues even today in many Christian circles. Ap-
turally” in ways analogous to those of the Hebrew or Chris-
parently the use of scriptura(e) and scriptura(e) sancta(e) (or
tian Bible.
their European-language equivalents) to designate sacred
The extended use of the term scripture (or its linguistic
texts in general was until recently, chiefly in the past century
equivalent in languages other than English) for any particu-
or two, unusual at best. Scriptura could, of course, always be
larly sacred text is now common in modern Western usage
used as a neutral term for any writing, and it is not a giant
and widely current internationally. Even the word Bible has
step from such usage to a generalized concept of religious
been used, albeit less often, in a similarly general sense to
writings in other cultures. For example, such a concept may
refer to any sacred scripture (e.g., Franklin Edgerton’s refer-
be present when Peter the Venerable (d. 1156) contrasts
ence to the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ as “India’s favorite Bible” in The
“sacra scriptura,” or Christian scripture, with Muh:ammad’s
Bhagavad G¯ıta¯, or Song of the Blessed One, Chicago, 1925).
“nefaria scriptura,” the QurDa¯n (Summa totius haeresis sara-
However, scripture is the term that today is most commonly
cenorum, cited in James Kritzeck, Peter the Venerable and
and properly used as the generic term for particularly sacred
Islam, Princeton, 1964, p. 206). A clearer example of the no-
texts.
tion of “scripture” as something appearing in many cultures
CHARACTERISTIC ROLES. Scriptural texts function in a vari-
can be found as early as the mid-thirteenth century. In 1254,
ety of ways in a religious tradition. Some of their major func-
at the Mongol capital in Inner Asia, the Franciscan traveler
tions can be categorized as follows.
William of Rubrouck warned a group of Nestorian Chris-
tians about tactics in their coming debate on religion with
Scripture as Holy Writ. The significance of the written
Buddhists and Muslims before the Great Khan: “They do
word of scripture is difficult to exaggerate. If the etymology
not have faith in [our] Scriptures; if you recite one [scrip-
of scripture and its common association with the written or
ture], they will recite another” (in Anastasius van den Wyng-
printed word have strengthened the tendency in Judeo-
aert, Sinica Franciscana, Florence, 1929, vol. 1, p. 294).
Christian culture (and even more in modern, print-
dominated society) for Westerners, especially scholars, to
Such Western generalization of the concept of scripture
treat sacred books primarily or even exclusively as written
was, to be sure, hardly novel. In the Muslim world, the con-
documents, there is good historical cause for this practice.
cept of sacred “scripture” (kita¯b) had already been general-
With the important exception of the Hindu world, the writ-
ized in the QurDa¯n, where especially Jews and Christians are
ing down of the major religious text(s) of a community has
spoken of as “people of scripture” (ahl al-kita¯b). The term
been typically an epochal event in its history, one often
designates those communities that have previously received
linked to the crystallization of religious organization and sys-
“books” or “scriptures” (kutub) sent by God, which were
tematic theological speculation, as well as to the achievement
then eclipsed in the perfection of his final “sending” of the
of a high level of culture. The written scriptural text symbol-
Scripture [al-kita¯b], the QurDa¯n, through Muh:ammad. Ahl
izes or embodies religious authority in many traditions (often
al-kita¯b status was early extended to Zoroastrians and Man-
replacing the living authority of a religious founder such as
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SCRIPTURE
Muh:ammad or the Buddha). Such authority is well ex-
life are equally striking. Morenz (1950) touched upon the
pressed in the aforementioned formula, “(As) it is written,”
oral dimension of every sacred text when he traced the cre-
which typically prefaces a biblical citation (whereas in the
ative genius of “book religion” to the Israelite capacity for
more orally-oriented Islamic and Buddhist worlds, respec-
“hearing,” in contrast to the “seeing” that dominates “cult
tively, “God says” introduces a QurDa¯nic citation, and “Thus
religion,” such as that of ancient Greece. Scripture’s impor-
I have heard” is the traditional introduction to a su¯tra).
tance rests ultimately on the perceived importance of the sa-
Although the fixity and authority of the physical text
cred word that the memorized or written text seeks to fix for-
have been felt particularly strongly in the last two thousand
ever (Heiler, 1979, pp. 339ff.). However much the written
years in the West, the idea of an authoritative sacred writing
text dominates in any form of book religion, its presence in
is not limited to one global region. The “book religion” that
a community is still primarily realized orally and aurally.
Siegfried Morenz contrasted with “cult religion” has flour-
Historically, all but a small minority of those who have “had”
ished notably in the Mediterranean (Morenz, 1950) and,
a scripture have been illiterate, and even in highly literate
later, the wider Western and Islamic worlds, yet veneration
communities the scriptural text is regularly “heard” in wor-
for the sacred word as book has also been important, if not
ship, teaching, and preaching even more than it is “seen” in
always central, in most of the Buddhist world of Southeast
silent reading. It is only relatively recently that any kind of
and East Asia. It has been suggested, for example, that there
reading has become a silent rather than an oral activity
was an early Maha¯ya¯na cult of the book (su¯tra) that vied with
(Balogh, 1926–1927; Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy,
the stupa relic cult (G. Schopen, in Indo-Iranian Journal
London, 1982).
1[1975]: 147–81), and high esteem for the written su¯tras has
been generally prominent in Maha¯ya¯na tradition. Further-
Recitation or reading aloud of scripture is a common
more, it was in India, not the West, that the veneration of
feature of piety, whether in Islamic, Sikh, Jewish, or other
the written text reached one of its historical heights in the
traditions. Many scriptures have primary or secondary
Sikh movement (the Sikh focus on the sacred book reflects,
schemes of division according to the needs of recitation or
to be sure, considerable Muslim influence, much as the em-
reading aloud in the community (e.g., the 154 divisions of
phasis of the Mormons on the book reflects Judeo-Christian
the Torah for synagogal reading over a three-year span).
attitudes to Holy Writ). It is also in Asia that some of the
Great esteem is given to the person who knows all of the sa-
more recent book religions have appeared, as for example,
cred scripture “by heart”—in the Muslim case, such a person
Babism in Iran and Tenrikyo¯ in Japan.
is honored with the special epithet, h:a¯fiz:, “keeper, protector,
memorizer [of the Word].” In the early synagogue and in the
One of the overt ways in which the importance of the
early Christian church, the reading aloud of scripture in wor-
written text is evident is in the religious valuation of the act
ship was fundamental to religious life (Ismar Elbogen, Der
of copying and embellishing a sacred text. Christian, Jewish,
jüdische Gottesdienst, Leipzig, 1913, chap. 3; Paul Glaue, Die
and Islamic traditions boast especially strong calligraphic tra-
Vorlesung heiliger Schriften im Gottesdienst, Berlin, 1907; but
ditions for their scriptures. In the Islamic case, for example,
cf. Walter Bauer, Das Wortgottesdienst der ältesten Christen,
where a considerable iconophobia has held sway in the public
Tübingen, 1930), just as it was in pagan cults of the Helle-
sphere, magnificent calligraphic renderings of the QurDanic
nistic Mediterranean, such as that of Isis (Leipoldt and
word have been not only the favorite expression of the art
Morenz, 1953, p. 96). The Jews call both the reading of
of the book but also the chief adornment of mosques and
scripture and the passage read miqra D (Neh. 8:8), “what is re-
most other monuments. Mani (d. 277), the founder of Man-
cited, read aloud, a reading.” In Talmudic usage, the term
ichaeism, placed great importance on painting pictures to il-
came to refer to the Torah (Pentateuch), the Prophets, and
lustrate his own canon of sacred books, and Manichaean mis-
the Writings that make up the Tankakh, or Hebrew scrip-
sionary concerns led to the production of beautifully
tures. An ancient Greek synogogal inscription in Jerusalem
embellished calligraphic texts as well as a picture volume on
reads, “The synagogue is for the reading aloud (eis anagnosin)
the teaching. Here holy book and holy image come together
of the Law” (Theologischer Begriffslexikon zum Neuen Testa-
(Hans-Joachim Klimkeit, Manichaean Art and Calligraphy,
ment, ed. L. Coenen et al., Wuppertal, 1967–1971, vol. 1,
Leiden, 1982). Besides furthering fine calligraphy and manu-
p. 153). The Greek anagnosis or anagnosma (Lat., lectio) was
script illumination, Christians have extensively cultivated
rich illustration of the Bible, notably in early medieval By-
also used in the same sense in the early Christian context for
zantium and late medieval western Europe (Ernst von Dob-
public scripture reading on the Jewish model. The Arabic
schütz, Die Bibel im Leben der Völker, Witten, 1954,
word qur Da¯n, which is not attested in pre-QurDanic sources,
pp. 82f., 123f.). In Tibetan Buddhist monasticism, the zeal-
probably derives from qerya¯na¯, the Syriac equivalent of
ously careful production of the BkaD-Dgur (Kanjur) and
miqra D, and is likewise a verbal noun meaning “reciting, reci-
Bstan-Dgur (Tanjur), whether by hand copying or block
tation” (Graham, 1984).
printing, is yet another example of the great attention paid
In other traditions, notably the Islamic and Buddhist,
to the form of a sacred written text.
the recitation of the sacred word is even more central to reli-
Scripture as spoken word. Whatever the central place
gious practice, despite the frequently massive importance of
of the written word, the oral roles of scripture in religious
veneration of the written text in the same traditions. In
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8199
Hindu practice, the oral, recited word completely eclipses the
[shuo-ching], of Buddhist monks in Sung China; see Over-
importance of any written form of it and presents the most
myer, Folk Buddhist Religion, Cambridge, Mass., 1976,
vivid instance of the all but exclusively oral function of scrip-
p. 179), and especially prayer (as in the Lord’s Prayer, the
ture. It appears that until the coming of Islam stimulated the
Psalms, the ShemaE, the Fa¯tih:ah, or the Triratna). Its words
writing down of the Avesta as a book, the most sacred Zoro-
frequently form the texts used for recitation in the major rites
astrian texts, those in Old Persian, were similarly transmitted
of passage and other important festival and ritual occasions
and used only orally, in recitation, while the less sacred com-
of a tradition: for example, surah 36 (Ya¯ S¯ın) is recited espe-
mentaries (Zand) and other religious books in Pahlavi had
cially on 15 ShaEba¯n (the Muslim “Night of Quittance”) and
long been written (Geo Widengren, Die Religionen Irans,
at Muslim funerals, as is the Lotus Sutra in mortuary and an-
Stuttgart, 1968, pp. 245–259).
cestral ritual in Nichiren Buddhist practice in Japan, or the
Ga¯ya¯tri mantra (R:gveda 3.62.10) at the Upanayana ritual of
Oral use and even oral transmission of scripture should
Hindu initiation.
not be confused with folk oral tradition in which verbatim
accuracy is not aspired to (i. e., in which “formulaic composi-
Ritually important passages of a scriptural text are some-
tion” predominates: see, for example, Albert B. Lord, The
times pulled together into special anthologies or collections
Singer of Tales, Cambridge, Mass., 1960). The technical
that serve the liturgical needs of the community, as in the
mnemonic methods of oral transmission have sometimes
Christian breviary, psalter, lectionary, or evangeliarium; the
been so highly developed for sacred texts as to render the oral
Pa¯t:imokkha selection from the Vinaya that is recited as a reg-
text more reliable than the manuscript tradition—notably in
ular part of Buddhist monastic life; or the Blue Sutra, an
the Islamic and Hindu cases. In any event, few if any scrip-
abridgement of the Lotus Sutra that is used in the ritual of
tural books have the verbatim uniformity popularly associat-
the modern Reiyu¯kai Buddhist sect in Japan (Helen Har-
ed with the written and especially the printed word. Even the
dacre, Lay Buddhism in Contemporary Japan, Princeton,
“fixation” of a sacred canon in writing has rarely meant that
1984). Whether it is read or recited aloud, given physical
one definitive documentary text is universally recognized or
prominence as a ritual object, or cited or paraphrased in
that variant texts disappear.
prayers, homilies, hymns, or litanies, a scriptural text plays
Scripture in public ritual. Whether the written or the
one of the most visible and important parts in worship in
oral text of a scriptural book predominates, the most visible
many traditions.
religious role of a scripture is in public worship. In some in-
Scripture in devotional and spiritual life. Closely tied
stances a scripture is explicitly a ritual text that orders and
to public ritual, and equally or more important to religious
explains the rite itself, as in the case of the Bra¯hman:as in
life, is the role of scripture in personal devotion and in mysti-
Vedic tradition. In other cases it is a sacred text either recited
cal, ascetic, and other traditions of spiritual discipline and re-
in ritual acts (e.g., the QurDa¯n, the Zoroastrian Ga¯tha¯s, the
alization. Aspects of the devotional role of scripture have
Vedic mantras, and the Shinto¯ norito, or ritual prayers taken
been treated in the preceding sections, but some further
from the Engi-shiki) or read aloud from a written copy in
points bear mention.
communal worship, as in Jewish or Christian practice. Such
recitation or reading is often a major, if not the central, ele-
Recitation and reading aloud are not only central to for-
ment in worship. In some traditions, particularly initiatory
mal worship (see above), but also to private devotion and the
sects, the sacred character of a text has led to its being kept
practice of diverse spiritual disciplines. Meditatio in the
secret from the masses and read or recited only by and for
Christian tradition was from the start basically an oral activi-
initiates. Leipoldt and Morenz (1953, pp. 88ff.) have treated
ty of learning the text “by heart” through reciting with con-
this scriptural “secrecy” in the Mediterranean world in some
centrated attention and reflection. In turn, as Jean Leclercq
detail.
has eloquently articulated in The Love of Learning and the De-
sire for God
([1957] 1974), meditation formed the basis of
Sometimes, perhaps most prominently in the case of the
the monastic lectio divina, the active, oral reading of and re-
A¯di Granth of the Sikhs, a sacred exemplar of the holy scrip-
flecting on scripture upon which the monk’s discipline was
ture even plays a functionally iconic role in the liturgical set-
based in Pachomian, Benedictine, and other rules. Buddhist
ting. Ritual veneration of the physical sacred text is also seen
monastic discipline similarly focuses upon constant medita-
in the Tibetan monastic practice of circumambulating the
tion upon scripture through reading and recitation, whether
su¯tra collection of the monastery, the solemn procession of
in monasteries of Sri Lankan Thera¯vada, Tibetan Vajraya¯na,
a copy of the QurDa¯n in some Muslim funerary rites (Edward
or Chinese Maha¯ya¯na. Study of the Vedas which centers on
W. Lane, An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Mod-
recitation and memorization—is said in the Laws of Manu
ern Egyptians, 5th ed., London, 1860, p. 514), and Jewish
(2.166f.) to be the highest austerity, or ascetic discipline. In
ritual handling of Torah rolls in the synagogue.
Islam, QurDanic recitation (qira¯Dah) is a public and private
Scripture also characteristically provides the fundamen-
form of devotional practice that also demands mindfulness
tal elements of ritual language, the basic vocabulary as well
of and meditation on the meaning of the sacred text as well
as texts for hymnody (as in the Christian Psalter), sermon
as recitative technique (cf. K. Nelson, The Art of Reciting the
(e.g., the marketplace preaching, or “speaking about su¯tras”
Qur Da¯n [Austin, Tex., 1985]).
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Closely related to meditative practices involving scrip-
Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901–1906). In Nichiren Buddhism,
tural texts are the recitation of and meditation upon formulas
the sacred formula of adoration of the Lotus Su¯tra, the Dai-
derived from scripture. The chanting of Hindu and Buddhist
moku, is said to encapsule the whole of truth in a single invo-
mantras and of Buddhist dha¯ran:¯ıs, as well as the recitation
cation. Protestant doctrines of the literal inspiration of every
of S:u¯f¯ı dhikr litanies (many of which are QurDanic) are major
word of the Bible have been used to justify very diverse ideas
examples of formulaic use of scripture in devotional life.
and practices. Numerology and alphabet mysticism connect-
ed with a scriptural text are as prominent in such traditions
Other uses of scripture in devotional and spiritual life
as those of the qabbalists and the S:u¯f¯ıs and well known in
abound. The setting of scriptural texts to music has been im-
virtually every religious tradition (cf. Bertholet, op. cit., 1949,
portant in diverse traditions of piety. Chant and hymnody
pp. 14–17, and Schimmel, The Mystery of Numbers, 1993).
are prominent foci for scriptural use in both public and pri-
vate worship in Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist,
CHARACTERISTIC ATTRIBUTES OF SCRIPTURE. The scrip-
Hindu, Sikh, and other traditions. Similarly, reverence for
tures of any given religious tradition possess a number of
the physical text of scripture and ritual copying or illumina-
characteristic attributes. Some of the most important are as
tion of it have also been important parts of piety in many
follows.
scriptual traditions. Nor is it by chance that most reform ef-
Power. The major functional attributes of scripture are
forts in religious communities with a scripture mandate a
bound up with the power felt to be inherent in scriptural
“back to the book” piety that seeks (usually literal) authority
word. Both the written and the spoken word carry a seeming-
in the pages of scripture. Where human beings may prove
ly innate power in human perception. At the most basic level,
changeable, the sacred word stands secure for every genera-
a word is an action: words do not signify so much as they
tion as the unchanging guide to individual as well as group
perform. Hence to speak a name ritually is in some measure
morality and action.
to control or to summon the one named. For the faithful,
a sacred word is not merely a word, but an operative, salvific
Magical and superstitious use of scripture. All of the
word. Its unique, transformative power often rests upon its
previously discussed uses of scripture can tend at times to-
being spoken (or written) by a god (as in Jewish, Christian,
ward bibliolatry—the treatment in an extreme fashion of
or Muslim tradition). In other cases, the sound itself is pri-
scripture as an object of worship or a locus of supernatural
mordial and holy (as in India), or the message or teaching
power. Such treatment of scriptural texts results from the
embodied in the scriptural word is considered to be salvific
power associated with the written and spoken word. Bibliola-
truth, with little or no reference to a divine origin (as in many
try can take many forms, from doctrinal emphasis on the in-
Buddhist traditions).
fallibility of the literal text to overt bibliomancy, the supersti-
tious or magical use of scripture. The answer to a problem
The power inherent in the spoken word is vividly seen
or guidance for any occasion is often sought through scrip-
in the idea of a divine, creative word. Many traditions have
ture divination. Thus turning to sometimes random, some-
cosmogonies in which a god creates the world or men or ani-
times specific pages of scripture in times of adversity, uncer-
mals through speech: as, for example, the Memphite cos-
tainty, bereavement, or the like is a time-honored but little-
mogony of ancient Egypt (in which the god Ptah creates by
documented use of scripture in Christian, Jewish, Islamic,
thought and speech), Genesis 1:3 (“God said, ‘Let there be
Buddhist, and many other traditions. Similar examples of
light . . .’”), QurDa¯n 40:68 (“[God] said, ‘Be,’ and it was”),
bibliomancy as a protective or empowering device are placing
or tribal mythologies, such as those of the African Dogon
a Bible in the bed of a sick child as a curative, using a tiny
and South American Witóto peoples, in which the gods
QurDa¯n or Bible as a protective charm or talisman, seeking
create with a spoken word (Marcel Griaule, Conversations
omens in scriptural verses, or dissolving slips of paper with
with Ogotemmêli, London, 1965, pp. 16–40; Konrad T. Pre-
words of scripture on them in a drink to make a medicine
uss, Religion und Mythologie der Uitoto, Göttingen, 1921–
(Rühle, 1941; Bertholet, 1949).
1923, pp. 633–634).
Quasi-magical notions of scripture can even be seen in
The power of the spoken word of scripture also appears
“orthoprax” religious life. The proper chanting or reading
in a variety of other religious contexts, most prominently in
aloud of scripture is commonly seen as efficacious in a variety
worship (see above; the most extreme case may be that of
of situations. In Therava¯da Buddhist practice, collections of
Veda recitation in Brahmanic ritual). Also noteworthy are
scriptural texts known as parittas are recited by the monks
the aforementioned practices of mantra recitation in Hindu
to ward off the actions of demons and to bring prosperity,
and Tantric traditions, where the sound of the Vedic formula
health, and other blessings (Lynn de Silva, Buddhism: Beliefs
or hymn enables the worshiper or meditator to appropriate
and Practices in Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1974, pp. 81–90). In
the power of a particular divinity (devata¯); the dhikr, or “re-
Vedic sacrifice, the efficacy of the rite depends upon the ab-
membrance,” practiced in S:u¯f¯ı tradition in Islam, in which
solutely accurate recitation of the sacred text. Talmudic liter-
QurDanic or other phrases or texts are chanted or sung as a
ature contains many statements about the proper biblical
means of focusing consciousness and being upon God; and
passage to be used for protective or other magical purposes
Buddhist chanting and singing of su¯tras (and mantras) as a
(M. Grunwald and Kaufmann Kohler, “Bibliomancy,” The
meditative practice or act of worship.
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The power of the written word has already been touched
QurDa¯n, Hebrew Bible, Avesta, or Veda). Other texts or
upon. The Jewish designation of holy books as “that which
groups of texts (e.g., the h:ad¯ıth, Mishnah, Pahlavi books, or
renders the hands unclean” expresses well the widespread
Pura¯n:as) may, however, achieve a quasi-scriptural status as
sense of the power latent in every copy of scripture. In most
sacred books of nearly or effectively equal importance in the
scriptural traditions, such perceived power manifests itself
life of the tradition. While, strictly speaking, such texts may
within both “orthoprax” and “popular” spirituality in ten-
be denied fullest scriptural status, they often function in a
dencies towards bibliolatry—the treatment of scripture as an
community in remarkably similar ways to the major scrip-
object of worship or as a locus of supernatural power. Magi-
ture of other traditions. Conversely, the supreme scripture
cal notions of the power that lies in a copy of a sacred scrip-
in a tradition may play a functionally less important role or
ture are an extreme extension of religious sensibility to the
less visible role in piety than a theoretically second-order sa-
presence of divine wisdom or ultimate truth in a scriptural
cred text. India offers the best example of this in the major
text. Even the laying of the hand upon a copy of the Bible
Vedic Sam:hita¯s, or collections, which are recognized as the
in swearing a legal oath of truthfulness echoes such notions.
supreme holy texts in all Hindu traditions yet functionally
are virtually a scriptura abscondita for many Hindus, who
Authority and sacrality. The power of scripture is
make greater active use of non-Vedic or later Vedic texts. In
clearly expressed in its most common attributes as well as its
Hindu tradition, an explicit distinction is made between
most common uses. Of all those attributes, the most essential
´sruti (“what is heard,” the product of the r:s:is’ revelatory ex-
ones are the extraordinary authority and sacrality of scripture
perience) and smr:ti (“what is remembered”), the former ap-
vis-à-vis other texts. In both theocratic and nontheocratic re-
plied to the whole of the diverse corpus of Vedic texts, the
ligious traditions, scriptural books possess a supramundane
latter to later sacred texts. Yet in many Hindu sectarian
authority and degree of holiness for the faithful that no other
groups, especially those of a devotional (bhakti) bent, the
texts can command.
most sacred scriptural texts in actual use are smr:ti texts such
The authoritative character of scripture is most vivid in
as the Bha¯gavata Pura¯n:a. Such popularity of a smr:ti text takes
those cases in which a sacred text provides the legal basis of
nothing away from the sacrality of the Veda; rather, it indi-
communal order. This is especially evident in the Jewish tra-
cates the tendency to elevate ever more texts to the functional
dition, where the written Torah is the pediment upon which
status of sacred scripture in everyday piety.
the entire edifice of Jewish life is built, and in the Islamic tra-
Unicity. A further quality of scripture is its perceived
dition, where the minimal legal prescriptions and much larg-
unicity of source, content, and authority in the community
er body of moral injunctions found in the QurDa¯n are viewed
involved with it (see especially Leipolt and Morenz, 1953).
as the ultimate bases of the shar¯ıEah. It is also evident in the
No matter what the historical origins or textual development
role of the Vinaya (“discipline”) section of the Tripit:aka, the
of its constituent parts, and no matter how diverse those
“law” of Buddhist monasticism.
parts, a scriptural corpus is commonly conceived of as a uni-
The extraordinary sacrality of scripture is seen in almost
fied whole, both in its ontological origin as sacred word and
every facet of its use in communal life. The way in which a
its internal consistency and authoritativeness as sacred truth.
scriptural text is handled, the formulas of respect that accom-
The many originally separate texts that were collected into
pany its mention, citation, recitation, or reading, and the
the Egyptian Book of Going Forth by Day, the diverse “holy
theological doctrines that are developed to set it apart onto-
scriptures” of the Hebrew or Christian Bible, the myriad
logically from all other texts are common evidence of such
su¯tras of the Chinese Buddhist canon, or the various kinds
sacrality. Among many examples that reflect this kind of ho-
of Vedic texts revered as ´sruti—these and other bodies of sa-
liness of scripture are the enshrinement of the ornate Torah
cred texts are each conceived as an ontological and conceptu-
scrolls in their special cabinet, the ark, in the synagogue; the
al unity, whether that unity is one of God’s holy word (as
tokens of homage paid to the A¯di Granth in Sikh worship;
in ancient Egypt or Islam), the Buddha-word, or the “sound”
the “Little Entrance” procession in Eastern Orthodox
(Skt., ´sabda; Chin., sheng) of ultimate truth or wisdom heard
churches (or, in Anglican divine service, standing) to honor
by the ancient Indian and ancient Chinese sages. If scriptural
the reading of the Gospel; the ritual purification required for
texts such as the QurDa¯n or the Book of Mormon can boast
recitation of the QurDa¯n; the merit held to accompany recita-
a single-source origin with considerable historical justifica-
tion of Buddhist su¯tras; the virtue attached to copying or
tion, the greatest number of scriptures in the world represent
memorizing sacred texts such as the Bible or the QurDa¯n; the
collections of material put together not by one person or
aforementioned folk traditions of the healing power of scrip-
even one generation but by a gradual process of recognition
ture; and the stress placed upon the eternal, transcendent na-
of sacred texts usually referred to as “canon formation.” Nev-
ture of the Veda, the Torah, the QurDa¯n, the Buddhist su¯tras,
ertheless, once the community has reached general agree-
and so on.
ment about which texts it accepts as sacred, it is common for
There is often more than one level or degree of sacred
it to affirm unity of origin as well as message in its scriptural
texts in a community. As already noted, it is possible in most
corpus.
traditions to distinguish among various sacred books one text
Inspiration and eternality/antiquity. The tendency to
or corpus of texts that is the scripture par excellence (e.g., the
see one’s own formal or informal canon of scriptures as a uni-
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SCRIPTURE
fied whole is closely linked to the characteristic development
sacred word of scripture, which can pose a dilemma for theo-
of a theory of inspiration, revelation, or some other kind of
ries of scripture in the community. Finally, the importance
suprahuman and primordial origin for its words. All of the
of scripture in religious life has important consequences for
prophets and teachers whose words become part of scripture
culture more broadly. Some of the most evident of these are
are held to have been inspired in their speech (as with the
in the spheres of language, literature, and the arts.
Hebrew prophets), to have been given God’s direct revela-
Canon formation. The perceived unicity of scripture
tion to their fellows (as with Muh:ammad and Mani), or to
leads often to a felt need for an authoritative “canon” (from
have had an experience in which they transcended the con-
the Greek kano¯n, “rule, measure”), or “list,” of texts that
tingent world to grasp ultimate reality (as in the Buddha’s
properly belong to sacred scripture—properly, that is, in the
enlightenment). Whether the sacred word is vouchsafed to
view of those who want to prescribe authoritative as opposed
them in a vision or an auditory experience, or given to them
to less authoritative or nonauthoritative texts. Nowhere in
as heavenly tablets or books, the earthly bringers of the holy
the history of religion has the process of canon formation
word have been chosen to be, or have become through their
been a clear or unequivocal one, dependent as it usually has
own special power, a bridge between the transcendent and
been upon the pressure of defining one “orthodoxy” against
the mundane.
one or more competing interpretations of faith. In most
The divine word is also commonly held to be eternal,
cases, it is finally not the fiat of a council or individual reli-
as in the role of Va¯c (“speech”) as primordial being or god-
gious authority seeking to forge a canon in order to delimit
dess in Vedic thought, in the Hindu concept of the eternal
orthodoxy, but rather the usage of the majority that deter-
Veda (cf. Laws of Manu 12.94, 12.99), in the Muslim doc-
mines any canon of sacred and authoritative scripture. This
trine of the uncreated, eternal Word of the QurDa¯n (which,
has been especially true of the three traditions in which “ca-
as God’s very Word, is an eternal divine attribute), in the
nonical” lists of scriptural books have received the most at-
Sikh concept of the bani (“word”) that preexists and extends
tention: the Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist traditions.
beyond the gurus and the A¯di Granth (W. Owen Cole and
In other cases, such as the Manichaean, Islamic, and
Piara S. Sambhi, The Sikhs, London, 1978, p. 44), and in
Sikh traditions, the early recognition of a single scriptural
Buddhist ideas of the eternal Dharma or the buddhavacana
corpus has meant that the problem of diverse texts eligible
(“Buddha word”) in Maha¯ya¯na thought.
for admission or exclusion from a “canon” has hardly arisen.
A scripture is virtually always conceived to be, if not
In the Hindu case, the general reverence for the four major
eternal, at least of great antiquity. The Japanese Kojiki and
Vedic collections, which together with subsequent related
Nihongi, the Avesta, the Veda, and the Five Classics of China
texts like the Upanis:ads are given the status of ´sruti, has been
are all prime examples of sacred texts to which hoary antiqui-
complemented by the popular veneration and use of a variety
ty is ascribed. The authority of a scripture is guaranteed both
of other texts that strictly rank only as smr:ti (e.g., the
by its divine or otherwise supramundane origin and by its
Puran:as; see Coburn 1984) but whose sacrality and centrality
venerable character as an age-old, if not eternal, word that
in Hindu religious life is indisputable. In general, the vast
has been preserved by unbroken and faithful transmission
array and diversity of functionally sacred texts, as well as the
through every generation. These characteristics hold whether
tendency to be inclusive rather than exclusive in defining
the sacred text embodies revelation from a god, preserves the
even Veda or ´sruti, have worked against the elaboration of
teaching of a master or the wisdom of ancient sages, reports
any clear idea of a canon in the Hindu case.
the sacred myths or history of a community, or records the
The influence of ideas of a designated canon of scripture
inspired utterances of seers and prophets.
such as one finds in Christianity in later antiquity or in classi-
RELATED DEVELOPMENTS. When a scripture emerges in (or
cal Thera¯vada Buddhist thought has been undeniably great.
helps to create) a religious community, its presence engen-
An excellent example is the Chinese Buddhist (as also Dao-
ders a variety of new phenomena and its influence extends
ist) recognition of a zang, or “basket,” of scriptural texts on
beyond the specifically cultic or confessional sphere into the
the original model of the “Three Baskets” (Tipit:aka) of Pali
wider culture as well. A development tied to the emergence
scripture. What modern scholarship often rather glibly calls
of scripture in some traditions is the delineation of an au-
a “canon” in traditions as diverse as the Jain or the classical
thoritative “canon” of scripture to set it apart from other
Chinese (Confucian) would not be recognized uniformly in
texts. Traditionally thought of as basic to scripture, the idea
these traditions—or at least not until relatively recent times,
of a canon of sacred texts is historically a secondary develop-
and then often under the influence of Western scholarly con-
ment in which a community reaches some kind of consensus
ventions—as a body of scripture (or “classics”) analogous to
about the texts that have made it what it is and that loom
a biblical canon.
most important in the tradition and life of that community.
Interpretation. Every text that achieves scriptural status
Another development is the growth of traditions of
in a religious community elicits extensive popular and schol-
scriptural interpretation by means of which scripture is ap-
arly exegesis and study of its contents. The varied kinds of
propriated as a continuing authority in new circumstances.
scriptural interpretation are fundamental elements in a com-
New circumstances often raise the question of translating the
munity’s relationship to its sacred book, for they provide a
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bridge between the text and its application to life and be-
It is, nevertheless, also the case that translations can
tween the era in which the text originally arose and all subse-
come to be viewed as themselves inspired, and their texts as
quent ages in which it must serve changing needs in new situ-
sacred. Salient examples can be found in later antiquity,
ations. Every application of a scriptural text, from
where the Septuagint was considered an inspired text by hel-
superstitious, talismanic use to use in theological argument,
lenized Jews and later by Origen and the other Christian fa-
is in some degree an act of interpretation and must be consid-
thers. The Latin translation of Jerome (d. 419) that later de-
ered a part of scriptural Rezeptionsgeschichte, the history of
veloped into the “Vulgate” has been treated as an inspired
the text as scripture. Even some scriptural books themselves
text by the Roman Catholic church (and was used exclusively
are actually interpretation and elaboration of previous scrip-
for mass until Vatican II), and the major Protestant vernacu-
ture: thus the Abhidhamma segment of the Pali Tipit:aka is
lar translations have been widely held to carry the inspiration
a philosophical expansion on the basic teaching of the Bud-
of the Holy Spirit. (Resistance to the vernacular mass and re-
dha in the Sutta Pitaka, much as the speculation of the
sistance to acceptance of the Revised Standard Version of the
Upanis:ads is built upon the earlier Vedic texts.
Bible are recent evidence of just how effectively sacred a
translation can be.) Another important example is the Bud-
All scriptural communities boast impressive formal tra-
dhist case, in which the Chinese translations of Sanskrit
ditions of scholarly interpretation, many of which form the
su¯tras became the holy texts still used in Chinese and Japa-
basis of all learning in their respective traditions. The impos-
nese Buddhist traditions as the scriptural canon.
ing knowledge of a good Talmudic scholar, a learned
Thera¯vada bhikkhu, or a first-rate Muslim Ealim is focused
Some traditions, however, have little or no objection to
upon knowledge of the interpretive tradition tied to the
the translation of scripture into vernaculars accessible to di-
Torah, Tripit:aka, or QurDa¯n, respectively, and its vast oral
verse peoples. As one might expect, such an attitude is most
traditions and written literature. Most esoteric and mystical
often found in explicitly “missionary” and “universalistic”
traditions also rely heavily upon various forms of scriptural
traditions such as the Christian, Buddhist, and Manichaean,
exegesis to buttress their ideas. Less formally, the preaching
and that of the Mormons. The Mormon case is doubly inter-
or teaching of a religious message normally relies heavily
esting in this regard, as Joseph Smith himself claimed to have
upon more or less sophisticated and overt forms of exegesis
translated the Book of Mormon from its original “reformed
of a scriptural text, just as visual or musical artistic rendering
Egyptian” (Mormon 32) idiom into English. Here even the
of scriptural themes provide commentary on and interpreta-
earthly “original” of the scriptural “prophet” is a translation
tion of the meaning of scripture.
of the original golden tablets of the angel.
Translation and resistance to translation. A common
CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES. The influence and importance
phenomenon related to the role of scripture in changing cir-
of a scriptural text extends far beyond the specifically reli-
cumstances is the development of the idea that a scripture
gious sphere in a culture. One of the most obvious ways that
cannot be translated from its original, sacred languge: only
scripture leaves its imprint upon culture and society is
the original form is felt to carry the inspired and exact mean-
through its effect upon language. A scriptural text, whether
ing or sound. This idea is very old: Ancient Egyptian sacred
in its original language or a translation, may provide a major
standard for the “classical” grammar and style of an entire
texts were not translated, even when Nubians ruled Egypt
language, as in the case of the QurDa¯n for Arabic, the “Clas-
in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE (Leipoldt and
sics” for Chinese, the Authorized (“King James”) Version of
Morenz, 1953, pp. 66f.). Resistance to translation of the “Ar-
the Bible for English, or the Lutherbibel for German. In any
abic QurDa¯n” (surah 12:2, 41:3, et al.) has been especially
culture with an important scripture, the linguistic influence
strong in Islamic tradition. Even when translated by Mus-
of scriptural vocabulary, metaphors, similes, linguistic con-
lims, the Arabic text is customarily still written or printed be-
ventions, and so forth, can be pervasive. Examples from En-
side (or interlinearly with) the translated text of the Persian,
glish phrases and images from the Bible alone make this
Turkish, Swahili, Malay, or other language, since the Arabic
vivid: “hardening of the heart,” “a land of milk and honey,”
text alone is the speech of God ipsissima verba. (It should,
“wise as Solomon,” “a good Samaritan,” “the patience of
however, be noted that vernacular translations of the QurDa¯n
Job,” “the meek shall inherit the earth”, or “killing the fatted
in many of the diverse lands where Muslims abound have
calf.”
long been circulated and used for the necessary business of
comprehending the text; this has not diminished appreciably
Scripture also serves as one of the richest sources for later
the reverence for the Arabic QurDa¯n, but it has facilitated the
literature in a cultural tradition. Nowhere is this more evi-
tranmission of the meanings of the text.) Translation of
dent than in Western Christendom, where one need only
Vedic texts is unheard of in Hindu tradition, and Jews simi-
think of Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, or Goethe to recognize
larly have placed overwhelming importance upon retaining
the generative influence of the Bible upon this tradition’s
the original Hebrew text of the Bible in worship (with the
greatest authors. Scripture is, in the first instance, immensely
major exception of the several centuries in later antiquity
influential as the ultimate proof text in most traditional cul-
when the Septuagint translation was the text used by helle-
tures. This is especialy vivid in Muslim writing and speaking,
nized Jews).
where the QurDa¯n is the final word to be quoted as the seal
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to any argument, large or small. Western Protestant tradi-
as a concept and a reality is its role in expressing, focusing,
tions are also traditionally rife with this kind of use of the
and symbolizing the faith of religious persons and their com-
Bible. Scripture usually provides the great symbols and last-
munities around the globe, both for the faithful themselves
ing images in a culture, whether it is the figure of Abraham
and for the outsider who seeks a glimpse into another world
in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures (in each case with
of faith and discourse.
different emphasis and textual basis), Agni (Fire) in Hindu
culture, or the Buddha’s great “going forth” to seek enlight-
SEE ALSO Biblical Exegesis; Biblical Literature; Bra¯hman:as
and A¯ran:yakas; Buddhist Books and Texts, article on Exege-
enment in Buddhist cultures.
sis and Hermeneutics; Calligraphy; Canon; Epics; Litera-
Scripture also has considerable influence upon the arts
ture, article on Literature and Religion; QurDa¯n; S´a¯stra Lit-
in most cultures. The most obvious areas of influence are
erature; Su¯tra Literature; Upanis:ads; Vedas.
two: the elaborate calligraphy, referred to above, that is com-
monly developed for the scriptural text itself and manuscript
BIBLIOGRAPHY
illumination and illustrations that depict scriptural stories
Of the surprisingly few comparative or general treatments of scrip-
and ideas. The massive importance of the calligraphic art in
ture, the best, even though limited to the ancient Mediterra-
Islam, the scriptural tradition par excellence, deserves particu-
nean world, are two: most recently, Wilfred Cantwell Smith,
What Is Scripture? A Comparative Approach (Minneapolis,
lar stress. In Islamic culture, calligraphy and abstract (e.g.,
1993), and, much earlier, Johannes Leipoldt and Siegfried
“arabesque”) design associated with calligraphy extend far
Morenz, Heilige Schriften: Betrachtungen zur Religionsgesch-
beyond the scriptural text to provide even the central forms
ichte der antiken Mittelmeerwelt (Leipzig, 1953). There are
of decoration in Islamic architecture. Prime among the calli-
substantial phenomenological treatments of holy word, holy
graphic subjects used on Islamic buildings is the QurDa¯nic
writ, and/or scripture in Friedrich Heiler, Erscheinungsformen
word.
und Wesen der Religion (1961; 2d rev. ed., Stuttgart, 1979),
pp. 266–364; in Geo Widengren, Religionsphänomenologie
In Western culture, traditions of Bible illustration ex-
(Berlin, 1969), pp. 546–593; and in Gerardus van der
panded well beyond the biblical text itself to become major
Leeuw, Phänomenologie der Religion (1933; 2d rev. ed., Tü-
strands in all of the visual arts. The stained-glass masterpieces
bingen, 1956), translated as Religion in Essence and Manifes-
of western and eastern Europe and the Byzantine mosaics of
tation (1938; rev. ed., New York, 1963), chaps. 58–64. An-
Ravenna and Balkan Europe are major religious examples.
other phenomenological study is Gustav Mensching, Das
The masters of Western art all employed scriptural themes
heilige Wort (Bonn, 1937). Also of note are the brief articles
and events in their works, whether explicitly in icons or the
under the heading “Schriften, heilige” in the second and
Sistine Chapel ceiling, or more subtly in the works of a Cha-
third editions of Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart
gall or Rouault. In India, iconographic presentation of scrip-
(Tübingen, 1931, 1961) by Alfred Bertholet and Siegfried
tural figures and stories has always been a vastly important
Morenz, respectively, and the descriptive survey of major
scriptural texts by Günter Lanczkowski: Heilige Schriften: In-
part of the Hindu scene. In the Buddhist world, the most
halt, Textgestalt und Überlieferung (Stuttgart, 1956). See also
striking example of scriptural representation in the arts is
Alfred Bertholet, Die Macht der Schrift in Glauben und Aber-
probably the vast stupa of Borobudur, around whose facade
glauben (Berlin, 1949); Siegfried Morenz, “Entstehung und
stretch hundreds of stone reliefs telling in pictures myriad
Wesen der Buchreligion,” Theologische Literaturzeitung 75
scriptural stories of the Buddha. The man:d:ala in Tibetan
(1950): 709–715; Josef Balogh, “‘Voces paginarum’: Bei-
and East Asian Buddhism often presents a pictorial conden-
träge zur Geschichte des lauten Lesens und Schreibens,”
sation of a major event or teaching from the su¯tras.
Philogus 82 (1926–1927): 83–109, 202–240; and William
A. Graham’s Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scrip-
The scriptural books of a culture also often provide the
ture in the History of Religion (Cambridge, U.K., 1987,
themes and even the literal text for musical compositions of
1993).
all kinds. This is very familiar in the great works of European
The articles contributed to Holy Book and Holy Tradition, edited
music, but it is also evident in the music of Hindu, Islamic,
by Frederick F. Bruce and E. G. Rupp (Grand Rapids,
and other cultures as well—especially since the line between
Mich., 1968), vary in quality but provide useful information
“secular” and “sacred” music is if anything less clear in most
on particular traditions. Several solid articles can be found
other cultures than it is in the West. “Religious” chant and
in The Holy Book in Comparative Perspective, edited by Fred-
hymnody (largely drawn from or based on scripture) remain
erick Mathewson Denny and Rodney L. Taylor (Columbia,
in many of these traditions the most popular forms of musi-
S. C., 1985), which contains survey-discussions of some
cal performance. The Hindu and Islamic worlds provide nu-
major world scriptural traditions; and a series of more analyt-
merous examples of this.
ic studies are collected in Rethinking Scripture, edited by
Miriam Levering (Albany, N. Y., 1989), that offer critical re-
The cultural consequences and influences of scripture
evaluations of scripture as a generic and specific category. A
go far beyond these few examples. Even these suggest, how-
newer, comparative collection of essays is: Hendrik M.
ever, the immense importance of scripture in human affairs.
Vroom and Jerald D. Gort, eds., Holy Scriptures in Judaism,
In and of themselves, scriptures can be forces for good or
Christianity and Islam (Amsterdam and Atlanta, 1997).
evil—as Shakespeare noted, “The devil can cite Scripture for
In addition to works cited in the foregoing article under the specif-
his purpose.” What is ultimately significant about scripture
ic topics treated, several others deserve special mention, espe-
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SCYTHIAN RELIGION
8205
cially those that address the problem of the semantic back-
mined chiefly on the basis of their identification with Greek
ground of the terms scripture, book, and so forth found in the
gods by Herodotus (4.59) and sometimes on the basis of the
West: “Schrift,” in Theologisches Begriffslexikon zum Neuen
etymology of their Scythian names. It is clear, however, that
Testament, 2 vols. in 3, edited by Lothar Coenen et al. (Wup-
the pantheon was divided into three ranks. In the first rank
pertal, 1967–1971); “Bible [Canon],” by Bezalel Narkiss, in
was Tabiti (the Greek Hestia), in the second were Papaeus
Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 4 (Jerusalem, 1971); and “Écri-
(Zeus) and Api (Gaia), and in the third were Oetosyrus or
ture sainte [1. Le nom],” by Hildebrand Höpfl, in the Dic-
Goetosyrus (Apollo); Artimpasa, or Argimpasa (Aphrodite
tionnaire de la Bible, Supplément, vol. 2 (Paris, 1926).
Ourania); and two gods whose Scythian names are not
Few studies have been devoted to the functional roles of scripture
known but who have been identified with Herakles and Ares.
within the various traditions. For the Christian Bible, special
It is possible that the first of these unnamed gods is identical
note may be made of Ernst von Dobschütz’s Die Bibel im
Leben der Völker
(Witten, West Germany, 1934) and his
with the primeval figure of Scythian mythology, Targitaus
“Bible in the Church,” in the Encyclopaedia of Religion and
(Herodotus, 4.5–10), who was also identified in the classical
Ethics, edited by James Hastings, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1909);
tradition with Herakles.
“Écriture sainte et vie spirituelle,” by Jean Kirchmeyer et al.,
The structure of the Scythian pantheon is not so much
in the Dictionnaire de spiritualité, vol. 4 (Paris, 1960); Beryl
Smalley’s The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages, 2d ed.
a system reflecting the cultic hierarchy of the gods as it is a
(Oxford, 1952); Hans Rost’s Die Bibel im Mittelalter (Augs-
system mirroring the structure of the universe. The very
burg, 1939); The Cambridge History of the Bible, 3 vols., ed-
number of gods reckoned in the Scythian pantheon corre-
ited by Peter R. Ackroyd, C. F. Evans, G. W. H. Lampe, and
sponds to ancient Indo-Iranian tradition. The predominant
S. L. Greenslade (Cambridge, 1963–1970). See also the im-
position of the goddess of fire and the hearth, Tabiti (Iran.,
portant statement on the problem by Wilfred Cantwell
Tarayati, “the flaming one, the burning one”), corresponds
Smith: “The Study of Religion and the Study of the Bible,”
to the Indo-Iranian concept of fire as the primeval substance
Journal of the American Academy of Religion 39 (June 1971):
and the basis of the universe. The conjugal couple, Papaeus
131–140. Also useful are Adolf von Harnack’s “Über das
(“father”?) and Api (from the Iranian ap-, “water”), personi-
Alter der Bezeichnung ‘die Bücher’ (‘die Bibel’) für die H.
fies the concept, common among the Indo-Iranians, of the
Schriften in der Kirche,” Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen 45
marriage of heaven and earth (or water) as a cosmogonical
(1928): 337–342; Oska Rühle’s “Bibel,” in Handwörterbuch
des deutschen Aberglaubens
(Berlin, 1927); and Graham, op.
act. From their union was born Targitaus, the forefather of
cit., pp. 117–154 (concerning Christian oral treatment of the
the Scythian people and of the Scythian royal dynasty. His
Bible).
mythological birth may be interpreted as the formation of
On the role of the QurDa¯n in Muslim life, see Navid Kermani,
the middle zone of the cosmos—“the world of people,” be-
Gott ist schön: Das ästhetische Erleben des Koran (Munich,
tween the heavenly and chthonic worlds.
1999); W. A. Graham, “QurDa¯n as Spoken Word,” in Ap-
The inclusion in the third rank of the pantheon, on a
proaches to Islam in Religious Studies, edited by Richard C.
level with this Scythian “Herakles,” of three additional gods
Martin (Tuscon, 1985); idem, “The Earliest Meaning of
‘QurDa¯n,’” Welt des Islams 23/24 (1984): 361–377; idem, Be-
corresponds to the archaic cosmological conception of the
yond the Written Word, pp. 79–116; Paul Nwyia’s Exégèse co-
four sides of the world as a structure regulating the universe,
ranique et langage mystique (Beirut, 1970); and Kristina Nel-
and of four gods as their custodians. Of these Scythian gods,
son’s The Art of Reciting the Qur Da¯n (Austin, Tex., 1985). On
Artimpasa (if this reading of her name is accepted) is conjec-
the use of scripture in Indian life, see Frits Staal, Nambudiri
tured to be the Iranian Arti (Ashi), a deity connected with
Veda Recitation (The Hague, 1961); Thomas B. Coburn,
the idea of material abundance, which conforms to her iden-
“‘Scripture’ in India: Towards a Typology of the Word in
tification with Aphrodite, as proposed by Herodotus. The
Hindu Life,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 52
Scythian “Ares,” who was venerated in the form of an ancient
(1984): 435–459; Graham, op. cit., pp. 67–78.
iron sword (Herodotus, 4.62), is, evidently, predominantly
WILLIAM A. GRAHAM (1987 AND 2005)
a war god, corresponding to the Iranian Vere-thragna. The
meaning of the figure of Oetosyrus, the Scythian “Apollo,”
is still highly debatable.
SCYTHIAN RELIGION. The Scythians were pre-
Besides the seven gods of the basic pantheon, other per-
dominantly nomadic, Iranian-speaking tribes inhabiting the
sonages of the Scythian religio-mythological system are also
steppes of the northern Black Sea region from the seventh
known. For example, a myth noted by Herodotus tells of the
to the third century BCE. Owing to their lack of a written lan-
three sons of Targitaus, in whom, according to the most
guage, what is known of Scythian religion has been recon-
valid interpretation, can be seen the personification of the
structed on the basis of archaeological sources and informa-
three zones of the cosmos and the ancestors of the three strata
tion from Greek and Roman authors. This reconstruction is
into which, corresponding to Indo-European tradition,
partly corroborated by data on the religion of Indo-Iranian
Scythian society was divided: warriors, priests, and agricul-
peoples kindred to the Scythians.
turalists. However, in the specific interpretation of each of
The basic Scythian pantheon included seven gods.
these personages, there is divergence among scholars. Besides
Their functions, which are not always clear, have been deter-
the gods common to all the Scythians, there were also deities
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SCYTHIAN RELIGION
that were venerated by separate tribes. For example, the
According to Herodotus (4.7), during the festival a man
Royal Scyths, the most powerful of the Scythian tribes,
would sleep among the golden sacred objects, and he would
worshiped Thagimasadas, identified by Herodotus with
die less than a year afterward (it is obvious that a violent kill-
Poseidon.
ing took place); meanwhile, he was allotted as much land as
he could cover on horseback in a day. The meaning of this
Data on cult leaders among the Scythians are highly
story is not entirely clear, but most probably reference here
fragmentary. The most complete information is on the En-
is to a temporary ritual “deputy king” and his imitation
arees, a group of priests connected with the worship of Ar-
“kingdom.” Insofar as the horse in the mythology of the
timpasa. Divination was among their ritual functions, and
Indo-Iranian peoples is connected with the sun, the method
sexual transvestism was apparently a feature of their cultic
of determining the size of the “kingdom,” and also the life
practices. It is not entirely clear whether membership in this
span of its “owner,” allows one to reconstruct the existence
group was hereditary; according to some sources, the Enarees
among the Scythians of the concept of the solar nature of the
came from the Scythian aristocracy. About other Scythian
king, and to interpret the festival as calendrical, connected
priests there is almost no information. Undoubtedly the
with the yearly cycle of the sun.
Scythian king himself was an important, if not the chief, per-
former of cultic practices. The most significant evidence of
Most probably, in the course of this festival was repeated
this is the abundance in royal burials of ritual objects, includ-
the fate of Targitaus’s youngest son, the mythical first king
ing those having complex cosmological and social sym-
of the Scythians, Colaxais. (The Soviet Iranologist V. I.
bolism.
Abaev has proposed that this name derives etymologically
from the Iranian hvar-xˇsaya, “sun king.”) The golden sacred
Although Scythian religious beliefs, originating in the
objects, obtained, according to the Scythian myth, by this
main in the Common Iranian period, do not specifically ex-
Colaxais, served as proof of the god-given nature of the
press the values of a nomadic people, such values are mani-
power of the Scythian kings. This idea also found embodi-
fested distinctly in the forms of Scythian cultic life. For ex-
ment in the different investiture ceremonies practiced in
ample, according to Herodotus—and this has been
Scythia, about which there exists, unfortunately, only highly
confirmed archaeologically—the Scythians had neither tem-
obscure evidence.
ples nor monumental images of their gods, a fact connected,
apparently, with the mobility of their way of life.
There is information about the methods of sacrifice
among the Scythians. Animals (most commonly horses) were
However, certain cultic structures did exist in Scythia.
asphyxiated while a salutation was made to the god to whom
Thus, in the center of each of the districts of Scythia, huge
the sacrifice was offered. The flesh was then boiled, and the
brushwood altars were heaped up in honor of the Scythian
part intended for the god was thrown on the ground, in front
“Ares,” in the form of square platforms, accessible on one
of the sacrificer. There also were ecstatic rituals, in particular
side. At the top of the platform a sword personifying the god
purification rituals, during which hemp seeds were burned
was placed vertically, and domestic animals and every hun-
and wine imported from Greece was used.
dredth prisoner were sacrificed to it (Herodotus, 4.62). This
structure may be interpreted as a cosmogram mirroring the
The most complete existing information on any aspect
form of the “four-sided universe,” and the sword as one of
of Scythian culture—which has been confirmed, moreover,
the equivalents of the axis mundi, uniting the world of the
by archaeological data—is on burial rituals. When a man
gods and the world of people. Also known is the existence
died, his corpse (apparently embalmed) was carried by cart
in the area between the Dnieper and the Southern Bug rivers
on a round of visits to the homes of his friends; after forty
of a place called Exampaeus, whose name Herodotus trans-
days the body was buried. The form of the grave (usually a
lates as “holy ways.” Here, according to legend, there was a
deep chamber-catacomb) and the collection of objects ac-
huge copper caldron cast from arrowheads brought by all the
companying the dead man were quite uniform and were reg-
inhabitants of Scythia. This caldron was unquestionably a sa-
ulated by tradition. When a king died, his body was carried
cred object for all the Scythians and may be interpreted as
through the territory of all the tribes subject to him, and this
one of the symbols of the center of the world.
journey was accompanied by various mourning rites. To-
gether with the king were buried retainers of various ranks,
It is possible that precisely in this Common Scythian
and royal horses, and over the grave a monumental burial
cultic center was held the annual Scythian festival connected
mound was erected. The graves of ancestors and especially
with the worship of golden sacred objects: a yoked plow, an
of kings were considered national holy sites and were careful-
ax, and a cup that had fallen, according to Scythian myth,
ly protected from profanation.
from the sky, and that symbolized the cosmic and social
order. This festival is one of the few Scythian ritual activities
In the early stages of their history, the Scythians (in con-
about which relatively detailed information has been pre-
formity with the aniconic traditions characteristic of many
served. The golden sacred objects, which had a fiery nature
Indo-Iranians) had virtually no images of gods. During the
and were, perhaps, connected with the goddess Tabiti, were
period of the campaigns in the Near East from the seventh
carefully guarded by the Scythian kings and were annually
to the early sixth century BCE, they attempted to adapt an-
venerated with rich offerings.
cient Eastern iconography for the depiction of personages of
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SCYTHIAN RELIGION
8207
their own pantheon. Such depictions were not large-scale
New Sources
monuments but were, rather, decorative elements on ritual
Dumézil investigated also, from his comparative point of view, so-
objects; however, even these were not widespread in Scythia.
cial functions and religious customs in Ossetia: see in partic-
ular: Georges Dumézil, Légendes sur les Nartes. Paris, 1935;
From the sixth to the first half of the fourth century BCE,
Le livre des héros, légendes ossètes sur les Nartes. Paris, 1965.
Scythian art was dominated by the animal style, employing
Of the same scholar, who variously dealt with Skythian mythology
motifs of animals connected to the religio-mythological con-
and heritage, it is worth quoting one of his volumes, where
cepts of the Scythians. The strictly canonical depictions of
some essays on this subject are collected La courtisane et les
only certain animals served as a symbolic system for the de-
seigneurs colorés et autres essais (Paris, 1983).
scription of the Scythian mythological model of the world.
A definite connection has been established between the rep-
On the same subject see also: L. S. Klejn “The Nartian epos and
the legend in Herodotus about the Asiatic origin of the
ertoire of the animal forms of Scythian art and the archaeo-
Scythians.” Vestnik Drevnej Istorii 134 (1975): 14–27.
logical evidence of sacrificial animals found in Scythian mon-
uments. In the fourth century
General monographs on Skythians include: René Grousset, The
BCE anthropomorphic motifs
based on Scythian myths and rituals played an important role
Empire of the Steppes, section I, parts 1, 3, and 4, New Bruns-
wick, 1989) [original French edition, Paris 1939]. Tamara
in Scythian religious life. These motifs ornamented various
Talbot Rice, The Scythians (London, 1957); Boris N.
ritual objects that were made by Greek artisans from colonies
Grakov, Die Skythen (Berlin, 1978); Alexej P. Smirnow, Die
on the northern coast of the Black Sea. In the rich Scythian
Skythen (Dresden, 1979); D. S. Raevskij, Model’ mira skifskoj
burials of this time, objects with motifs from Greek mytholo-
kul’tury (Moskva, 1985); I. V. Kuklina, Etnogeografija Skifii
gy have also been found. These most probably reflect not the
po antiˇcnym istoˇcnikam (Leningrad, 1985); Renate Rolle, Die
adoption of Greek cults by the Scythian aristocracy, but yet
Welt der Skythen. Stutenmelker und Pferdebogner. Ein antikes
another attempt to adapt another culture’s iconography to
Reitervolk in neuer Sicht (Luzern-Frankfurt, 1980; English
embody local religio-mythological concepts.
Transl. Princeton, 1989); I. N. Chrapunov, Drevnjaja istori-
ja Kryma. Ucebnoe posobie
. Simferopol, 2003.
The religion of the steppe peoples of Asia who were re-
lated to or similar in culture to the Scythians was evidently
For various questions see also: E. A. Grantovsky. Indo-iranskie
kasty u skifov (Moscow, 1960). Peter Lindegger, Griechische
close to that of the Scythians, but data on it are almost com-
und römische Quellen zum peripheren Tibet, I: Frühe Zeugnisse
pletely lacking. The sum of the data on the religious life of
bis Herodot: der fernere skythische Nordosten (Zürich, 1979).
the Scythians leads to the conclusion that the overall aim of
Grigorii M. Bongard-Levin, E.A. Grantovskij, translated by
their ceremonies and rituals was above all to ensure the sta-
Philippe Gignoux, De la Scythie à l’Inde. Énigmes de l’histoire
bility, going back to mythic times, of the cosmic and social
des anciens Aryens (Louvain, 1981) (the authors follow
order and to guarantee the well-being of the community.
Dumezil’s perspective). Michail I. Rostowzew, Skythien und
der Bosporus
, German edition by Glen W. Bowersock, trans-
SEE ALSO Inner Asian Religions; Prehistoric Religions, arti-
lated by Heinz Heinen, et al. (Stuttgart, 1993). Victor Par-
cle on the Eurasian Steppes and Inner Asia.
ker, “Bemerkungen zu den Zügen der Kimmerier und der
Skythen durch Vorderasien.” Klio 77 (1995): 7–34. Bruce
B
Lincoln, “On the Scythian Royal Burials.” In Proto-Indo-
IBLIOGRAPHY
The most complete survey of Scythian antiquity is contained in
European. The Archaeology of a Linguistic Problem. Studies in
the still-valuable book of Ellis H. Minns, Scythians and
Honour of Marija Gimbutas, ed. by Susan N. Skomal and
Greeks (Cambridge, 1913). Important observations on the
Edgar C. Polomé (Washington, D.C., 1987), pp. 267–285.
cultures of the Scythians, including their religion, were made
Fridrik Thordarson, “The Scythian Funeral Customs: Some
by Mikhail I. Rostovtsev in Iranians and Greeks in South Rus-
notes on Herodotus IV, 71–75.” In A Green Leaf. Papers in
sia (Oxford, 1922). The most recent research devoted exclu-
Honour of Professor Jes P. Asmussen, edited by Werner
sively to the religion of the Scythians is S. S. Bessonova’s Re-
Sundermann, Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin and Fereydun
ligioznye predstavleniia Skifov (Kiev, 1983). For Scythian
Vahman (=Acta Iranica 28, Leiden, 1988), pp. 539–547.
mythology and some aspects of Scythian ritual practices, see
Studies specifically devoted to religion are: M. I. Artamonov, “An-
my book Ocherki ideologii skifo-sakskikh plemen: Opyt rekon-
tropomorfnye bozhestva v religii skifov.” In Archeologitsheskij
struktsii skifskoi mifologii (Moscow, 1977). An interpretation
sbornik. Gosudarstvennyj Ermitazh, vol. 3, Leningrad, 1961,
of linguistic data on Scythian mythology and religion is in
pp. 57–87. I. I. Tolstoy, Statyi o folklore (Moscow and Lenin-
V. I. Abaev’s Osetinskii iazyk i fol’klor (Moscow, 1949). A de-
grad, 1966) deals, among other folkloric motifs, with the leg-
tailed survey of Scythian burials and an analysis of burial rit-
end about Heracles and the Snake Maiden. Petro B. T.
uals has been made by Renate Rolle in Totenkult der Skythen,
Bilaniuk, “Die religiöse Lage an der skythischen Schwarz-
vol. 1 of Das Steppengebiet, 2 vols. (Berlin, 1978). For the
meerküste und ihr Einfluss auf Westeuropa in der Spätantike
Scythian religion in the general system of beliefs of the Irani-
und im frühen Mittelalter.” In Die Schwarzmeerküste in der
an-speaking peoples of antiquity, see Henrik S. Nyberg’s Die
Spätantike und im frühen Mittelalter: Referate des dritten, vom
Religionen des alten Iran (Leipzig, 1938) and Geo Widen-
16 bis 19. Oktober 1990 durch die Antiquarische Abteilung der
gren’s Die Religionen Irans (Stuttgart, 1965). An important
Balkan-Kommission der österreichischen Akademie der Wissen-
landmark in the study of the spiritual legacy of the Scythians
schaften und das Bulgarische Forschungsinstitut in Österreich
is Georges Dumézil’s Romans de Scythie et d’alentour (Paris,
veranstalteten Symposions, edited by Renate Pillinger, Andreas
1978).
Pülz and Hermann Vetters, Vienna, 1992, pp. 123–135.
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SEASONAL CEREMONIES
The seminal paper by Karl Meuli, “Scythica.” Hermes 70 (1935):
RITES OF MORTIFICATION. The initial stage of mortification
122–176 deals with Shamanic patterns in Scythian culture,
is exemplified principally in the form of fasts, abstinences,
as they were echoed by Greeks. On this subject see also
and the suspension of public offices and routine business.
Donat Margreth, Skythische Schamanen. Die Nachrichten
Thus the Babylonians regarded the first ten or sixteen days
über Enarees-Anarieis bei Herodot und Hippokrates (Schaff-
of the year in some of their cities as a lenten period, and the
hausen, 1993).
Israelites prefaced their autumnal H:ag ha-Asif (“feast of in-
Moreover, Herodotus’s account of Skythia has attracted scholarly
gathering”) by Yom Kippur (“day of purgation”), on which
interest: see, for example: Janós Harmatta, Forrástamul-
the sanctuary and its vessels were purified, members of the
mányok Herodotos Skythika-jához. Quellenstudien zu den
community ritually aspersed and “cleansed,” a fast observed,
Skythika des Herodot. Budapest, 1942. O. Kimball Armayor,
and all normal activity suspended. In Rome, a fast preceded
“Did Herodotus Ever Go to the Black Sea?” Harvard Studies
in Classical Philology
82 (1978): 45–62. Askold I. Ivantchik,
the feast of Ceres (goddess of crops) in April. In the present
“Une légende sur l’origine des Scythes (Hérodote IV, 5–7)
day, the Choctaw, Cherokee, and Creek of North America
et le problème des sources du Scythikos logos d’Hérodote.”
fast at New Year, and among the Mao of Manipur a genna,
Revue des Études Grecques 112 (1999): 141–192. Stephanie
or period of taboo, is observed for four days at the com-
West, “Hippocrates’ Scythian Sketches.” Eirene 35 (1999):
mencement of the harvest. The month of Muh:arram, at the
14–32. Stephanie West, “Herodotus in the North? Reflec-
beginning of the year, is a time of abstinence in Morocco,
tions on a Colossal Cauldron (4.81).” Scripta Classica Israeli-
and the Ossets of the Caucasus keep a daily fast during the
ca 19 (2000): 15–34. Erodoto. Le storie. Libro IV. La Scizia
month before harvest. These examples could be readily mul-
e la Libia, ed. by Aldo Corcella and Silvio M. Medaglia (Mi-
tiplied. The Christian Lent and the Islamic Ramad:a¯n, it may
lano,1993) is important for the rich commentary.
be added, are, in the main, reinterpreted survivals of this
For the later history of Skythia in contact with the Greeks see:
usage.
Viktor F. Gajdukevic, Das bosporanische Reich, mit den Ergeb-
nissen der archäologischen Untersuchungen von 1949–1966

The annual or seasonal eclipse of communal life is ex-
(Berlin, 1971); V. I. Kadejev, “Chersonesus, Bosporus and
emplified also by the deposition, execution, or temporary
Rome, I–III Centuries A.D.” Vestnik Drevnej Istorii 148
humiliation of the king or chieftain, by whom that life is per-
(1979): 55–76; Studien zur Geschichte und Kultur des Nord-
sonified and epitomized. In Babylon he was formally degrad-
pontos nach antiken Quellen, edited by Alexandr K. Gavrilov
ed on the fifth day of the New Year (Akitu) festival. A major
(St. Petersburg, 1992).
priest stripped him of his robes, slapped his face until he
The religious aspect is investigated by S. R. Tokhtas’jev, “Apa-
wept, and forced him to his knees. He was then obliged to
turum. A History of the Bosporan Shrine of Aphrodite Ura-
recite a penitential prayer before he was reinstated. In Cam-
nia.” Vestnik Drevnej Istorii 177 (1986): 138–145, and, most
bodia, the king was formerly required to abdicate annually
of all, in the recent and detailed inquiry by Yulia Ustinova,
for three days in February, and, in Thailand, he was confined
The Supreme Gods of the Bosporan Kingdom (Leiden, 1999).
to his palace in late April or early May.
D. S. RAEVSKII (1987)
In many cases, the new year did not follow immediately
Translated from Russian by Mary Lou Masey
Revised Bibliography
upon the close of the old; there was an intervening “vacant”
period, reckoned as outside the calendar. Among the Aztec,
for example, it was known as nemontemi (“the days unfit for
work”); all religious ceremonies and civil activity were then
SEASONAL CEREMONIES. In all parts of the
suspended. Similarly, the Maya of Yucatán had a period of
world and in all ages, it has been the custom to mark the be-
xma kaba kin (“nameless days”) at the end of the year, during
ginning of a year, season, or agricultural cycle by a series of
which they abstained from all heavy work and even from per-
public ceremonies. These were designed originally to drama-
sonal ablutions. In the central provinces of India, this period
tize the conclusion of one lease on life and to procure, by
was actually termed malmas (“excreta”), and the institution
quasi-magical procedures, fertility, prosperity, sunshine, and
survives in European popular custom in the abstinences and
rainfall for the next. They fall into a standard pattern. First
restrictions imposed during the twelve days between Christ-
the rites of mortification, symbolizing the temporary eclipse
mas and Epiphany. During this time, when the real king was
of the community. Next the rites of purgation, by which all
temporarily out of office, a substitute was (and is) installed.
noxious elements that might impair the community’s future
This was the practice, for instance, in the kingdom of Jambi
welfare are eliminated. Then the rites of invigoration, aimed
in Sumatra, among the Kwotto of northern Nigeria, the Ki-
at stimulating the growth of crops, the fecundity of humans
tara of Uganda, and the Bastar of the Central Provinces of
and beasts, and the supply of needed sunshine and rainfall
India. Such a temporary king, or interrex (Gr., zo¯gan¯es), in
throughout the year. Finally, when the new lease is assured,
the person of a slave, is reported also to have held sway at
come the rites of jubilation; there is a communal meal at
the ancient Iranian feast of Sacaea, and it has been suggested
which the members of the community recement their bonds
that the so-called flight of the king (regifugium), recognized
of kinship by breaking bread together, and at which their
in ancient Rome as an institution associated with February
gods are present. For this occasion, the shades of their ances-
24, was a lingering relic of the earlier expulsion of the tempo-
tors and deceased relatives temporarily rejoin them.
rary monarch at the end of his brief term.
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8209
Another popular method of symbolizing the expiration
the community. This was a prominent feature of the afore-
of one lease on communal life is to bury a puppet that per-
mentioned Babylonian and Israelite ceremonies, while in
sonifies it and to subsequently disinter it when the succeed-
Greece it was observed at the feast of Thargelia, in May.
ing lease begins. Thus, in Romania, a clay doll called kalojan
Sometimes the latent evil is removed by expelling an ef-
(from Gr. kalos Ioann¯es, “beautiful John”) is buried on the
figy called “Death” or the like. The Inca of Peru, for exam-
Monday preceding Assumption (August 15) and later dug
ple, drove out disease before the rainy season in this manner,
up; in the Abruzzi, the same ceremony is performed with a
and in Thailand noxious spirits are ceremonially banished on
similar figure named Pietro Pico (“little Peter”). In both
the last day of the year. In Cambodia the rite is performed
cases, these are but Christianized versions of an older pagan
in March, and among the Inuit (Eskimo) of Point Barrow,
usage known to us from the burial and disinterment of the
Alaska, the same ceremony is performed as soon as the sun
god Attis in Phrygia and of Osiris in Egypt. In parts of Rus-
reappears and ushers in a new lease on life. The modern prac-
sia, an effigy named Kostrobunko was similarly buried on
tice of ringing bells, clanging gongs, blowing whistles, and
Saint Peter’s day and later disinterred.
cracking whips on New Year’s Eve is a relic of such expulsion
The buried spirit of life and fertility is ritually bewailed,
of evil and disaster, designed originally to scare away de-
usually by women (as regular practice at funerals). Such wail-
mons—raising, as it were, a pandemonium surpassing theirs.
ing is attested, on a mythological level, in the cults of Du-
Finally, evil is often removed by lighting bonfires at
muzi in Babylonia, of Attis in Asia Minor, of Osiris in Egypt,
such crucial times of the year as New Year, midsummer, and
and of Adonis in Syria, and in the iouloi (“howls”) uttered
midwinter. This ritual is too familiar to require documenta-
in the cult of Demeter and Persephone in Greece. In this
tion. It is common not only in most parts of Europe but also
connection, however, it is pertinent to observe that tears are
among Muslims at the EAshu¯ra¯D festival among the Berbers;
regarded in several cultures as regenerative. The Egyptians
and it was observed in antiquity at the Isia (the festival of Isis)
are said to have shed them while they sowed the first seeds,
in Hellenistic Egypt. Here, however, a word of caution is in
and at Great Bessan, in Guinea, oxen are slain and made to
order. Fire is also used in popular custom to lustrate fields
weep at an annual ceremony designed to ensure a good har-
in order to stimulate crops and also to relume the sun when
vest. Indeed, it has been suggested that the familiar words
it reemerges from its winter sojourn underground. Hence,
of Psalm 126:5, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy,”
some of the rites that have been interpreted as designed to
were inspired by such a custom, and it is significant that the
burn up evil may really be directed toward these alternative
wailing cry, eleleu, was a feature of certain Greek seasonal fes-
purposes.
tivals. Hence, it is not impossible that what came eventually
to be interpreted as weeping for the slain or buried spirit of
RITES OF INVIGORATION. The elimination of the old leads
fertility was originally functional shedding of tears.
naturally to the inauguration of the new, that is, to rites of
invigoration. The most widespread of these is the staging of
RITES OF PURGATION. Ceremonies of purgation, or the ritu-
a ritual combat between Fertility and Blight, Rainfall and
al removal of noxious elements and of the contagion of latent
Drought, Summer and Winter, or simply Life and Death,
sin, such as might jeopardize the continued life and health
the positive protagonist (the one who personifies renewal)
of the community or evoke retribution from the gods in the
being always the winner. This seasonal usage is attested
form of blight, drought, plague, war, or other calamities are
among the ancient Hittites of Asia Minor and in reliefs on
likewise virtually universal. In Babylon, a ceremony called
the walls of an Egyptian temple at Deir al-Bahri. Similarly,
kuppuru (clearance, purgation), involving the cleansing and
among the Iroquoian-speaking tribes of North America, a
renovation of the temple, was part of the New Year ceremo-
ritual battle was fought annually in late January or early Feb-
nies, and as stated above, a similar ceremony, Yom Kippur,
ruary between the god of summer or life (Teharoniawagon)
was observed among the Israelites before the autumnal har-
and the god of winter or death (Tawiskaron). Often the com-
vest. In Rome the month preceding the new year, March,
bat comes eventually to be explained as the commemoration
was characterized as the period of februatio (whence the
of a historical encounter. The Hittites, for instance, identi-
month of February), fields and human beings being then lus-
fied the antagonists respectively as themselves and a neigh-
trated and temples scoured. Such rites of purgation often in-
boring people, the Masa, and Plutarch tells of a periodically
clude a collective confession of sins. Examples of these are
recurring joust between characters popularly called Alexan-
the semiannual Japanese ceremony of Ofuharahi
der and Darius. In the English Mummers’ Play, which is
(“purification”), at which the Mikado or a member of the
really a survival of the same usage, the combatants are some-
Nakatomi order of priests shrives the people, and the Ashanti
times likewise identified as Saint George and the Turkish
festival called Odwira. It was similarly a prominent feature
knight (probably a distortion of Saladin), or as King George
of the ancient Israelite Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), a
and Napoleon, or even (in more recent times) as Churchill
usage that survives in Jewish ritual to this day.
and Hitler.
Latent sins that remain unconfessed are removed in
Sexual license is another popular rite of invigoration.
many cases by being loaded symbolically on a scapegoat (ei-
Among the Pipils of Central America, it is observed when
ther animal or human) who is ceremonially dispatched from
the first seeds are sown, and in the Ukraine it is (or was) a
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SECRET SOCIETIES
popular method of stimulating the growth of crops on Saint
All of the seasonal rites here described—the initial peri-
George’s Day (April 23). The Garos encourage sexual inter-
od of disorder and chaos, the combat, the defeat of the pow-
course at seasonal festivals, and it is held by several scholars
ers of evil and disaster, the installation of the victor as king,
that the familiar stories of the rape of the Sabine women at
the resurrection of the dead, and the inauguration of a new
a festival and of the women of Shiloh (Jgs. 21:19–23) reflect
era of the world, sometimes also a “messianic banquet”—are
the same custom.
retrojected mythically into cosmogony and projected into es-
chatology. What happens at the end of each periodic lease
The usage was mythified in the “sacred marriage” of god
on life is held to have happened also at the beginning of the
and goddess at the New Year in various ancient Mesopota-
present cycle of the world’s existence; the supreme god van-
mian cities and in the marriage of the god Horus and goddess
quished a contumacious monster, was installed as king, pro-
Hathor at an annual celebration at Idfu (Beh:det) in Egypt;
mulgated a new dispensation, and tendered a banquet to his
the mating of the god (impersonated by the pharaoh) with
divided subordinates and sometimes also to ancient heroes.
a divine bride is portrayed on reliefs at Deir al-Bahri. Similar-
When this era ends, he will do so again. The process is cyclic;
ly, Aristotle tells us that a marriage between Dionysos and
as Vergil puts it, “the great order of the centuries is born
the king’s consort took place annually in the Bucolicon
afresh.” Seasonal ceremonies, originally functional means of
(boukolikon) at Athens. A burlesque of this ritual is a feature
renewing life from year to year, thus become paradigms of
of the festival plays still performed in northern Greece. The
human existence throughout time.
offspring of the “sacred marriage”—the spirit of the new
life—is often introduced as a baby in a crib and thus finds
SEE ALSO Agriculture; Fasting; Hieros Gamos; Mortifica-
its echo in present-day New Year cards. The famous passage
tion; Purification; Tears.
in the Book of Isaiah (9:6), “Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given,” is believed by many modern exegetes to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
have been inspired by this usage.
The great quarry for those interested in seasonal rites and customs
New members of the tribe or community, especially
is James G. Frazer’s The Golden Bough, 12 vols., 3d ed.,
rev. & enl. (London, 1911–1915), now available in my
children, are often initiated at seasonal festivals. This initia-
abridged and updated edition, New Golden Bough (New
tion is (or was) carried out, for instance, by Muslim Arabs
York, 1959). Much interesting information can also be
before the spring harvest and by bedouin at Mecca and at
found in The Book of Days, 2 vols., edited by Robert Cham-
the Nebi Musa (Eastertide) festival at Jericho, as well as by
bers (London, 1862–1864), and in William S. Walsh’s Curi-
the Haida Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands at an an-
osities of Popular Customs (Philadelphia, 1915). A useful
nual potlatch. Significant in this connection is the statement
source for European customs is Ethel L. Urlin’s Festivals,
in the Book of Joshua (5:2–8) that when members of the new
Holy Days and Saints’ Days (London, 1915), as is, for those
generation were formally received into the community after
who read German, Paul Sartori’s Sitte und Brauch, 3 vols.
the Exodus from Egypt, the initiating rite of circumcision
(Leipzig, 1910–1914). The “ritual pattern” theory of season-
was performed before the festival of Passover. The initiation
al festivals is presented in S. H. Hooke’s Myth and Ritual
is sometimes represented as a rebirth. Indeed, among certain
(Oxford, 1933) and, in somewhat different form, in my
Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the Ancient Near East,
people of the lower region of the river Kongo it is termed
2d ed. (1961; New York, 1977).
kimbasi (“resurrection”), and the neophytes have first to fall
as though dead at the feet of the officiant.
New Sources
Aveni, Anthony F. The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Sea-
RITES OF JUBILATION. The seasonal program concludes with
sonal Holidays. Oxford and New York, 2003.
a communal feast, at which the ancestral dead are also pres-
Gufler, Hermann. “Cults and Seasonal Dances of the Yamba
ent (“our founders are with us in spirit”). Thus to cite but
(Cameroon). ” Anthropos 92, no. 4–5 (1997): 501–522.
a few examples, the Greeks supposed that these “ghosts” re-
turned temporarily at the festival of Anthesteria, and the Ro-
James, E. O. Seasonal Feasts and Festivals (1961). Detroit, 1993.
mans, at the festival of Lemuria; the Mandaeans of Iraq and
Santino, Jack, ed. Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life.
Iran hold a feast of the dead at the beginning of the year. In
Knoxville, Tenn., 1994.
the Trobriand Islands, the dead rejoin the living at an annual
Teish, Luisah. Carnival of the Spirit: Seasonal Celebrations and
festival called Milmala; in Thailand, at the New Year festival
Rites of Passage. San Francisco, 1994.
in April; among the Huzul of the Ukraine, at Easter and
THEODOR H. GASTER (1987)
Christmas; and among the ancient Celts, at the feast of Sam-
Revised Bibliography
hain. This return of the dead, which survives in the folklore
of Halloween, is, of course, the counterpart of the initiation
ceremonies; past and future are alike involved in the renewal
of corporate life, since both are constituent elements of its
SECRET SOCIETIES. The term secret society can be
continuum. The gods, too, often attend the banquet, either
used to describe all groups whose membership or very exis-
as guests or as hosts, because they too belong to the
tence is unknown to nonmembers, or that keep certain of
“kindred.”
their practices or conceptions hidden from nonmembers, no
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SECRET SOCIETIES
8211
matter how public or recognized they are as a group. Within
can be sure exactly who is and who is not included. Many
these broad limits one could include subversive political
of the initiatory practices can be understood as means by
groups, criminal gangs, and some professional guilds. There
which the simple fact of inclusion in the group is emphasized
may be a religious dimension to these organizations, perhaps
and reinforced. There are other dimensions to these often
in ritual behavior, legends about their origins, or other coun-
elaborate initiation practices, however. In their use of ordeals
terparts to phenomena typical of religious groups. In this ar-
and trials, the symbolism of death and rebirth can become
ticle, however, attention will be given to groups that are more
apparent: one does not merely join an organization, but un-
clearly religious, as determined by their recognition of super-
dergoes a transforming experience and achieves deeper con-
natural powers or their subscription to certain values and
tact with the meaning of life and the world.
ideals.
Closely related to the phenomenon of initiation is the
It must be admitted, however, that there is no clear bor-
hierarchical structure of the secret society. Often the society
der between those secret societies that definitely celebrate re-
seems to be an outgrowth and extension of puberty-initiation
ligious matters and those that are secular. Of course, secret
practices. As such, it is based on the notion that human life
societies that are both very secret and religious can change
does not merely grow into maturity, but that a distinctive,
into societies that have few secret elements and little specifi-
new kind of existence or ontology must be attained in the
cally religious language. The aura of the past and the persis-
transformation from child to adult. Likewise, then, it is rea-
tence of generic or Deistic religious language can nevertheless
sonable to recognize still higher stages of life with other initi-
make such societies seem like rival religions to some people.
ations. The secret society itself represents such a stage beyond
A prominent indication of this problem is the prohibition
the status of simple adulthood, and within the secret society
of membership in the Freemasons for Roman Catholics and
there may be other stages or levels of advancement. Role dif-
some Lutherans, despite the claim of many Masons that they
ferentiation within the society is, from this perspective, not
are not a religion in any way, especially today.
merely a differentiation in function, but a manifestation of
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES. The secret society is character-
degrees of metaphysical weight or height.
ized first by its being a voluntary or selective group within
Finally, the religious secret society regularly posits a
a natural community. Although there may be times and
myth concerning its origins that is central to its self-
places in which nearly everyone of a certain gender, age, and
consciousness. Such myths are probably not historically ac-
status may be included, there is always the theoretical possi-
curate, but should be read as indications of the concerns or
bility that some otherwise eligible person will not be elected
mindset of the group. Many primitive secret societies, for ex-
to join the group. The possibility of exclusion is a powerful
ample, tell a story in which their secrets were derived from
factor in the sociopsychological dynamics of a secret society.
a woman, but subsequently kept from other women. This
The pool of potential members is also restricted, usually to
does not necessarily mean that the male secret society was a
men beyond puberty. There are few secret societies that in-
device by which the men in a previous age wrested control
clude women or children, although secret societies restricted
from the women in a matriarchal society. It does, however,
to women are known, such as the Bundu society among the
indicate a tension in the men’s psychology: they are keeping
Mende people of Sierra Leone.
from the women something in which the women also have,
Obviously, another primary characteristic of the secret
or have had, a stake.
society is secrecy. It is not characteristic of religious secret so-
THEORIES CONCERNING ORIGIN AND FUNCTION. Many
cieties, however, that their very existence or their member-
suggestions concerning the basic motivation for secret socie-
ship is secret. Instead, it is knowledge of their activities, ritu-
ties have been proposed. One theory emphasizes the sexual
als, texts, doctrines, myths, and offices that is restricted to
element. In this view, secret societies constitute an attempt
the group. Some argue that such secrets are new, dangerous,
by men to establish a life independent of women, a rejection
or deep matters that demand the protection of secrecy; in this
of feminine power and influence. Secret societies that are not
light it might be said that the secret society is humankind’s
exclusively male are reluctant concessions or counter-
nursery for new insights and new political or social struc-
reactions to this motive. Other theories on the all-male com-
tures. No matter what the depth or the power of the secrets,
position of so many groups include suggestions of homoerot-
however, there is always a measure of artificiality in keeping
ic attraction and the observation that many male animals cul-
them secret. Furthermore, at least in some cases, the secrets
tivate activities limited to their gender. This pattern of male
so carefully guarded are actually trivial and assume impor-
bonding can be as casual as the camaraderie incidental to the
tance only because they are shared secrets. At the base of se-
hunt or the neighborhood bar, or it can take the highly orga-
crecy lies not so much a set of hidden facts as a group of expe-
nized form of the secret society. Patterns of gender grouping
riences—any group of people that works or performs rites
in work, war, and play also may have their roots in male
together shares memories that others do not have.
bonding and thus contribute to the strength of the secret so-
ciety phenomenon.
A third major feature of the religious secret society is ini-
tiation. There is a logical necessity that entrance into the
A second kind of analysis emphasizes the social and po-
group be clearly marked so that the group and the individual
litical functions of the societies. On the one hand, the secret
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SECRET SOCIETIES
society may be consonant with the existing social and politi-
formed by secret societies are understood to represent the re-
cal order and may reinforce that order through the fear it in-
turn of the dead to the world of the living. Some of the most
spires. On the other hand, a secret society may be an agency
shocking practices of secret societies—for example, the eat-
for change, rebellion, or reform. In this situation, it will be
ing of raw human flesh in a secret society of the Kwakiutl
opposed by the dominant forces in society, and its need for
Indians of North America—can be seen as a way of demon-
secrecy will be greater. Its membership and its very existence
strating the transhuman (and certainly nonhuman) nature of
will be kept secret if possible. Certainly, such groups will be
the life of a secret society member (members of this kind of
labeled criminal by the dominant society, but they may also
secret society think of themselves as being something else, su-
be understood as supporting an alternative political or social
perior to humans; the cannibalism demonstrates that they
structure.
are no longer human because they do something no normal
human being would do). The right of secret society members
In many historical situations, the phenomenon of secre-
to frighten or steal also derives from this supposed superior
cy has given rise to the attitude that every secret organization
existence.
is a conspiracy against the welfare of the rest of humankind.
The rest of society, if sufficiently distressed, might blame all
The higher status and power bestowed through the se-
social ills on a real or even a supposed secret society. It is un-
cret society might be conceived as benefiting the fertility of
likely that many secret societies have been as powerful or as
the earth, improving one’s health or wealth, giving greater
conspiratorial as public opinion has, on occasion, conceived
power to the tribe, or enhancing one’s interior life. When the
them to be. Especially pernicious when used as a basis for
secret society is seen as a school for attaining ecstatic states
discrimination and repression is the supposition that subver-
or mystical knowledge, its similarity to monasticism becomes
sive secret societies exist among minority populations. The
apparent. The element of secrecy is not so prominent in the
threat, real or imagined, that a secret society represents to the
conventional monastic community, hence the connection
total community is an important factor in the social dynam-
between monasticism and secret societies has seldom been
ics of such a group.
recognized. Nevertheless, monastic communities do cultivate
A third theory about secret societies stresses more posi-
religious advancement and identify with a stage of humanity
tive social functions. It is argued that secret societies foster
beyond the ordinary, as do many secret societies.
a person’s sense of identity. In tribal societies they afford
There is also a religious function ascribed to the secret
some people a sense of privacy in the midst of proximity, and
society in those theories that see such societies as the nur-
in modern societies they give the individual a special status
series or nursing homes of religions. The secret of some
in the midst of pressures for conformity. It is clear that in
groups may be a new religious insight that is protected from
some societies the secret group is a primary means of educa-
persecution or ridicule by restricting its rites to believers’
tion and socialization. Insofar as the desire to improve one-
eyes. This theory may have been persuasive to those who in-
self or to achieve greater power and status can be considered
terpreted the semi-secrecy of early Christian ritual in this
a beneficial motivation in human life, the secret society has
way. It has also been argued, however, that secret societies
had the positive function of offering people a way to advance
can preserve for a small group some outmoded religious ideas
their programs of social and financial success.
and practices that the rest of a population has abandoned.
Such aspiration to greater significance and fuller exis-
Through secrecy and mystification, ancient religious patterns
tence brings us to the religious motivations and functions of
might retain some attraction that they would not enjoy in
the secret society. There is a style of being religious in which
the full light of public scrutiny. Thus, the secret society could
the reason and goal of religious activities is the improvement
embody the first or the last stage in the history of a religious
of one’s strength or ontological status. By performing certain
movement.
ritual, ascetic, or ethical acts, or by thinking certain thoughts
There is nothing inevitably good or bad in the form of
and controlling the mind, this kind of religion seeks to pro-
the secret society itself. It is a powerful human phenomenon
mote one’s career in this or another world. In light of this
that can be turned to purposes either beneficial or harmful
kind of religious motivation, the secret society is a major
to its members, the larger society, or both. Of course, many
arena for structuring, formulating, and traveling a path to-
of the factors listed here can be operative at the same time;
ward that goal.
thus they can strengthen the attraction of a secret society for
The goal, as well as the path, varies from society to soci-
its members by fulfilling many expectations, both religious
ety, of course. Among tribal peoples the attempt to progress
and secular.
beyond the stage of adulthood achieved through puberty ini-
PROMINENT EXAMPLES. One of the richest areas for research
tiation often takes the form of more and more rigorous phys-
into secret societies in tribal or primitive cultures has been
ical ordeals. It may involve learning magical techniques. The
the islands of the South Pacific. The Melanesian Dukduk so-
goal may be conceived in terms of transcending the ordinary
ciety and others like it provide classic examples of their type.
human condition, especially by identifying with the dead
There is some problem, however, in distinguishing the vol-
and the spirits who occupy the next higher rung in the hierar-
untary secret society from the secret rites performed at puber-
chy of being and power. Many masked dancing rites per-
ty on all boys of the tribe, transforming them into men of
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SECRET SOCIETIES
8213
the tribe. The important distinction lies in the selective na-
organizations in protecting and promoting historical identi-
ture of membership in the secret society, no matter how sim-
ties in a new world dominated by peoples of other races and
ilar the society’s initiation is to the general puberty initia-
religions.
tions. Also, the activities of the secret society tend to take
In the Ku Klux Klan the United States saw another kind
place in special grounds or in buildings away from the village
of motivation for secret-society organization. Founded in the
and not in the centrally located “men’s houses” that are often
southern states following the Civil War, the Klan was a reac-
found in these cultures.
tion to the distresses of change experienced by the white pop-
West Africa has witnessed a proliferation of secret socie-
ulation. Again, it is impossible to ascertain to what degree
ties. Some of them, such as the Poro society in Sierra Leone,
religious factors were used superficially to bolster the organi-
existed among aboriginal cultures, and apparently are uncon-
zation’s strength and to what degree these factors indicated
nected with specific modern religious traditions. Other secret
a real religious fervor, however misguided. There was a resur-
societies in this area are Muslim, or contain a mixture of
gence of Klan activity during the 1930s when the objects of
Muslim and native elements, and may have been influenced
Klan fear and opposition were expanded beyond blacks and
by the S:u¯f¯ı orders of North Africa. There are also some
northern white politicians to include Jews and Roman Cath-
women’s secret societies and some with members of both
olics. The Klan remains in the United States as an organiza-
sexes, but these are not as old as the all-male groups.
tion ready to provide a format for revolt against any social
or religious change that some segment of the population does
In the history of Kenya, the Mau Mau secret society has
not affirm.
figured prominently. It was mainly derived from the large
Kikuyu population and emerged in the 1940s as a reaction
Freemasonry was a prominent example of the secret so-
to the distress this group was experiencing under colonial ad-
ciety in the United States. There are now five million or
ministration, modernization, and Christian evangelism. The
more Freemasons in the world, about two-thirds of them in
link between nostalgia for the old ways and political aspira-
the United States. Today their membership is not secret, and
tions is especially clear in this example.
the secrecy of the rituals is not a defining factor. The fact that
modern U.S. Masonic lodges are often assumed to be pri-
The secret societies of China are well-known examples
marily social organizations demonstrates that secret societies
of this type of political group, although in many of them the
can dramatically change over time. Mozart’s opera The Magic
religious factors do not seem to have been prominent. These
Flute (1791) reflects a period, however, in which spiritual as-
groups have been known since the first century CE and bear
pirations and ideas were more than relics or playful refer-
such names as White Lotus, Dragon Flower, and Big Swords.
ences. Mozart seems to have taken very seriously the human-
It is thought that they provided those people who did not
istic side or interpretation of Masonic symbolism, making his
have a strong family with an alternative affiliation by which
opera into a kind of morality play for serious human aspira-
to promote their interests. They also provided some authori-
tion and ideals.
ty and order in situations where social and political structures
were weak or absent. Where political structures were strong,
The Masonic orders may not have been founded before
however, they often constituted the chief form of political
the seventeenth century, although in their mythology they
opposition or religious dissent. At the beginning of the twen-
claim ancient origins. The same suspicion of a fabricated an-
tieth century the Boxers, a xenophobic secret society, became
cient and medieval past attaches to the Rosicrucians. Many
known worldwide because of the rebellion that bore their
people have taken seriously the idea that ancient religions
name. More recently, the Triad societies have gained notori-
were preserved in these organizations. In the eighteenth cen-
ety in Hong Kong and elsewhere for their criminal activities.
tury, Freemasonry was linked to various programs of political
and religious reform that emphasized freedom of thought,
In North America, secret societies existed first among
worship, association, and the press that may have contribut-
Native American groups—for example, the Kwakiutl. Set-
ed to the French and American revolutions. Insofar as hu-
tlers from Europe and Africa brought secret societies to
manistic ideals and deistic beliefs are deemed to be religious,
America, or created them after they arrived. An example of
Masonic fraternities constitute at least semisecret, semireli-
an African American secret society was the Moorish Science
gious groups.
Temple, established in 1913 in Newark, New Jersey. It pro-
Other examples of secret societies include the medieval
vided some unchurched African American men with a semi-
Knights Templar, the Thugs of India, and the Assassins of
religious lodge community and presaged the role of Islam in
Persia. A complete list of secret societies would include many
later African American history.
feared groups whose programs were and are condemned by
From Italy, the United States inherited another type of
the rest of society. Even in these instances it is nevertheless
secret society, the Mafia. It is unusual in many ways, includ-
possible, if not probable, that religious motivation of some
ing its family connections and economic (protection racket)
sort lay at the foundation of each society and provided it with
functions. Its specific religious character is not obvious, ex-
its major source of dedication and devotion. It is perhaps no-
cept in the dedication that it inspires and requires. Ethnic
where clearer, therefore, that a phenomenon worthy of the
or nationalist secret societies clearly exhibit the role of such
designation “religious,” according to most definitions, need
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SECULARIZATION
not be good or true in the opinion of most people. The struc-
of lay political authorities. The term secularis was already in
ture of the secret society, with its religious characteristics or
use, and the distinction between sacred and secular, roughly
dynamics, is in itself a neutral form, but it may embody and
equivalent to the differentiation of Christian conceptions of
promote thoughts or acts deemed wonderful or horrible.
the supernatural from all that was mundane or profane, was
widely invoked to assert the superiority of the sacred. Fur-
SEE ALSO Assassins; Freemasons; Millenarianism, article on
thermore, the church had long distinguished between those
Chinese Millenarian Movements; Rosicrucians.
priests called “religious” and those designated as secular
priests, that is, between those clergy who functioned within
BIBLIOGRAPHY
a religious order and those who served the wider society.
Charles William Heckethorn’s The Secret Societies of All Ages and
Later, the term secularization was applied in a different,
Countries, 2 vols. (1875–1897; reprint, New York, 1965) ex-
though related, sense, to the dispensation of priests from
amines many groups that might be called “secret societies.”
their vows. The term was applied in even more diverse ways
Major examples of secret societies are discussed by various
once the concept acquired a more general, sociological con-
authors in Secret Societies, edited by Norman MacKenzie
notation in the twentieth century. Sociologists have used this
(New York, 1967). Theories and analyses are to be found in
most of the books mentioned here, but one should note the
word to indicate a variety of processes in which control of
discussions in Joachim Wach’s Sociology of Religion (1944; re-
social space, time, facilities, resources, and personnel was lost
print, Chicago, 1962); the article on secrecy and the secret
by religious authorities, and in which empirical procedures
society by Georg Simmel in The Sociology of Georg Simmel,
and worldly goals and purposes displaced ritual and symbolic
translated and edited by Kurt H. Wolff (Glencoe, Ill., 1950);
patterns of action directed toward otherworldly, or supernat-
Hugh B. Urban’s Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics, and Power in
ural, ends.
the Study of Religion (Berkeley, Calif., 2003); and Lionel
Tiger’s Men in Groups (New York, 1969). See, further, the
The term was later applied to denote a pattern of social
chapter on secret societies in Sissela Bok’s Secrets: On the Eth-
development that earlier sociologists, including Auguste
ics of Concealment and Revelation (New York, 1983). An
Comte (1798–1857), had already recognized before the term
older survey of the phenomenon in tribal societies is Hutton
secularization was in general sociological use. In the process
Webster’s Primitive Secret Societies: A Study in Early Politics
thus described, the various social institutions become gradu-
and Religion (New York, 1932). The following is a sampling
ally distinct from one another and increasingly free of the
of area studies: F. W. Butt-Thompson’s West African Secret
matrix of religious assumptions that had earlier informed,
Societies (London, 1929); Jean Chesneaux’s Secret Societies in
and at times had inspired and dominated, their operation.
China in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Ann Arbor,
Prior to this change, social action over a very wide field of
Mich., 1971); Paul Christopher Johnson’s Secrets, Gossip,
and the Gods: The Transformation of Brazilian Candomblé

human activity and organization (including work, decision-
(Oxford, 2002); and Michael R. Allen’s Male Cults and Secret
making, social and interpersonal relationships, juridical pro-
Initiations in Melanesia (London, 1967). Listings of U.S.
cedures, socialization, play, healing, and life-cycle transi-
groups is to be found in Alvin J. Schmidt’s Fraternal Organi-
tions) is regulated in accordance with supernaturalist precon-
zations (Westport, Conn., 1980) and Alan Axelrod’s The In-
ceptions. The process of structural differentiation in which
ternational Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Or-
social institutions (the economy, the polity, morality, justice,
ders (New York, 1997). J. M. Roberts’s The Mythology of the
education, recreation, health maintenance, and familial orga-
Secret Societies (London, 1972) discusses the reactions to the
nization) become recognized as distinctive concerns operat-
secret societies in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth
ing with considerable autonomy is also a process in which
centuries. The role of the societies in British literature is re-
conceptions of the supernatural lose their sovereignty over
viewed in Marie Mulvey Roberts and Hugh Ormsby-
human affairs, a pattern broadly identified as secularization.
Lennon, Secret Texts, the Literature of Secret Societies (New
York, 1995).
Conceptions of the supernatural are gradually displaced from
all social institutions except those specifically devoted to cul-
An interpretation of the religious value of specific actions and
tivating knowledge about, and maintaining relationships
symbols of secret society rituals is found in Mircea Eliade’s
Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birth and Re-
with, the posited supernatural order. While those agencies
birth (New York, 1958), which also includes extensive bibli-
still seek to influence other areas of social life, they become
ographical notes (pp. 151–161) dealing with important
recognized as separate and increasingly circumscribed reli-
studies of secret societies in Europe, Asia, Australia, and the
gious institutions.
Americas.
DEFINITIONS. This brief discourse already indicates the
GEORGE WECKMAN (1987 AND 2005)
changing nature of the concept of secularization and the dif-
ficulty of providing a fully encompassing definition for it.
The concept is distinguishable from secularism, with which
it is sometimes confused. Secularization relates essentially to
SECULARIZATION. The term secularization came
a process of decline in religious activities, beliefs, ways of
into use in European languages at the Peace of Westphalia
thinking, and institutions that occurs primarily in associa-
in 1648, where it was used to describe the transfer of territo-
tion with, or as an unconscious or unintended consequence
ries previously under ecclesiastical control to the dominion
of, other processes of social structural change. Secularism is
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SECULARIZATION
8215
an ideology; its proponents consciously denounce all forms
does secularization. Laïcisation in French is sometimes used
of supernaturalism and the agencies devoted to it, advocating
as synonymous with sécularisation, but the English term secu-
nonreligious or antireligious principles as the basis for per-
larization has a narrower connotation: It refers specifically to
sonal morality and social organization. Secularism may con-
the abrogation of priestly offices and functions or to the
tribute in some degree to processes of secularization, but the
transfer of certain functions, such as judicial roles, teaching,
evidence, even from officially secularist societies such as those
and social work, to specialists for whom theological qualifica-
of the former Soviet Union, suggests that it does so only very
tions are no longer deemed necessary or appropriate. Laiciza-
gradually and much less fundamentally than do broad pro-
tion refers also to the disavowal of the explicitly sacerdotal
cesses of social structural change such as industrialization and
claims of religious professionals. Dechristianization is clearly
urbanization.
more concerned with the decline of only one religious tradi-
tion, particularly in its control of institutional activities. As
Definitions of secularization are intimately bound to
a term it lacks the ethical neutrality of the term secularization.
definitions of religion. As long as religion is defined substan-
tively, as beliefs, orientations, attitudes, activities, institu-
Briefly defined, secularization is the process in which re-
tions, and structures pertaining to the supernatural (the defi-
ligious consciousness, activities, and institutions lose social
nition assumed in this article), it is possible to assess the
significance. It indicates that religion becomes marginal to
extent to which religion declines or loses significance for the
the operation of the social system, and that the essential func-
operation of society. Some sociologists, however, have de-
tions for the operation of society become rationalized, pass-
fined religion in functional terms, that is, as any set of beliefs,
ing out of the control of agencies devoted to the super-
ideas, and activities that fulfills certain social functions. (The
natural.
use of functionalist analysis, which is a standard sociological
INDICES OF SECULARIZATION. Analysis of social structure
method, does not, of course, imply commitment to func-
will reveal in broad terms to what extent the order and opera-
tional definitions; indeed, the combination may produce cir-
tion of society depend on conceptions of the supernatural
cular arguments.) Where religion is defined functionally, a
and activities related to it; that is, the extent to which a soci-
wide variety of ideologies and activities that have no refer-
ety is secularized. Short of a complete analysis of the social
ence to the supernatural, to morality, faith, destiny, ultimate
system, various social facts may serve as indications of secu-
meaning, or final purposes, may sometimes be held (by defi-
larization, although these vary in specificity and relevance
nition) to be religion. Insofar as certain functions are regard-
from one social and cultural context to another. Broadly, it
ed as indispensable for the continuance of society or for its
may be said that the increasing specialization of function and
cohesion, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, once func-
role entailed in structural differentiation has invariably re-
tionalist definitions are used, to speak of secularization, since
duced the influence of religion over other social institutions.
religion is identified by definition with whatever supplies
Religion in the West has generally become merely a depart-
certain indispensable functions. The very discussion of secu-
ment of the social order rather than the pervasive, or even
larization and of the social processes that lead to the decline
determinant, influence it once was.
of supernaturally orientated activities and beliefs implies that
One may say that religious consciousness declines as
a substantive definition of religion is being employed. When
empirical and matter-of-fact attitudes develop. Depictions of
reference is made not to religion but to specific religions or
the supernatural become increasingly abstract, and its opera-
religious systems, the definitional problem (itself partly an
tion is regarded as remote, while individual convictions con-
artifact of the sociological penchant for abstract universalistic
cerning obligation, dependence, and remorse appear to be
concepts) disappears.
less compelling. Recourse to the supernatural declines,
The concept of secularization lacks a standard defini-
whether as a means for the cognitive understanding of the
tion. The associated phenomena to which it refers occupy a
world or for personal emotional support. There is less allu-
wide social range. What those phenomena have in common
sion to God’s will as the guide for attitudes, comportment,
is a pattern of diminishing recourse to supernaturalist expla-
and action, and resort to prayers or curses is less frequent.
nations, diminishing resources employed for supernatural
Religious symbols lose their vibrancy and meaning, and
ends, and diminishing support of agencies or activities that
charms, rosaries, and crosses become largely decorative items,
while magic—for example, in the form of popular astrolo-
promote relationships with, or dependence on, supernatural
gy—becomes a titillating amusement. Everyday life is negoti-
forces. Other, somewhat narrower terms that allude to some
ated by pragmatic attitudes and cause-and-effect thinking.
of the same developments include desacralization, laicization,
and dechristianization. Desacralization refers specifically to
As religious action (action directed toward the supernat-
the loss of the sense of the sacred as it pertains particularly
ural) is regarded as less effective in relation to worldly experi-
to places, properties, and activities; it has less relevance to re-
ence, so it diminishes in scope and scale. Religious obser-
ligious organization and is less applicable to thought process-
vances cease to be obligatory to members of society and
es. This essentially negative term fails to specify the character
become entirely voluntary; this indicates, at the least, a di-
of what replaces the dislodged sense of the sacred once sa-
minished regard for such practices by state authorities. While
crality disappears. As a concept, it allows less gradation than
the abandonment of obligatory religious practice may elimi-
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SECULARIZATION
nate one set of extraneous motivations for religious action,
ing for their churches, and occasional commentary on politi-
it does not eradicate others; for example, traditional habits
cal issues. This pattern of change has been designated as the
of life, conformity with custom, or the search for social pres-
internal secularization of the churches.
tige may continue as possible extrareligious inducements for
SECULARIZATION AS A HISTORICAL PROCESS. Secularization
participation in religious rituals and collective performances.
has occurred throughout history, unevenly but in a broadly
The same social act, for instance churchgoing, baptism, or
discernible pattern. In preliterate societies, apprehensions
religious marriage or burial, may be prompted by different
that may be considered supernaturalist were both ubiquitous
motives and carry widely different meanings in different cul-
and inextricably intermingled with empirical knowledge and
tural contexts. However, despite these considerations,
rational techniques. Explanation invoked superempirical en-
church attendance, church memberships, rites de passage,
tities, social goals were confused with symbolic acts, and
grace at meals, public prayer, pilgrimages, votive offerings,
magical means were intermixed with pragmatic procedures.
fasting, penances, religious festivals, and church weddings all
Steadily, the process, which Max Weber designated die En-
decline in incidence and in the depth of their sacrality.
tzauberung der Welt (“the disenchantment of the world”),
To be significant in modern society, religion must be
drained natural phenomena of their magico-religious mean-
public and organized, a potential resource for all collective
ing as people acquired more matter-of-fact, positivistic orien-
and public concerns, influencing the social system to operate
tations.
in conformity with religious principles and with due regard
In this analysis, magic may be subsumed with religion
to the supernatural. In the early evolution of modern socie-
under the general rubric of supernaturalism; indeed, the es-
ties, religious institutions occupied just such a position, but
tablishment of a distinction between them may in itself be
that influence has waned everywhere throughout the Chris-
regarded as one aspect of the process of secularization. The
tian West. This loss of social significance is manifested most
development of monotheistic religions involved the rational-
explicitly in the diminishing proportion of social resources
ization and systematization of conceptions of the supernatu-
(taken, for instance, as a proportion of the gross national
ral. This process, very evident in the history of Judaism,
product) devoted to religion and to the maintenance of the
steadily extinguished the preexisting plethora of random,
personnel and property that serve supernaturalist goals.
local magical ideas and local deities; it introduced a more un-
Labor, energy, skill, wealth, and time are increasingly em-
iversalistic spirit, made religious apprehensions ethical, and
ployed for other than supernatural ends. Relative to popula-
gradually established a coherent conception of an increasing-
tion, the number of churches declines, as does the number
ly transcendent and universal deity. The monotheistic reli-
of religious functionaries. The monetary remuneration and
gions were themselves agencies of rationalization, and hence,
social status of clergy diminish relative to those of other pro-
insofar as they reduced the belief in supernaturalism, they
fessions. Ancillary agencies (schools, colleges, hospitals, social
were agencies of secularization. Magical beliefs and practices
welfare facilities) pass from religious to lay, secular, and state
were not immediately eradicated; they sometimes persisted
control.
as subterranean currents reappearing periodically. Judaism
The application of the concept of secularization to soci-
and Protestantism were generally more effective secularizing
agencies than Roman Catholicism, for although all three for-
ety at large has an analogue in the process of change occur-
mally excoriated magic and folk belief, and sought to dissem-
ring within religious institutions per se. Not only is the wider
inate orderly, internally consistent teachings and practices,
society less influenced by religion, but religious institutions
the Roman Catholic Church sometimes countenanced, ab-
and behavior are themselves increasingly influenced by val-
sorbed, or accommodated pagan elements.
ues and standards that prevail in the secular society. As soci-
ety increasingly orders its affairs in accordance with technical
It is sometimes objected that to regard secularization as
and scientific criteria, religious institutions themselves are af-
a cumulative, long-term historical trend necessarily implies
fected. The sacramentalist and sacerdotal orientations of reli-
the existence at some unspecified time of an unparalleled age
gion become less congruous with the assumptions of every-
of religious faith. Against this implication, it is argued that
day life, and the tendency in religious performance is for the
Christian history reveals the recurrent complaints of clerical
distance between sacred and secular to diminish. The special
authorities about unbelief, laxness in religious observances,
language of liturgy is changed to accommodate secular un-
and a variety of contingent derelictions. The historical evi-
derstanding, organization is increasingly rationalized, econo-
dence cannot be denied, but religiosity should not be equat-
mies of scale are sought through ecumenism, and activities
ed with Christianity. Paganism and heresy were often indict-
necessarily adjust in duration, scheduling, style, and tenor to
ed in the complaints about laxity, but these are
accommodate external secular constraints and preferences.
manifestations not of the secularity of society but rather of
Church leaders become less certain about the nature of the
its religiosity. Further, church religion and attendance are
supernatural, less committed to dogma or the formal creeds
only two among many indicators of relative secularity; they
to which on induction they subscribe, and increasingly de-
intimate nothing either of religious consciousness or of the
vote themselves to good works, general moral exhortation,
significance of religion (and its institutions) for the operation
community activities within their congregations, fund rais-
of the social system. As long as supernaturalist conceptions
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8217
(of whatever sort) were effective in everyday life, or as long
sometimes adapting these from the secular society. Worship
as religious institutions were sustained by the secular authori-
assumed forms closer to everyday styles, and the emphasis on
ties and fulfilled functions as agencies of legitimation, official
subjective awareness, rather than on the supposed objective
ideology, and social control, society had not yet experienced
power of external ritual forms, led to a systematic demand
any radical modern process of secularization.
for sustained and calculable performances from individual
members. Arcane elements were replaced by goal-oriented
In recent Western history, dissociation of religious and
methods of propaganda, mission, education, and mobiliza-
political institutions, seen most conspicuously in the separa-
tion. The demand for consistency, methodical regularity,
tion of church and state (now generally effective despite ves-
and self-sustained individual responsibility conformed fully
tigial links that persist, for example, in England, Scotland,
to the nature of demands being made in the context of secu-
and the Scandinavian countries), implies the secularization
lar employment. Even revivalist religion channeled seculariz-
of society. At times, ethnic and regional minorities have rein-
ing tendencies into sections of the population as yet unso-
forced their distinctive identity and their political dissent by
cialized.
reasserting religious differences (as in Northern Ireland
CONTEMPORARY MANIFESTATIONS. Just as religious institu-
throughout this century, as in Lebanon in the 1970s and
tions have ceased to be central in society, and just as society
1980s, or, much less dramatically, as in the Netherlands). In
no longer endorses religious goals as its primary ends, so reli-
this same manner, societies in which religion has been associ-
gious consciousness, although less visible as a phenomenon,
ated with national independence have found religion to be
appears also to have diminished. These different aspects of
a conveniently available means of rallying opposition to po-
religiosity reveal varying degrees of persistence. Thus, the
litically oppressive regimes (as in Communist Poland). Reli-
formal civic representation of the church in public life is
gion may, then, become a form of surrogate politics, but the
more evident in societies, such as England, with established
continuing vigor of religion in such circumstances is artifi-
national churches than in the United States or Germany. Re-
cially sustained by the prevailing political, ethnic, or regional
ligious schools are more numerous in France and in Belgium
situation. Where no such conditions prevail, the general
(where state and church institutions are alternatives in many
course of secularization results in the increasing separation
departments of social organization) than in England or the
of religion from other institutions, most rapidly and marked-
United States. Church attendance is significantly higher in
ly from those on which societal arrangements depend (law,
North America than in northern Europe, and church mem-
politics, economics, and, eventually, education) and more
bership in the United States is significantly higher than in
slowly from those rooted in local community life (marriage,
England. Such national variations reflect different patterns
the family, and personal morality).
and degrees of secularization. They do not predicate specific
Against the dominant trend, there are occasional reviv-
consequences (such as, for instance, a growth of atheism) or
als of religion. What such movements achieve has not always
a determinate loss in church affiliation or in religious obser-
been contrary to secular tendencies. Reform movements that
vance, even though these consequences often occur. Nor do
seek to purge religion of cultural, traditional, or superstitious
they preclude the endurance of enclaves of persisting spiritu-
accretations may be almost explicitly secularizing in their im-
ality or the emergence of new expressions of religious com-
pact. Even religious revivals that seek a return to what are
mitment. The patterns vary and, despite other indicators of
taken to be pristine ideas and single-minded dedication may
secularization, spiritual survivals and new religious initiatives
have the incidental consequences of eliminating elements of
do occur.
folk religiosity, of widening the gap between religion and
Even so, none of these manifestations of religiosity re-
other social institutions, of more narrowly specifying reli-
futes the evidence of general secularization. Indeed, as reli-
gion’s social role, and of encouraging privatization by em-
gion loses significance in the public arena, it may expected
phasizing personal piety. Reform movements such as Renais-
that it will appear correspondingly more conspicuous in pri-
sance Humanism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Deism, and
vate life, commitment becoming more distinctive as it be-
Unitarianism were all secularizing forces within Christianity,
comes more exceptional. Again, in some societies, involve-
purging faith and practice of immanentist conceptions of
ment in church life may fulfill cultural or social functions
deity, progressively applying the canons of reason to doc-
little related to intrinsic religiosity, and its persistence at rela-
trine, and reducing mystical, miraculous, sacramental, and
tively high levels of participation (for example, in the United
sacerdotal claims. Revivalism, recurrent in eighteenth- and
States) may relate more to traditions of voluntarism, the need
nineteenth-century Christendom (in Methodism, Holiness
for community identity, or a generalized search for surrogate
movements, and Pentecostalism, for example), ostensibly
national ideology than to the societal, or even the personal,
sought to enhance individual emotional commitment and
significance of religious faith. Numerous new religious
certainly not to put religion to the test of rationality. Yet, ex-
movements have emerged in recent decades, and these may
pressive religiosity also came to demand discipline and order.
even be seen as a response to general secularization: Because
When such movements, unencumbered by traditional litur-
they provide meaning, purpose, association, and support for
gy and ritual, sought to socialize and organize their follow-
particular sections of the population, their appearance testi-
ings, they tended to do so by systematic rational procedures,
fies to the inadequacy, irrelevance, or ineffectiveness of the
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SECULARIZATION
mainstream churches, at least for this particular clientele.
Social and geographic mobility, which occurred with in-
Given the traditional exclusivism of Christianity, religious
creasing intensity in order to accommodate the productive
pluralism, to which these new movements are conspicuous
demands and distributive rewards of technological society,
testimony, occurs only where secularization is relatively far
promoted individualism and detached people from the stable
advanced.
communal contexts and the settled order of past generations
in which religious predilections had themselves been rooted.
CAUSES. To unravel completely the complex tissue of causal
Simultaneously, social organization became less dependent
agencies contributing to secularization would be tantamount
on the local community. The role-articulated social system
to reconstructing the entire web of social history. Any trend
necessarily made human beings into its calculable parts,
as pervasive and persistent in the course of human affairs as
while the social environment, following the natural environ-
this one must be extensively related to all other facets of so-
ment before it, became increasingly human-made. Its ratio-
cial change. This article has noted the way in which concep-
nal structures elicited, through the role system, rational pat-
tual order was developed and rationalized within the evolu-
terns of instrumental and impersonal action and neutralized,
tion of religion itself. Intellectuals (who themselves were
in relations with others, those personal, affective dispositions
often religious functionaries) were responsible for early secu-
that religion had traditionally sought to summon and sus-
larization, but the initial marginalization of all supernatural-
tain. Eventually, even personal and intimate relationships be-
ism is attributable to a deepening and more reflective appre-
came invaded by impersonal techniques—for example, in
hension of the natural order. The beginnings of science and,
the matter of birth control—so that issues once thought to
more generally, the development of empirical inquiry, de-
be very much in the realm of the sacred became matters of
tachment in observation and experimentation, and the
rational, calculated planning. Thus, the wider course of so-
sensed need for ordered, general concepts (incipient univer-
cial change produced secular contexts and induced patterns
salism) introduced new assumptions about nature and soci-
of rational social action, as well as changes in individual con-
ety. The rational and systematic coordination of empirical
sciousness that expunged ideas and assumptions about the
knowledge led both to the confutation of received supernatu-
supernatural and its derivative dispositions.
ralist conceptions and to an enhanced awareness of human-
SECULARIZATION IN OTHER CONTEXTS. Secularization is a
kind’s own capacity to harness nature and to organize its own
Western concept descriptive principally of a process that has
economic and social well-being. Eventually, skepticism be-
occurred in Western society, most conspicuously during this
came steadily institutionalized in science, providing an im-
century. Certainly, all the world religions in some degree dis-
plicit challenge to untested and untestable hypotheses, even
ciplined and systematized immanentist conceptions and
though many early scientists such as Roger Bacon, Johannes
magical apprehensions and practices, but they did so with va-
Kepler, Isaac Newton, and Michael Faraday were persons
rying persistence and effectiveness. Hinduism and Bud-
whose thought encompassed both rationalist and mystic
dhism, unlike Judaism and Christianity, absorbed or tolerat-
concerns.
ed more primitive supernaturalism rather than excluding or
The application of science, particularly to productive
eradicating it. Islam, although theoretically even more rigor-
activities, and the evolution of new techniques reduced hu-
ously monotheistic than Christianity, lacked effective cen-
mans’ sense of dependence on the divine. As society became
tralized organization with which to regulate local magical
industrialized and urbanized, increasing proportions of the
dispositions, which have widely persisted in Muslim societies
population came to live their lives and make their livelihoods
into the present day. The long-term historical processes fa-
in ways more removed from nature. The possible interven-
voring secularization—the extension of rational principles to
tion of the supernatural into everyday life became less plausi-
all areas of social life—were less intense and persistent in the
ble except in the interstices of social organization, that is, in
Middle East and in Asia. Nonetheless, as industrialization
marginal pursuits and interests, and even here only for the
occurs in developing societies, similar pressures accumulate
minority. New ways of thinking evolved as humans came to
toward the routinizing and rationalizing of work roles, social
relationships, and the framework of social and civic order.
inhabit an environment that was progressively more and
Technological development brings similar consequences by
more a product of their own making. Magical, mystical, and
reducing the significance of religion for the operation of the
metaphysical patterns of thought became steadily less con-
social system. Yet, since so many local manifestations of im-
gruous, particularly in all manifestly functional activities,
manentist religiosity persist in these contexts, the paradox of
which are governed by well-articulated structures of specific
a close juxtaposition of overtly magical practices alongside
roles. Humanity’s increased capacity to assess and supply its
sophisticated industrial techniques is often found. The
own needs led to the assumption that social well-being de-
course of secularization follows a different path and occurs
pended not on God’s providence but on social planning.
in different sequence from that familiar in the West.
Whereas in earlier epochs the past had dominated the pres-
ent—a past sacralized by the supposedly timeless truths of
In Latin America, profound religious changes have oc-
religion—modern society was future-oriented, and that fu-
curred with the still incipient process of technologization,
ture was mundane and material, no longer the future of post-
and developments that were sequential in Europe have been
mortem salvation in some supraterrestrial existence.
contemporaneous on that continent. Thus, in recent decades
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SECULARIZATION
8219
there has been a rapid spread of Protestantism (apparently
been so rapid, however, that magico-religious dispositions
still carrying many facets of the work ethic); political radical-
are still far from eclipsed; various magical practices continue
ization has occurred (affecting the Roman Catholic church
in healing, fortune-seeking, and propitiatory acts, some of
in significant respects); some separation of the Roman Cath-
them institutionalized by the temples or in new religious
olic church from the dominant political structure has been
movements. These phenomena occupy the interstices of in-
effected; and quasi-magical movements (such as Umbanda
stitutional life, but they are as little accommodated to the in-
and Kardecism in Brazil) have significantly rationalized their
creasingly rational socioeconomic order as is the Confucian
teaching and organization. Supernaturalism is being relocat-
precept of filial piety, which, today, is challenged by the pre-
ed within the social system by diverse patterns of change of
mium that modern technology puts, not on age, but on
a secularizing kind.
youth.
Some Islamic countries (e.g., Turkey, Egypt, and Tuni-
In the largely village-centered society of India, religious
sia) have undergone considerable secularization, but in oth-
dispositions remain perhaps more powerful than in most
ers (e.g., Iran) the resurgence of fundamentalist movements
other parts of the world, even if they have less hold in the
indicates the strains accompanying this process and the ex-
centers of population and industry. In a society with such
tent to which, in the least sophisticated sections of society,
strong religious and mystical traditions, the secularizing ef-
fects of social change are slow. Even so, the state now stands
religious dispositions can still be mobilized against modern-
above religious particularism, declares itself to be a secular
ization. A religion in which a specific and concrete system
state, and has acted against religious tradition in official dis-
of law occupies so important a place cannot but find itself
avowal of the caste implications of Hinduism. Nor is secular-
compromised by the exigencies of modern life. A similar situ-
ization very apparent in Africa, where christianization and is-
ation, which is a source of conflict between orthodox and lib-
lamization are still proceeding and magic is far from
eral (or nonreligious) parties, prevails in Israel, a secular state
displaced. If the term is to be applied to Africa, it must refer
in which religion retains a unique ideological significance as
to a relatively early stage of a long-term historical process.
the locus for a people so often exiled from its mythically
Even among the dominant social strata in African states, not
promised land. In both Islam and Judaism, religiously en-
everyone has renounced magic, but as the echelons of techni-
joined behavior is subject to growing challenge from certain
cal and administrative personnel proliferate, education and
indispensable elements of a modern social system: a rational
experience of urban life are likely to make bush witchcraft
framework of law (both as an agency of social control and
less common. Christianity is still growing and still plays a sig-
as a regulative instrument for contract); a systematic use of
nificant role in various institutional spheres, particularly edu-
economic incentives and deterrents (whether through a free
cation and health, despite secularization of facilities by some
market or by socialist controls); the use of education to dis-
states. Churches remain a powerful focus of voluntary alle-
seminate empirical knowledge, inculcate pragmatic attitudes,
giance and provide important links between local, poorly or-
and teach rational procedures; and a political system con-
ganized communal life and the incipient secularized societal
cerned with economic well-being rather than with the imple-
system.
mentation of religious principles. Nor is private life exempt
from such challenges; for example, a prerequisite of rational
SEE ALSO Modernism; Modernity; Politics and Religion;
social organization, in contradiction of Muslim and Jewish
Society and Religion.
assumptions of male superiority, is equal rights for men and
women, an idea that affects such matters as divorce, birth
BIBLIOGRAPHY
control, custody of children, remuneration for work, and
There is an extensive, chiefly sociological, literature on various as-
even such customary matters as dress and comportment.
pects of secularization and diffuse and scattered comment in
the general literature on contemporary religion and society.
If secularization implied that what had decayed was nec-
For a comprehensive overview, see the “trend report” and
essarily a well-integrated and coherent religious tradition,
bibliography by Karel Dobbelaere, “Secularization: A Multi-
then it might be maintained that this term was inappropriate
Dimensional Concept,” constituting the entire issue of Cur-
to Japan, where diverse, loosely related, symbiotic religious
rent Sociology 29, no. 2 (Summer 1981). For theoretical dis-
traditions never constituted anything remotely equivalent to
cussions, see Richard K. Fenn’s Towards a Theory of Secular-
the “age of faith” of Christian Europe. Nonetheless, it is ap-
ization (Storrs, Conn., 1978) and his “The Process of
Secularization: A Post-Parsonian View,” Journal for the Scien-
parent from the plethora of its traditional magico-religious
tific Study of Religion 9 (Summer 1970): 117–136. See also
practices that Japan was eligible for secularization. The Japa-
Niklas Luhmann’s Funktion der Religion (Frankfurt, 1982).
nese social system operates with only token reference to su-
An account of secularization in diverse cultural and political
pernatural assumptions: The emperor is no longer divine.
contexts is provided in David Martin’s A General Theory of
Most Japanese are only loosely attached to Buddhist temples
Secularization (New York, 1978). Various facets are treated
or Shinto¯ shrines. Ancestor worship has sharply declined in
in the volume edited by Phillip E. Hammond, The Sacred in
recent decades, and in the homes of young people, both the
a Secular Age (Berkeley, Calif., 1985).
god-shelf (kamidana) and the memorial altar (butsudan) have
Secularization is a subject of controversy. For approaches that
become less common. Japan’s technological advance has
challenge the secularization thesis, see Talcott Parsons’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

8220
SEDNA
“Christianity and Modern Industrial Society,” in Sociological
of the sea, the segments of her fingers turning into sea mam-
Theory, Values, and Sociocultural Change, edited by Edward
mals, and she became the Sea Woman, who was in control
A. Tiryakian (New York, 1963); and Thomas Luckmann’s
of these animals. According to some Iglulik Inuit and Baffin
“Theories of Religion and Social Change,” Annual Review of
Islanders, she also ruled over the souls of those who had gone
the Social Sciences of Religion 1 (1977): 1–28. A range of con-
to the undersea land of the dead.
troversial opinions and a debate is found in The Culture of
Unbelief,
edited by Rocco Caporale and Antonio Grumelli
Variants of this myth have been recorded from many lo-
(Berkeley, Calif., 1971); and La Secolarizzazione, edited by
calities in Greenland and Canada, but from Alaska only a
Sabina S. Acquaviva and Gustavo Guizzardi (Bologna,
single reference exists. In some variants an orphan girl is
1973).
thrown overboard, but more often the myth begins with the
For non-Western countries, see The Protestant Ethic and Modern-
story of a girl who was fooled into marrying a petrel that had
ization: A Comparative View, edited by S. N. Eisenstadt
taken on human form. When her father tried to rescue his
(New York, 1968); Ethel Dunn and Stephen P. Dunn’s “Re-
unhappy daughter and to take her away, the petrel pursued
ligious Behaviour and Socio-Cultural Change in the Soviet
them and stirred up a heavy storm. The father tried to pacify
Union,” in Religion and Atheism in the U. S. S. R. and Eastern
the petrel by throwing his daughter overboard. When she
Europe, edited by Bohdan R. Bociurkiw and John W. Strong
(Toronto, 1975); Tamaru Noriyoshi’s “The Problem of Sec-
tried to cling to the side of the boat, her father cut off her
ularization: A Preliminary Analysis,” Japanese Journal of Reli-
fingers at the first joint. Her fingertips fell into the sea and
gious Studies 6 (March–June 1979): 89–114; and Cultural
became small seals. When she again grasped the side of the
Identity and Modernization in Asian Countries (Tokyo,
boat, her father cut off her fingers at the next joint; these seg-
1983), published by Kokugakuin University.
ments fell into the sea and became big, bearded seals. When
she still clung to the side of the boat with the stumps of her
New Sources
Barker, Eileen, James Beckford, and Karel Dobbelaere, eds. Secu-
fingers, her father cut them off at the last joint, and these seg-
larization, Rationalism, and Sectarianism: Essays in Honor of
ments turned into walruses. Sometimes the order of the cre-
Bryan R. Wilson. New York, 1993.
ation of the sea animals is different, with whales being creat-
Bruce, Steve. God Is Dead: Secularization in the West. Religion in
ed first (the girl’s nails are associated with baleen), followed
the Modern World series. Malden, Mass., 2002.
by small seals and bearded seals.
Crimmins, James, ed. Religion, Secularization and Political
In some variants the girl’s father forces her to marry a
Thought. London, 1989.
dog because she has refused to marry. Her children become
Dobbelaere, Karel. “Towards an Integrated Perspective of the Pro-
Indians, white people, and so on. In this way the mother of
cesses Related to the Descriptive Content of Secularization.”
the sea animals is made the mother of men as well; as such,
Sociology of Religion 60 (1999): 229–247.
she represents the female principle of the world.
Fenn, Richard, ed. The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Reli-
According to Inuit belief, the Sea Woman had the
gion. Malden, Mass., 2001.
power to withhold the sea animals when certain hunting,
Smith, Christian, ed. The Secular Revolution: Power, Interests, and
birth, and death taboos had been broken. In Greenland it
Conflicts in the Secularization of American Life. Berkeley,
was told that the transgressions would materialize as dirt in
2003.
the Sea Woman’s hair, making her feel uncomfortable; be-
Starck, Rodney. “Secularization, RIP.” Sociology of Religion 60
cause she had no fingers, she was unable to comb her hair.
(1999): 249–273.
During a séance, the shaman, whose job it was to rectify this
BRYAN R. WILSON (1987)
situation, would undertake a journey to the Sea Woman
Revised Bibliography
while the others attending the séance would sit silently in the
darkness. Before the shaman could comb Sedna’s hair he had
to fight her. Afterward, she would set the sea animals free,
and the shaman would return—that is, wake from his
SEDNA. The concept of an owner, or master, of the ani-
trance—and make the good result known.
mals appears in many hunting and fishing societies. For the
Inuit (Eskimo) of Canada and Greenland, for whom sealing
In Greenland, ritual wife-exchanges were sometimes
was of vital importance, this powerful being was the mistress
held in order to please the Sea Woman and to ensure good
of seals and other sea animals. Franz Boas, in his monograph
hunting, but otherwise the Sea Woman’s ritual role was less
about the Inuit on Baffin Island (1888), gave her name as
important there than in Canada, even if myths about sha-
Sedna, which probably means “the one down there.” Other
mans’ dangerous travels to her undersea house were well
Inuit groups referred to the Sea Woman under different
known.
names, such as Nerrivik (Polar Inuit, “the place of the food”)
In Canada, powerful shamans would draw the Sea
and Nuliajuk (Netsilik Inuit, “the lubricious one”).
Woman up and make her promise to send seals, or the sha-
An origin myth tells how Sedna was once a girl who was
mans would themselves visit her in the sea. Among the Cop-
thrown overboard from a vessel. While she tried to hang on,
per Inuit a shaman might be possessed by the Sea Woman
her fingers were cut off at the joints. She sank to the bottom
and during a séance tell what caused the lack of seals. Then
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SEFER YETSIRAH
8221
the participants would quickly admit the taboos they had
creation of the world by means of the ten cosmic numbers
broken. The dangerous situation was neutralized when its
(sefirot) and the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
cause was made known.
The date of composition of Sefer yetsirah is the subject
The Inuit on Baffin Island held great feasts, lasting sev-
of controversy among scholars. Gershom Scholem assigns it
eral days, in which Sedna was ritually killed. These calendar
to the tannaitic period (second to third centuries CE), where-
feasts took place in the autumn when sealing was prevented
as N. Aloni argued that it is a work of the eighth or ninth
by storms that broke the ice open. Sedna was harpooned
century, written under the influence of Arabic linguistics.
through a coiled thong on the floor, which represented a
The treatise is extant in two main versions, one short and one
seal’s breathing hole. A shaman followed her and stabbed
long, without major divergences in ideas between them. It
her, thereby cleansing her of the transgressions of taboos that
has been translated into several European languages.
had taken place the previous year (and thereby securing that
she no longer would withhold the sea animals). When the
A major contribution of Sefer yetsirah is its discussion
lamps were lit again after the séance, blood was seen on the
of the magical properties inherent in combinations of letters
harpoon point and the knife; the blood was an omen of good
and the use of these combinations in the creation of the uni-
hunting in the future.
verse. The book’s explanation of the proper pronunciation
of the letters was the earliest phonetic theory introduced in
One of the rites that took place as part of the Sedna feast
Judaism. Sefer yetsirah also develops a system of correspon-
at this change of season was a tug-of-war between those born
dence between the Hebrew letters and the limbs of the
in the summer and those born in the winter. The result pre-
human body.
dicted the weather. During the Sedna feast of Baffin Island,
normal social bonds were temporarily dissolved when a ritual
The influence of the treatise was felt strongly in several
wife-exchange took place under the leadership of disguised
trends in Jewish thought. It affected the development of early
figures representing spirits. These figures were later ritually
Jewish philosophy as in the case of SaEadyah Gaon (882–
killed and then revived with a drink of water in the same way
942) and his contemporary Dunash ibn Tamim. Avraham
as killed seals were given a drink.
ibn EEzraD wrote a commentary on it, although it has since
been lost. Ashkenazic Hasidism, or German Pietists, of the
Seals and other sea animals were the basis of the exis-
early thirteenth century produced several commentaries, of
tence of nearly all Inuit. The relationship with the Sea
which three are still extant: the first by ElEazar of Worms, the
Woman was therefore important but very sensitive: she not
second falsely attributed to SaEadyah Gaon, and the third by
only controlled these animals, they originated from her.
Elh:anan ben Yaqar. Almost all the early qabbalists of Pro-
vence and Spain wrote commentaries in a theosophic vein;
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the important ones are those of the thirteenth-century qab-
The classic description of the Sedna cult on Baffin Island is to be
balists Yitsh:aq Sagi Nahor (also known as Yitsh:aq the Blind),
found in Franz Boas’s The Central Eskimo (1888; reprint,
E
Lincoln, Nebr., 1964). Boas has also published the only ref-
AzriDel of Gerona, and Moses Nahmanides. According to the
erence to the Sea Woman by Inuit from Alaska in his article
German pietists and some qabbalists, the permutations of
“Notes on the Eskimo of Port Clarence, Alaska,” Journal of
letters and holy names discussed in Sefer yetsirah may be used
American Folklore 7 (1894): 205–208. Erik Holtved analyzed
by initiates to create a golem, or humanoid creature. The me-
the variants of the Sea Woman myth through the use of the
dieval qabbalists also developed elaborate theories of the sefi-
historical-geographical method in his article “The Eskimo
rot as divine manifestations.
Myth about the Sea-Woman: A Folkloristic Sketch,” Folk
8/9 (1966–1967): 145–153. A structural analysis of the
In the second half of the thirteenth century, Sefer yet-
myth can be found in Rémi Savard’s piece “La déesse sous-
sirah became the starting point of the ecstatic Qabbalah of
marine des Eskimos,” in Échanges et communications: Mé-
Avraham Abulafia, who was influenced by Barukh Togrami’s
langes offerts à Claude Lévi-Strauss, vol. 2, edited by Jean
highly esoteric commentary Mafteh:ot ha-Qabbalah (Keys of
Pouillon and Pierre Maranda (The Hague, 1970),
the Qabbalah). The most important of Abulafia’s several
pp. 1331–1355. John F. Fisher’s article “An Analysis of the
treatises on Sefer yetsirah is Otsar Eeden ganuz (Bodleian
Central Eskimo Sedna Myth,” Temenos (Helsinki) 11
Manuscript 1580). The techniques of letter combination de-
(1975): 27–42, includes a summary of previous analyses of
scribed in Sefer yetsirah were developed by Abulafia and his
the Sedna myth.
school for use in ecstatic practices.
INGE KLEIVAN (1987)
The commentary of the fourteenth-century Spanish
qabbalist Yosef ben Shalom Ashkenazi, erroneously attribut-
ed in print to Avraham ben David of Posquières, is a classic
SEFER YETSIRAH (Book of creation) is an ancient
work that influenced the “practical Qabbalah” of Isaac Luria.
Jewish cosmogonical and cosmological treatise that forms
MeDir ibn Avi Sahula compiled in 1331 a lengthy and eclectic
part of the literature of Qabbalah; falsely attributed to Abra-
commentary (Rome-Angelica Manuscript 45). Since the fif-
ham the patriarch and to EAqivaD ben Yosef, a second-century
teenth century only a few commentaries have been com-
tanna. Composed of six short chapters, it describes God’s
posed, notably those of Mosheh Cordovero in the sixteenth
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8222
SEIDEL, ANNA KATHARINA
century and Eliyyahu ben Shelomoh Zalman (known as the
She moved to Kyoto and lived there until her death twenty-
Vilna Gaon) in the eighteenth century.
two years later, with interludes in the United States as a visit-
ing professor at the University of Hawai’i in 1978 and at the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1988.
Aloni, N. “Ha-shit:ah ha-angramatit shel ha-millonut ha-Eivrit be-
In Kyoto, Seidel worked at the École Française
sefer yetsirah,” and “Sefer yetsirah nusah: Rasag be-tsurat
d’Extrême-Orient’s Institut du Ho¯bo¯girin with colleague
megillah mi-genizat Qahir,” and “Zeman h:ibbur sefer yet-
sirah.” In Temirin, 2 vols., edited by Israel Weinstock. Jeru-
Hubert Durt, where they continued Paul Demiéville’s work
salem, 1972–1980.
redacting the Ho¯bo¯girin, a multivolume encyclopedic work
of Sino-Japanese Buddhist terms. In addition to her editorial
Epstein, Abraham. Mi-qadmoniyyot ha-Yehudim. Jerusalem, 1957.
See pages 38–46, 179–225.
work, Seidel contributed several articles to this encyclopedia,
a testament to her expertise and interest in Buddhism. Seidel
Gruenwald, Ithamar. “A Preliminary Critical Edition of Sefer Yez-
originally had been attracted to Buddhist studies as a topic
ira.” Israel Oriental Studies 1 (1971): 132–177.
for her graduate training. However, when she arrived in Paris
Scholem, Gershom. On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism. New
she found that the most dynamic and relatively untouched
York, 1965. See pages 158–204.
field in Sinology was Daoism, and Paris had become the cen-
Scholem, Gershom. Les origines de la Kabbale. Paris, 1966. See
ter of Daoist studies. It is for her work in Daoism that Seidel
pages 33–44.
achieved her international reputation. Seidel’s mentors, Max
Séd, Nicolas. “Le Memar samaritain: Le Sefer Yesira et les trente-
Kaltenmark and Rolf A. Stein, were leaders in this field, and
deux sentiers de la Sagesse.” Revue de l’histoire des religions
Seidel quickly became a key figure in securing the preemi-
170 (1960): 159–184.
nence of the French school in Daoist studies.
Vajda, Georges. “Nouveaux fragments arabes du commentaire de
Dunash B. Tamin.” Revue des études juives 113 (1954):
Seidel’s contributions were made in conjunction with
37–61.
a radical redefinition of Daoism. In the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, Daoism was understood to have two
Vajda, Georges. “Deux nouveaux fragments arabes du com-
forms. One was the much admired, pure “philosophical
mentaire de Dunas B. Tamim.” Revue des études juives 122
(1963): 149–162.
Daoism” of Laozi and Zhuangzi, consisting of whimsical, en-
gaging stories and a poetic, mystical vision of the cosmos.
Vajda, Georges. “SaEadya commentateur du Livre de la Création.”
The other was deemed superstitious, the “religious Daoism”
In Mélanges Georges Vajda, edited by G. E. Weil, pp. 37–69.
Hildesheim, 1982.
of imperial China, with esoteric ritual and “demon worship,”
which scholars disdained to study. Frequently this “debased
Weinstock, Israel. “Le-verur ha-nusah shel sefer yetsirah” and “Le-
Daoism” was not distinguished from the loosely organized
havharat ofyo shel sefer yetsirah.” In Temirin, 2 vols., edited
and largely illiterate popular religious tradition. Beginning
by Israel Weinstock. Jerusalem, 1972–1980.
with the pioneering work of Henri Maspero in the 1920s,
MOSHE IDEL (1987)
which was based on careful study of the hitherto ignored
Daoist canon, Daoism came to be seen as a complex, coher-
ent, integrated religion in which both religious and philo-
sophical aspects were intertwined, forming what Seidel later
SEIDEL, ANNA KATHARINA. Anna K. Seidel
called the “native high religion of China.” Seidel’s doctoral
(1938–1991) was an eminent sinologist and international
thesis, “La divinisation de Lao-tseu dans le taoïsme des Han”
authority on Daoism. Seidel was born in Berlin and raised
(The deification of Laozi in Han dynasty Daoism, 1969) is
primarily in Munich. Although the family was Roman Cath-
a powerful and influential study based on Han documents
olic, one of Seidel’s grandparents was Jewish and her parents
that demonstrates this approach. It shows a pivotal develop-
sheltered two Jewish friends amid the dangers of Nazi Ger-
ment in the history of Daoism: the transformation of the
many. This made a strong impression on Seidel, shaping a
sage Laozi into a god. In addition to revealing the impor-
commitment to tolerance and to an international, rather
tance and centrality of Laozi as a deity, Seidel wrote seminal
than specifically national, identity. Her family was also the
articles about another key but unstudied aspect of Daoism,
setting for her first, albeit informal, introduction to Chinese
the messianic teachings and millenarian appeal of Daoist
culture: a Korean boarder in the Seidel home taught Anna
schools. Seidel described the elaborate organization of the
to write Chinese characters and rigorously drilled her on cor-
“Taocracy” of early imperial China that combined Daoism
rect forms. Formal sinological training began at the Universi-
with the workings of state, as well as the important role of
ty of Munich (1958–1960) and the University of Hamburg
Daoism throughout imperial China as a more personal, often
(1960–1961). Seidel was the recipient of a prestigious Stu-
salvific religion that provided a means to cope with death and
dienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes scholarship award, and
uncertainty.
in 1961 she moved to Paris for graduate studies. She trained
from 1961 to 1968 at the École Pratique des Hautes Études
Seidel’s fresh approach was captured in the entry on
at the Collège de France. In 1969 Seidel was made a member
“Taoism” in the fifteenth edition of the Encyclopaedia Bri-
of the École Française d’Extrême-Orient in Kyoto, Japan.
tannica (1974). In addition to demonstrating the important
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SELK’NAM RELIGION
8223
developments in Daoism, the article emphasized the comple-
Seidel, Anna K. “Buying One’s Way to Heaven: The Celestial
mentary, rather than antagonistic, relationship of Confu-
Treasury in Chinese Religions.” History of Religions 17
cianism and Daoism. Seidel showed that both drew on an
(1978): 419–431.
ancient Chinese cosmology and religiosity that posits the
Seidel, Anna K., and Holmes Welch, eds. Facets of Taoism: Essays
harmonious, organic working between the human realm and
in Chinese Religion. New Haven, 1979.
heaven and earth, mediated by the ruler; the cyclic nature of
Seidel, Anna K. “Taoist Messianism” Numen 31, no. 2 (1983):
change and transformation of the cosmos; and the veneration
161–174.
of and protection afforded by ancestors. Other aspects of
Seidel, Anna K. “Imperial Treasures and Taoist Sacraments” In
Daoism, such as the ecstatic states described in the Zhuangzi
Tantric and Taoist Studies in Honor of Rolf A. Stein, edited
and the meditation and self-perfection exercises of later
by Michel Strickmann, vol. 2, pp. 291–371. Brussels, 1981–
schools, had roots in ancient shamanic practices and ideas of
1983.
bodily and mental self-perfection. In her work, Seidel dem-
Seidel, Anna K. “Post-mortem Immorality, or the Taoist Resur-
onstrated the profound but often subtle influence of Daoism
rection of Body.” In Gilgul: Essays on Transformation, Revolu-
on Chinese culture, including Daoism’s interaction with the
tion, and Permanence in the History of Religions, edited by
imported Indian tradition of Buddhism. Seidel’s work was
Shaul Shaked, David Dean Shulman, Gedaliahu A. G.
based on a thorough examination of documents that she ana-
Stroumsa, dedicated to J. Zwi Werblowsky, pp. 223–237.
lyzed in the appropriate historical and cultural context, occa-
Leiden, 1987.
sionally drawing connections to contemporary phenomena.
Seidel, Anna K. “Chronicle of Taoist Studies in the West 1950–
Seidel not only promoted Sinology, but was passionate
1990.” Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 5 (1989–1990): 223–347.
about cooperation between colleagues of different nationali-
Seidel, Anna K. “Mountains and Hells: Religious Geography in
ties and the formation of a truly international scholarly com-
Japanese Mandara Paintings.” Studies in Central and East
munity. To that end, her residence in Kyoto was famous as
Asian Religions 5–6 (1992–1993): 122–133.
a haven and meeting place for young scholars from Europe,
Seidel, Anna K. Taoismus, die inoffizielle Hochreligion Chinas.
North America, and Asia. Seidel would encourage and assist
Tokyo, 1990. Translated into English as “Taoism: The Un-
young colleagues, often lending materials from her private
official High Religion of China.” Taoist Resources 7, no. 2
library. She participated in the Bellagio conference on Dao-
(1997): 39–72. Translated into French as “Taoïsme, religion
ism in 1968, and the Tateshina conference in 1972, events
non-officielle de la Chine.” Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 8 (1995):
that saw a gathering of Daoist experts from around the globe.
1–39.
With Holmes Welch, to whom she was briefly married, Sei-
Seidel, Anna K. “Descente aux enfers et redemption des femmes
del co-edited a volume of essays that grew from the Tateshina
dans le bouddhisme populaire japonais—le pèlerinage du
conference, Facets of Taoism (1979). In 1985, Seidel founded
Mont Tateyama.” Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 9 (1996-1997):
Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie, a highly regarded French and English
1–14.
bilingual journal published by École Française d’Extrême-
An extensive bibliography of Seidel’s works is found with her obit-
Orient. An express aim of this journal was to bring together
uary by Fabrizio Pregadio in Taoist Resources 3, no. 2 (1992):
the scholarly communities from various continents. Seidel
67–71. Another comprehensive list of her works appears in
exemplified this in her own work, writing eloquently in Ger-
Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 8 (1995): xix–xxi. Among the twenty
man, English, French, and Japanese. She continued making
obituaries in scholarly journals, those published in Numen
scholarly contributions up until the end of her life, despite
38, no. 2 (1991): 283–284 and the Japanese Journal of Reli-
serious illness. Her “Chronicle of Taoist Studies in the West
gious Studies 17, no. 1 (1992): 1–3, are most easily accessible.
1950–1990” was issued in print weeks before her untimely
A more personal account of Seidel’s work and life is Phyllis
Brook Schafer’s “Discovering a Religion,” Taoist Resources 4,
death in San Francisco in 1991 at age 53; “Mountains and
no. 2 (1993): 1–8.
Hells: Religious Geography in Japanese Mandara Paintings”
and other articles were published posthumously.
JENNIFER OLDSTONE-MOORE (2005)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Seidel, Anna K. La divinisation de Lao tseu dans le taoïsme des Han.
Paris, 1969; reprinted 1992.
SELK’NAM RELIGION. The Selk’nam (also known
as the Ona) inhabited the largest island of the Tierra del
Seidel, Anna K. “A Taoist Immortal of the Ming Dynasty: Chang
San-feng.” In Self and Society in Ming Thought, edited by W.
Fuego archipelago, the Isla Grande. The population of the
Theodore de Bary, pp. 483–531. New York and London,
Selk’nam and their neighbors the Haush (Mánekenka), who
1970.
lived in the southeastern tip of the island and had a similar
Seidel, Anna K. “The Image of the Perfect Ruler in Early Taoist
culture, was estimated by Martin Gusinde (1931) at approxi-
Messianism: Lao tzu and Li Hung.” History of Religions 9
mately four thousand in 1880. During the final decades of
(1969/1970): 216–247.
the nineteenth century most of the Indians either were
Seidel, Anna K., and Michel Strickmann. “Taoism.” In Encyclo-
slaughtered by the white colonizers or died of diseases
paedia Britannica, 15th ed., vol. 17, pp. 1034–1044. Chica-
brought by them. In 1919 Gusinde (1931) counted 279
go, 1974.
Selk’nam and Haush. Fifteen years later, following several
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

8224
SELK’NAM RELIGION
epidemics, there were fewer than one hundred. When this
Because the world has become what it is, Moon has not
author first went to Tierra del Fuego in 1965 there were
forgiven the men for provoking her downfall and the de-
about fifteen Selk’nam and Haush, including the mestizos.
struction of the matriarchy over which she reigned as the all-
In 1985 there were four, all of whom spoke fluent Spanish
powerful matron. Even as late as the nineteenth century
and three of whom also had some knowledge of the Selk’nam
when the moon entered into an eclipse, the men were wary,
language. This author had the privilege of working, as an eth-
frightened, and even fraught with anguish. The reddish tint
nologist, with the last woman shaman, Lola Kiepja, who died
of the moon was interpreted as a sign of the blood of the men
October 9, 1966, and during the years that followed with
who were to be killed in coming battles and whose deaths
many of the remaining Selk’nam.
were part of her vengeance. The shamans were thought to
The Selk’nam and the Haush were strictly a land-bound
know by means of their dreams when such an eclipse was to
people. They were seminomadic hunters. Their most valued
occur. The spirits (wáiuwen) of the shamans soared into the
game was the guanaco, genetically related to the llama, vicu-
heavens to visit her and to discover upon whom her wrath
ña, and alpaca. As the Indians were frequently on the move,
was to fall. Male shamans were in special danger of being
they used guanaco skins lashed to poles and trees for shelter,
“seized by the Moon,” for she considered them to have
though on occasion they built log huts in the form of tipis.
caused her disgrace.
They divided their island into a number of territories, called
During an eclipse the people who lived nearby gathered
haruwen, that were occupied by patrilinear and patrilocal
to appease Moon’s anger. If there were no shaman in camp
exogamic lineages. Each haruwen was associated with one of
during an eclipse, the people extinguished the fires in their
the four cardinal points, called shó’on (“sky”). These were
dwellings and simply huddled under their guanaco capes
also exogamic units. Although the boundaries of each haru-
until the danger passed, remaining silent or speaking only in
wen were well known, they were not always respected. Tres-
whispers. When a shaman was present he ordered them to
passing was one of the main causes of conflict among the
extinguish the domestic fires and to gather around him. The
Selk’nam. Another cause for contention was vengeance for
shaman daubed a red circle of paint on each cheek to repre-
the death of a kinsman alleged to have been killed by the su-
sent the moon. He also donned a special headdress made of
pernatural power of a shaman of some other haruwen.
the feathers of a certain hawk. Meanwhile the women paint-
The Selk’nam language is related to that of the Tehuel-
ed their bodies red and drew a white stripe across their faces
che Indians, former inhabitants of the Patagonian mainland
from ear to ear, under the nose. While the women made
just north of the Strait of Magellan. The language spoken by
sweeping movements toward the moon with long sticks or
the Haush has not yet been classified.
with their guanaco capes to drive away the eclipse, to appease
Moon they chanted, “Beautiful heart. Ample face.” Then the
The oral tradition of the Selk’nam and Haush was ex-
shaman sang to prepare his spirit to soar to Moon’s sanctu-
tremely rich and vital. What is termed mythology and sha-
ary, imitating the call of the hawk as it flies high into the sky,
manism were to them not only explanations or symbolic in-
just as the shaman’s spirit traveled through the nocturnal
terpretations of the why and how of “being in the world,”
heavens to Moon’s abode. As he felt his spirit soaring, he re-
but were also inspirations that generated inquiries, stimu-
peatedly chanted, “Let us go to the Daughter of the Sky.”
lated new questions, and revived debate on old ones in the
Moon awaited the arrival of the shamans’ spirits. If she dis-
group’s constant search for comprehension of the ordering
dained a shaman, his spirit would be drawn into her shadow,
and contradictions of the intangible cosmos and its tangible
beneath her knees, and the shaman on earth would know
earthly manifestations.
that he was doomed to perish in an approaching combat. He
MYTHOLOGY. It is not surprising that Selk’nam and Haush
would lament his fate, chanting, “Moon has my headdress
mythology concerns itself with origins, of which the foun-
beneath her knees.” In protest, the women would insult her,
tainhead is Pémaulk, or Témaukel, whom Gusinde identi-
singing, “Moon—burnt face. Moon—face full of rage”
fied with the supreme being. Unlike the God of the Judeo-
(Chapman, 1972, chants nos. 5 and 32, and 1982, p. 73).
Christian tradition, Témaukel is an abstract concept.
RITUAL. During the great ceremony called Hain, which
Though Témaukel is the source of all that exists, it is not an
sometimes lasted a year or even longer, the young men
anthropomorphic deity, and therefore it is not accessible to
(klóketen) were initiated into adult life. All the men had to
expressions of human aspirations and feelings.
be initiated and were obliged to submit to the ordeals and
Some of the more tangible subjects of the oral traditions
hardships of at least one, or even two or three, separate cere-
are personages of the previous, prehuman epoch (hóowin);
monies—that is, until the elders were satisfied with their out-
these superhuman immortals subsequently became trans-
ward and inward signs of maturity. The Hain ceremony also
formed into elements of nature. Moon, as a mighty shaman
sought to reinforce male dominance over the women. The
and incontestable leader of the matriarchy, is the dominant
men’s power, the patriarchy, was thought to derive not from
figure of the prehuman epoch; she survives as the actual
legitimacy of any kind, but rather from the fact that the men
moon, the symbol of the female threat to the male domina-
were in control of the secret that the superhuman men of leg-
tion of society, that is, of the dangers of a revival or resur-
endary times (of hóowin) had wrested from the women. This
gence of the mythological matriarchy of the hóowin epoch.
had taken place at the time when the formidable male sha-
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SELK’NAM RELIGION
8225
mans shattered the matriarchy, forcing the great female lead-
a lament of the “sky” (shó’on) with which they were associat-
er and shaman, Moon, to flee to the heavens and killing all
ed. While chanting, mourners at times would lacerate their
the women in the ceremonial hut, that is, all the females ex-
bodies with sharpened stones or mussel shells until they bled
cept for the young uninitiated girls and babies who were not
profusely. Another sign of mourning was the shaved crown
in the hut.
of the head. Individuals might chant and lacerate themselves
for months or even several years following the death of a
The “secret” the men thought they were keeping from
loved one, especially a son or daughter. When someone well
the women was that the spirits who appeared in the Hain
known died, fires would be lit as signals to neighbors to come
ceremony were not supernatural, but only men disguised by
and participate in the ritual, and if the deceased had been a
masks and paints. All the spirits, male and female alike, were
renowned shaman or hunter, part of the bush or forest would
impersonated by the men except for the terrifying female
be set on fire to show that his land too was mourning.
from the underworld, Xálpen, a being reputed to be half flesh
and half rock, human-eating, voracious, and raging. From
The corpse was usually buried near the dwellings, but
within the ceremonial hut the men voiced her cries and the
with no external evidence of the tomb on the surface of the
groans she made when she gave birth to a beautiful creature,
ground. The site was respectfully avoided for some time.
the baby K’terrnen. Only rarely did Xálpen emerge from the
Also, the name of the deceased was not pronounced for years
ceremonial hut onto the “stage” in view of the women, and
following his or her death. Although Gusinde (1931) states
then always as an effigy (constructed of bows tied together
that the soul (kaspi) of the dead joined the supreme being,
to form a large oblong shape that was filled with branches,
Témaukel, beyond the stars, my informants declared that the
grass, and weeds to give it body and covered with guanaco
soul achieved a new being in the realms of the “skies” of in-
hides). The men would push this “monster” onto the stage
finity, the sky with which the deceased had been associated
to overawe the women. But all was not frightening to the
in life.
women. For instance, they chanted with joy when the baby
The last SelkDnam shaman, Lola Kiepja, sang these
K’terrnen (in reality a slim klóketen disguised with down
words the year she died: “I follow the trail . . . of those who
pasted to his body and to his mask) appeared on the stage.
departed. . . . I want to speak of the cordillera [Span.,
They also were much amused by other frequently repeated
”mountain range“]. . . . Those of infinity gave it [power]
scenes, such as that of the faithless wife, the lovely Kula (also
to me. I receive it. . . . They speak beautifully, they of in-
a young klóketen), who descended from the heavens to be
finity of Ham-nia [the cordillera of infinity of the western
wooed by excited admirers, much to the chagrin of her pitiful
sky]” (Chapman, 1972, chants nos. 1 and 3).
husband, Koshmink, whose frenzies of jealousy provoked
SHAMANISM. The shamans (xo’on) were held in great esteem
laughter and derision among the women.
for their curing abilities and supernatural power, called wáiu-
The religious content of this ceremony may not be ap-
wen. But they were also feared, especially those reputed to
parent from this very brief description, nor in the long, mi-
possess the faculty of throwing a sickness a great distance or
nutely detailed account of it provided by Gusinde (1931),
provoking instant death simply by staring at a victim. Al-
but it is implicit in his study and is revealed by the informa-
though all the shamans could cure by drawing sickness out
tion given the author of this article by some of the last
of the body of the patient, not all could “kill” or inflict ill-
Selk’nam (Chapman, 1982). It consists in the conviction of
nesses. Very few female shamans had such power, and most
the women that the Hain spirits were real, even though they
were exclusively dedicated to curing.
may well have known that the men were impersonating them
Before beginning to perform, the shamans would don
(they were very cautious not to reveal their knowledge to the
special headgear made of guanaco hide adorned with feathers
men). And the men also believed in the spirits. In the case
of certain birds and decorate their faces with painted designs.
of one very important spirit—Shoort, the husband of Xál-
Supernatural power, wáiuwen, took possession of them only
pen—the “actor” had to perform certain rituals before dis-
when they achieved a trance state, which was induced by self-
guising himself. That is, the ceremony was not simply an ini-
hypnosis, through chanting and concentration. No stimu-
tiation ritual and a hoax to fool the women and justify the
lants were employed. Once they were in a trance, their sing-
patriarchy, it was also an enactment, a representation, of sa-
ing and body movements would become almost automatic.
cred nature, and it was taken very seriously by all the partici-
Experienced shamans would usually require thirty to forty
pants, despite its moments of profane hilarity. The Hain cer-
minutes to produce this state of mind. During the séances,
emony is a beautiful example of the immense range of
they would jump and leap about, pounding their feet and
feelings and sentiments, of ritual and dramatic actions, a
even fists on the ground, vigorously shaking their fur capes
symbolic system can create.
to increase the excitement and as a kind of accompaniment
The mourning ritual was another expression of religious
to their chants. This sort of extreme tension, however, did
faith. As the living grieved the loss of a beloved one, they
not last for the entire period of the trance. In order to cure,
darkened their bodies with black paint made from coals of
the shamans had to pay strict attention to their patients.
the fire and chanted laments that each adult inherited from
Other than provoking death and curing, the shamans
a near kinsman. Moreover, mourners had the right to chant
were expected to control the weather. Moreover, the male
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8226
SEMANTICS
shamans were solicited to predict the outcome of a feud or
SEE ALSO Tehuelche Religion.
combat and to aid in the hunt. Certain shamans achieved
great fame by attracting whales to shore and killing them
BIBLIOGRAPHY
with invisible arrows. Others could bewitch guanacos, cer-
Beauvoir, José M. Los shelknam, indígenas de la Tierra del Fuego.
tain birds, and seals, and even create an abundance of mussels
Buenos Aires, 1915.
or fish.
Bridges, E. Lucas. Uttermost Part of the Earth. London, 1948.
The shamans were highly competitive and challenged
Chapman, Anne. “Lola.” Natural History 53 (1971): 33–41.
one another to ordeals, each attempting to demonstrate the
Chapman, Anne. Descriptive notes and translations for Selk’nam
superior power of their wáiuwen. There were several sorts of
(Ona) Chants of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina: Forty-Seven Sha-
ordeals, but only the most expert and daring male shamans
man Chants and Laments. Folkway Records, FE 4176. Can-
would venture to perform the ordeal of the arrow called
tometric analysis by Alan Lomax. New York, 1972.
Kuash-metchen. The shaman, having achieved a trance state,
Chapman, Anne. Drama and Power in a Hunting Society: The
concentrates on his body, more specifically, on “preparing”
Selk Dnam of Tierra del Fuego. Cambridge, 1982.
the canal through which he is to insert the arrow (made en-
Cooper, John M. Analytical and Critical Bibliography of the Tribes
tirely of wood and smaller than those used in the hunt).
of Tierra del Fuego and Adjacent Territory. Bureau of Ameri-
Completely naked, he massages himself as he chants. When
can Ethnology Bulletin, vol. 63. Washington, D.C., 1917.
he feels ready, he pierces himself with the arrow just below
Gallardo, Carlos R. Tierra del Fuego: Los Onas. Buenos Aires,
the collar bone and cautiously draws the arrow under his
1910.
skin, diagonally across his chest, removing it at his waist. Or
Gusinde, Martin. Die Feuerland Indianer, vol. 1, Die Selk Dnam.
he might insert the arrow on one side of his waist and move
Mödling, 1931. Translated as Los indios de Tierra del Fuego
it across his body, extracting it at the opposite side. While
(Buenos Aires, 1982).
performing the feat he chants repeatedly “My body is in
Lothrop, Samuel K. The Indians of Tierra del Fuego. New York,
darkness. I am myself piercing it with an arrow.” (Lola Kiep-
1928.
ja recorded this chant; see Chapman, 1972, chant no. 22.)
Wilbert, Johannes. Folk Literature of the Selknam Indians: Martin
Though the competing shamans would not necessarily meet
Gusinde’s Collection of Selknam Narratives. Berkeley, Calif.,
nor perform at the same time, this feat had to be witnessed
1975.
by a public. Of the three shamans whom my informants had
New Sources
seen or heard about performing the ordeal, one died from
Bierhorst, John. The Mythology of South America. New York,
the wounds shortly thereafter.
1988.
The shamans, even the most renowned, did not form
Borrego, Lius Alberto. “Pristine Archaeologists and the Settlement
of the Southern South America.” Antiquity 66 (September
a privileged sector of society, and neither did the “fathers and
1992): 768–771.
mothers of láiluka” (the sages) nor the “fathers [chan-ain]
and mothers [chan-am] of the word” (the prophets). The
Borrego, Luis Alberto. Los Selk’nam (Onas): Evolución Cultural en
la Isla Grand Tierro del Fuego. Buenos Aires, 1991.
sages were specialists in the tradition called láiluka, which
consisted of the myths of origin, accounts of supernatural he-
ANNE CHAPMAN (1987)
roes, and of other “events” that took place during the hóowin
Revised Bibliography
epoch. The prophets had knowledge of the more mystical
tradition, which was concerned with the more abstract sym-
bols, such as the “skies” and the “invisible cordilleras.” More-
SEMANTICS conveniently divides into two branches,
over, they were deemed capable of predicting the future of
the theory of designation and/or denotation and the theory
the local group and of the society as a whole. According to
of meaning. The former constitutes extensional, the latter in-
my data, in the last half of the nineteenth century, the proph-
tensional semantics. Both branches are thus parts of the mod-
ets were also shamans or sages and some were both. The
ern trivium of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, which is
prophets were at the summit of the prestige hierarchy, but
often called “logical semiotics” for short. Semiotics is in fact
like the shamans and the sages they received little or no mate-
modern logic in full dress, and is thought by many, especially
rial compensations, and they performed the same tasks as
perhaps at Oxford University, to occupy a central place in
others of their sex. The societies of the SelkDnam and the
the study of the liberal arts. Syntax is the theory of signs as
Haush, though highly individualistic and competitive, were,
such and how they are interrelated to form longer signs,
on this level, egalitarian.
phrases, sentences, texts, and so on. In semantics, signs are
The religion (mythology, shamanism, and rituals) can
interrelated in one way or another with the objects for which
be analyzed in terms of a coherently articulated symbolic sys-
they stand. And in pragmatics the user of language is brought
tem. Though constantly modified, their religious system
in fundamentally, as well as the various relations that he or
maintained a traditional structure and also the basic concepts
she bears to signs and combinations of signs in particular oc-
that probably formed part of a millenarian tradition charac-
casions of use.
teristic of other indigenous groups in America, and in Asia
Signs are often understood in a broader, nonlinguistic
as well, and of archaic cultures the world around.
sense to allow for “natural” signs, human artifacts, 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

SEN, KESHAB CHANDRA
8227
like. Thus a weathercock is a sign that the wind is blowing
prototype of the Indian intellectual who adjusted to the in-
in a certain direction, smoke is a sign of fire, a stop sign on
trusion of the West into Indian society in the second half of
the highway is a sign to the driver, and so on. The study of
the nineteenth century. He graduated from Hindu College,
nonlinguistic signs harks back to the medieval period and in
Calcutta, in 1856, and shortly thereafter came under the in-
the nineteenth century was given a considerable boost by the
fluence of Debendranath Tagore, the leader of the Bra¯hmo
work of the American philosopher C. S. Peirce. Even so, it
Sama¯j. Sen became one of the most ardent advocates of social
has not yet achieved the exactitude of logical semiotics and,
and religious change, arguing for the eradication of untouch-
pending such a development, remains somewhat contro-
ability, the breaking of caste barriers, the education of
versial.
women, and the ending of child marriage. He was also an
Designation is the fundamental relation between a sign
advocate of vocational education as a means for improving
and what it stands for. In the theory of meaning, much more
the economic condition of the people. One of his innova-
is taken into account. Thus, in Frege’s famous example, the
tions was the use of cheap, popular literature to spread his
phrases “the morning star” and “the evening star” designate
ideas; he started at least a dozen journals, including maga-
the same object, the planet Venus, but differ considerably in
zines for women, a children’s paper, and a daily newspaper.
meaning. What is meaning? No easy answer is forthcoming.
It was, however, as an orator on religious themes and as an
In any adequate theory of it, however, account should surely
organizer of branches of the Bra¯hmo Sama¯j throughout India
be taken of the contexts, linguistic and nonlinguistic alike,
that he was best known.
in which signs or expressions are used, including, where
In 1870 Sen went to England, where he met many of
needed, reference to the user.
the great figures of the time, including John Stuart Mill, Wil-
A detailed history of semantical concepts, and of the
liam Gladstone, and Queen Victoria. His popularity in En-
broader domain of semiotical concepts, has not yet been
gland rested in part on two themes that became central to
written. Especially important here is the material in book 2
his preaching and writing. One was an emphasis on Christ
of Augustine’s On Christian Doctrine and book 4 of Peter
as the greatest of religious teachers; the other was his declara-
Lombard’s Book of Sentences that sustains the doctrine of sac-
tion that the British conquest of India was intended by God
ramental theology even to the present day. The contributions
to help India “in the path of moral, social, and political refor-
of the Scholastic logicians also constitute a rich mine of ma-
mation.” He was, however, one of the first to suggest that
terial that has not yet been sufficiently studied from a mod-
the West must also learn from India: “Let modern England
ern point of view. Logical semiotics, including semantics, has
teach hard science and fact; let ancient India teach sweet po-
an important role to play in the study of the languages of the-
etry and sentiment.”
ology, both those of fundamental theory and of particular re-
Sen gradually came into conflict with Tagore and the
ligions.
older members of the Sama¯j, for whereas they insisted that
it was a movement within Hinduism and did not involve a
BIBLIOGRAPHY
break with traditional values and customs, he argued that the
Bochenski, Joseph M. A History of Formal Logic. Notre Dame,
Sama¯j was outside Hinduism and was meant to unite all peo-
Ind., 1961.
ple in a universal brotherhood. In 1866 he took many of its
Deely, John. Introducing Semiotics: Its History and Doctrines.
members into a new organization which he called the
Bloomington, Ind., 1982.
Bra¯hmo Sama¯j of India. In 1878 the group divided again
Martin, R. M. Truth and Denotation: A Study in Semantical Theo-
when Sen, who had preached for years against child mar-
ry. Chicago, 1958.
riage, married his thirteen-year-old daughter to the Hindu
Martin, R. M. Semiotics and Linguistic Structure. Albany, N. Y.,
prince of Cooch Behar, a small princely state. Many of
1978.
Keshab’s followers left him to form a new organization, the
Sa¯dha¯ran Bra¯hmo Sama¯j.
New Sources
Houben, Han, Jac van Wout, and Ineke Sluiter, eds. The Emer-
For years Sen had been studying the teachings of the
gence of Semantics in Four Linguistic Traditions; Hebrew, San-
world religions, and in 1881 he proclaimed what he called
skrit, Greek, Arabic. Amsterdam, 1997.
the New Dispensation, which was a synthesis of Hindu Tan-
R. M. MARTIN (1987)
trism, bhakti, and Christian rituals, with an emphasis on di-
Revised Bibliography
vine revelation. The New Dispensation was the successor,
Sen declared, of the earlier revelations—the Hindu, the Jew-
ish, the Christian. Another theme of his preaching during
this period was that the image of mother was a better symbol
SEMIOTICS SEE STRUCTURALISM
for the divine than the image of father, since a mother is
“tenderhearted and indulgent.”
After his death in 1884 little remained of Sen’s many
SEN, KESHAB CHANDRA (1838–1884), Indian
enterprises, but his importance is to be seen in the enormous
social and religious reformer. Sen represented for many the
appeal of his views to his generation, particularly young peo-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

8228
SENG-CHAO
ple. His vision of a new spirituality that encompassed both
less.” Through these essays Sengzhao interpreted for his
Christianity and Hinduism made it possible for Indians to
contemporaries the Ma¯dhyamika teaching that Kuma¯raj¯ıva
believe, as he put it, that there could be a “European Asia
brought to China for the first time. Historically, the essays
and an Asiatic Europe, a commingling of oriental and occi-
were formative in the thinking of the Perfection of Wisdom
dental ideas and principles” and that he had summoned “an-
(Prajña¯pa¯ramita¯) tradition during the sixth century, which
cient India to come into modern India.”
later came to be known in East Asian Buddhism as the San-
lun (Three-Treatise) tradition. These essays also show that
SEE ALSO Bra¯hmo Sama¯j.
Sengzhao, while remaining true to the core of Buddhist
teaching, utilized the insights of Daoism to expand and clari-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
fy certain problems in Buddhist texts and, conversely, uti-
Collections of Sen’s lectures are found in Keshub Chunder Sen’s
lized Buddhist texts to answer fundamental problems posed
Lectures in India, 2 vols., 4th ed. (Calcutta, 1954), and in
for him in Daoist writings. His use of a basic Daoist para-
Lectures and Tracts, edited by Sophia Dobson Collett (Lon-
digm of “origin and end” (benmo) and its variants (benji,
don, 1870). P. C. Mozoomdar’s The Life and Teachings of
Keshub Chunder Sen,
3d ed. (Calcutta, 1931) is a disciple’s
“root and trace,” and its later cousin, tiyong, “essence and
account. A modern study of Sen’s life and time is to be found
function”) eventually became the basic framework for the
in David Kopf’s The Brahmo Samaj and the Shaping of the
analysis of Buddhist doctrine beginning in the Northern and
Modern Indian Mind (Princeton, 1979). Tapan Raychaudri’s
Southern Dynasties period (420–589). Because of his inno-
Europe Reconsidered: Perceptions of the West in Nineteenth
vative attempts to bridge Indian Buddhist and Chinese con-
Century Bengal (Delhi, 1989) places Sen in the context of so-
cepts and ideals, Sengzhao remains a pivotal figure in the
cial change, as does Kenneth W. Jones in Socio-Religious Re-
transmission of Indian Buddhism to China as well as in the
form Movements in British India (Cambridge, 1989).
transformation of Buddhism into its Chinese form.
AINSLIE T. EMBREE (1987 AND 2005)
SEE ALSO Ma¯dhyamika.
SENG-CHAO
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SEE SENGZHAO
The most comprehensive work on Sengzhao is the two-volume
Jo¯ron kenkyu¯, edited by Tsukamoto Zenryu¯ (Kyoto, 1955).
See also reviews of this work by Arthur Waley in the Bulletin
SENGZHAO
of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of
(373–414), Chinese Buddhist monk of the
London) 19 (1957): 195–196, and by Paul Demiéville in
Eastern Jin period (317–420) and scholar of the first Chinese
T’oung-pao 45 (1957): 221–235. Critical analysis of Seng-
Ma¯dhyamika tradition. According to the standard biography
zhao’s essays can be found in Richard H. Robinson’s Early
in the Gaoseng zhuan (Biographies of eminent monks), Seng-
Ma¯dhyamika in India and China (Madison, Wis., 1967).
zhao was born in the vicinity of Chang’an (modern Xi’an)
Robinson’s work also contains annotated translations of
and as a young man earned his living as a transcriber and
“Wisdom Is Not Knowledge,” “Things Are Immutable,” and
copyist. Exposed in this way to the Chinese classics, he ini-
“The Emptiness of the Unreal.” Sengzhao’s fourth essay,
tially acquired a secular education. He developed a liking for
“Nirva¯n:a Is Nameless,” has been translated by Chang
the writings of Daoism, the Dao de jing and the Zhuangzi.
Chung-yüan, Journal of Chinese Philosophy 1 (1974): 247–
However, his biography states that upon reading the
274. Walter Liebenthal’s Book of Chao (Beijing, 1948) re-
Vimalak¯ırtinirde´sa Su¯tra, a text expressing the Buddhist con-
mains a serviceable introduction to the text.
cepts of emptiness (´su¯nyata¯) and nonduality, he was convert-
New Sources
ed to Buddhism and became a monk. Although his reputa-
Gregory, P. N., and Kuroda Institute. Sudden and Gradual: Ap-
tion in the Buddhist community of his day was initially
proaches to Enlightenment in Chinese Thought. Honolulu,
established as a debater, Sengzhao’s mark on Chinese Bud-
1987.
dhism and his stature as a leading Buddhist literary figure
Ichimura, Shohei. “On the Paradoxical Method of the Chinese
were fixed as a result of his association with the famed Ku-
Madhyamika: Seng-chao and the Chao-lun treatise.” Journal
chean translator of Indian Maha¯ya¯na Buddhist literature,
of Chinese Philosophy 19, no. 1 (1992): 51–71.
Kuma¯raj¯ıva (344–413). From 401, when Kuma¯raj¯ıva ar-
rived in Chang’an, Sengzhao served as one of his personal
Kuppuram, G., and K. Kumudamani. Buddhist Heritage in India
disciples and translating assistants. A gifted stylist, the author
and Abroad. Delhi, 1992.
of a commentary on the Vimalak¯ırti Su¯tra and the writer of
AARON K. KOSEKI (1987)
prefaces to Indian su¯tras and sa¯stras, Sengzhao was one of the
Revised Bibliography
most prolific Buddhist writers of his age. His fame as an in-
dependent thinker, however, rests primarily on four seminal
essays, now collected as the Zhao lun (The treatises of Seng-
zhao): “Wisdom Is Not Knowledge,” “Things Are Immuta-
SEPTUAGINT SEE BIBLICAL LITERATURE,
ble,” “The Emptiness of the Unreal,” and “Nirva¯n:a Is Name-
ARTICLE ON HEBREW SCRIPTURES
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SERGII
8229
SERAFIM OF SAROV (1759–1833) was a Russian
contemplative life. His most sublime expression of Orthodox
Orthodox priest, monk, mystic, and renowned spiritual elder
spirituality, as the remarkable Conversation with N. Mo-
(starets); born July 19, 1759 in Kursk, central European Rus-
tovilov shows, was his own personal testimony to the radiant
sia, and died January 2, 1833 at the Monastery of Sarov in
presence of the Holy Spirit.
the forests to the north. Serafim is regarded as the preemi-
nent example of Eastern Orthodox spirituality in modern
BIBLIOGRAPHY
times. In a troubling time of westernization in Russia, he
Bolshakoff, Sergius. Russian Mystics. Kalamazoo, Mich., 1977. In-
lived during and was himself part of a remarkable flowering
cludes an insightful chapter on Serafim’s life, work, and
of spirituality in Russian Orthodoxy centered around monas-
teaching based on unavailable Russian sources.
tic communities such as Sarov and Optina, a spirituality that
Evdokimoff, Paul. “Saint Seraphim of Sarov: An Icon of Ortho-
had deep roots in the Bible, the writings of the Greek fathers,
dox Spirituality.” Ecumenical Review 15 (April 1963): 264–
the celebrated Philokalia (a collection of ascetic and mystical
278.
writings of the fourth to the fifteenth century), and the sacra-
Fedotov, G. P. A Treasury of Russian Spirituality (1950). Belmont,
mental life of the Orthodox church. Serafim’s impact on his
Mass., 1975. Includes an interpretive prologue and extensive
contemporaries and his immense popularity with later gener-
excerpts from hagiographical accounts of Serafim’s life and
ations won him canonization as a saint in 1903.
work, including Conversation with N. Motovilov.
Little Russian Philokalia, vol. 1, St. Seraphim of Sarov. Platina,
There is ample information about Serafim’s life (includ-
Calif., 1980. The most extensive translation of Serafim’s
ing testimonies by eyewitnesses, fellow monks of Sarov, nuns
teaching available in English.
of Diveevo Convent of which he was spiritual patron, and
Zander, Valentine. St. Seraphim of Sarov. Crestwood, N. Y., 1975.
confidants such as N. Motovilov), but no critical edition of
the primary sources has been published. Born Prokhor
THEODORE STYLIANOPOULOS (1987)
Moshnin, Serafim was attracted to the highly spiritual life of
monasticism by virtue of a miraculous healing and other reli-
gious experiences in his youth. During a pilgrimage to the
SERGII (1867–1944), born Ivan Nikolaevich Stragorod-
Monastery of the Caves at Kiev, he was advised by a starets
skii, was a Russian Orthodox theologian and patriarch of
to enter the Monastery of Sarov, at which he subsequently
Moscow, was one of the leading advocates of church reform
became a novice (1778), was later tonsured as monk Serafim
in tsarist Russia. Among his earlier writings are The Question
(1786), and ordained a deacon in the same year. After his
of Personal Salvation (Moscow, 1895), Eternal Life as the
ordination to the priesthood (1793), he embraced the life of
Highest Good (Moscow, 1895), and contributions to Meet-
a hermit in absolute simplicity and spent most of his remain-
ings of the Religious Philosophical Society (Saint Petersburg,
ing forty years in various degrees of seclusion both without
1901–1903) and to Responses of the Diocesan Bishops (Saint
and within the Monastery of Sarov. However, during the pe-
Petersburg, 1905–1906). In 1927 Sergii formally acknowl-
riod from 1815 to 1825, he was led by what he regarded as
edged the U. S. S. R. as the true motherland of the Orthodox
divine revelation to welcome visitors and to give counsel to
people and was enthroned as patriarch in 1943 with the ap-
numerous people, whom he often greeted with the words
proval of Joseph Stalin.
“My joy!” and “Christ is risen!,” and thus himself became an
influential starets.
Sergii’s purpose in accommodating himself to the Soviet
regime was to enable the church to achieve at least a minimal
A man of profound prayer and rare spiritual gifts of dis-
visibility during the time of the Soviet holocaust. In signing
cernment, healing, and prophecy, Serafim’s presence was
the controversial Declaration of Loyalty in 1927, he agreed
marked by radiant joy, peace, and love that does not seek its
to publish a clear and unambiguous statement of loyalty to
own. He was a child of traditional monasticism and yet
the Soviet regime, to exclude from church administration
“transcended monasticism” (Paul Evdokimoff). His spiritu-
those hierarchs and clergy whom the government deemed
ality was thoroughly biblical, trinitarian, and Christocentric,
unacceptable, as well as those who had emigrated abroad,
based on the Jesus Prayer and the reading of the Gospels. Al-
and to establish defined relations with organs of the Soviet
though he adopted austere monastic disciplines, he coun-
government. His declaration immediately caused confusion
seled others to practice ascetic labors according to their
and schism within the church in Russia, for millions of the
strength and to make the flesh a friend in performing virtues.
faithful, together with many leading bishops and clergy who
He valued devotional practices and good works, but he
were not yet in prison, refused to accept it.
taught that the essence of the Christian life, which he insisted
The regime did not repay Sergii with freedom for the
was one and the same for all, was the experience of the grace
church. Instead, the church was subjected to repeated waves
of the Holy Spirit enkindling the heart with divine fire.
of persecution (1929–1930, 1932–1934, and 1936–1939),
His brief work, Instructions, consisting of notes set down
each more devastating than the last. By 1940, when Russia
by the monks of Sarov, reflects the traditional teachings of
lay broken and exhausted by the Stalinist revolution, only a
the Eastern church fathers on such subjects as prayer, guard-
few of the prerevolutionary churches remained open and
ing the heart from evil, solitude, silence, and the active and
only a fraction of their clergy remained alive and at liberty.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

8230
SERGII OF RADONEZH
Sergii gambled that the Soviet system would either col-
to the Muscovite village of Radonezh. In search of the ascetic
lapse or moderate enough to permit the church to function
life, he persuaded his already tonsured brother Stephen to
as an autonomous institution in accordance with canonical
venture with him into the neighboring forests. The severity
norms. In the meantime, he publicly denied that the church
of their life as hermits caused Stephen to withdraw within
was being persecuted and became a subservient supporter of
the year. For the succeeding two or three years (c. 1345–
Soviet propaganda.
1348), Sergii tested his vocation alone. However, news of the
Soviet attitudes toward the church softened in 1939 and
solitary spread, and he attracted a company of independent
1940 for two reasons. In 1939, as a result of the Stalin-Hitler
monks around the wooden Trinity Church he had erected
pact of mutual nonaggression, the U.S.S.R. annexed eastern
with his brother. In about 1353 Sergii accepted abbacy and
Poland, which contained a substantial Orthodox population.
the priesthood.
Persecution diminished as the regime sought to utilize the
Soon Sergii received a missive from the patriarch of
church in integrating the newly acquired population into the
Constantinople urging him to establish a community rule
U.S.S.R. Further, in 1941, Germany attacked the U.S.S.R.
and thus to transform an essentially idiorrhythmic monastery
and quickly overran large land masses. In the occupied areas
into a cenobitic one. Although Sergii’s monastery may not
the church speedily revived, and Stalin knew that Sergii was
have been the first Russian monastery of the early Muscovite
the only one who might be counted upon to defend Mos-
period to accept such a transformation (c. 1356), it was to
cow’s interests behind German lines.
be the most influential in so doing. It provided the model
In 1942, Sergii published The Truth about Religion in
(and the founding fathers) for thirty such monasteries in Ser-
Russia in which he denied that there was any persecution in
gii’s lifetime, and perhaps five times that number by the mid-
the U.S.S.R. In September 1943, he was summoned by Sta-
dle of the following century.
lin and granted permission to formally reestablish the patri-
archal administration. Churches were reopened on the Soviet
The establishment of community life at the Trinity
side of the war frontier, and plans were laid to reestablish a
Monastery encouraged not only its spiritual but also its eco-
network of seminaries and theological academies. Most of
nomic development; perhaps for this reason the Muscovite
the surviving schismatic bishops recognized Sergii’s adminis-
state acted both as Sergii’s patron and his client. Sergii’s spiri-
tration before his death in May 1944. Although he died be-
tual authority was seen to fit him for several demanding dip-
fore the details of his agreement with Stalin could be accom-
lomatic tasks. The blessing that he gave Grand Prince
plished, Sergii had outwaited the regime and had ensured a
Dmitrii (1380) to proceed against the Mongol horde acted
period of revival and stabilization for the church that lasted
as a vital spur to the Muscovite troops and helped to ensure
until the outbreak of the persecution by Khrushchev (1959–
their victory in the battle of Kulikovo, a watershed in Russian
1964).
history.
But Sergii cannot be described simply as a political saint.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
When he was offered elevation to a bishop’s (and in due
Alexeev, Wassilij, and Theofanis Stavrou. The Great Revival. Min-
course to the metropolitan’s) chair he refused it firmly. Re-
neapolis, 1976.
gardless of office held or proffered he continued to dress in
Cunningham, James W. Vanquished Hope: The Church in Russia
the roughest of robes and persist with the most menial of
on the Eve of the Revolution. New York, 1981.
tasks. His humility was deep seated: It informed his prayer
Fletcher, William C. A Study in Survival: The Church in Russia,
and predisposed him to visions. These visions were several
1927–1943. New York, 1965.
and various. A number were centered on light or fire, and
Fletcher, William C. The Russian Orthodox Church Underground,
two of these were linked with the celebration of the Eucha-
1917–1970. Oxford, 1971.
rist. But the one most carefully described in the lives of Sergii
Nichols, Robert Lewis, and Theofanis Stavrou, eds. Russian Or-
involved the appearance of the Mother of God, who assured
thodoxy under the Old Regime. Minneapolis, 1978.
Sergii that his monastery was under her direct protection.
Pospielovsky, Dimitry. The Russian Church under the Soviet Re-
gime, 1917–1982. 2 vols. Crestwood, N. Y., 1984.
Such visions had no precedent in Russian hagiography,
JAMES W. CUNNINGHAM (1987)
and even elsewhere precise parallels are difficult to find. It
may be that they are among the first fruits of that school of
mystical (hesychast) prayer that was beginning to make in-
SERGII OF RADONEZH (1322?–1392) was a Rus-
roads into Russia from Mount Athos in Greece.
sian Orthodox monastic saint and founder of Holy Trinity-
Sergii died in 1392. His relics were exposed for venera-
Saint Sergii Monastery (in present-day Sergiyev Posad). The
tion in 1422. The monastery (soon to be renamed the Trini-
life of Sergii is known largely from two fifteenth-century
ty-Saint Sergii Monastery) expanded, and by 1561 it was des-
hagiographical accounts, supplemented by Russian medieval
ignated first among all Russian monastic communities.
chronicles. Sergii himself wrote nothing.
Catherine the Great confiscated much of its great landhold-
Sergii (in secular life known as Bartholomew) was born
ings, but it was the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 that chal-
in the principality of Rostov, but early moved with his family
lenged its very existence. However, the revival of church life
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SERVETUS, MICHAEL
8231
during the war years (1941–1945) eventually promoted the
wheels. He was granted 150 mules; it was hoped that more
reopening of the monastery and the restoration of the relics
animals would be shipped on the hoof via an overland route,
to the church (1946). The tomb of Saint Sergii once again
then being explored. In January 1776 the first overland expe-
attracts countless pilgrims year after year.
dition arrived at Mission San Gabriel from Tubac, Arizona,
bringing 244 people together with provisions and herds of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
horses and cattle. Later arrivals permitted the founding of
The hagiographical account of Sergii’s life has been translated with
four towns, among them San Francisco and Los Angeles.
care, if not with grace, by Michael Klimenko: The “Vita” of
St. Sergii of Radonezh
(Houston, 1980). See also chapter 6
Above all, Serra needed role models for his neophytes,
of G. P. Fedotov’s The Russian Religious Mind, vol. 2, The
to train them in the crafts and in Christian living. Five arti-
Middle Ages: The Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Centuries, edited
sans were granted to each mission for this purpose. Only
by John Meyendorff (1966; Belmont, Mass., 1975). But the
married couples would be accepted as settlers: This set an ex-
most scholarly studies are in Russian. Noteworthy among
ample of a Christian family as the foundation of a stable soci-
these remains Evgenii E. Golubinskii’s Prepodobnyi Sergii Ra-
ety. The money for all these expenditures was to come from
donezhskii i sozdannaia im Troitskaia Lavra, 2d ed. (Moscow,
the Pious Fund of expelled Jesuits. California remained with-
1909).
in the Spanish empire until it became part of the United
SERGEI HACKEL (1987)
States in 1850. In 1931, the state of California placed a stat-
ue of Serra in Washington, D. C.
SERPENTS SEE DRAGONS; SNAKES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Geiger, Maynard. The Life and Times of Fray Junípero Serra. 2
vols. Washington, D. C., 1959.
Tibesar, Antonine, ed. The Writings of Junipero Serra. 4 vols.
SERRA, JUNIPERO (1713–1784), was a Spanish
Washington, D. C., 1955–1966.
founder of Franciscan missions in California. Educated at
the Royal and Pontifical University of Palma in Spain, Serra
ANTOINE TIBESAR (1987)
was a tenured professor of philosophy there when in 1749
he volunteered to go to Mexico as a missionary. There he
served his apprenticeship among the Pamé Indians of Sierra
SERVETUS, MICHAEL (1509?/11?–1553), born
Gorda (1750–1758) and in Baja California (1767–1769).
Miguel Serveto y Conesa was a Spanish biblical scholar, phy-
In 1769, when Spain decided to occupy Alta California
sician, and theologian. Servetus was born in Villanueva,
to prevent Russian or English encroachments, Serra estab-
Spain.
lished his first mission there at San Diego, on 16 July. In all,
By the time he was fourteen, Servetus had learned Latin,
he began nine missions on carefully selected sites after first
Greek, and Hebrew and was ready to participate in the bur-
obtaining the consent of the natives concerned.
geoning new field of biblical scholarship. Spanish clerics were
After a careful survey of the territory from San Diego
in the forefront of the movement, Cardinal Ximenes de Cis-
to San Francisco, he formed a plan for the development of
neros having published an edition of the Bible in three an-
the whole area. It was a vision not of isolated missions and
cient languages, using the oldest available manuscripts, in
military presidios but of an interrelated system of ports, pre-
1522. Though extreme religious intolerance prevailed, it was
sidios, towns, and missions. In 1773 Serra traveled the 1,500
still remembered in Spain that at one time Christians, Jews,
miles to Mexico City to consult with the viceroy, Antonio
and Muslims had lived and studied side by side, producing
María Bucareli y Ursúla. In a series of meetings, Serra dis-
great works of literature, science, and mysticism. As Jews
cussed his plan and his needs with Bucareli and his staff. At
were crowded out of Spanish life, some became Christian.
their suggestion he wrote a brief in thirty-two sections.
Not fully accepted, they were called conversos. According to
Serra’s vision was to become the catalyst of the official
Roland H. Bainton’s Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of
program.
Michael Servetus, 1511–1553 (1953), it was Bishop Paulus
of Burgos, a converso, who had secretly and illegally instruct-
First, there was a need to regulate relations among the
ed the young Servetus in Hebrew. The dream of a future
ruling military, the missionaries, the Indians, and the towns-
when religious differences were again tolerated and the vision
people. This regulation was formulated in the Reglamento
of a Christianity purified by going back to its roots guided
Echeveste (July 1773), which was to become the basic law
Servetus’s work as biblical scholar and theologian. The hu-
of the state of California. Next, a supply system had to be
manistic style of scholarship, based on observation and argu-
invented, with the procurement and shipping office in Mexi-
mentation, served not only his theological inquiries but also
co through the port of San Blas, for a fleet to transport peo-
his study of medicine.
ple, animals, and goods to and from California. Such a sys-
tem was established by the end of the year 1773. Serra also
Miguel Serveto y Conesa went to Toulouse at the age
needed mules and oxen to put his California society on
of seventeen to study law. Very soon he discovered biblical
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8232
SERVETUS, MICHAEL
studies and theology, latinized his name, and began to devel-
in this unfolding emanation is part of God, including the
op his own ideas about the way Christianity had been before
Logos (God’s internal reason), Wisdom (ideas that are the
the Council of Nicaea (325). During his studies in Toulouse,
exemplars of things), and the Word (through which God
he became convinced that the dogma of the Trinity is not
made the visible world appear). The Word forms a bridge
based on Scripture.
between the invisible world and the visible world, for it is
both immaterial and physical. Thus, the essence of God is
Another turning point occurred when he traveled with
in everything. This view is not pantheistic, for in it the world
his patron, Juan de Quintana, to the coronation of Charles
is dependent on God for its being; yet God in his being ex-
V as Holy Roman Emperor in 1529. Seeing the splendor and
tends beyond the world—God is not dependent on the
temporal power of the pope, he abruptly left the service of
world.
Quintana, going to Basel, Switzerland, where the Reforma-
tion was already under way. The toleration he sought, how-
The millenarian theme appears in the conflict between
ever, did not exist there, either. His first book, De Trinitatis
God’s modalistic presence in Christ and Satan’s modalistic
erroribus (1531), was written as a coda to a long argument
presence in the Antichrist. This conflict, pursued throughout
with his host in Basel, Oecolampadius.
five ages of world history, began in the garden of Eden when
D
God’s creation, including humankind, came under the con-
E TRINITATIS ERRORIBUS AND DIALOGORUM DE TRINI-
trol of the serpent, and God withdrew. The conflict contin-
TATE. In De Trinitatis erroribus, he argued that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God by nature (not by adoption), and that
ued when, after the incarnation, the Antichrist came to the
he is God by grace, whereas the Father is God by nature. Ser-
papal throne, whereupon Christ withdrew from the world.
vetus emphasized a distinction between the Word and the
All Christian history since the time of Constantine has been
Son. The Word had existed from eternity as one mode in
under the reign of the Antichrist. In the imminent fifth age,
which God expresses himself. When the Word was com-
the archangel Michael will destroy Satan, releasing Christ’s
pletely incarnated in the man Jesus, the Son came into being.
power.
The Holy Spirit is another mode in which God expresses
Prior to the incarnation, Christ was prefigured in the
himself among humans, but it is not a separate person. Serve-
Word. In the incarnation the divine nature mixed with (not
tus believed that Scripture speaks of the three persons of the
united with) Christ’s human nature, the mortal body of the
Trinity as the varying appearances of God. This heretical
man Jesus. Christ came through Mary, but he did not receive
view has been called modalistic trinitarianism, with a sub-
Mary’s substance, for his divine nature and his human nature
ordinationist Christology. Both in De Trinitatis erroribus and
or flesh were both of heavenly origin. After the resurrection,
in later works, Servetus drew on passages from the ante-
Christ was again the Word with a celestial nature, that of
Nicene fathers Irenaeus and Tertullian to support his views.
God’s heavenly substance.
Servetus’s book aroused so much opposition that in
All persons receive a first grace, which comes through
1532 he published Dialogorum de Trinitate, in which he
the air as the spirit of God (to be distinguished from the
made some conciliatory changes without altering his basic
Holy Spirit). Receiving the first grace makes it possible to live
conclusions. Pursued by the Inquisition, he assumed the
in accordance with codes of morality but is not sufficient for
name Michel de Villeneuve and found work as an editor in
divinization. Christ’s celestial nature makes possible a second
Lyons, France. In 1538 he began medical studies in Paris,
grace, by which humanity is regenerated and physically
upon completion of which he became physician to the arch-
transformed.
bishop of Vienne, France, still under his assumed name.
Both his editorial and medical careers were distinguished.
Servetus relates these themes to his view of the sacra-
Among his editorial contributions, the 1535 edition of Clau-
ments. In baptism the soul receives illumination, a wisdom
dius Ptolemy’s second century Geography and the 1540 edi-
from the Holy Spirit that combats Satan’s serpentine wis-
tion of the Santes Pagnini Bible were particularly
dom. Baptism is a covenant with God and a commitment
noteworthy.
on the part of the person; hence, it is not for infants. The
Lord’s Supper is a sacrament involving the real presence (not
CHRISTIANISMI RESTITUTIO. In 1546 Servetus sent parts of
only a symbolic presence) of Christ’s celestial flesh in the
an early draft of Christianismi restitutio to John Calvin; the
bread and wine. This sacrament effects in the faithful both
revised book was published anonymously in 1553. In Chris-
a spiritual and a physical change. Participants are changed
tianismi restitutio, Servetus modifies and supplements the
to the nature of God, divinized.
views expressed in his previous works. He adds an emana-
tionist philosophical context, a millenarianist historical view,
Christianismi restitutio contains Servetus’s discovery of
and a celestial flesh Christology. In his emanationist philoso-
the pulmonary circulation of the blood, a result of his medi-
phy, he sees God as above light, above essence, and as de-
cal dissections. This discovery is presented in theological
scribable only in negative terms. According to Servetus, God
terms to illustrate how each person receives God’s spirit just
relates to the world through a continuum progressing from
as air circulates through the body. (A thirteenth-century
God’s hiddenness to his participation in the world. Servetus
Arab, Ibn al-Nafis, preceded Servetus in his medical discov-
uses light symbolism to describe this continuum. Everything
ery, but Servetus’s description was more explicit.)
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SETH
8233
A copy of Christianismi restitutio fell into the hands of
sion of Servetus. There is also biographical material in the in-
a Catholic named Guillaume de Trie, who suspected that
troduction to The Two Treatises (1932; reprint, New York,
Servetus was its author. Soon the Inquisition had arrested
1969). Marian Hillar, with Claire S. Allen, Michael Servetus:
both Servetus and the printer. Servetus escaped but was ap-
Intellectual Giant, Humanist, and Martyr (Lanham, Md.,
prehended in Geneva. He was tried, condemned for an-
2002) is an important addition to scholarly work on Servetus
titrinitarianism and opposition to infant baptism, and
in English. It has a bibliography of Servetus’s works and their
translations that includes his important editorial and medical
burned at the stake on 27 October 1553 at Champel, near
contributions. Out of the Flames (New York, 2002) by Law-
Geneva.
rence and Nancy Goldstone, adds interesting material on the
Despite the attempts by the publisher and the Roman
survival of copies of Christianismi Restitutio.
Catholic Inquisition to destroy every copy of Christianismi
Signaled by the publication of Restitucion del Christianismo in
restitutio, a few copies survived. Servetus’s execution gave rise
Spanish in 1980, there has been a flowering of interest in Ser-
to an important controversy among Protestant church lead-
vetus studies in Spain. These include Angel Acala Galve, Mi-
ers over religious toleration, initiated by the publication in
guel Servet (Aragon, Spain, 2000); Jose Luis Cano Rodriguez,
1554 of De haereticis, an sint persequendi, written principally
Miguel Servet y el doctor de Velleneufve (Zaragosa, Spain,
by the French Protestant theologian Sébastien Chateillon
2002); and Manuel de Fuentes Sagaz, Michael Servetus,
1511–1553
(Barcelona, Spain, 1999). A comprehensive bib-
under a pseudonym, and by other publications. Servetus’s
liography is maintained by the Servetus International Society
antitrinitarian views influenced prominent leaders in the an-
at its Web Site, available at http://www.servetus.org.
titrinitarian movements in Poland and Transylvania, but
these leaders did not accept his emanationist philosophy or
JOHN C. GODBEY (1987)
his celestial flesh Christology. These latter themes were not
MARY WELLEMEYER (2005)
among the sections of Christianismi restitutio that were re-
printed in 1569 in De regno Christi.
SETH. In Egyptian mythology Seth figures prominently,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
usually as a villain. He was the son of Geb and brother of
The original text of De Trinitatis erroribus (1531) is available in
Osiris. Jealous of Osiris’ rule of the earth, he tricked and slew
a facsimile reprint edition (Frankfurt, Germany, 1965). It is
him, dismembered his body, and scattered the parts. Isis,
more accessible in The Two Treatises of Servetus on the Trini-
the sister of both and consort of Osiris, bore Osiris’ son,
ty, translated by Earl Morse Wilbur (1932; reprint, New
Horus, who had to avenge the death of his father. According
York, 1969). The original text of Christianismi Restitutio
to late mythological stories, the case was judged by the tribu-
(1553) is available in a reprint edition (Frankfurt, Germany,
nal of gods with some contests that showed that the clever-
1966). Angel Alcalá and Luis Betes have published the first
edited modern translation, Restitución del cristianismo: Mi-
ness of Horus was certainly more than a match for the
guel Servet (Madrid, Spain, 1980).
strength of Seth. From earlier mythical allusions in mortuary
texts, it is known that Horus emasculated Seth and lost his
Roland H. Bainton’s reliable biography, Hunted Heretic: The Life
eye in the conflict. For his role in this drama, Seth became
and Death of Michael Servetus, 1511–1553 (Boston, 1953),
a symbol for evil, trickery, blundering, and blustering. He
contains a chronology, detailed notes, and an extensive se-
lected bibliography. Bruno Becker, ed., Autour de Michel Ser-
was identified with the Mesopotamian storm god and was
vet et de Sébastien Castellion (Haarlem, 1953), contains im-
a supporter of Egypt’s Asian enemies.
portant essays, including “Michael Servetus and the
The animal representation of Seth is readily recogniz-
Trinitarian Speculation of the Middle Ages,” by Roland H.
able from its tall, upright, flat-topped ears and long, upright
Bainton, and “L’influence de Servet sur le mouvement an-
tail divided at the top, but it is not certainly identifiable. It
titrinitarien en Pologne et en Transylvanie,” by Stanislas Kot.
Mihály Balázs corrected and supplemented Kot’s essay in
usually appears to be some sort of hound or jackal, but is oc-
“Die Osteuropäische Rezeption der Restitutio Christianismi
casionally more like a hippopotamus, a pig, or an ass. If one
von Servet,” in Antitrinitarianism in the Second Half of the
single animal were intended, perhaps it would be a feral hog.
Sixteenth Century, edited by Róbert Dán and Antal Pirnát
From earliest times there seems to have been some con-
(Leiden, Netherlands, 1982), pp. 13–23. Claudio Manzoni,
nection between Seth and Ash, a Libyan deity. Even before
Umanesimo ed eresia: Michele Serveto (Naples, Italy, 1974),
and Elisabeth F. Hirsch, “Michael Servetus and the Neopla-
the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt there were proba-
tonic Tradition: God, Christ and Man,” Bibliothèque
bly shrines to Seth in both south and north. Ombos was his
d’humanisme et Renaissance 42 (1980): 561–575, have con-
principal cult center, but it has provided almost no informa-
tributed to an understanding of the Neoplatonic elements in
tion about the god or his cult. He is usually associated with
Christianismi restitutio. Jerome Friedman, Michael Servetus:
the north, and his defeat by Horus represents the conquest
A Case Study in Total Heresy (Geneva, Switzerland, 1978),
of Lower Egypt (the north) by Upper Egypt (the south). The
contains an informative argument, detailed bibliographical
myth of the conflict between Horus and Seth may also have
notes, and a glossary that the reader will appreciate.
been associated with a struggle over the right of succession,
Earl Morse Wilbur, A History of Unitarianism: Socinianism and its
that from father to son winning out over that from brother
Antecedents (Cambridge, Mass., 1945), has a lengthy discus-
to brother.
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8234
SETON, ELIZABETH
Apparently Seth was not always an evil figure in Egyp-
in Georgetown Academy, she embarked for Baltimore with
tian history. During the second dynasty one king identified
her three daughters on June 9, 1808. Her year there as mis-
himself with Seth rather than Horus, and another identified
tress of the Paca Street School confirmed her vocation to ed-
himself with both gods. Later the kings of the fifteenth and
ucate girls and found a community, the Sisters of Charity of
sixteenth dynasties were regarded as Sethian, but this is easily
Saint Joseph. In June–July 1809, she moved both the school
explained by their foreign origin. In the New Kingdom Seth
and the sisterhood to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she
was regularly shown as one of the gods accompanying the
spent the remainder of her life.
sun god, Re, on his bark sailing through the day and night
skies. In this case Seth clearly assists Re, and the evil being
In Emmitsburg, Saint Joseph’s School for boarders from
to be opposed by spells or force is Apopis, the serpent who
more prosperous families soon furnished sufficient income
threatens to devour the sun. In the nineteenth dynasty, not
to extend free schooling to needy girls of the local parish,
only were divisions of the Egyptian army named for Seth,
which later earned Seton the title “foundress of the parochial
but two kings also took Sety as their throne name.
school system in the United States.” Adopting a modified
rule of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
BIBLIOGRAPHY
in 1812, her sisters rapidly extended their work to include
Hornung, E. “Seth, Geschichte und Bedeutung eines ägyptischen
nursing the sick, caring for orphans, and aiding the poor.
Gottes.” Symbolon (Cologne), N. F. 2 (1974): 49–63.
The community spread to Philadelphia (1814), New York
Velde, H. te. Seth, God of Confusion: A Study of His Role in Egyp-
(1817), and Baltimore (1821) under her guidance. Since her
tian Mythology and Religion. Probleme der Ägyptologie, vol.
death on January 4, 1821, her work has been spread by her
6. Leiden, 1967.
spiritual daughters not only at Emmitsburg but also by the
LEONARD H. LESKO (1987)
New York Sisters of Charity of Mount Saint Vincent-on-the-
Hudson, the Cincinnati Sisters of Charity of Mount Saint
Joseph, the New Jersey Sisters of Charity of Convent Station,
the Pennsylvania Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill at Greens-
SETON, ELIZABETH (1774–1821), was the first
burg, and, in Nova Scotia, the Sisters of Charity of Halifax.
American-born Christian saint, and first founder of a sister-
hood in the United States. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was
On February 28, 1940, the Roman Congregation of
born probably in New York City, the second daughter of
Rites formally introduced her cause for canonization. On
Richard Bayley by his first wife, Catherine Charlton. Little
December 14, 1961, the validity of two miracles was con-
is known of her formal education save that she attended a
firmed, and on March 17, 1963, John XXIII beatified her.
school called Mama Pompelion’s, learning to play the piano
On September 14, 1975, Paul VI proclaimed her Saint Eliza-
and to speak French.
beth Ann Seton.
On January 25, 1794, at the age of nineteen, she mar-
ried William Magee Seton, a young New York merchant.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The union produced five children. In 1797 she cooperated
At the time of its first publication my Elizabeth Bayley Seton,
with Isabella Marshall Graham in forming a society to aid
1774–1821 (1951; reprint, New York, 1976) was judged the
destitute widowed mothers. In 1800 she came under the in-
definitive biography. Prior to that time Charles I. White’s
fluence of John Henry Hobart, an assistant at Trinity (Epis-
Life of Mrs. Eliza A. Seton (New York, 1853) was the chief
copal) Church in New York City, and under his guidance
source of information. Additional published accounts in-
her spiritual life deepened perceptibly.
clude Memoir, Letters and Journal of Elizabeth Seton, 2 vols.,
The next nine years tested these spiritual resources to
edited by Robert Seton (New York, 1869), a not always reli-
able collection of memorabilia by Mrs. Seton’s grandson;
the full. Her husband’s business failed, along with his health.
Hélène Bailley de Barbery and Joseph B. Code’s Elizabeth
He died while on a trip to Italy in 1803. While waiting for
Seton (New York, 1927), first published in French in 1868,
passage back to New York, she was befriended by Antonio
which contains many documents; Letters of Mother Seton to
and Filippo Filicchi and their wives, who introduced her to
Mrs. Julianna Scott, edited by Joseph B. Code (1935; 2d ed.,
Roman Catholicism. On her return to New York on June
New York, 1960), personal glimpses of Mother Seton’s
4, 1804, she entered a period of religious indecision, torn be-
friendship with a Protestant friend of Philadelphia; Joseph I.
tween the entreaties of Hobart and her Protestant friends and
Dirvin’s Mrs. Seton, Foundress of the American Sisters of Char-
relatives, and the urgings of the Filicchis and the American
ity (New York, 1962), combining biographical details with
Catholic clergy enlisted by them to sway her. On March 14,
an analysis of Mother Seton’s spiritual life, particularly as a
1805, she became a Roman Catholic.
religious superior; and Sister Mary Agnes McCann’s The His-
tory of Mother Seton’s Daughters,
3 vols. (New York, 1917–
Unable to earn support for herself and her five children
1923), most useful for the first century of their contri-
in New York, she agreed to the proposal made by William
butions.
Valentine DuBourg that she come to Baltimore to start a
Catholic school for girls. Having already placed her two sons
ANNABELLE M. MELVILLE (1987)
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SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM
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SEVENERS SEE SHIISM, ARTICLE ON
ed the sanctuary, shut-door, and Sabbath doctrines. The
ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
Millerite movement produced numerous mystics and trance
mediums, and the believers in Portland were especially infa-
mous for what Millerite publicist Joshua V. Himes called
their “continual introduction of visionary nonsense.” Thus,
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM. The origins of
Ellen Harmon would probably have been lost in the crowd
Seventh-day Adventism run back to the interdenominational
of enthusiasts had she not been discovered by James White,
Millerite movement in the United States in the early 1840s,
a young Adventist preacher and teacher, who became her
when William Miller, a Baptist lay minister and farmer,
protector, her promoter, and, in 1846, her husband. Togeth-
sought to rekindle a “second awakening” by predicting that
er, James and Ellen White built the Seventh-day Adventist
Christ would soon return to earth. On the basis of Daniel
church, James serving as organizer and entrepreneur, Ellen
8:14 (“Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then
as exhorter and visionary. The Adventist brethren, under
shall the sanctuary be cleansed”), he calculated that the end
James’s leadership, functioned as the sect’s theologians and
would come “about the year 1843”—2,300 years after Arta-
biblical exegetes, frequently relying on Ellen’s “gift of proph-
xerxes of Persia issued a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. Follow-
ecy” to support their doctrinal positions. Committed to sola
ing a series of failed time-settings, Millerites fixed their hopes
scriptura biblicism, Adventists regarded Ellen White’s charis-
for the second advent of Christ on October 22, 1844, the
matic role as confirmatory rather than initiatory; her testimo-
Day of Atonement, which, according to the Jewish calendar,
nies related to the Bible as a “lesser light to the greater light.”
fell on the tenth day of the seventh month. The “great disap-
Despite sporadic questioning of her authority, even by her
pointment” that resulted from this miscalculation splintered
husband, her visions helped to identify Adventists as God’s
the movement into several factions. The majority, including
end-time people and thus assured her of a singularly precious
Miller, admitted their exegetical error but continued to ex-
place in Adventist history.
pect Christ’s imminent return; eventually they coalesced into
the Evangelical Adventist and Advent Christian churches. A
In many respects, Seventh-day Adventism developed as
much smaller number embraced the suggestion of Hiram
a typical nineteenth-century American sect, characterized by
Edson, an upstate New York farmer, that only the event, not
millenarianism, biblicism, restorationism, and legalism. Its
the date, had been wrong: “that instead of our High Priest
Old Testament orientation, its self-image as the chosen peo-
coming out of the Most Holy of the heavenly sanctuary to
ple, its sabbatarianism, and its sense of cosmic destiny all be-
come to this earth on the tenth day of the seventh month,
trayed the influence of eighteenth-century American Puri-
at the end of the 2,300 days, he for the first time entered on
tanism, while its Arminianism (which rejected Calvinist
that day the second apartment of that sanctuary and that he
predestinarianism in favor of free choice of salvation), its
had a work to perform in the Most Holy before coming to
doctrine of soul-sleep (asserting that human beings have no
this earth.” Millerites of this persuasion formed the nucleus
separate “spirit” and therefore the dead have no conscious-
of what, in the early 1860s, evolved into the Seventh-day Ad-
ness until the resurrection), its concern for religious liberty,
ventist Church.
and its adoption of medical and educational reforms also re-
THE FORMATIVE YEARS: 1844–1863. Edson’s sanctuary
vealed it to be a product of antebellum evangelicalism. Ad-
doctrine, which held that Christ in 1844 inaugurated a new
ventists, however, especially during their early years, stressed
era in the history of salvation, became one of the most dis-
their distinctiveness and separateness rather than their many
tinctive and central tenets of Adventist theology. However,
points of similarity with the religious landscape of nine-
other beliefs—for example, belief in the “shut door,” the sev-
teenth-century America.
enth-day Sabbath, and the gift of prophecy—brought them
their greatest notoriety and earned them the name “sabbatar-
By 1850, sabbatarian Adventists, still looking for the
ian and shut-door” Adventists.
imminent appearance of Christ, composed a “scattered
flock” of about two hundred loosely structured sectarians
Early beliefs that October 22 marked the date when
who sought to restore such primitive Christian practices as
God shut the “door of mercy” on all who had rejected the
foot-washing, greeting with the “holy kiss,” and calling each
Millerite message gradually gave rise to an open-door theolo-
other “brother” and “sister.” As time passed uneventfully,
gy and to evangelization. The observance of Saturday as the
their radical millenarianism, which had led some to predict
Sabbath, as required by the Ten Commandments and prac-
the end in 1845, 1847, and 1851, gave way to a more realis-
ticed by the Seventh Day Baptists, became the most obvious
tic attitude. As early as 1848 Ellen White had had a vision
symbol of Seventh-day Adventist distinctiveness and served
in which she saw Adventism spreading “like streams of
as a means by which legalistic members sought to attain the
light. . .clear round the world,” a scene that implied long-
higher morality expected of God’s people at the close of
range involvement in earthly affairs. In 1850 her husband
history.
began editing The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, which
Shortly after the “great disappointment,” Ellen Gould
became the official Adventist organ. In 1855 the Whites
Harmon, a sickly, introverted adolescent ecstatic from Port-
moved on to the fresher evangelistic pastures of southern
land, Maine, began having visionary experiences that validat-
Michigan, where the church eventually enjoyed enough ma-
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8236
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM
terial prosperity to elicit, in 1857, a notable jeremiad from
(who, the prophetess said, would pass a national law requir-
the prophetess on its “Laodicean condition,” a phrase refer-
ing Sunday observance). Efforts to enact such legislation in
ring to the “lukewarm” church described in Revelation
the 1880s, coinciding as they did with hard-labor sentences
3:14–18.
for up to fifty church members who violated blue laws in the
South, proved to the Adventists that they were indeed living
By the late 1850s the institutionalization of Seventh-day
in the “last days.”
Adventism was well under way. In 1859 the Adventists
adopted a plan of “systematic benevolence” to support a cler-
Adventist theology shifted in the 1880s, when two West
gy; the next year they selected the name Seventh-day Advent-
Coast editors, Ellet J. Waggoner and Alonzo T. Jones, both
ist; by 1863 there were 125 churches with about 3,500 mem-
still in their thirties, challenged the legalistic emphasis that
bers. That year they organized a General Conference and
had come to characterize the sect. In opposition to General
invited James White to serve as their first president, an honor
Conference leaders, who maintained that salvation depended
he temporarily declined. In 1866, in the wake of an epidemic
upon observing the Ten Commandments (especially the
of sickness among church leaders and Ellen White’s discov-
fourth), Waggoner and Jones followed evangelical Christians
ery of the virtues of the “water cure” and vegetarianism, the
in arguing that righteousness came by accepting Christ, not
Adventists established a sanatorium at Battle Creek, Michi-
by keeping the law. At a pivotal general conference in 1888,
gan—the Western Health Reform Institute—and began
Ellen White broke with the Battle Creek administrators—
publishing the Health Reformer, a monthly magazine. John
and the view of her late husband—to endorse this controver-
Harvey Kellogg, who became the leading force in Adventist
sial “new light,” a move that symbolized her “coming out”
health reform, developed several new food products, among
as the Adventists’ matriarch. But despite her pronounce-
them ready-to-eat dry cereals. His brother, Will Kellogg, es-
ments in favor of “righteousness by faith,” the issue of grace
tablished the company that created a mass market for this
versus law remained a sensitive one within Adventism.
new way of eating breakfast.
For decades Adventists confined their evangelistic ef-
YEARS OF TRANSITION: 1863–1915. The years following
forts almost exclusively to North America. In the early
the formal organization of the Adventist Church and its
1870s, however, church leaders became convinced that they
emergence as an established sect saw American Protestantism
had an obligation to carry their message “into all the world”
split into modernist and fundamentalist parties, divided by
(Mk. 16:15), and in 1874 they sent J. N. Andrews, a former
such issues as evolution and higher criticism. Not surprising-
General Conference president, to Switzerland as the first Ad-
ly, Adventists in this period generally, but idiosyncratically,
ventist missionary. Other appointments followed in quick
followed the fundamentalists. Because the Adventists ob-
succession, first to the large white, Christian populations of
served the seventh-day Sabbath as a memorial of creation,
Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and, later, to
and because Ellen White insisted on a recent six-day cre-
the nonwhite peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. By
ation, they rejected all compromises with evolutionary biolo-
1900 the Adventists were supporting nearly five hundred for-
gy and geology. They also rejected higher criticism in favor
eign missionaries, and over 15 percent of the more than sev-
of biblical inerrancy, but they displayed less concern about
enty-five thousand Adventists lived outside North America.
the integrity of the scriptures than about the writings of Ellen
In part to provide for the growing needs of its foreign mis-
White, whose apotheosis occurred during this period. For
sions, as well as to shield its youth from worldly influences,
years Ellen White had lived in the shadow of her husband,
the church developed an extensive educational system. By
providing visionary endorsement for the opinions of the
the second half of the twentieth century, Adventists were op-
founding fathers of Adventism. But after James’s death in
erating one of the largest Protestant school systems in the
1881 she assumed a more assertive role, directing the activi-
world.
ties of a younger generation of male leaders, who quickly
learned to clear matters of doctrine, development, and policy
In 1895, in order to train medical personnel for service
with the prophetess. By the time of her death in 1915 she
at home and abroad, Adventists opened the American Medi-
had, despite disclaimers to the contrary, become the real au-
cal Missionary College, with campuses in Battle Creek and
thority for Adventists in matters of behavior as well as belief.
Chicago. The school’s dominant force was Dr. John Harvey
Kellogg, a former protégé of the Whites. In his mid-twenties
Acceptance of Ellen White’s prophetic role set Advent-
Kellogg became superintendent of the Western Health Re-
ists apart from other fundamentalists, as did their peculiar
form Institute (later the Battle Creek Sanitarium) and after
doctrines regarding the sanctuary and the Sabbath. In fact,
1893 headed the Medical Missionary and Benevolent Associ-
nothing distinguished Adventists as a separate religious com-
ation, the Adventist body responsible for operating medical
munity as much as their Sabbath-keeping, which led them
institutions around the world. By the early twentieth century
to distrust not only evolutionists (who undermined belief in
the association’s two thousand workers considerably out-
a literal Sabbath) but Catholics (whom they blamed for
numbered General Conference employees, an imbalance that
changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday), labor
aggravated the friction between the imperious and imperial-
unionists (who, they feared, would force them to work on
istic Dr. Kellogg and the equally ambitious ministers who
Saturday), and blue-law-minded evangelical Christians
ran the General Conference. In 1906 the latter arranged for
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SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM
8237
the doctor and his cohorts to be disfellowshipped for ques-
of the sanctuary derived more from White than from the
tioning the authority of Ellen White; thus, for the first time,
Bible and that it infected Adventism with an unhealthful and
making the acceptance of her testimonies a “test of fellow-
unbiblical legalism. Although Ford and a number of his min-
ship.” When Kellogg, the most prominent Adventist in the
isterial colleagues were promptly defrocked for their heresy,
world, left the church, he took the medical college and Battle
they still effected a subtle recasting of the sanctuary doctrine,
Creek Sanitarium with him, forcing loyalists in 1909 to open
orienting it more toward the atonement than toward last-day
an orthodox medical school, the College of Medical Evange-
events and bringing it more into conformity with evangelical
lists (which developed into Loma Linda University), in
Protestantism. Some sectors of the church, often called “his-
southern California.
toric Adventists,” opposed these developments, but Seventh-
day Adventism generally continued to move haltingly along
In the years since the Whites moved their fledgling
the path from radical millenarian sect to conventional de-
church to Michigan, Battle Creek had grown into the admin-
nomination as it entered the twenty-first century.
istrative, publishing, medical, and educational center of Ad-
ventism. Such centralization and concentration of power
SEE ALSO White, Ellen Gould.
concerned Ellen White, who recommended dismantling the
Battle Creek colony. As a result, Battle Creek College (now
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andrews University) was moved in 1902 to rural southwest-
There is no standard history of Seventh-day Adventism. Until re-
ern Michigan, and administrative and publishing activities
cently, non-Adventist scholars had tended to ignore Advent-
were moved to the outskirts of Washington, D.C., which be-
ists, and Adventist historians have been reticent to examine
came the international headquarters.
their heritage critically. Among the several comprehensive
histories, the best of the old is M. Ellsworth Olsen’s History
CONTEMPORARY ADVENTISM. Ellen White died in 1915,
of the Origin and Progress of Seventh-day Adventists (Washing-
leaving a church of more than 136,000 members. By 2001
ton, D.C., 1925), and the best of the new is Richard W. Sch-
membership had swelled to over twelve million, roughly 92
warz and Floyd Greenleaf’s Light Bearers, rev. ed. (Nampa,
percent of whom lived outside of North America. Despite
Id., 2000), a well-documented survey designed to serve as a
the preponderance of third-world believers, and the fact that
college text. Adventism in America: A History, edited by Gary
recent growth in North America had come to a great extent
Land, rev. ed. (Berrien Springs, Mich., 1998), offers a read-
from Hispanics and blacks, the administrative and economic
able chronological overview written by six Adventist histori-
power of the church remained largely in the hands of white,
ans. A valuable reference work, filled with historical data, is
male leaders. In the mid-1940s the General Conference cre-
the Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, 2 vols., 2d rev. ed.
(Hagerstown, Md., 1996).
ated segregated black conferences in North America, but it
later rejected demands for separate unions that accompanied
The Rise of Adventism: Religion and Society in Mid-Nineteenth-
the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Similarly, as the fem-
Century America, edited by Edwin S. Gaustad (New York,
1974), though misleadingly titled (most of the essays say
inist movement gathered momentum in the 1970s, Advent-
nothing about Adventism), does contain a marvelous 111-
ist women, long relied upon for cheap labor, began demand-
page bibliography of Millerite and early Adventist publica-
ing equal pay for equal work—but they won their case only
tions and an important interpretive essay, “Adventism and
after resorting to the courts.
the American Experience,” by Jonathan M. Butler. The Mil-
lerite movement has become the subject of a considerable
As their church grew and prospered, Adventists felt in-
body of scholarly literature, which Gary Land analyzes in his
creasingly uncomfortable with their sectarian identity. Thus,
historiographical introduction to Everett N. Dick’s, William
they were greatly cheered in the 1950s when such prominent
Miller and the Advent Crisis, 1831–1844 (Berrien Springs,
evangelicals as Donald G. Barnhouse and Walter R. Martin,
Mich., 1994). The best survey of the movement is George
after studying Adventist beliefs, certified them to be Chris-
R. Knight’s popularly written Millennial Fever and the End
tians rather than cultists. Many Adventists, nevertheless,
of the World (Boise, Id., 1993). P. Gerard Damsteegt’s Foun-
continued to live in tension with the church’s teachings on
dations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission
the sanctuary and the authority of Ellen White. Dissident
(Grand Rapids, Mich., 1977) uncritically but microscopical-
voices became increasingly audible in the 1960s, especially
ly traces the development of Adventist theology to 1874. In-
after a group of Adventist academics and professionals creat-
gemar Linden’s iconoclastic and unpolished The Last Trump:
ed the independent Association of Adventist Forums (AAF)
An Historico-Genetical Study of Some Important Chapters in
the Making and Development of the Seventh-day Adventist

in 1967 and began publishing a lively journal, Spectrum.
Church (Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 1978) covers rough-
During the 1970s and early 1980s, Adventism was torn by
ly the same period in a different style. Douglas Morgan’s Ad-
claims of Adventist scholars that they had uncovered evi-
ventism and the American Republic: The Public Involvement
dence that the writings of the prophetess not only contained
of a Major Apocalyptic Movement (Knoxville, Tenn., 2001)
historical and scientific errors but, in many instances, paral-
examines the interplay of the denomination’s theology with
leled the prose of other authors—discoveries that forced a re-
society.
thinking of White’s role in the community. During the same
Despite an abundance of inspirational biographies of Adventist
period an Australian biblical scholar, Desmond Ford, an-
leaders, few scholarly studies of individual Adventists have
nounced to an AAF group that the church’s distinctive view
appeared. Notable exceptions include Richard W. Schwarz’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

8238
SEVERUS OF ANTIOCH
John Harvey Kellogg, M. D. (Nashville, Tenn., 1970), which
colleague’s extreme monophysitism. Severus was an intelli-
unfortunately lacks the documentation found in the doctoral
gent thinker who sought a middle ground between the or-
dissertation upon which it is based; Ronald L. Numbers’s
thodox position and monophysitism.
Prophetess of Health: Ellen G. White and the Origins of Sev-
enth-day Adventist Health Reform,
rev. ed. (Knoxville, Tenn.,
In 535 Severus received (through the ministrations of
1992), a critical analysis of White’s health-related activities;
the empress Theodora) an invitation from the emperor Jus-
Gilbert M. Valentine’s The Shaping of Adventism: The Case
tinian to come to Constantinople; there he worked with the
of W. W. Prescott (Berrien Springs, Mich., 1992), a study of
patriarch Anthimus in an effort to restore monophysitism.
a frequently controversial editor and educator; and Calvin
Opposition arose to their proposals, and Anthimus was de-
W. Edwards and Gary Land, Seeker After Light: A. F. Bal-
posed and Severus condemned by the Synod of Constantino-
lenger, Adventism, and American Christianity (Berrien
ple (536).
Springs, Mich., 2000), an examination of a minister who was
dismissed from the denomination because of his criticisms of
He was once again forced to flee to Egypt, where he con-
the sanctuary doctrine.
tinued to write until his death in Alexandria in 538. Jacobite
Syrians and the Copts venerate him as a saint; his feast day
JONATHAN M. BUTLER (1987)
is celebrated on February 8.
RONALD L. NUMBERS (1987)
GARY G. LAND (2005)
Severus wrote a great number of works in Greek, but
only a small portion of them is extant. A homily is preserved
under the name of Gregory of Nyssa (Patrologia Graeca
46.627–652). Most of his writings are preserved in Syriac,
SEVERUS OF ANTIOCH (c. 465–538) was a rheto-
such as the Philalethes, in which Severus refutes 244 chapters
rician, theologian, and monophysite patriarch of Antioch
from the work of Cyril of Alexandria. He also wrote five trea-
(512–518). Severus was born in Apollonia, Thrace (modern-
tises against Julian of Halicarnassus; three discourses against
day Sozopol, Bulgaria), most likely in 465. He studied phi-
the orthodox patriarch Grammaticus; four letters against the
losophy in Alexandria and rhetoric in Berytus (present-day
extreme monophysite Sergius; and two letters against the or-
Beirut), where, under the influence of Zacharias the Scholas-
thodox Niphalios. A collection of his letters has been pre-
tic, he also acquired an interest in religious questions. After
served as well as the homilies he delivered on various feasts.
his baptism in Tripoli in 488, Severus became a monk at the
He is incorrectly identified as the author of a Syriac anapho-
monastery of Peter of Oberian, at Maiouma, near Gaza. In
ra. Many liturgical hymns are also attributed to him, and he
an attempt to live a more ascetic life, he left the monastery
is regarded by many as the author of the writings of Diony-
for the desert. But this soon proved harmful to his health,
sius the Areopagite (Pseudo-Dionysius). Many modern
so he eventually returned to Maiouma.
scholars have concluded that his teachings approximate those
There he established his own monastery and was or-
of Cyril of Alexandria. He continues to influence the
dained presbyter and archimandrite. The monophysite
thought of non-Chalcedonian Syrians and Copts.
monks sent him to Constantinople in 508 to protest the sub-
versive activities of the Orthodox monk Niphalios, who had
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Severus’s Philalethes, Orationes ad Nephalium, Liber contra Impi-
managed to turn the Maiouma monks against Severus. Once
um Grammaticum, and his writings against Julian of Halicar-
in Constantinople, Severus gained the favor of the emperor
nassus are available in volumes 4–7, 68–69, 104–105, 124–
Anastasius I (491–518) for the persecuted monophysite
127, and 136–137 of Corpus scriptorum Christianorum
monks. Severus bided his time in Constantinople writing po-
Orientalum, Scriptores Syri (Paris, 1929–1971). English
lemical works against the Council of Chalcedon. It was dur-
translations, by E. W. Brooks, of Severus’s letters and hymns
ing this period that he wrote his most important work, the
can be found in volumes 6, 7, 12, and 14 of Patrologia Orien-
Philalethes.
talis, edited by R. Graffin and F. Nau (Paris, 1911–1920).
No English work on Severus is readily available. Secondary sources
In 512 Severus left Constantinople for Antioch where
in other languages include Hans Georg Beck’s Kirche und
he was subsequently elected patriarch. As patriarch he at-
theologische Literatur in byzantinischen Reich (Munich,
tempted to strengthen monophysitism through the election
1977), pp. 387–390, Ioannou Eustratiou’s Sebéros: Ho
of bishops, but his efforts failed. The death of Anastasius I
monophusites patriarches Antiochieas (Leipzig, 1894), Joseph
in 518 precipitated a drastic change in ecclesiastical policy.
Lebon’s Le monophysisme sévérien (Louvain, 1909), and M.
With the ascendancy of the pro-Chalcedonian emperor Jus-
Preisker’s “Severus von Antiochen” (Ph. D. diss., University
tin I (518–527), monophysitism lost favor, and Severus was
of Halle, 1903).
eventually deposed as patriarch and expelled from Antioch.
THEODORE ZISSIS (1987)
Severus fled to the Monastery of Ennaton in Egypt and lived
Translated from Greek by Philip M. McGhee
for a time with Timothy IV, the monophysite patriarch of
Alexandria. He encouraged the Copts at Ennaton to oppose
the orthodox patriarchs. Severus also came into conflict with
SEXUALITY
the former follower, Julian of Halicarnassus, whom he had
This entry consists of the following articles:
known since his first visit to Constantinople in 508, over his
AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SEXUALITY: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
8239
AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
Another significant sacralization of sexual activity is
SEXUAL RITES IN EUROPE
found in the concept of androgyny. Among the Australian
Aborigines, sexual symbolism and activity are considered sa-
SEXUALITY: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
cred; only through collective orgies or ritual androgynization
In many archaic and traditional societies, sexuality is imbued
can the unity and totality of the primordial time be reenact-
with religious significance. Myths and rituals exhibiting
ed. This androgynization is accomplished first through cir-
overt sexual symbolism are often concerned with fertility,
cumcision and then through subincision, an operation that
both on a cosmic and human level; they are associated with
symbolically supplies the initiate with a vulva. The subin-
certain religious conceptions, such as divine androgyny, or
cised member then represents both the female and male or-
with the reintegration of the primordial, beatific state that
gans. The ritual symbolism of androgyny results in the inte-
existed before the creation of the world and its social institu-
gration of opposites that constitutes the Australian
tions and moral order.
Aborigines’ idea of religious perfection. Ritual practices that
Female sexuality and fertility were important concepts
transform the male initiate into a “female” are found in socie-
even in the earliest sedentary agricultural societies, which ap-
ties in Africa, South America, and New Guinea.
peared in the Mediterranean region around 7000 BCE. With
In many creation myths, the sexual intercourse or mas-
the development of agriculture, gender roles were differenti-
turbation of a solitary primordial being results in the genesis
ated and became more specialized. The question of whether
of the cosmos. In an ancient Egyptian cosmogony, the pri-
preliterate cultures were aware of the causal relationship be-
meval god is said to have intercourse with his own hand (see
tween sexual intercourse and pregnancy is still controversial.
Hans Bonnet, Reallexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte,
However, one finds a recurrent identification between
Berlin, 1952, p. 676). This theme is more abstractly stated
woman and furrow (soil), man (phallus) and plow, and inter-
in a Gnostic myth (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.30.2) where
course and the act of plowing. Thus human sexuality was as-
the “lightdew” emanating from the primordial Father fecun-
sociated with the fertility of the natural order.
dates the Mother and represents a sort of seed. In the myth
One can distinguish several general trends in religious
of the S´atapatha Bra¯hman:a (1.7.4), a part of this seed (light)
attitudes toward sexuality. A “positive” or “naturalistic” atti-
falls below.
tude may manifest itself in fertility rituals or ritual orgies; a
“negative” one, in asceticism and techniques of sexual self-
Intercourse between gods and mortal women is a com-
control like those practiced by the Daoists of ancient China.
mon mythological theme. In several cultures, the mythical
Sexuality may also be perceived as a means for spiritual devel-
event is repeated in recurrent rituals that result in the transfer
opment, as in the Hindu and Buddhist Tantric tradition.
of spiritual “power” from a deity to a human being. During
a ceremony of the Cheyenne Indians called “intercourse with
The sacred character of the ritual orgy is especially evi-
the buffalo,” married women have intercourse with the elders
dent in some preliterate cultures, where collective rituals fol-
of the tribe in order to transfer “power” (xo’pini) to their own
lowed by intercourse illustrate the religious value of sexual
husbands. This rite reenacts the myth of the primordial in-
activity. The Aranda and other tribes from central and north-
tercourse between a woman and the Great Spirit, who proba-
western Australia practice brief intervals of ritual orgy, dur-
bly appeared as a buffalo. The Great Spirit’s power was fur-
ing which all sexual proscriptions are suspended. The Aranda
ther sexually transmitted to the first shaman (see Duerr,
believe that they thus return to the freedom and beatitude
1984).
of their mythical ancestors. Likewise, in Arnhem Land, initi-
ations into the secret cult of the Kunapipi (Gunabibi) em-
Horse sacrifices in Ireland and India also reenact a
phasize the sacrality of sexual experience and the mystery of
mythical intercourse between a mortal and a god in animal
feminine fecundity. The final rituals consist of a ceremonial
form, through which a transfer of power takes place. Accord-
exchange of wives. Ritual license is believed to establish
ing to Gerald de Barri (c. 1146–1223), an Irish king copulat-
goodwill, friendship, and group cohesiveness.
ed with a mare, after which the mare was killed, cut into
pieces, and boiled. The king bathed in this broth, drank it,
Also for the Ngaju Dayak of Borneo, sexuality has a sa-
and ate the boiled meat. This rite is connected with the Celt-
cred character. According to their mythology, the world was
ic equine goddess Epona (from Proto-Indo-European
created by a godhead conceived as two divine adversaries
*ekwos, “horse”). In India, the horse sacrifice (a´svamedha)
who engaged each other in violent battle. During the collec-
consists of a simulated copulation between the queen and a
tive annual ceremonies, there is a return to this precosmic
dead stallion. The queen (mahis:i) lies down beside the stal-
sacred time, when as a result of the fighting between the two
lion and entwines her legs with the hind legs of the horse.
divinities the world has ceased to exist and social rules and
The ritual suggests that the force of the white stallion will
moral interdictions are suspended. While waiting for a new
be received by the queen and transmitted to the king.
creation, the community lives in the presence of the god-
head, which is depicted as the primordial water-snake or the
One aspect of the sacrality of sexuality is expressed in
tree of life. Through ritual, its members participate in a sa-
fertility rites; another, in religious techniques of self-control
cred orgy, which takes place in accordance with divine com-
and asceticism. These techniques, however, are not necessari-
mandments (Schärer, 1946, pp. 94ff.).
ly based on a dualistic tension between “spirit” and “flesh.”
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8240
SEXUALITY: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
Chinese sex manuals of the Eastern Han dynasty (25–
thought, and seminal emission. To lead to this paradoxical
220 CE) hint at a Daoist technique of sexual control. This
state, which surpasses the structure and the limits of the
technique was one of the procedures for “nourishing the vital
human condition, sexual activity must be radically trans-
principle” by which a Daoist would achieve immortality. In
formed. The instruction and yogic preparation of the disciple
addition to this sexual practice, two other procedures
are long and difficult. Even the young female partner is duly
(“embryonic respiration” and dao-yin, “gymnastics”) have
instructed by the guru; she consecrates her body by nya¯sas
been brilliantly described by Henri Maspero (1937). Essen-
(ritual “projections” of divinities). Thus, sexual union be-
tially, practice was that of coitus reservatus: ejaculation was
comes a ritual through which the human couple is changed
stopped by pressure on the seminal duct, while the seed was
into the divine pair S´iva and S´akti. The texts emphasize the
supposed to turn back and rise to the brain, which was thus
idea that maithuna is above all the integration of the two di-
“restored.” The “female fluid” (vaginal secretions) was “reab-
vine principles: for example, the Ku¯la¯rn:ava Tantra (5.111–
sorbed” and contributed toward prolonging life. During one
112) states that “the true sexual union is the union of the
ritual, it was recommended that the participant change part-
para¯´sakti with the a¯tman; other unions represent only carnal
ners as frequently as possible (texts mention as many as one
relations with women.” The “sacralization” of sexuality
hundred partners, but ten seems to be the standard). De-
through rituals and specific types of meditations is strongly
spised by Confucians for being both immoral and ruinous
and frequently emphasized. “By the same acts that cause
to one’s health, this practice nevertheless continued until the
some men to burn in hell for thousands of years, the yogin
seventeenth century.
gains his eternal salvation” (Indrabhuti, Jña¯nasiddhi 15).
In India, sexuality has played a significant role in reli-
According to Vajraya¯na mythology, the Buddha himself
gious life and thought since the Vedic period (cf. Eliade,
set the example; by practicing maithuna, he succeeded in
1969, pp. 254ff.). But it was not until the emergence of Tan-
conquering Ma¯ra, and the same technique made him omni-
trism that sexual practices were considered a means of ob-
scient and the master of magical powers (see Eliade, 1969,
taining spiritual perfection and absolute freedom or immor-
pp. 263ff.). The ideal of a final reintegration of opposites is
tality. Ritualized sexual union, maithuna, is the last and most
a common goal in both Hindu and Buddhist (Vajrayana)
important of a series of yogic bodily techniques and medita-
Tantrism. Maha¯sukha, the “great bliss” (i.e., the beatitude of
tions. Such a union can be realized either spiritually (i.e.,
realizing one’s Buddhahood), is the paradoxical state of abso-
with a divine image mentally constructed and projected in
lute nonduality (advaya); it cannot be known dialectically
front of the practitioner) or physically with one’s wife. In
but can be apprehended only through actual experience. In
contrast to this “right-hand” Tantrism, the “left-hand”
esoteric Vajraya¯na, maha¯sukha can be obtained by the unifi-
schools require as rite partner a d:omb¯ı (lit., “washerwom-
cation of prajña¯ (wisdom) and upa¯ya (the means to attain it),
an”), a girl from a lower class or a courtesan. The more de-
´su¯nyata¯ (emptiness) and karun:(compassion), and other
praved and debauched the woman, the more fit she is for the
pairs of opposites that designate “female” and “male.” These
rite. In accordance with the Tantric doctrines of the identity
terms are often represented iconographically by a couple in
of opposites, the “noblest and the most precious” is hidden
sexual embrace. Such a union (yoga) is known as advaya.
precisely in the “basest and most common.”
Sometimes the two deities are combined into one body. The
transcending of sexuality is expressed thus in the form of the
Tantric texts are often composed in an “intentional lan-
androgyne.
guage” (sandhya¯-bha¯s:), a sacred, dark, ambiguous language
in which a state of consciousness is expressed by erotic terms
The idea that semen contains a vital force is common
and sexual meanings. For example, bodhicitta (“thought of
to the Chinese, Indian, and Greek traditions. For the Chi-
awakening”) means also semen virile; padma (“lotus”) is inter-
nese, the “vital essence” (ch’i) is to be spared and increased;
preted as bhaga (“womb”); vajra (“thunderbolt”) signifies
in the Indian tradition, the fire of asceticism (tapas) produces
lin˙ga (membrum virile). But in certain sectarian movements
supernatural powers (siddhi); in Greek medicine, sperm con-
(such as the Sahaj¯ıya¯, for example), vajra also means ´su¯nya
tains “spirit” (pneuma), a substance whose loss would dimin-
“emptiness” and lalana¯ “woman” means id: (one of the
ish the vitality of the whole organism. On the contrary, the
“veins” of the Indian mystical physiology), abha¯va
accumulation of pneuma is an essential requisite for those
(“nonbeing”), candra (“moon”), prakr:ti (“nature”), “the
who perform magic. The Indian follows the same logic: an
Ganges,” “vowels,” and even nirva¯n:a (cf. other examples in
apsara, or heavenly nymph, caused the great ascetic Dadh¯ıca
Eliade, 1969, pp. 253ff.). Thus, a Tantric text is to be read
(Maha¯bha¯rata, S´alyaparvan 1) to lose his semen, rendering
on several different levels. For instance, the verse “The
him powerless (see David N. Lorenzen’s The Ka¯pa¯likas and
woman and the tongue are immobilized on either side of the
the Ka¯la¯mukhas, New Delhi, 1972, pp. 91–92).
sun and the moon” can be understood to refer to the arrest
of breath but also the arrest of seminal emission.
In my article “Spirit, Light, and Seed” (1971), I have
analyzed Gnostic evidence within a broad religious context
Sexual union, maithuna, serves to make respiration
in which semen plays an important role. It has been recently
rhythmical and to aid concentration. The final goal of
demonstrated that Gnostic experiences are connected with
maithuna is the simultaneous “immobilization” of breath,
the Greek theories of the pneuma (see Giovanni Filoramo’s
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SEXUALITY: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8241
Luce e Gnosi, Rome, 1980). The original Gnostic testimonies
world in “Spirit, Light, and Seed,” History of Religions 11
(preserved in Coptic) portray gnosis as a meditative and ritu-
(1971): 1–30, now available in my Occultism, Witchcraft, and
al process in which the strenuous efforts of the adept are in-
Cultural Fashions: Essays in Comparative Religions (Chicago,
tended to achieve a sort of ecstasy. These testimonies belong
1976).
to ascetic trends of gnosis. They contain polemic undertones
MIRCEA ELIADE (1987)
directed against the followers of libertine trends. Unfortu-
nately, the original testmonies of the latter have not survived.
SEE ALSO Androgynes; Asceticism; Hierodouleia; Hieros
SEXUALITY: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER
Gamos; Homosexuality; Phallus and Vagina; Tantrism; Vir-
CONSIDERATIONS]
ginity; Yoni.
The theme of human sexuality lies behind much of the most
significant, influential, and revolutionary theorizing of the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
modern study of religion. From Jean-Martin Charcot’s early
Several of my own works deal with sexuality in early agricultural
speculations on the remarkable similarities between female
societies; see especially Patterns in Comparative Religion,
hysteria and traditional forms of religious rapture to Sig-
translated by Rosemary Sheed (New York, 1958),
mund Freud’s reflections on the culturally and personally de-
pp. 125–139, and A History of Religious Ideas, vol. 1, From
fining mechanisms of Oedipal desire and the sexual dynam-
the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries, translated by Willard
ics of dreams, literature, and religious phenomena and from
R. Trask (Chicago, 1978), pp. 11–14.
the radical ethical critiques of the patriarchal dimensions of
The mytho-religious associations of sexuality among archaic and
these same motifs within nineteenth- and twentieth-century
traditional societies in Borneo and Australia are treated, re-
feminist theory to the latest transformations of this ethical-
spectively, by Hans Schärer in Ngaju Religion: The Concep-
critical discourse within contemporary queer theory, gender
tion of God among a South Borneo People, translated by Rod-
studies, and trauma theory, human sexuality, as Michel Fou-
ney Needham (1946; reprint, The Hague, 1963), and by me
cault so famously observed, has become a central preoccupa-
in Australian Religions: An Introduction (Ithaca, N. Y., 1973)
tion of critical thought and is now commonly approached
and Birth and Rebirth: The Religious Meaning of Initiation in
Human Culture,
translated by Willard R. Trask (London,
as “the secret” of human identity and behavior, including—
1958). Ritual intercourse among the Cheyenne of North
and especially—religious identity and behavior.
America is described by Hans P. Duerr in Sedra oder die Liebe
Certainly such an approach needs to be balanced by
zum Leben (Frankfurt, 1984).
other methods and insights, particularly those involving the
Indo-European sexual rites connected with the horse sacrifice are
crucial issues of race and class (themselves inevitably gen-
the focus of Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty’s Women, An-
dered and sexualized), as considerations of the sexual never
drogynes, and Other Mythical Beasts (Chicago, 1980), which
exhaust the impossibly full semiotic range of religious phe-
is also published under the title Sexual Metaphors and Animal
nomena. Moreover, sexual motifs in the history of religions
Symbolism in Indian Mythology (Delhi, 1980). Sexual prac-
hardly signify simple “sexuality” as that category is common-
tices associated with the Indian Hol¯ı festival are analyzed by
ly used today (that is, in a strictly biological, materialistic,
Johann Jakob Meyer in his famous Trilogie altindischer
or socialized sense), but rather almost always simultaneously
Mächte und Feste der Vegetation, vol. 1 (Zurich, 1937), al-
though his material must be viewed with caution.
connote other specifically transcendent potentialities of the
human being and the universe. Despite modern and post-
Daoist sexual practices, their origin, means, and aims, have been
modern doubts about positing ontological meanings, the his-
presented in an excellent essay by Henri Maspero: “Les
torical religions have consistently connected human sexuality
procédés de ‘nourrir le principe vital’ dans la religion daoïste
with cosmic energies and powers that extend far beyond what
ancienne,” Journal asiatique 229 (1937): 177–252, 353–430.
This essay is now readily available in Le daoïsme et les religions
is meant today by “sexuality.” Moreover, they have seen in
chinoises (Paris, 1971), pp. 479–589 (see esp. pp. 553–577),
human sexuality—which they have either repressed, ex-
and in the English translation by Frank A. Kierman, Jr., Tao-
pressed, or, more commonly and complexly, sublimated,
ism and Chinese Religion (Amherst, 1981). The history of
symbolized, or displaced—some of the deepest dynamics,
Daoist practices is outlined by Robert Hans van Gulik in
even causes, of cosmic creation, community, religious au-
Sexual Life in Ancient China (Leiden, 1961). Here van Gulik
thority, sanctity, aggression, violence, sin, bondage, suffer-
develops his earlier treatment of the topic in Erotic Colour
ing, salvation, enlightenment, and liberation. The sexual is
Prints of the Ming Period, with an Essay on Chinese Sex Life
indeed, even in the religions, one of “the secrets” around
from the Han to the Ch’ing Dynasty, B.C. 206–A.D. 1644 3
which human identity in all its social, political, economic,
vols. (Tokyo, 1951), a rare book.
biological, and religious complexity is constructed (and so
On Tantric practices, see my Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, 2d
also deconstructed).
ed. (Princeton, 1969), Agehananda Bharati’s The Tantric
Tradition
(London, 1965), and Wendy Doniger
Ever since Foucault famously reconceptualized “homo-
O’Flaherty’s Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of S´iva
sexuality” (by asserting that the idea of a stable homosexual
(London, 1973). I have described the intellectual pattern un-
identity developed in tandem with modern Western medical
derlying several sexual experiences in the religions of the
and psychological discourses, and that cultures that lacked
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SEXUALITY: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
such linguistic categories could not have produced such iden-
as personal dissolution into a cosmic continuity, Bakhtin’s
tities), it has been tempting to suggest, as many have in fact
notion of the carnival and the creative uses of ritual transgres-
done, that these allegedly ancient and universal connections
sion, and Turner’s famous reflections on ritual liminality and
between the sacred and sexual are primarily a function of
communitas (that unique form of social bonding that is creat-
modern language games—that is, that we see such things in
ed in moments of ritual transition and transgression) all
history because modern forms of social experience and con-
point to the essentially charismatic power of sexuality and its
sciousness, embodied in modern technical vocabularies and
abilities to transform human religious and social structures,
economic arrangements, encourage us to do so. This is no
either temporarily or permanently.
doubt partly true. And even if some of the most recent writ-
ing on the history of sexuality suggests that such a Foucauldi-
Certainly the religions themselves have often considered
an thesis, at least in its strongest forms, should probably be
transgression as a path to a kind of momentary utopia or as
abandoned now—as it appears that ancient cultures not only
a means of social experiment or even revolution. One thinks
knew about what we might call “sexual orientations” but ac-
immediately, for example, of any number of Hindu or Bud-
tually created categories of persons and identities to express
dhist Tantric traditions, in which the structures of caste, pu-
and classify these, sometimes in an explicitly medical register
rity, and moral code are systematically violated, often
(see especially the texts of John Boswell and Bernadette J.
through sexual acts, in an attempt to reveal the illusory na-
Brooten for Christianity and the collaborative works of Mur-
ture of all dualisms and expose the deeper nondual or empty
ray and Roscoe on Islamic homosexualities, Sweet and Zwil-
nature of reality. One thinks also of the Daoist sexual yoga
ling on the early Buddhist and Jain categorizations of sexual
that was practiced to build up and preserve enough biophysi-
identities, and Vanita and Kidwai on same-sex love in Indian
cal energy to power spiritual flight toward immortality, a
literature), this same methodological constructivism has had
pursuit often in considerable tension with the more mun-
an immensely creative and positive effect on scholarship
dane Confucian concerns about family and state. Similar
since the 1970s, by forcing it to become more self-reflexive
patterns can also be seen in Western cultural history. Hence
about its categories and more critically aware of its histories.
the reports of “deviant” sexual acts so prominently featured
in attacks against heresy throughout the history of Christian-
Still, given that every human being throughout history
ity, from early claims that Christian Gnostics used sexual flu-
has “had” a body (the English expression is misleading, as it
ids as sacramental substances to modern reports of sexual
already presumes a questionable dualism) that was presum-
abuse among the Branch Davidians. So too the early modern
ably created, developed, and defined by the same genetic,
European concern over witchcraft, which was often ex-
hormonal, and developmental processes that largely deter-
pressed through sexual motifs such as the witch’s intercourse
mine our own, it seems doubtful indeed that one can err too
with the devil, the physical nature of Satan’s semen, stolen
far in positing a broadly construed sexuality as a universal de-
penises, and the occult orgy—a collective obsession Walter
terminative of the history of religions. At the same time, one-
Stephens has read as a late medieval attempt to salvage the
must recognize that the range of culturally determined sexual
supernatural in the face of an early modern skepticism by
expression and identity, along with their attendant religious
“proving” it through the physicality of the witch’s sex with
and metaphysical meanings, probably far exceeds the capaci-
her “demon lovers.” One might also point to another bearer
ties of imagination, not to mention of analysis.
of cultural instability and change, the 1960s American coun-
SEXUAL TRANSGRESSIONS AND SOCIAL UTOPIAS. As any
terculture, which was defined largely by an efflorescence of
number of ancient mythologies and legal systems can show,
alternative religious experiments (many of them, interesting-
sexuality has often, if not always, been perceived as a difficult
ly enough, of an Asian, and often Tantric, extraction) and
force to control and define. Indeed, much of the religious
by the triply transgressive mantra, “sex, drugs, and rock and
concern with sexuality boils down to the question of how
roll.”
sexuality can be canalized into the acceptable lineage and in-
“Deviant” forms of sexuality and radical social change,
heritance flows of family, clan, tribe, or community.
in other words, often go hand in hand for the simple reason
The inevitable flip side and necessary structural opposite
that social structure (who is who, who is related to whom,
of this social control is found in two phenomena, either as
who has power over whom) is determined largely by sexual
they are actually practiced or as they are imagined: the orgy
practices and definitions (who penetrates whom and with
and the carnival. In both, sexuality is (or is thought to be)
what meanings). Alter either those practices or those defini-
ritually used—sometimes symbolically, sometimes quite lit-
tions and one alters that structure. In other words, the oft-
erally—to break down, at least momentarily, carefully con-
cited claim that human identity and religious truth are social-
structed and maintained structures of social control. Such
ly constructed, often taken as nihilistic or relativistic, can also
phenomena have played an especially important role in mod-
be read as implying a kind of golden lining, for what has been
ern theories about religion, particularly via the works of
constructed can always be reconstructed (after it has been de-
Georges Bataille, Mikhail Bakhtin, and Victor Turner.
constructed). And human sexuality, both because of its ec-
Bataille’s philosophical reflections on taboo and transgres-
static, emotionally “dissolving” capacities and its dramatic
sion as the psychological keys to the experience of the sacred
powers to express, violate, or affirm intimate social mean-
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SEXUALITY: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8243
ings, is a uniquely powerful site for the realization of these
ranging from biblical studies to Buddhology. Two very dif-
deconstructions and reconstructions.
ferent cases will be sufficient to make our point here: medi-
eval Jewish Qabbalah as studied by Elliot Wolfson in his
This socially creative function of religious sexuality is il-
Through a Speculum That Shines (1994), and the tulku sys-
luminatingly examined in Lawrence Foster’s 1984 study of
tem of Tibetan Buddhism as analyzed by June Campbell in
three significant nineteenth-century American religious ex-
her Traveller in Space (1996).
periments, each of which arose shortly before the Civil War:
the Shakers, the Oneida Perfectionists, and the Mormons.
Much earlier work on the feminine in Qabbalah, fo-
Each of these new religions advanced their utopian visions
cused primarily on the Shekhinah or female manifestation of
through alternative sexual practices (interestingly, all based
the Godhead, appears to have been driven, implicitly or ex-
largely on an identical New Testament passage, Matthew
plicitly, by either a type of Jungian enthusiasm for identify-
22:23–30) that their contemporaries ridiculed, feared, and,
ing the Shekhinah as the anima or “female soul” of Jewish
in many cases, actively combated. All three traditions, in
mysticism or by an Eliadean idealization of divine androgyny
their responses to the radically new social and economic con-
as a coincidentia oppositorum, or “coincidence of opposites.”
ditions of an industrializing and individualizing America,
Such readings of androgyny as expressing a kind of spiritual
shared the conviction that religious life needed to be radically
wholeness or gender balance still have much to offer, and no
reformed around new theologies, although each community
doubt capture part, maybe even much, of the truth, but they
developed a very different sexual embodiment of its respec-
need to be deepened and qualified by later, more critical
tive utopian vision. Thus the Shakers opted for complete cel-
work. More recent scholarship in both Jewish Studies and
ibacy, the Oneida Perfectionists practiced both a kind of
Indology, for example, has demonstrated that androgyny is
“male continence” (coitus reservatus) and group marriage in
often actually a kind of “male androgyny” that admittedly
which sexual partners were shared among the community,
includes but does not grant equal semiotic weight to the fem-
and the early Mormons turned to polygamy. Sexual experi-
inine, much less to actual women. Ellen Goldberg’s 2002
ment, social experiment, and religious revelation were thus
study of the Hindu deity Ardhana¯r¯ı´svara, the “Lord Who Is
all intimately linked.
Half Woman” (and not, the Goddess Who Is Half Man), is
a powerful example of this recent trend, as is Hugh Urban’s
THE GODDESS, THE ANDROGYNE, AND THE FEMALE MYSTI-
2001 study of Tantric rituals in which the female essence is
CAL GUIDE: IDEALIZATIONS AND INTERPRETED REALITIES.
absorbed into the male practitioner, who then stands in for
One of the most oft-noted features of the religions studied
the perfect unity of the god and goddess. One also thinks of
in contemporary scholarship is their virtual erasure of the
Douglas Wile’s eloquent and astonishingly detailed studies
feminine from the divine and, subsequently, from the public
of Daoist sexual yoga, which show that even though hetero-
social order. It is indeed striking just how absent actual
sexual intercourse was used by Daoists to reconstitute the
women are in the textual records of the history of religions.
primordial “androgyny” of the dao as yin and yang, its prima-
This has led, among many other pursuits, to a quarter-
ry purpose was to allow the male practitioner to “steal” the
century flurry of studies of goddess cults, much of which has
mystico-erotic energies of the woman in order to reconstitute
been driven by a single question: does the presence of female
that unity in himself.
deities necessarily, or even usually, result in the greater social
Wolfson’s work on medieval Jewish mysticism has dem-
empowerment of women “on the ground”? The question has
onstrated something similar, namely, that what the male
been endlessly debated, but one general conclusion, reached
qabbalists were after finally was a vision of the divine phallus
around the turn of the twenty-first century, is rather surpris-
perceived through the cloud-like or amorphous feminine en-
ing: not only do female deities generally not result in the
ergy, or Shekhinah, of God. Jewish mysticism, in other
greater social empowerment of women, there is increasing
words, employs feminine symbolism and even actual sexual
evidence to suggest that strong goddess cults often correlate
ritual (medieval qabbalists were required to have sex with
negatively with such empowerment; that is, traditions (such
their wives on the eve of the Sabbath in order to help redeem
as Roman Catholicism or Brahmanic Hinduism) that display
the divine and human worlds) not in order to establish the
dramatic interest in feminine figures tend to disempower
centrality, agency, or importance of women or to effect some
women more than traditions that do not display such an in-
kind of perfectly symmetrical gender balance, but to arouse
terest. There does seem to be some general relationship be-
the essential and final maleness of God. In structural terms,
tween symbolism and sociology, then, but that relationship
Qabbalah is both phallocentric (that is, it centers on the
is not always what one might first expect and is by no means
phallus of God) and homoerotic (for what we ultimately
stable.
have are male mystics uniting, through women, with a male
Whatever one chooses to make of such debates, one
God). As in Indian or Chinese sexual yoga, the actual woman
thing seems beyond question: namely, that women have
is a ritual means toward this end, but her own subjectivity
been generally denied access to scriptural texts and their in-
and agency are hardly concerns for the qabbalist, at least as
terpretation, to leadership roles in the community, and to the
he is represented in the mystical texts themselves.
sacred itself. In recent scholarship, different versions of this
June Campbell’s feminist analysis (itself deeply indebted
thesis have been argued literally thousands of times, in fields
to the earlier psychoanalytic analyses of Robert A. Paul) of
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SEXUALITY: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
the different institutional, symbolic, and ritual structures of
“woman” in a particular society. Put simply, we now com-
Tibetan Buddhism that work to remove, silence, or literally
monly “read” religion through the lens of gender.
threaten female agency shows us something similar again.
Somewhere around 1980, another major hermeneutical
Campbell’s intellectual and autobiographical account of her
shift occurred within religious studies, this time directing at-
heartfelt search for the da¯kin:¯ı—that female “traveler in
tention toward the category of sexual orientation. In the
space” who mystically guides the spiritual quests of Buddhist
wake of studies such as John Boswell’s magisterial Christiani-
meditators by synchronously appearing in their dreams, vi-
ty, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality (1980), it was no lon-
sions, and scriptural readings—turns out to be both poignant
ger sufficient to ask about the gender of a particular perspec-
and, ultimately, tragic. Put too simply, Campbell doesn’t
tive or phenomena, as if every male ascetic who had
find her. As part of a wide-ranging analysis, Campbell turns,
“renounced” sexual contact with a woman in order to enter
for example, to the well-known tulku system—in which an
an all-male community or love a male deity was conquering
infant boy is taken away from his mother by an all-male
his sexual desires instead of finding a cultural outlet more at-
monastery after being identified through ritual and parapsy-
tuned to his particular sexual-spiritual inclinations. Sexual
chological means as a dead lama’s reincarnation—in order
sublimation, from Plato’s Symposium to Freud’s Three Essays,
to demonstrate convincingly how “woman” is removed al-
is hardly simply about sex; it is also about the sublime and
most entirely from the institutional system in an attempt to
the mystical, and it is often decidedly homoerotic. Suddenly,
create a mythology in which men reproduce and raise them-
everything—from David and Jonathan’s intimate friendship
selves independently of women. In the tulku mythology, the
and Jesus’ “beloved disciple,” to Catholic clerical celibacy
reincarnated lama’s mother is a reproductive organ, but little
and Buddhist monasticism—looked different.
else; she is a means to an end, not a person in her own right
with inalienable rights to her own son and a crucial role to
Foucault’s late work on the history of sexuality (which
play in his upbringing. Campbell’s analysis, moreover, has
relies on the earlier pioneering essays of K. J. Dover) is foun-
a personal dimension, as she draws on her experience as a
dational here, particularly as it was picked up, developed,
qualified, and corrected by such writers as John Boswell,
Tantric consort of one of the highest-ranking lamas of con-
Daniel Boyarin, Howard Eilberg-Schwartz, Mark Jordan,
temporary Tibetan Buddhism to demonstrate how secrecy
and Bernadette J. Brooten. Developed and advanced most
and threats serve to silence women and preserve a false front
fully in Greek, Christian, and Jewish contexts, this body of
of celibate authority. Here Tantric ritual practice, far from
theory eventually was applied to other cultural arenas as well,
being a sacralization of human sexuality or a mark of sexual
particularly the Sambia of New Guinea and the Zuni of the
liberation (as it is often presented in apologetic sources) is
American southwest via the pioneering ethnographic work
essentially abusive. By means of secrecy, public denial, and
of Gil Herdt and Will Roscoe; Islam through the coedited
threats, it denies “woman” the very place where Tibetan ico-
volumes of J.W. Wright Jr. and Everett K. Rowson and Ste-
nography so dramatically places her: on the lap of the Bud-
phen O. Murray and Will Roscoe; Hinduism via the textual
dha. Recent work, particularly that of Judith Simmer-
studies of Jeffrey J. Kripal (1995), Giti Thadani, Ruth Vanita
Brown, has sought to qualify or soften Campbell’s analysis,
and Saleem Kidwai, and Devdutt Pattanaik; and Buddhism
but the very existence of the debate suggests that the prob-
through the work of José Cabezón, Michael Sweet and Leon-
lems of feminine identity and the abusive charismatic guru
ard Zwilling, and Bernard Faure. Recently, moreover, now
in Tibetan Buddhism are real ones that will likely not disap-
turning the lens back on itself, a similar erotic hermeneutic
pear, as the da¯kin:¯ı herself so often does, for a very long time.
has been used to study the psychosexual production of criti-
G
cal theory in the study of religion through an examination
ENDER, SPIRITUAL ORIENTATION, AND THE SEXUAL PRO-
of the mystico-erotic experiences of the scholars themselves
DUCTION OF SANCTITY. As historians of religion have stud-
ied the feminine since the 1970s, they have grown increas-
(see Kripal, Roads of Excess).
ingly aware that the meanings of religious symbols and
Certainly one of the most dramatic (and culturally rele-
rituals shift, even reverse, when the gender perspective from
vant) facets of this scholarly history has been the sexual analy-
which they are observed is switched. In other words, one can-
sis of Roman Catholicism, particularly as developed in the
not presume that, say, the experience of animal sacrifice (al-
work of the medieval historian, ethicist, and contemporary
most always a male activity), ascetic practice, or even medita-
cultural critic Mark Jordan. In The Invention of Sodomy
tion are the same for men and women within a particular
(1997), Jordan studied the theological origins and rhetorical
religious tradition. Sexual renunciation in early Christianity,
uses of the category, concept, and term sodomy. In his Silence
for example, no doubt worked very differently for many
of Sodom of a few years later, Jordan demonstrated convinc-
women—whose lives in Roman society would have been
ingly (well before the Catholic sex scandals became public
dominated by early and life-long child-rearing and the lack
in the spring of 2002) that modern Catholicism, despite its
of social opportunities—than it did for most men. And cer-
vehement public condemnations of homosexuality as a moral
tainly the innumerable misogynistic elements of scriptural
and psychosexual “objective disorder,” actually produces
and ascetic texts are now read as products of the male psyche
some stunningly rich and complex homoerotic subcultures
and its projections, and not as an accurate representation of
within its very heart, in effect defining sanctity as a form of
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SEXUALITY: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8245
repressed and sublimated (homo)sexuality. Theologically, li-
in the construction of purity systems around the world. Puri-
turgically, and institutionally, Catholicism privileges an all-
ty here is constituted and performed by those substances or
male structure whose goal is to encourage and nurture,
acts that preserve both the world order as it is imagined by
through a series of male-controlled practices and beliefs, a
the community and the body-container of the individual/
profound love for another male (deity). In the process, the
community—the “social body,” as it were. Any substance
tradition manages to feature any number of typically “gay”
that oozes or flows from a break in this social(ized) body, or
or “queer” practices, from the formation of same-sex com-
any act that effects such a break, is by definition impure.
munities to liturgical cross-dressing and the adoration and
Tellingly, eating and sex are associated with the classic cases
consumption of the male body, all under the normalizing
of taboo and impurity, because in each of these activities sub-
guise of a very large and venerable religion. In effect, the gay
stances flow in and out of the body-container. Interestingly,
Catholic cleric passes as straight in public even as he flaunts
trauma theorists have turned to the same symbolism to make
his queerness through a series of traditional religious prac-
sense of what happens when psychic and bodily integrity is
tices that Jordan calls “clerical camp.”
lost and boundaries of all sorts are violated, are penetrated,
or simply disappear. A specifically traumatic response occurs
This might be a particularly extreme (and so particularly
when something from the outside, something “impure,”
instructive) argument, but the ubiquitousness of celibacy,
breaks through the container, denies those boundaries so
male imagery, and same-sex communities within religious
carefully set up by society in the mind, and possesses the vic-
contexts certainly suggests that the sexual production of
tim as something alien and external. Following such experi-
sanctity—through the control of theological definition and
ences, the mind often returns to the traumatic event through
institutional authority, and through the simultaneous repres-
memory, nightmare, obsessive thoughts, or compulsive ritual
sion and sublimation of erotic energies—is a process very
behavior. Many contemporary theorists and analysts believe
much worth exploring. Here, it seems, one begins to ap-
that healing can occur only when the traumatized individual
proach one of the secrets of sanctity itself.
is able to recover the event (which he or she may not even
TRAUMA AND TRANSCENDENCE. In the broad twentieth-
remember—forgetfulness or repression are central to trau-
century attempt to understand the altered states of con-
ma) and incorporate it into some sort of narrative or creative
sciousness commonly labeled “mystical”—historically de-
response. It is necessary, in other words, to tell a story, to
scribed by the religions themselves in sexual and violent
speak the unspeakable, to give witness to the traumatic event,
terms (sexual ecstasy and death are arguably the two most
to quite literally re-member the integrity of one’s body and
common tropes of mystical literature)—scholarly and philo-
soul before the abyss of forgetfulness, denial, and silence.
sophical discourse eventually had to confront the difficult
question of contemporary trauma theory and the related and
All of this has profound, and profoundly ambiguous,
vexing question of sexual abuse. From the early pioneering
implications for readings of the trance, ecstatic, and posses-
speculations of Joseph Breuer, Sigmund Freud, and Jean-
sion phenomena so common in the history of religions.
Martin Charcot, that “master diagnostician of the supernatu-
From the account of Jesus’ healing ministry recorded in the
ral” (Mazzoni, 1996, p. 9), through the literary and philo-
New Testament (see Davies, 1995), to the repetitive ritual
sophical writings of Georges Bataille, Judith Herman, and
cycle of the Christian liturgy with its meditative focus on a
Judith Butler, to the modern psychiatric studies of Robert
politically tortured man, to the latest scandals involving
Jay Lifton and Bessel A. van der Kolk and the philosophical
Catholic priests or charismatic gurus, sexual trauma and al-
and textual studies of Amy Hollywood, theorists have consis-
tered states of consciousness—and their sacralization—
tently read specific types of altered states as psychological re-
appear repeatedly and seem remarkably ripe for critical anal-
sponses or symptomatic responses to a previous shattering
ysis and reinterpretation. If there is yet another edge to the
experience of physical or sexual trauma.
“cutting edge” of scholarship on sexuality and the history of
religions, this is likely it.
Human beings, these theorists argue in a wide variety
THE ETHICAL AND THE ONTOLOGICAL. Consideration of
of psychological and theological keys, routinely experience
the relationship between trauma and religion is inherently
life events that are mentally and physically shattering. These
provocative because it raises very serious questions about
may occur in dramatic contexts such as war, political perse-
many precritical idealizations of religious forms of sexuality,
cution, rape, the death of a loved one, spousal abuse, or a
and about the different ways in which religious traditions
terrorist act, or in the context of less obviously dramatic life
draw on sexuality and its traumatization to create numinous
events (for example, a divorce, car accident, or witnessed
phenomena. Certainly many early forms of scholarship and
crime) that are nonetheless psychologically damaging. The
most forms of religious belief erased, transformed, or simply
key is not necessarily the external “objective” nature of the
did not see such sexual and traumatic dimensions. Happily,
event but the way the human mind responds to it.
such tendencies have been corrected or reversed in recent
A central feature of the conceptualization of trauma is
scholarship. Bernard Faure’s examination of Buddhist sexu-
the metaphor of the broken or invaded body-container. In
ality, for example, has not hesitated to isolate and question
her classic 1966 study Purity and Danger, the anthropologist
ethically problematic, even abusive, elements of the Buddhist
Mary Douglass pointed out the centrality of this metaphor
traditions. What to do, for example, with an Indian tantric
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ritual in which the practitioner has sexual intercourse with
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member Plato’s Phaedrus?). One may or may not share their
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views on the possibility of such things, but one would do well
ties: Culture, History, and Literature. New York, 1997.
to at least listen to their hermeneutical complaints and not
Pattanaik, Devdutt. The Man Who Was a Woman and Other Queer
collapse mystical forms of eroticism—from John Humphrey
Tales from Hindu Lore. New York, 2002.
Noyes’s “male continence” to the Daoist’s sexual yoga—into
Roscoe, Will. The Zuni Man-Woman. Albuquerque, N.M., 1991.
modern Western notions of an entirely natural or material
Simmer-Brown, Judith. Dakini’s Warm Breath: The Feminine
sexuality. Sexuality and the sacred are certainly connected,
Principle in Tibetan Buddhism. Boston, 2001.
and intimately so, but they do not appear to be the same
Stephens, Walter. Demon Lovers: Witchcraft, Sex, and the Crisis of
thing, and their ethical dilemmas are many, at least if one
Belief. Chicago, 2002.
is to take seriously the elaborate sexual witness of the history
Sweet, Michael J., and Leonard Zwilling. “The First Medicaliza-
of religions.
tion: The Taxonomy and Etiology of Queers in Classical In-
dian Medicine.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 3, no. 4
SEE ALSO Phallus and Vagina.
(1993): 590–607.
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SEXUALITY: SEXUAL RITES IN EUROPE
8247
Sweet, Michael J., and Leonard Zwilling. “Like a City Ablaze: The
drogynous, just as Anthropos, the primal human, is. In order
Third Sex and the Creation of Sexuality in Jain Religious Lit-
to return to this original wholeness and thereby escape death,
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which only occurred, according to the Gospel of Philip, after
359–384.
the separation of the two sexes, man and woman should sex-
Swidler, Arlene, ed. Homosexuality and World Religions. Valley
ually unite. In a much broader sense, according to these
Forge, Penn., 1993.
teachings, with this union other fundamental polarities of
Thadani, Giti. Sakhiyani: Lesbian Desire in Ancient and Modern
the world also become resolved in a coincidentia oppositorum.
India. London, 1996.
Even the Aeons, as primordial emanations of the supreme
being, are said to have come together in sexual intercourse
Urban, Hugh B. The Economics of Ecstasy: Tantra, Secrecy, and
Power in Colonial Bengal. Oxford and New York, 2001.
in order to achieve wholeness. For humans, the so-called
bridal chamber rite (thalamos, nymphon), which was mainly
Van der Kolk, Bessel A., Alexander C. McFarlane, and Lars Weis-
used by the Valentinians, was also a way to reestablish the
aeth, eds. Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Expe-
original divine androgyny; a man as earthly representative of
rience on Mind, Body, and Society. New York, 1996.
the redeemer (soter) and a woman as representative of wis-
Vanita, Ruth, and Saleem Kidwai, eds. Same-Sex Love in India:
dom (sophia) performed the hierogamy (holy wedding),
Readings from Literature and History. New York, 2000.
whereupon the present believers copied their actions.
Wile, Douglas, ed. Art of the Bedchamber: The Chinese Sexual Yoga
According to an account of Epiphanius from the fourth
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N.Y., 1992.
Gnostics engaged in a prototype of a practice that was also
Wolfson, Elliot R. Through a Speculum That Shines: Vision and
performed in sexual-magical groups of the twentieth century:
Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism. Princeton, N.J.,
the ingestion by participants of the rite of the male seed as
1994.
“body of Christ” and of menstrual blood as “blood of
JEFFREY J. KRIPAL (2005)
Christ.” In this rite, these substances are not used for earthly
conception, seen negatively from a Gnostic standpoint, but
rather are ingested to achieve self-apotheosis. In Gnosticism
as a whole there existed two different ways to achieve this:
SEXUALITY: SEXUAL RITES IN EUROPE
sexual freedom, but also ascetic tendencies, whose advocates
Religiously motivated sexual rites date back to the early years
thought to strengthen their spiritual powers by abstaining
of humanity’s existence. Since the beginning of farming, the
from sex. A strong proponent was Saturninus, or Satornil,
woman’s sacral position shifted into the foreground and her
who attempted through strict asceticism (also vegetarianism
secret fertility has been compared with that of the earth, as
to a degree) to rescue from Satan’s power or influence the
the planting of the field has been compared to the sexual act.
part of light in the human being that consisted of light. In
Orgiastic rites aimed at increasing the earth’s fertility, there-
a later version, men’s sexual proximity to women was permis-
fore, probably date to humanity’s early period as well.
sible, but only in order to strengthen their spiritual power
Already historically ascertained, however, are the great
of resistance. This proximity could even extend as far as sexu-
feasts in honor of Dionysos, who appears as Bakchos (Bac-
al intercourse, but was not allowed to reach orgasm. This is
chus) in his orgiastic-mystic perspective. Their distinguish-
consistent with ideas that also occur in Indian Tantrism and
ing characteristic was the frenzy, in which men and
are similar to the ones ascribed to the medieval Fedeli
women—filled with God—stepped outside of themselves.
d’Amore.
According to Plutarch, the orgiastic feasts were celebrated at
CHRISTIANITY. In the first centuries of the Common Era, the
night on mountaintops, accompanied by torchlight and
repression of sexuality was a common theme within Chris-
music. The wild flock of maenads (bacchantes), who in their
tianity, contrary to its Jewish origins and the habits of its
frenzy ripped apart young animals and devoured the raw
pagan neighbors. The Desert Fathers were usually converts
flesh, was accompanied by nymphs, satyrs, and sirens, who
with a stormy past whose temptations sometimes led them
performed openly obscene acts. In the train of the Magna
to the brothels in Alexandria. However, the desert standards
Mater cult, these rites entered Rome in the third century
of asceticism were very repressive, comparable, as far as sexu-
BCE. Followers of this cult not only performed sexually exces-
ality was concerned, to the well-known rule of Mount Athos.
sive acts, but also criminal deeds, which, according to Titus
The sight of a female, even a hen, was regarded as a great spir-
Livius, caused the Roman Senate to intervene in 186 BCE,
itual danger. Another example is Macarius, who as a young
and to cease the practice of the cult in the entire empire. This
man was compelled to marry in order to please his parents.
cult already exhibited some of the fundamentals of later sexu-
By feigning illness, he escaped the marital bed. When his
al rites, up to (or including) modern sexual magic.
wife died shortly after, he was very relieved and thanked God
GNOSTICISM. These fundamentals can be seen even more
(see Leloir, 1982). The apostles Andrew and Thomas exhort-
clearly and are theoretically better formulated in the first cen-
ed rich women to avoid intercourse with their husbands.
turies CE in Gnosticism. In various Gnostic systems, as in
A particular importance for the restrictive aspect of sex-
many ancient mythologies, the highest divine being is an-
uality in Christianity is accorded to the influential church fa-
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ther, Augustine of Hippo (354–430). For him, sexual desire
not seem to have any particular exercise of semen retention
was not something “natural,” thus being originally willed by
in mind. His practices, which are meant to control sexuality
God, but rather a punishment for Adam’s original sin, which
through imagination, are similar in principle to Indian Tan-
also had sexual connotations for him. Abstinence was thus
tric practices.
seen as a path to spiritual freedom from sin.
THE SKOPTSY (“the castrated”), a sect that originated in Rus-
Sexuality was sometimes even violently repressed by
sia in the eighteenth century as a dissenting group of the Rus-
self-mutilation. Castration was practiced by the priests of
sian Orthodox Church, resumed the practice of self-
Cybele, called Galli. It has been suggested that their practice
mutilation. They still existed in Russia up to 1930, and even
of emasculation could have had an influence on the Chris-
later in eastern Romania, where they traditionally exerted a
tian rejection of sexuality, which is exemplified by Origen’s
monopoly on coach driving. The Skoptsy are representatives
act of self-castration.
of a view of the world in which the spirit is strongly opposed
to the flesh; they believed that only through contempt and
FEDELI D’AMORE. When considering the Middle Ages, the
mortification of the flesh could the spirit be fully developed.
so-called Fedeli d’Amore should be mentioned, even if their
Their efforts to suppress physical lust led in extreme cases to
historical existence as a movement is not firmly established.
the excision of genitalia. It was said that, in one of their cere-
However, the importance of the movement arises from the
monies, the left breast of a girl aged fifteen or sixteen was ex-
fact that Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) is supposed to have
cised in a warm bath, after which the assembly took commu-
been the main proponent of this secret group, which alleged-
nion by eating the raw flesh that had been cut into fine pieces
ly lasted up to Boccaccio (1313?–1375) and Petrarch (1304–
(Gehring, 1898, pp. 149–150). Even if this story was invent-
1374). The aim of the Fedeli d’Amore was to free men (and
ed by their detractors, gruesome practices were common
only men) from their earthly limitations and to lead them
among the Skoptsy. Women sometimes had parts of their ex-
to divine wisdom through the all-transcending love for a
ternal genitalia and even one or both breasts cut off. For
woman (who need not necessarily be a real one, in which case
men, emasculation took place in several stages called seals: in
the term woman was to be understood as an allegory for the
the first, the testes were removed; in the second, the penis.
female principle). Dante called this trasumanar, which means
In some cases also the pectoral muscles were cut into. And
“going beyond a purely human existence.” This practice
even mutilations on the shoulders, the back and the legs are
could lead to erotic trials, whereby the man lay naked next
attested. One could thus become an “angel with five (or six)
to his “woman” for an entire night, but was not allowed to
wings.”
touch her (asag). Through this “love” that transcended all
other powers, he lost his “memory” (his usual human indi-
THE KHLYSTY. The Skoptsy derived from an earlier sect
viduality), according to Dante, and reached a higher level of
whose members called themselves Christy, that is, “apt to be-
awareness. Thereafter, a so-called “exchange of hearts” is said
come Christ themselves.” They were contemptuously nick-
to have occurred, which may suggest the attainment of a
named the Khlysty (whips, or flagellants). Constantly perse-
kind of androgynous state.
cuted by the authorities but secretly supported by the fervent
nuns of the Ivanovskii cloisters in Moscow and by several
RENAISSANCE MAGIC. In the sixteenth century, in a cultural
merchants, the sect was active until 1762. The Khlysty were
context in which the ancient theories concerning pneuma or
ascetic puritans who abstained from meat, alcohol, and to-
spiritus were still popular (see Daniel Walker, 1958), the phi-
bacco; they fasted, prayed, and performed severe penances.
losopher and magician Giordano Bruno (1548–1600)
They were said to have practiced infanticide and cannibalism
achieved a spectacular synthesis between the love theories of
in their secret meetings and to have performed a Black Mass
Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499), the art of memory (see Yates,
on the naked body of a woman called bogoroditsa (bearer of
1972), and magic. The result, found in two manuscripts
God), whose child had been sacrificed.
probably written in Wittenberg (De vinculis in genere), is an
erotic magic aimed at the total sexual self-control of the
The Khlysty were also said to have practiced a kind of
adept. The adept, acquainted with the practices of the art of
lucerna extincta rite, in which men and women came together
memory, is instructed to learn to keep his fantasies under
at night and, turning off the lights, had intercourse. They
control. The images or phantasms produced are under cer-
were sometimes alleged to have indulged in incestuous or ho-
tain circumstances transmitted to the individual or group
mosexual intercourse. For the Khlysty, promiscuous inter-
that is to be magically “bound” (this is the meaning of the
course took place after lengthy dances and after forty to fifty
verb vincire, from which the noun vinculum, “bond,” is de-
strong clashes between groups of men and women gathered
rived). The images consciously produced by the adept are in-
in opposite corners of the room (Gehring, 1898,
tended to correspond to the erotic expectations of the sub-
pp. 153–154). Even Grigorij Rasputin (1869–1916), who
jects to be “bound.” The magician operates with phantasms
had great influence at the court of Tzar Nicolas II, propagat-
that are sometimes sexual, yet he is at the same time com-
ed individual neo-khlystic guidelines. However, he most
pletely immune to sexual stimuli. Bruno recommends that
probably did not belong to such a sect himself.
the adept never release sperm, for sperm retention represents
LUCERNA EXTINCTA. The rite of lucerna extincta, as practiced
the correct way to make “bonds” (vincula). But Bruno does
by the Khlysty, has a long history. Livy attributed its origin
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8249
to the Dionysiac (or Bacchic) groups in Rome. Justin Martyr
the idea of sexual promiscuity is consistent with the dualistic
was the first one (in 150 CE) to accuse heretics of engaging
view of the world held by groups like the Gnostics,
in sexual orgies with the lights extinguished. On the other
Manichaeans, Paulicians, Bogomils, and Cathari. But the
hand, according to the apologists Minucius Felix and Tertul-
first four groups were ascetic, and even the sexual freedom
lian, enemies of the church attributed these rites to Chris-
of the Cathari “believers” (in contrast to the asceticism of the
tians in the second century CE. Clement of Alexandria men-
“perfect”) found its expression in individual deeds, not in
tions them in his description of the Gnostic Carpocratians.
collective rites.
In 719 John of Odzun accused an Armenian Adoptionist sect
W
of practicing lucerna extincta; in 1050 Michael Psellus ac-
ITCHES’ SABBATH. Reports of the so-called witches’ Sab-
bath have always been a central theme in the history of sexual
cused the Bogomils in Thrace; and in 1090 Paul of Chartres
rites. What these rites really embody has been answered in
said the heretics of Orléans performed it. In 1180 Walter
different ways by research. As Mircea Eliade wrote, today it
Map stated that French heretics practiced this rite; Pope
is difficult, almost impossible, to determine what was real
Gregory IX, in his bull Vox in Roma (1233), attributed it to
and what was imaginary when it comes to the witches’ con-
heretics in Germany and to the Waldensians. Several fif-
fessions. The persecution of witches began in the middle of
teenth-century sources report that the Franciscan “Fraticelli”
the fifteenth century, reached its climax in the sixteenth and
were involved in lucerna extincta practices.
seventeenth centuries, and subsided around the middle of the
There are also more recent cases of lucerna extincta rites,
eighteenth century. In total, there are said to have been
including those practiced by the followers of the Russian
around sixty thousand male and female victims of these
peasant Daniil Filippov (d. 1700). In 1645 Filippov con-
witch-hunts; female victims are more numerous, despite ex-
vinced several people that God the Father had come to abide
tensive regional differences. As Brian Levack states in his
in Filippov’s own “pure body.” Thenceforth, Filippov called
book The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe (1987), the
himself Sabaoth and gained several followers. Seven years
massive witch-hunt came about because belief in the reality
later, he recruited the peasant Ivan Timofeevich as son and
of the witches’ Sabbath was widespread. Such a Sabbath was
Christ. Suslov was said to have been miraculously born in
said to involve several witches, who performed blasphemous,
1616 (a purely fictitious date) from 100-year-old parents.
obscene rites, which included worship of the devil and which
The trinity was completed by a young girl who bore the titles
ended in sexual orgies. Therefore, when one witch was con-
of “bearer of God” and “daughter of God.” Twelve apostles
demned, others had to be sought as accomplices.
completed the picture. Suslov was repeatedly arrested and
The English Egyptologist Margaret Murray attempted
tortured, and, though his followers claimed that he was res-
to prove in The Witch-Cult in Western Europe (1921) that the
urrected twice, it seems more probable that he was eventually
descriptions of the witches’ Sabbath given by the witches in-
released. He lived his last thirty years in Moscow and died
dicated that they were not torture-induced phantasms, nor
in 1716 at the age of one hundred, a mythical age attributed
drug-induced hallucinatory experiences. The witches’ Sab-
to many founders of sects in Russia.
bath was more likely the relic of a pre-Christian peasant fer-
In addition to lucerna extincta, fornication and debauch-
tility cult, which continued to exist into modern times, even
ery were also attributed to other heretics of the Middle Ages.
supplying the roots of the modern witch movement (Wicca)
The followers of Tanchelm of Antwerp (d. 1115), for in-
of the twentieth century. This theory, however, no longer has
stance, were said to have organized revels in which young
many followers in scientific circles. On the contrary, the sex-
girls were deflowered in the presence of their mothers; wives
ual researcher R. E. L. Masters, in his book Eros und Evil
and children were offered to Tanchelm’s lust (see Russell,
(1962), argues that the confessions, which contained every
1965, p. 65).
imaginable type of sexual debauchery, can be traced to the
witch-hunters’ morbid erotic fantasies, as well as the victims’
In Europe’s Inner Demons (1975), Norman R. C. Cohn
hysteria and drug dependency.
analyzes the histories of groups that were said to engage in
esoteric sexual practices. In dealing with the period from 186
Eliade, on the other hand, in Occultism, Witchcraft, and
BCE to the end of the fifteenth century, Cohn found that in
Cultural Fashions (1976), emphasizes that the witches’ radi-
all allegations of promiscuous intercourse there was a suspi-
cal protest against the reigning societal and religious circum-
cious pattern of uniformity. Promiscuity was frequently asso-
stances were expressed through the witches’ Sabbath. One
ciated with more gruesome practices, the most common of
did not become a witch in order to indulge one’s sexual de-
which was infanticide. He noted that testimonies of lucerna
sires, but rather in the hope that these rituals would lead to
extincta and other practices are directed against groups that
redemption from the difficulties of everyday life and to bliss
seem to form a direct threat to the state or the church and
as it was once allegedly experienced by humankind in its pri-
are meant to discredit these groups. These testimonies pres-
meval state in “paradise.” Eliade considered it proven that
ent a regular pattern, whether they describe Bacchanalia in
the witches’ Sabbath could not have been about sexual de-
186 BCE or witch-hunts in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen-
sires, because witches often described coitus with the devil
turies; they belong to a stereotype of detraction used by sev-
as being extraordinarily painful, and this voluntary suffering
eral power groups against their opponents. Cohn admits that
indicated that the Sabbath was a severe initiation rite.
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Carlo Ginzburg in Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witch’s Sab-
priests; infant sacrifices seem actually to have been per-
bath (1989/1992) addresses the witches’ sabbath in a particu-
formed.
larly comprehensive and well-documented manner. Ginz-
In the seventeenth century, sexual repression in French
burg’s earlier The Night Battles (1966/1985), a ground-
nunneries in some cases manifested itself in the form of a sex-
breaking work, had attempted to uncover a core of truth in
ual frenzy which seized the nuns and spread under the guise
Margaret Murray’s unverifiable statements. With the use of
of a demonic and diabolic possession inside the convent but
court files, he was able to prove the existence of a pagan
also to other nunneries. Several priests, including Louis Gau-
agrarian cult called benandanti among farmers living in
fridy, Urbain Grandier, and Jean-Baptiste Girard, are con-
northern Italy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
nected to these cases. The old Gnostic idea that sin could
Ginzburg also investigates the true background of the witch-
only be conquered by sin was central to these cases, and the
es’ Sabbath. In doing so, he takes the witches’ statements
nuns became involved in orgies and peculiar sexual behavior.
during their trials very seriously and does not consider them
The most famous cases involved Madelaine de Demandolx
to be fantasies or torture-induced confessions, in contrast to
de la Palud (Aix-en-Provence, 1611), Jeanne des Anges
many authors of mainly feminist bent, who directed their at-
(Loudun, 1633), Magdelaine Bavent (Louviers, c. 1644),
tention almost exclusively to the cruel persecution of women
and Catherine Cadière (Aix-en-Provence, 1731). One story
by men. Nevertheless, Ginzburg does not find proof that
of diabolic possession involved Elizabeth de Ranfaing
such events actually took place. Instead, he suspects a more
(Nancy, 1618–1625), an attractive woman who subjected
than 1000-year-old residuum of Euro-Asiatic myths and rit-
herself to self-mortification in an attempt to make herself
uals related to shamanism to be the basis of the witches’
ugly. In 1617 she succumbed to attacks of uninhibited sexual
Sabbath.
frenzy that lasted until 1625. After the male doctor who was
In Demon Lovers (2002), Walter Stephens delivers a pre-
accused of causing this sexual frenzy was executed, de Ranfa-
cise investigation, based on early texts on the persecution of
ing founded a spurious monastic order noted for its emphasis
witches between 1430 and 1530, describing sexual inter-
on iron discipline and sexual repression. This order was,
course between hellish demons and earthly women. The
however, condemned by the Holy Office in 1644 and Pope
great interest that the inquisitors, judges, and experts at that
Innocence X in 1649.
time had in this question is not considered by Stephens to
FRANKISTS. Sexual rituals were also performed under the
be based on hostility towards women or on misguided erotic
leadership of the qabbalist Jakob Leibowicz (1726–1791),
desires on the part of the men. He is convinced, rather, that
known as Frank (Davidowicz, 1998, pp. 343, 354-356).
these men were concerned with serious metaphysical prob-
Frank hoped that these rituals would enable him to reach the
lems. If actual sexual intercourse between supernatural de-
hidden harmonizing Sefira Daat of the qabbalistic tree of life
mons and terrestrial women could be proven, then the exis-
on the terrestrial plane. By performing a “holy wedding,” the
tence of demons and their interaction with our world would
cosmic harmony would be reestablished. It is not clear how
be proven as well. And if there were demons, then there exist-
exactly the rituals were performed or how often (probably
ed also an order beyond our world, and thus a God. In this
seldom). At any rate, the sexual acts were performed accord-
way, doubts in God, which mainly arose from Aristotle’s
ing to precise directives from Frank, with Frank’s followers
writings, could be put to rest.
as witnesses. It is also reported that Frank would suck on
B
women’s breasts for “nourishment.” Davidowicz advises
LACK MASS. By the end of the seventeenth century, fears
of witchcraft were replaced by a more skeptical attitude. Ob-
against judging the Frankists as simple heretics, but rather
scene rituals and satanic cults were only being celebrated in
sees a meaningful link to the latter Qabbala in their teach-
ings. It would be just as misleading to label the Frankists a
very small circles, in which individual moments were more
spin-off of the Shabbateans. In the case of their founder,
central, as Gerhard Zacharias writes in Satanskult und
Shabbetai Tsevi (1626–1676), the practice of sexual rituals
Schwarze Messe (1970, p. 106). In 1682 King Louis XIV of
is uncertain, even if erotic mysticism and sexual permissive-
France transferred all responsibility for prosecuting witch-
ness were indisputably an aspect of this group after Tsevi’s
craft from ecclesiastical to secular tribunals, effectively end-
conversion to Islam (Scholem, 1973, pp. 669, 880). In later
ing the witch-hunts in France. Witches were to be prosecut-
Shabbatean circles, this sexual permissiveness is much more
ed only if they had committed crimes against civil law.
strongly pronounced.
During such legal proceedings by a special police commis-
sion against a group of people accused of poisonings, it was
MAGIA SEXUALIS. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centu-
discovered that Black Masses being held in Paris were accom-
ries, sexual rites became central to the ceremonies of erotic
panied by erotic practices and infanticide, and Louis XIV’s
“satanic” clubs. Members of these clubs were usually wealthy
mistress, the Marquise de Montespan, was involved in the
young men, such as the English dandy Francis Dashwood
affair. Police reports of the time claim that her naked body
of the so-called Knights of Saint Francis of Wycombe, more
served as an altar upon which the Black Mass was performed.
commonly called the Hell-fire Club. In 1753 Dashwood
Intercourse with the celebrating priest usually followed the
formed his own sexual brotherhood in Medmenham Abbey,
profanation of the wafer. The performers of the mass were
adopting the motto “Fais ce que tu veux” (“Do What Thou
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SEXUALITY: SEXUAL RITES IN EUROPE
8251
Wilt”) from the Thelema Abbey of François Rabelais. In
Mason Theodor Reuss (1855–1923) adopted the secret.
1763 the English public was shocked to learn that even its
Reuss in turn initiated the best-known “black magician” of
prime minister, its chancellor of exchequer, and other cabi-
the twentieth century, Aleister Crowley (1875–1947). Reuss
net ministers had been masquerading as “monks” and cele-
was an opera singer and journalist, who founded an entire
brating sexual rites with “nuns.”
series of irregular lodges, including the Ordo Templi Orien-
tis (OTO), which he established between 1906 and 1912.
The founder of modern sexual magic is undoubtedly
Its sexual teachings, which had undergone much further de-
Pascal Beverly Randolph (1825–1875), an African American
velopment since Randolph, found expression especially in its
writer who rose from poverty to become a trance medium
seventh, eighth, and ninth degrees, based, respectively, on
and occultist serving the very high aristocratic, literary, scien-
autoerotic, heterosexual, and homosexual practices. The
tific, and occult circles in America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Austrian chemist Carl Kellner (1850–1905) was an impor-
Randolph became acquainted with the founder of the Theo-
tant predecessor to Reuss.
sophical Society, H. P. Blavatsky, though a bitter hostility
later arose between the two due to occult rivalry. In his trav-
Crowley’s OTO rites differed from Reuss’s, from which
els Randolph collected vast knowledge of magical mirrors,
they had emerged. Crowley, whose well-known motto “Do
narcotics, and sexuality as an access to occult knowledge.
What Thou Wilt” can be traced back to “Fais ce que tu veux”
Around 1870 he founded the Brotherhood of Eulis, through
of Rabelais’s Thelema Abbey, but which is primarily directed
which he published manuscripts on sexual magic. Ran-
towards discovering the “true will” of one’s own personality,
dolph’s teaching reached Europe through the English book-
expanded his OTO hierarchic structure to twelve degrees.
seller Robert H. Fryar, who marketed Randolph’s manu-
The eighth degree mainly consisted of masturbating on the
scripts in Great Britain. After Randolph’s death, the
symbol or sigill of a spirit or demon that was to be called
Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor emerged from among
forth. The ninth degree consisted of heterosexual intercourse
Fryar’s friends. The brotherhood expanded Randolph’s
in which the sexual secretions were consumed or used for
teachings under the leadership of Max Théon (the pseud-
evoking a spirit. The eleventh degree was fundamentally ho-
onym of Louis Maximilian Bimstein, Binstein, or Beinstein;
mosexual, whereby bleeding caused by anal intercourse was
1848?–1927), Peter Davidson (1837–1915), and Thomas
to call up the spirits, whereas the sperm kept them alive.
Henry Dalton (1855?–1895?), better known by the name of
The basic premise in this form of sexual magic was the
Thomas H. Burgoyne.
fixation of the spirit and will during orgasm solely on some
Sexuality stood at the center of the entire metaphysical
spiritual or material goal, rather than on emotional climax.
system and spiritual experience of the Hermetic Brotherhood
In this way the spiritual and astral world would be so strongly
of Luxor. Male-female polarity was seen as the original prin-
influenced that this goal would become material reality.
ciple of the universe and the primary driving force for evolu-
Crowley strived for money and success with women through
tion. Consequently, the sexual union of a man and woman
these activities, but he also sought the path to the “conversa-
became a practical path to unity, the divine self, and a state
tion with his Holy Guardian Angel,” which must be seen as
equal to that of an angel. The “vital secretions” or “seminal
a type of divine self.
fluids” that are created by sexual intercourse were seen as fun-
The OTO, which still maintains branches in numerous
damental elements for the construction of a “spiritual body.”
countries, inspired a series of new movements, which also
Sexuality was the only thing that could bring the neophytes
saw themselves as obliged to perform sexual magic in the
into contact with higher spiritual spheres and powers of a
most varied forms. Examples include the Great Brotherhood
heavenly hierarchy.
of God and the OTOA (A stands for “Antiqua”) under Mi-
Another important factor for the emergence of modern
chael Paul Bertiaux, as well as the Typhonian OTO under
sexual magic was the fact that Tantric teachings became
Kenneth Grant. One might also include the well-known Cal-
known in the West. The Victorian pornographic writer and
ifornian Church of Satan led by Anton LaVey, among whose
amateur mythologist Edward Sellon (1817/8–1866) is said
members was the actress Jane Mansfield, although their be-
to have played a key roll with his Annotations on the Sacred
liefs were less esoteric and more directed towards material
Writings of the Hindus (1865), which interpreted Tantrism
and social success. The sexual magic of Crowley’s OTO also
in a one-sided way as purely erotic magical teachings.
had a major influence on the modern witch movement
(Wicca), a fact which can be attributed to Gerald Gardner
Twentieth-century sexual magic. The influence of the
(1884–1964). Gardner, who met Crowley before his death,
Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor on all subsequent occult
founded one of the first modern English covens and propa-
groups in Europe and the United States cannot be overesti-
gated the ideas of Margaret Murray, according to which
mated; sexual magic became the most intimate central mys-
modern witchcraft relates back to an ancient pagan folk
tery of many of these groups. It is, however, not entirely clear
religion.
how these ideas were transferred to them. The Hermetic
Brotherhood of Light, which was founded in Chicago or
The Russian “Priestess of Satan,” Maria de Naglowska
Boston in 1895, seems to have played a major role. Seeming-
(1883–1936), settled in Paris after having spent time in
ly it was from this brotherhood that the irregular German
Egypt, Italy, and Switzerland. In Paris, she probably summa-
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SEXUALITY: SEXUAL RITES IN EUROPE
rized and translated into French several of Randolph’s sexual
constraints, which was supposed to have the ability to survive
magic manuscripts and books, and published them in his
even physical death. Following exact astrological calculations
name with the title Magia Sexualis. Naglowska also celebrat-
and long periods of fasting, male and female sexual secretions
ed so-called satanic masses and private séances in Paris; these
had to be ingested in a particular order. These procedures
were actually only preliminaries for messes d’or (golden mass-
were known as Arcana Arcanorum, and they formed a type
es) in which seven couples were simultaneously to engage in
of “internal alchemy,” similar to what has been known in
public sexual intercourse. Self-strangulations in order to en-
India and China for centuries.
hance the sexual stimulus were practiced in high initiations
of men. In her teachings, De Naglowska pleaded for a future
Kremmerz’ beliefs were also known to the Italian cultur-
matriarchal culture.
al philosopher, Dadaist, and esotericist Julius Evola (1898–
1974), who led the magical Group of Ur from 1927 to 1929.
In the German-speaking world, the Fraternitas Saturni
This group also espoused teachings from sexual magic. For
emerged in 1928 in Berlin from an offshoot of the Pano-
Evola, sexuality was the only remaining direct path to tran-
sophic Lodge of Heinrich Tränker (1880–1956), who also
scendence for modern humans. According to the order’s doc-
led the German branch of Crowley’s OTO for a time. The
uments, followers strove to free the spirit from terrestrial
leader of the Fraternitas Saturni was Eugen Grosche (Gregor
constraints by building a body of glory as an instrument for
A. Gregorius 1888–1964). Gregorius, who composed a sub-
overcoming physical death. This was to happen by conquer-
stantial portion of the lodge’s extensive magical material, was
ing the general elementary “principle of life,” which reigns
mainly interested in creating astral entities with the help of
over the earthly world and which was said to hide behind the
the male and female sexual secretions, which would then be
sexual drive. This principle of life, whose flipside is death,
available as spiritual aides when performing other magical
was goaded to increasing degrees through sexual encounters,
operations. The astrological positions of the stars were im-
until it would present itself “uncloaked” in a paroxysm. In
portant for this group—the stars even determined individual
that moment this spiritual principle had to be permanently
coital positions when performing the rites. The famous eigh-
overcome in a sudden and dangerous tour de force. Among
teenth degree of the fraternity’s hierarchy, the so-called Gra-
the practitioners of the Group of Ur (in contrast to Crowley,
dus Pentalphae, was purely sexual-magical, but most likely
the OTO, and Kremmerz), the male sexual magician had to
it was seldom performed.
resist orgasm at all costs. If he gave in to the elementary pow-
ers hidden behind the whipped-up sexuality, they would
Rituals of sexual magic may have also been practiced
overwhelm him and he would be driven to death or madness.
around 1928 by the Viennese lodge Hekate under the Austri-
This path to immortality was, however, only open to men,
an Orientalist Franz Sättler (1884–c. 1942; fraternal name
because women were considered to be the earthly representa-
Dr. Musallam), and by their Berlin branch. Wilhelm Quin-
tives of the previously mentioned principle of life. Evola,
tscher (1893–1945), who was in contact with Sättler, was
who was friends with the reputed Orientalist Giuseppe
also involved with sexual magic in his Orden Mentalischer
Tucci, provided probably the most interesting presentation
Bauherren (roughly translates as “Order of Mental Archi-
of the connections between religion, esotericism, and sexuali-
tects”). The Belgian Kymris lodge, which was founded in the
ty in his book Metaphysics of Sex (1958), even if it is marked
1920s under the Chevalier Clément de Saint-Marcq, was en-
by his so-called traditional idiosyncrasies.
gaged in the ingestion of sexual secretions for purposes of
magical rejuvenation. This group considered the devouring
SUMMARY. What constitutes the power of religiously moti-
of sexual secretions as the actual secret meaning of the Chris-
vated sexual rituals, which have been in existence since the
tian last supper.
dawn of humanity? George Bataille (1897–1962) sees exces-
sive eroticism and orgies as a transgression of borders that hit
Italy, too, has witnessed (and is still witnessing) orders
human individuality in its most intimate core. Bataille com-
that are concerned with sexual magic. The best-known
pares this crossing with death, because the same abyss into
movement is the Fratellanza Terapeutica e Magica di
transcendence opens up in both cases. Individuality ceases
Myriam, which stood under the leadership of Giuliano
to exist and something deeper comes into being: a mysterium
Kremmerz (the pseudonym of Ciro Formisano, 1861–1930)
tremendum, that which is “holy” in the sense of Rudolf Otto.
and based its teachings on an ancient Italic school, to which
Count Cagliostro is said to have belonged. The Myriam was
For Michel Maffesoli, the orgy and the Dionysic festival
connected to a certain Ordine Osirideo Egizio, which alleg-
satisfy the desire to be together, only on a much larger scale,
edly practiced the most secret part of the sexual-magical
and they form thereby a necessary counterpart to the ossified
teachings. However it is not completely clear to what extent
rules of everyday life. The arising orgiastic life-emotion be-
the order’s manuscripts, first publicly circulated in 1985,
comes then a fundamental structure for society. Maffesoli
contain falsifications. The purpose of the sexual-magical op-
points out that the orgiastic element is always attributed to
erations described in the manuscripts was to separate a per-
darkness, chaos, and night, and thereby it balances out regu-
son’s solar “spirit” from his physical, astral, and mental bo-
lar daily activities. The divinely social element already repre-
dies in order to autonomize this spirit and to construct
sented by community in itself is, according to Maffesoli, cel-
around it a body of glory totally independent from earthly
ebrated by the chaos of the orgiastic bodies embracing
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8253
each other in darkness. In the course of this process, one’s
With respect to literary historical studies, see the works by
own body is expanded into a collective body and is thus
Luigi Valli, in particular his Il linguaggio segreto di Dante e
strengthened.
dei “fedeli d’amore,” (Rome, 1928), and Alfonso Ricolfi,
Studi sui fedeli d’amore (Foggia, Italy, 1983). Sexual self-
In conclusion, one must ask whether the term rite is
control in Renaissance magic is described in Ioan P. Couli-
even appropriate in this context. Rite stems from the Latin
anu, Eros and Magic in the Renaissance (Chicago, 1987). For
term ritus, which means “legitimate, regular action.” Ritus in
the Renaissance see also: Daniel P. Walker, Spiritual and De-
turn is connected with the Sanskrit rt:a, which means “cosmic
monic Magic from Ficino to Campanela (London, 1958);
order” or “truth.” Is it not the case that the aim of all the
Frances A. Yates, The Art of Memory (Chicago, 1972);
sexual rites discussed in this entry is to question and thwart
Promiscuous ritual intercourse is documented in Norman Cohn,
precisely this general cosmic order and legitimate action?
The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians
and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages
, 3d ed. (New York,
SEE ALSO Castration; Clitoridectomy.
1970), and in Jeffrey Burton Russell, Dissent and Reform in
the Early Middle Ages
(Berkeley, 1965; reprint, 1982).
Gustave Welter provides a useful study of practices among
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Russian sects in Histoire des sectes chrétiennes, des origines à nos
General and easily readable surveys on sexuality and religion in-
jours (Paris, 1950). See also J. Gehring, Die Sekten der russis-
clude Denis de Rougemont, L’amour et l’occident (Paris,
chen Kirche (Leipzig, Germany, 1898), as well as the very
1939; rev. ed., 1972), translated by Montgomery Belgion as
skeptical Karl Konrad Grass, Die russischen Sekten, Vol. 1,
Love in the Western World (New York, 1956; rev. ed., Prince-
Die Gottesleute oder Chlüsten (Leipzig, Germany, 1907; re-
ton, 1983), a book that has proven to be very influential; H.
print, 1966), and Nikolai Volkov, La secte russe des castrats
Cutner, A Short History of Sex Worship (London, 1940),
(Paris, 1995). Rasputin is the topic of Alexander de Jonge’s
which portrays the history of the phallus cult; Nicolas James
book The Life and Times of Grigorii Rasputin (New York,
Perella, The Kiss Sacred and Profane: An Interpretative History
1982).
of Kiss Symbolism and Related Religio-Erotic Themes (Berkeley,
For the history of the Black Mass see H. T. F. Rhodes, The Satanic
1969), the contents of which go far beyond the title; the rich-
Mass (London, 1954), which is popular but outdated in
ly illustrated book by Clifford Bishop, Sex and Spirit (Lon-
some areas by newer more detailed studies. Gerhard Za-
don, 1996); and Gerhard J. Bellinger, Im Himmel wie auf
charias’s Satanskult und Schwarze Messen (Wiesbaden, Ger-
Erden: Sexualität in den Religionen der Welt (Munich, 1993).
many, 1970) reproduces numerous original texts, and also
Information about the sexual theories and practices among the
contains original material on the witches’ Sabbath and the
Gnostics is mainly to be attributed to the church fathers Hip-
French possession cases. Satanic rites are the subject of Mon-
polytus, Ireneaus, and Epiphanius, as well as to writings from
tague Summers’s best known book, Witchcraft and Black
Nag Hammadi. As secondary literature see Mircea Eliade,
Magic (London, 1946; reprint, New York, 2000).
Occultism, Witchcraft, and Cultural Fashions: Essays in Com-
The best book on the famous possession cases of the seventeenth
parative Religions (Chicago and London, 1976),
century is Robert Mandrou, Magistrats et sorciers en France
pp. 93–119; see pages 85–88 for an important analysis of the
au dixseptième siècle (Paris, 1968); short surveys are provided
lucerna extincta. See also Benjamin Walker, Gnosticism: Its
by Jacques Finné in Érotisme et sorcellerie (Verviers, Belgium,
History and Influence (Wellingborough, U.K., 1983),
1972). For information on qabbalistic sexual rites, see Klaus
pp. 107–132 and 147–158; Giovanni Casadio, Vie gnostiche
Samuel Davidowicz, Jakob Frank, der Messias aus dem Ghetto
all’immortalità: (Brescia, Italy, 1997), pp. 97–117, from
(Frankfurt am Main, 1998), and Gershom Scholem, Sab-
which readings were held at the Eranos conference in 1990
batai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah, 1626–1676 (Princeton,
in Ascona; Leonhard Fendt, Gnostische Mysterien (Munich,
1973). Sir Francis Dashwood and the Hell-fire Club are
1922); See also L. Leloir. “Infiltrations dualistes chez les
dealt with in Donald McCormick, The Hell-Fire Club: The
Pères du désert,” in Gnosticisme et monde hellénistique, edited
Story of the Amorous Knights of Wycombe (London, 1958).
by Julian Ries (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, 1982),
On sexual magic, see Joscelyn Godwin, Christian Chanel, and
pp. 326–336, and Ioan Petru Culianu, Expériences de l’extase
John P. Deveney, The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor: Initia-
(Paris, 1984). For the development of sexual teachings in
tic and Historical Documents of an Order of Practical Occult-
Christianity in the first centuries, Elaine Pagel’s Adam, Eve,
ism (York Beach, Me., 1995), which summarizes all known
and the Serpent (New York, 1988) is recommended.
material from this movement and offers an excellent intro-
There are only a few references dealing with the Fedeli d’Amore
duction. On the OTO, see Peter R. König, Das O.T.O.
in religious scientific literature, including Elemire Zolla,
Phänomen (Munich, 1994), which was partly translated into
L’amante invisible (Venice, 1986), and Mircea Eliade, Birth
English and is available online at http://www.cyberlink.ch/
and Rebirth: The Religious Meanings of Initiation in Human
~koenig/. See also O.T.O. Rituals and Sex Magick by Theo-
Culture (Chicago, 1958). Eliade even attributed a highly
dor Reuss and Aleister Crowley, edited by A. R. Naylor
probable “initiatic” structure to this movement. See also
(London, 1999). The most comprehensive book on Aleister
Henry Corbin’s translation of Ruzbehan, Le jasmin des fideles
Crowley is John Symonds, The Beast 666: The Life of Aleister
d’amour (Lagrasse, France, 1991), and H. T. Hakl’s essay
Crowley (London, 1997). There is little material available
“Die Getreuen der Liebe” in Gnostika (January 1998): 38–
about Maria de Naglowska, the most extensive being the bro-
43, (July 1998): 43–50, and (October 1998): 41–50. The
chures by her pupil Marc Pluquet: La Sophiale (Paris, 1993).
entire realm of courtly love is explored in Roger Boase, Ori-
For English-language material on the Fraternitas Saturni, see S.
gin and Meaning of Courtly Love (Manchester, U.K., 1977).
Edred Flowers, Fire and Ice: Magical Teachings of Germany’s
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8254
SEYMOUR, WILLIAM
Greatest Secret Occult Order (Saint Paul, Minn., 1990), a
people began speaking in tongues at an evening meeting on
short survey work. One can receive insight into the rituals
April 9, 1906. The group grew in numbers and moved to
from Documenta et Ritualia Fraternitatis Saturni, edited by
an abandoned building on Azusa Street that formerly was the
Adolf Hemberger (Giessen, Germany, 1975–1977). This
First African Methodist Episcopal Church. News of the
seventeen-volume work has only been hectographed and has
movement spread rapidly through Seymour’s periodical,
never been offered for sale. On sexual magic in Myriam and
the Apostolic Faith, and the street preaching of newly or-
the Ordine Osirideo Egizio, see Giuliano Kremmerz, Corpus
dained ministers. In 1907 Seymour’s ministry was incorpo-
philosophorum totius magiae (Milan, Italy, 1987).
rated as the Azusa Street Apostolic Faith Mission of Los An-
A broad overview of sexuality in esotericism, including Daoist,
geles. People from all racial and ethnic affiliations, such as
Tantric, and magical practices, is presented from a tradition-
Charles H. Mason, who founded the Church of God in
alist viewpoint by Julius Evola in his Metaphysics of Sex (New
York, 1983). The manuscripts of the Group of Ur are pres-
Christ, flocked to Azusa Street from 1907 through 1908.
ented in Introduzione alla magia (Rome, 1987) in three vol-
Three things have been credited with bringing about a
umes, of which the first has been translated into English as
decline in Seymour’s influence in Pentecostalism after 1908.
Introduction to Magic: Rituals and Practical Techniques for the
First, his administrative assistant moved to Portland, Ore-
Magus, edited by Julius Evola and the Ur Group (Rochester,
gon, and joined the ministry of Florence Crawford, who con-
Vt., 2000). See also George Bataille, Erotism: Death and Sen-
tinued publishing the Apostolic Faith. Second, one of Sey-
suality (San Francisco, 1991); and Michel Maffesoli, The
Shadow of Dionysus: A Contribution to the Sociology of Orgy

mour’s white ministers, William H. Durham, split the
(Albany, N.Y., 1993).
movement along racial lines when he parted company with
Seymour to found the Apostolic Faith Mission Church of
IOAN PETRU CULIANU (1987)
God. Third, Seymour’s wing of the movement lost most of
HANS THOMAS HAKL (2005)
Translated from German by Marvin C. Sterling
its remaining members in 1913 when the Trinity was reject-
ed at a Pentecostal camp meeting.
Seymour traveled around the country preaching to pre-
dominately black audiences during the last years of his life.
SEYMOUR, WILLIAM. William Joseph Seymour
His wife assumed leadership of his branch of the move-
(May 2, 1870–September 28, 1922) is regarded as the
ment—the Apostolic Faith Mission Church of God—after
founder of Pentecostalism, a movement characterized by the
his death in Los Angeles from a heart attack in 1922. Every
experience of what members refer to as “speaking in
major form of Pentecostalism must acknowledge its indebt-
tongues.” This movement has roots in the Holiness and Per-
edness to Seymour.
fectionist traditions that emerged in Methodism during the
mid-nineteenth century.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Seymour was born in Centerville, Louisiana. In 1900 he
Murphy, Larry G., J. Gordon Melton, and Gary L. Ward, eds. En-
moved, via Indianapolis, Indiana, to Cincinnati, Ohio,
cyclopedia of African American Religions. New York, 1993.
where he came under the influence of the Holiness minister
Nelson, Douglass J. For Such a Time as This: The Story of Bishop
Martin Wells Knapp. Seymour answered the call to ministry
William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival. Birming-
after recovering from a bout of smallpox in which he lost vi-
ham, U.K., 1981.
sion in his left eye. He was ordained in 1902 and relocated
Nickel, Thomas R. Azusa Street Outpouring. Hanford, Calif.,
to Houston, Texas, in 1903, where he became the interim
1979.
pastor of a Holiness church during the absence of the perma-
Synan, Vinson. The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic
nent pastor, Lucy Farrow.
Movements in the Twentieth Century. Grand Rapids, Mich.,
In December 1905, Seymour began attending the Bible
1997.
school Charles F. Parham had opened in Houston, although
Wacker, Grant. Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American
racial prejudices forced him to audit classes and sit outside
Culture. Cambridge, Mass., 2001.
the classroom. Parham taught that Christians needed to be
JAMES ANTHONY NOEL (2005)
baptized not only with water but also with a second baptism
of the Holy Spirit that would be accompanied by speaking
in unknown tongues.
SGAM PO PA (GAMPOPA).
Seymour absorbed Parham’s doctrines. In 1906 he was
Sgam po pa Bsod
invited to either pastor or conduct a revival at a Holiness
nams rin chen (Gampopa Sönam Rinchen, 1079–1153),
church in Los Angeles that had broken away from its Baptist
also known as Dvags po lha rje, “the doctor from Dvags po,”
affiliation. Although Seymour’s Holiness preaching was re-
was the figure most responsible for systematizing the doc-
jected by those in control of the Holiness congregation, who
trines and founding the institutions of the Bka’ brgyud
barred him from the church, several key persons were con-
(Kagyu) sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
verted to his view and began meeting with him at a home
According to traditional biographies, he was born in
on Brae Street. Under the influence of Seymour’s preaching,
Gnyal, in south-central Tibet, one of several sons of a local
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SGAM PO PA (GAMPOPA)
8255
doctor. He became a physician in his teens, and later mar-
Sgam po pa’s collected works consists of approximately
ried; he may have fathered one or more children. When he
forty texts, most of which appear to be compilations of notes
was barely twenty, however, his immediate family died in an
taken by his disciples or compositions by later members of
epidemic, and he turned his back on worldly affairs. At twen-
the tradition. Besides three biographies of Sgam po pa writ-
ty-five he joined the Buddhist monastic order under the ordi-
ten long after his death, his corpus includes lecture series in
nation name Bsod nams rin chen, and went to Central Tibet
which he interweaves teachings on Maha¯ya¯na, Tantra, and
to study with masters of the Bka’ gdams (Kadam) sect,
maha¯mudra¯; dialogues on difficult points with a number of
founded a half-century before by the great Indian reformer
his important disciples; instructions on Tantric deities, ritu-
Ati´sa (982–1054). Although Bka’ gdams pas taught and
als, and meditations; discussions of maha¯mudra¯ theory and
practiced the Tantras, they placed special emphasis on the
practice; and Bka’ gdams pa inspired writings on the ascend-
proper observance of monastic discipline and traversing the
ing stages of the path to enlightenment.
path to enlightenment in gradually ascending steps that
began with a spirit of true renunciation, extended to develop-
Among the latter are two well-known works probably
ment of the wisdom and compassion of a bodhisattva, and
composed by Sgam po pa himself, the Lam mchog rin po che’i
only at the end included Tantric methods. Sgam po pa be-
phreng ba (Precious garland of the supreme path) and the
came an accomplished scholar and meditator, but was not
Thar pa rin po che’i rgyan (Jewel ornament of liberation). The
fully satisfied with his experiences.
former is a collection of numbered lists of things to practice,
things to avoid, and things to transcend or understand on
Hearing of the renowned Tantric yogi and poet Mi la
the path to enlightenment. The latter is Sgam po pa’s longest
ras pa (Milarepa, 1028/40–1111/23), Sgam po pa traveled
work and magnum opus, an influential systematic exposition
to the Mount Everest region to meet him in 1109. He re-
of the entire non-Tantric Buddhist path, from gaining a
mained with him for eleven months, studying a variety of
basic appreciation of our capacity for enlightenment;
practices that Mi la ras pa had received from his teacher, the
through developing renunciation by recognizing the perils
farmer and translator Mar pa (Marpa, 1012–1097), who had
and vicissitudes of sam:sa¯ra; to cultivating the compassion,
studied with the Indian scholar and adept Na¯ropa (c. 966–
wisdom, and other virtues of a bodhisattva; and finally to
1040), himself a disciple of the mysterious Tantric master,
achieving perfect buddhahood.
Tilopa. The practices included complex Tantric meditations
in which enlightenment is approached through visualization
Equally important are Sgam po pa’s writings on
of oneself in divine form, as well as manipulation of the phys-
maha¯mudra¯. There are few texts in which he does not address
ical and mental processes in the subtle body. Of these, Mi
this crucial term, which connotes the empty nature of reality
la ras pa specially prescribed for Sgam po pa the procedure
and of the mind and the perfect, blissful realization of it
for generating gtum mo, or “inner heat,” one of the “Six
through meditative insight. He gave systematic analyses of
Dharmas of Na¯ropa.” He also learned the “great seal”
various ways in which maha¯mudra¯ might be categorized in
(maha¯mudra¯; Tib., phyag rgya chen po), a perspective on reali-
relation to the different vehicles of Buddhism; tailored to the
ty and a meditative procedure in which enlightenment is
needs of gradual or “instantaneous” practitioners; divided
reached by direct contemplation of the empty, luminous,
along the lines of view, meditation, action, and result; and
blissful nature of the mind. After leaving Mi la ras pa, Sgam
practiced through such procedures as the four yogas (one-
po pa spent a decade in various parts of Central Tibet, mostly
pointedness, nondiscursiveness, single taste, and nonmedita-
engaged in meditative retreat, the outcome of which was re-
tion). Sgam po pa’s signal contribution to the discussion of
alization of the nature of his own mind and attainment of
maha¯mudra¯, however, was his insistence that it need not ex-
an enlightened state.
clusively be associated with complex Tantric practice, but
might also be taught as an independent topic, suitable even
In 1121, he went to live on Sgam po mountain, in the
for those who lacked initiation, but had faith in and the
Dvags region of south-central Tibet. He built a small temple
blessings of their lama. Sgam po pa saw maha¯mudra¯ as both
there, offered instruction, and began to attract disciples. He
transcending and pervading all vehicles of Buddhism, and his
spent most of his remaining years at Sgam po, lecturing to
focus on it helped to establish it as a central concern for all
groups of followers and giving individual advice. In the pro-
subsequent Bka’ brgyud pa masters, as well as a topic of dis-
cess, he began to systematize the doctrines and establish the
cussion and sometimes debate for scholars in nearly all Tibet-
institutional base of what would soon be known as the Bka’
an traditions.
brgyud (Oral Lineage) sect. A number of his students, most
notably Phag mo gru pa (Pakmo Drupa, 1110–1170), Dus
Because of his dual focus—on monastic purity and a
gsum mkhyen pa (Dusum Khyenpa, 1110–1193), and
gradual approach to enlightenment on the one hand, and on
Dvags po sgom tshul (Dakpo Gomtsul, 1116–1169), be-
maha¯mudra¯ as a view, technique, and realization crucial for
came themselves (or through their disciples) the founders of
all practitioners on the other—Sgam po pa was renowned for
nearly all subsequent Bka’ brgyud monastic centers and
having “combined the two streams of Bka’ gdams and
teaching lineages—lineages that, because of their common
maha¯mudra¯.” This dual focus established the doctrinal and
source in Sgam po pa’s center in Dvags, generally are referred
institutional ethos for most subsequent developments in the
to as the Dvags po Bka’ brgyud (Dakpo Kagyu).
Bka’ brgyud sect, setting it apart as a tradition that placed
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SHABBAT
a premium both on Tantric and non-Tantric meditative real-
of the Sabbath with the new moon festival (RoDsh H:odesh)
ization and on adherence to an ascetic—if not always monas-
in the Bible, have often been noted, and it may well be that
tic—approach to religious life.
originally there was some connection between the Babylo-
nian and the Hebraic institutions. In the biblical narrative
SEE ALSO Mi la ras pa.
(Gn. 1:1–2:4), God rests on the seventh day from his creative
activity and thereby sanctifies and blesses this day.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chang, Garma C. C., trans. and ed., The Hundred Thousand Songs
The command to keep the Sabbath holy is found in
of Milarepa: The Life-Story and Teaching of the Greatest Poet-
both versions of the Decalogue (Ex. 20:8–11, Dt. 5:12–15),
Saint Ever to Appear in the History of Buddhism. 2 vols. New
but the reasons given for Sabbath observance differ. In Exo-
Hyde Park, N.Y., 1962; reprint, Boston, 1989. See vol. 2,
dus the creation motif is stressed: “For in six days the Lord
pages 463–497. Includes songs and stories stemming from
made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and
Sgam po pa’s discipleship under Mi la ras pa.
he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the
’Gos lo tsa ba gzhon nu dpal. The Blue Annals. Translated by
sabbath day and hallowed it.” This does not necessarily
George N. Roerich. Calcutta, 1949–1953. See pages
mean, as Philo of Alexandria understood it, that man must
451–462. This fifteenth-century classic of Tibetan historiog-
imitate God by resting as he did on the seventh day. It may
raphy contains numerous references to Sgam po pa.
mean that by resting on the day on which creation was com-
Gyaltsen, Khenpo Könchog, trans. The Great Kagyu Masters: The
plete, man acknowledges God as creator. In Deuteronomy the
Golden Lineage Treasury. Edited by Victoria Huckenpahler.
social motivation is prominent. Man must rest on the Sab-
Ithaca, N.Y., 1990. See pages 187–204. Translation of a thir-
bath and allow his slaves to rest with him so that the slaves
teenth-century collection of hagiographies.
are released from the burden of unceasing toil. A slave, sub-
Jackson, David P. Enlightenment by a Single Means: Tibetan Con-
ordinate to his master, cannot rest when he wishes. There-
troversies on the “Self-Sufficient White Remedy.” Vienna, 1994.
fore, by resting on the Sabbath, the Israelite demonstrates
See pages 9–53, 149–154. Analysis of early Bka’ brgyud pa
that he is free to rest because he has been redeemed from
presentations of maha¯mudra¯, and the criticism of them by
bondage.
Sa skya Pan:d:ita.
The nature of the “work” (mela Dkhah) that is forbidden
Karthar Rinpoche, Khenpo. The Instructions of Gampopa: A Pre-
cious Garland of the Supreme Path. Translated by Lama Yeshe
on the Sabbath has received many different interpretations
Gyamtso. Edited by Laura M. Roth and David N. McCar-
in the course of Jewish history. The only types of forbidden
thy. Ithaca, N.Y., 1996. Primarily a modern commentary on
work specified in the Pentateuch are baking and cooking (Ex.
the Lam mchog rin po che’i phreng ba; includes the original
16:23), kindling fire (Ex. 35:3), and gathering wood (Nm.
Tibetan root-text, with English translation.
15:32–36). From the sudden interposition of an injunction
Kragh, Ulrich. “Culture and Subculture: A Study of the
to keep the Sabbath into the narrative in which the Israelites
Maha¯mudra¯ Teachings of Sgam po pa.” M.A. research paper
are instructed by Moses to build the Tabernacle (Ex.
(speciale), University of Copenhagen, 1998. Includes excel-
35:1–3), the Talmudic rabbis (B. T., Shab. 49b, B.Q. 2a) de-
lent summaries of the contents of Sgam po pa’s collected
duced that all the types of work required for the building of
works and of his views on maha¯mudra¯.
the Tabernacle are those forbidden on the Sabbath. This led
Na¯landa¯ Translation Committee. The Rain of Wisdom. Boulder,
to a listing (Shab. 7.1) of thirty-nine main categories of work,
Colo., 1980. See pages 217–242. Contains a variety of song-
from which many others were derived by analogy.
poems attributed to Sgam po pa.
In addition, various restrictions were introduced by the
Sgam po pa. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. Translated and an-
rabbis, as on the handling of money or of objects normally
notated by Herbert V. Guenther. London, 1959. The first
used for work, and all business activities. According to the
translation of Sgam po pa’s great “stages of the doctrine” text;
rabbis it is forbidden to carry even the smallest object from
there is an alternative English translation by Khenpo
Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche (Ithaca, N.Y., 1998).
a private into a public domain. But in cities like Jerusalem
and Tel Aviv it is permitted to carry objects within the con-
Stewart, Jampa Mackenzie. The Life of Gampopa: The Incompara-
fines of the city by means of the Eeruv (“mingling” of do-
ble Dharma Lord of Tibet. Ithaca, N.Y., 1995. Drawn pri-
marily from previously translated sources, this is an attempt
mains), an elaborate arrangement of posts and wires encir-
at a “complete” biography of Sgam po pa.
cling the city that, by a legal fiction, converts the whole area
into a private domain within which it is permitted to carry.
ROGER R. JACKSON (2005)
Reform Judaism largely ignores the rabbinic rules gov-
erning acts forbidden on the Sabbath, preferring to under-
stand “work” as gainful occupation alone, and the spiritual
SHABBAT. The Hebrew word shabbat is from a root
atmosphere of the Sabbath as generated chiefly by means of
meaning “to desist” or “to rest,” that is, from work and labor.
rituals in the home and services in the synagogue. Orthodox
The Sabbath is the day of rest each week after six days of
Judaism follows the traditional regulations in their entirety.
work. The resemblances to the ancient Babylonian shapattu,
Where new inventions create problems, these are solved by
the day of the full moon, as well as the biblical juxtaposition
a process of analogy. For instance, Orthodox rabbis have
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SHABBAT
8257
considered whether switching on electric lights falls under
senting the manna of which a double portion fell to the Isra-
the heading of “kindling fire” since there is no combustion
elites before the Sabbath (Ex. 16:22–27).
of the filament. The consensus today among Orthodox rab-
bis forbids the use of all electrical appliances on the Sabbath.
At the beginning of the synagogue service on Friday
A rationale for the Orthodox understanding is that work
night, the Sabbath is welcomed with song. The mystics of
does not mean physical effort as such, but the creative ma-
Safad in the sixteenth century used to go out into the fields
nipulation of the physical world. Moving heavy objects, for
before the Sabbath to welcome the Bride Sabbath. Based on
example, does involve effort but is not creative, as is writing
this is the now-universal custom of singing the hymn Lekhah
a letter or lighting a cigarette (since the ability to make fire
dodi (Come My Beloved), composed by Shelomoh Alkabets,
was man’s first great step toward civilization). By refraining
a member of the Safad circle. At the termination of the Sab-
on the Sabbath from creative manipulation of the world,
bath the havdalah (“distinction”) benediction is recited over
people demonstrate that they enjoy their talents as gifts from
a cup of wine. In this ceremony God is praised for making
God, the creator. They are theirs not by right but by permis-
a distinction between the holy and the profane, light and
sion. People have a stewardship for which they will be called
darkness, the people of Israel and other peoples, and between
to account by God. Conservative Judaism in the United
the Sabbath and the six working days. He is also thanked for
States follows the traditional view of the Sabbath laws, but
the gift of light over a special candle kindled after the Sab-
Conservative rabbis generally permit switching on electric
bath. Sweet spices are smelled to restore the soul, which is
lights, using a microphone and telephone, and riding in an
sad at the departure of the Sabbath.
automobile to the synagogue.
The central feature of the synagogue service on the Sab-
The positive aspects of the Sabbath as a day of spiritual
bath is the reading of the Torah from a handwritten scroll—
and physical refreshment, as a day of delight (based on Isaiah
the Sefer Torah (Book of the Law). The Torah is divided into
58:13), are constantly invoked in Jewish literature. In the po-
portions, one section (sidrah) of which is read each Sabbath.
etic rabbinic statement (B.T., Shab. 119b), man has an addi-
The whole Torah is completed in this way each year, and
tional soul on the Sabbath, and when he comes home to the
then the cycle begins anew. In ancient times the seven per-
Sabbath meal he is accompanied by angels. The thirteenth-
sons called up (to the platform where the reading is done)
century Spanish exegete Nahmanides, in his commentary on
read from the scroll itself, but nowadays they only recite the
the Exodus version of the Decalogue, sees the prohibition of
benedictions praising God for giving the Torah to his people,
work on the Sabbath as an instance of the fear of God,
and the actual reading is carried out by the rabbi or cantor,
whereas the positive injunction to celebrate the Sabbath as
who uses a traditional chant. In Reform congregations only
a sacred day is an instance of the love of God.
a part of the weekly sidrah is read, and there is no chanting.
Before the reading begins, the Sefer Torah is taken out of the
The ideas of honoring the Sabbath and taking delight
ark that houses it and is borne ceremonially around the syna-
in it are expressed in the wearing of special clothes, having
gogue, adorned with a richly embroidered cloth, silver bells,
a well-lit home, forgetting worldly worries and anxieties (for
and a silver pointer. After the reading, the Sefer Torah is held
this reason petitionary prayers are not recited on the Sab-
aloft with its columns open for all to see while the congrega-
bath), the study of the Torah, the three meals (instead of the
tion sings in Hebrew: “This is the Torah which Moses set
two eaten on weekdays in ancient times) of good food and
before the children of Israel by the mouth of God at the hand
wine, and the union of husband and wife. This last emphasis
of Moses.” In addition to the Torah reading, a member of
would seem to be in reaction against sectarian opinions that
the congregation reads from one of the books of the Proph-
sexual congress on the Sabbath is sinful as a creative act. The
ets. This portion is known as the haft:arah (“conclusion”).
Karaites have interpreted the prohibition of kindling fire to
The choice of the Prophetic readings was made to coincide
mean that there must be no fire or light in the home. In all
in theme with that of the weekly Torah reading.
probability the rabbinic emphasis in the Middle Ages on the
Sabbath lights is in conscious reaction to this view and an
There are a number of special Sabbaths marked by addi-
attempt to make the Sabbath a day of joy and tranquillity
tions to the standard liturgy and by relevant Prophetic and
rather than a day of gloom. At the festive Sabbath meals joy-
extra Torah readings. The earliest of these are the four Sab-
ous hymns (zemirot) are sung by the family.
baths of the weeks before Passover. These are Shabbat She-
qalim (Sabbath of Shekels), a reminder of the practice in
Just before the advent of the Sabbath on Friday evening,
Temple times of beginning the annual collection of money
the mistress of the house prays for her family as she kindles
for the sacrifices at this period (based on Exodus 30:11–16
two candles in honor of the day: one candle represents the
and 2 Kings 11:17–12:17); Shabbat Zakhor (Sabbath of Re-
prohibition of work, the other the positive injunction of Sab-
membering), a reminder of Amalek (based on Deuteronomy
bath joy and tranquillity. The festive meal begins with the
25:17–19 and 1 Samuel 15:1–34); Shabbat Parah (Sabbath
Qiddush (sanctification), a praise of God in which he is
of the Red Heifer), a reminder of the purification rites in
thanked, over a cup of wine, for granting Israel the precious
Temple times in preparation for Passover (based on Numbers
boon that is the Sabbath. The grace before meals is recited
19:1–22 and Exodus 36:16–38); and Shabbat ha-H:odesh
over two loaves of bread, covered with a white cloth, repre-
(Sabbath of the New Moon), the declaration that the “first
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SHABBETAI TSEVI [FIRST EDITION]
month,” Nisan, is the beginning of the new annual cycle for
Peli, Pinhas. The Jewish Sabbath: A Renewed Encounter. New York,
the festivals (based on Exodus 12:1–20 and Ezekiel 45:16–
1991.
46:18). The haft:arah for the Sabbath immediately preceding
LOUIS JACOBS (1987)
Passover is from the third chapter of Malachi, concluding
Revised Bibliography
with a reference to the great (gadol) day of the Lord, after
which this Sabbath is called Shabbat ha-Gadol (the Great
Sabbath).
SHABBETAI TSEVI [FIRST EDITION] (1626–
The Sabbath on which the weekly sidrah includes the
1676), Jewish messianic pretender (in the definition of those
Song of Moses (Ex. 16:1–21) has for the haft:arah the Song
who did not believe in him) and founder of the messianic
of Deborah (Jgs. 4–5) and is known as Shabbat Shirah (Sab-
movement known as Shabbateanism. The Shabbatean move-
bath of Song). On the three Sabbaths preceding the fast of
ment is in many ways unique, yet it is also representative of
the Ninth of Av, commemorating the destruction of the
the forces at work in Jewish history and of the interaction
Temple, the haft:arot consist of Prophetic readings dealing
of external and internal factors.
with calamity, and the seven Sabbaths following the fast have
portions from the second part of the Book of Isaiah, dealing
BACKGROUND. With the expulsion of the Jews at the end of
with the theme of consolation. Since the haft:arah of the Sab-
the fifteenth century from Spain and Portugal, a new phase
bath preceding the fast begins with the word h:azon (“vision,”
began in Jewish history. The magnitude of the disaster and
Is. 1), this Sabbath is called Shabbat Hazon; the haft:arah of
sufferings seemed to indicate the “birth pangs” of the messi-
the Sabbath immediately after the fast begins with the word
anic age as foretold by tradition. Messianic expectations and
nah:amu (“comfort ye”), and this Sabbath is called Shabbat
speculations were rife, and false messiahs arose and disap-
Nah:amu. The Sabbath between RoDsh ha-Shanah and Yom
peared, but still salvation tarried, and new and greater afflic-
Kippur falls during the penitential season. Its haft:arah is
tions followed instead, reaching a climax in the Cossack mas-
from Hosea 14, beginning with the words “shuvah Yisra Del,”
sacres led by Bogdan Khmel’nitskii. Tens of thousands of
hence this Sabbath is called Shabbat Shuvah.
Jews were slaughtered in these massacres between 1648 and
1658 in Poland and the Ukraine; the decade was a peak of
B
suffering in the postmedieval period, unparalleled until the
IBLIOGRAPHY
For a discussion of the critical view on the origins of the Sabbath,
twentieth century. But now at least every Jew knew that the
see U. Cassuto’s A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, vol.
Messiah was coming, for he had to come. By that time
1, From Adam to Noah, translated by Israel Abrahams (Jeru-
the doctrine of the sixteenth-century qabbalist Isaac Luria
salem, 1961), pp. 65–69. The voluminous tractate Shabbat
had come to dominate Jewish thought and piety, not least
of the Babylonian Talmud, dealing with every aspect of Sab-
because of its profoundly messianic orientation. The qabbal-
bath observance in rabbinic times, is now available in English
ists focused all their religious fervor and asceticism, their
translation by H. Freedman, in the Soncino translation of
power of prayer and meditation, on the imminent advent of
the Babylonian Talmud, edited by I. Epstein (London,
redemption. And it was indeed from the circle of qabbalists
1938). Solomon Goldman’s little book A Guide to the Sab-
that the messiah appeared.
bath (London, 1961) is written from the moderately Ortho-
dox point of view. Abraham Joshua Heschel’s The Sabbath:
LIFE. Shabbetai was born in 1626 into the prosperous Tsevi
Its Meaning for Modern Man (New York, 1951) is a fine im-
family of merchants living in Smyrna (Izmir), a city in Asia
pressionistic study of the Sabbath as, in the author’s words,
Minor situated within the Ottoman empire. There, Jews—
“a Temple in time.” A useful anthology of teachings on the
because of their knowledge of languages, their international
Sabbath is Abraham E. Millgram’s Sabbath: The Day of De-
connections, and their familiarity with local conditions—
light (Philadelphia, 1944). The best edition of the Sabbath
were much in demand as agents and brokers by English,
table hymns, with an introduction and notes in English, is
Dutch, and other merchants and companies that operated
Zemiroth Sabbath Songs, edited by Nosson Scherman (New
York, 1979).
in the Levant. As was customary in Jewish families, Shab-
betai, the gifted son, did not go into business but devoted
New Sources
himself to study, first of the Talmud and then of Qabbalah.
Benyosef, Simya. Living the Kabbalah: A Guide to the Sabbath and
He seems to have been not only gifted as a scholar but also
Festivals in the Teaching of Rabbi Rafael Moshe Luria. New
endowed with a magnetic personality. He soon exhibited ec-
York, 1999.
centric behavior and strange fantasies, which probably also
Dundes, Alan. The Shabbat Elevator and Other Sabbath Subter-
included messianic elements. To avoid scandal, the rabbis
fuges: An Unorthodox Essay on Circumventing Custom and
and the family made him leave his hometown, and after some
Jewish Character. Lanham, Md., 2002.
wandering through Turkey, he came to Jerusalem. There the
Eskenazi, Tamara C., Daniel J. Harrington, and William H. Shea,
winsome young ascetic did not fail to attract attention, not
eds. The Sabbath in Jewish and Christian Traditions. New
least because of his strange behavior. Nevertheless, he seems
York, 1991.
to have been sufficiently respected to be sent as emissary of
McKay, Heather A. Sabbath and Synagogue: The Question of Sab-
the community to Egypt to collect alms for the Holy City.
bath Worship in Ancient Judaism. New York, 1994.
On his return to Palestine he met in Gaza another young
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SHABBETAI TSEVI [FIRST EDITION]
8259
rabbi from Jerusalem, Natan (henceforth known as the
with the choice between death under torture and apostasy
prophet Natan of Gaza), who claimed that during the
to Islam. From the palace there emerged shortly afterward
Shavu’ot vigil in May 1665 he had experienced a vision in
not the rabbi Shabbetai Tsevi but a turbaned Mehmet Effen-
which it was divinely revealed to him that Shabbetai was the
di. But he continued to play a double game: a Muslim in his
Lord’s anointed one, the Messiah of Israel.
relations with the Turks (he also persuaded some of his fol-
lowers to apostatize) and the Messiah to his Jewish believers.
Some historians argue that this proclamation was the
This duplicity finally led the authorities to exile him to Alba-
climax of a messianic plan carefully laid and hatched by
nia, where he died in 1676.
Shabbetai and his supporters, who had long cultivated messi-
anic fantasies. Gershom Scholem, on the other hand, main-
AFTERMATH. Now only did the well-nigh incredible happen.
tains that the event was sudden and unpremeditated, that its
Betrayed and disillusioned, Jews had to choose once more.
explosive result was due to a combination of circumstances:
Many of those who had believed—not with an easy faith
the messianic mood of the age, Shabbetai’s peculiar charac-
without works but with great sacrifice, flinging aside their
ter, and Natan’s charismatic and prophetic personality.
chattels to meet and follow the Messiah—now recognized,
Shabbetai’s erratic behavior, diagnosed by Scholem as a
shamefacedly and with heavy hearts, that they had been
manic-depressive condition (an interpretation contested by
duped. There had been no change in the world and no salva-
others), proved to be of theological significance. In his manic
tion: they had to go on waiting for the true Messiah.
states, which would indeed account for his eccentric actions,
Shabbetai invented new rituals, at times involving deliberate
But not all were ready to submit to the verdict of histo-
and highly ritualized transgressions of Jewish law. These in-
ry. They had experienced salvation and the thrill of renewal
stances of messianic antinomianism would occasionally be
within their hearts, and nothing would undo this change.
accompanied by a blasphemous pun. For the traditional li-
The reality of messianic experience could not be invalidated
turgical formula “thou who loosenest [mattir] those in bonds
by outward history, at least for those who saw with eyes of
[asurim],” Shabbetai would substitute, when transgressing
faith. Whereas the majority of those originally gripped by the
the law, the benediction “thou who permittest [mattir] all
wave of messianic frenzy slowly returned to the traditional
prohibitions [issurim].” This incipient messianic antinomi-
forms of belief and observance, a considerable number, the
anism would prove a major factor in the subsequent develop-
self-designated ma Daminim (“believers”), continued for some
ment of the movement.
time to persevere in the “faith,” living outwardly as orthodox
After disciplinary floggings had failed to quench Shab-
Jews but inwardly as believers in the mystico-messianic mis-
betai’s antinomian behavior, he was eventually excommuni-
sion of Shabbetai Tsevi, which in the fullness of time, they
cated by the rabbis of Jerusalem in 1665. Nevertheless, the
trusted, would be fully vindicated. Shabbetai’s apostasy was
glad tidings of his coming quickly spread. Whereas earlier
held to be part of the mystery of the Messiah’s unique mis-
messianic movements had been outbreaks of short duration,
sion and hence not to be imitated. (The prophet Natan,
leaving no permanent traces, the Shabbatean message spread
among others, was a forceful spokesman for this view.) A
throughout the Diaspora, and within a short time Shabbetai
more extreme wing, however, held that the faithful had to
was venerated as “our lord and king” from Cairo to Ham-
follow in the footsteps of the Messiah also in this respect, es-
burg, from Salonika to Amsterdam, from Morocco to
pecially as Shabbetai had occasionally pressured followers to
Yemen, from Poland to Persia. With few exceptions the
apostatize.
skeptics kept their doubts to themselves, not daring to speak
These groups subsequently gave rise to a Shabbatean
out and risk the wrath of popular enthusiasm. Returning tri-
“heresy” and sectarian theology that first went underground
umphantly to his hometown, Smyrna, Shabbetai was riding
and subsequently partly dissolved and partly left Judaism al-
high on a wave of manic exaltation and messianic enthusiasm
together, thus vanishing as far as Jewish history is concerned.
that did not shrink from terrorizing his opponents. By then
The Shabbatean Dönmeh sect, which adopted the outward
the Turkish authorities felt that things were going too far,
guise of Islam, survived clandestinely in Turkey until the
and when Shabbetai continued his royal progress from Smyr-
twentieth century. A somewhat similar development took
na to the capital, Constantinople, he was arrested and im-
place in Poland, where YaEaqov Frank (1726–1791), an anti-
prisoned in the fortress of Gallipoli.
nomian and megalomaniac nihilist who donned the messian-
Yet the faith continued to spread; after all, everyone
ic mantle of Shabbetai Tsevi as his incarnation, having first
knew that the Messiah would have to suffer tribulations be-
converted to Islam, subsequently led his followers to conver-
fore revealing himself with miracles and in all his power and
sion to Catholicism, although they remained crypto-Jews.
glory. Since the Turkish prison guards were amenable to
The members of the Frankist movement were gradually as-
bribes, Shabbetai lived in captivity like a king, receiving em-
similated into Polish society and possibly influenced the
bassies that came to pay him homage and celebrating his bi-
“messianic” character of nineteenth-century Polish national-
zarre new rituals. The Turkish authorities handled the matter
ist ideologues such as the poet Adam Mickiewicz (1798–
with remarkable restraint. In due course Shabbetai was sum-
1855), whose mother was descended from a converted
moned to the Diwan (the sultan’s privy council) and faced
Frankist family.
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SHABBETAI TSEVI [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
Gershom Scholem has argued that the mystico-
Scholem, Gershom. Kabbalah. Jerusalem, 1974. See especially
theological rationalizations of the messiah’s apostasy were in
pages 244ff. on Shabbetai and the movement, 297ff. on
a way prepared and prefigured by Shabbetai’s antinomian be-
YaEaqov Frank and Frankism, 327ff. on the Dönmeh, 435–
havior in his youth and during his messianic heyday. Of in-
436 on Natan of Gaza, 396–397 on Avraham Cardozo, 405–
terest to the historian of religions is the analogy, in certain
406 and 412–413 on Eybeschutz and Hayun, 441–443 on
Yehudah Prosnitz, and 452–453 on Heschel Zoref.
respects, with Christianity. Since with the death of Jesus of
Nazareth history had proved a disappointment, there devel-
R. J. ZWI WERBLOWSKY (1987)
oped a theology of paradox that turned the rational and
moral stumbling block and skandalon into its cornerstone.
Both Christianity and Shabbateanism owe part of their emo-
tional appeal to their very paradoxicality. Because the messi-
SHABBETAI TSEVI [FURTHER CONSID-
ah had seemingly failed so shockingly, the belief arose in his
ERATIONS]. A number of important new approaches
divine nature and in his second advent (in later Shabbatean-
and documents concerning the Shabbatean movement have
ism, also in his reincarnation). Since salvation was not mani-
appeared since the 1970s. Most are concerned with correct-
fest to those who saw with eyes of flesh, a distinction had to
ing aspects of Gershom Scholem’s standard work, Sabbatai
be made between an invisible redemption, accessible to the
Sevi: The Mystical Messiah (1973). This supplementary arti-
eyes of faith only, and the final consummation when all
cle will follow the structure of R. J. Zwi Werblowsky’s entry
things, and especially the messianic mystery, would become
for the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Religion (1987),
manifest. Because the messiah had ended his earthly career
dealing with new developments in the background, life and
in disgrace, a theology evolved that explained how and why
movement, and aftermath of the Shabbatean outbreak.
this disgrace actually constituted the climax of the messianic
BACKGROUND. Scholem’s insistence on the centrality of
ministry. In the case of Jesus the paradox took a metaphysical
Isaac Luria’s Qabbalah in preparing the ground for Shab-
form: by dying he had overcome death. For Shabbatean be-
betai’s success has been widely criticized. Among the prob-
lievers the paradox was of a mystico-moral kind: Shabbetai
lems raised are Scholem’s near monocausal explanatory
had had to accept worse than death (after all, Jews were dying
scheme, the presence of various other factors of obvious im-
a martyr’s death in every generation), namely, the most
portance, and the fact that, whereas Shabbetai was indeed a
abominable sin, apostasy. By descending into the abyss of
qabbalist, he was not at all a follower of the Lurianic doc-
impurity, sin, and evil, he had vanquished impurity, sin, and
trine. Indeed the very notion that Lurianic Qabbalah was
evil. The details of this doctrine were elaborated in the tech-
well known in even the major communities of the Jewish
nical terminology of Lurianic qabbalistic theology.
world by the 1665 to 1666 period has been questioned.
Other aspects of Shabbateanism are of greater relevance
A broader historical perspective recognizes the impor-
to Jewish history. After the Shabbatean outbreak and its ig-
tance of motivating forces from outside the Jewish world.
nominious debacle and aftermath (Dönmeh, Frankism),
Foremost among these, well known to Scholem but given lit-
there were no more “automessianic” movements (Martin
tle weight in his story, was the widespread Christian mille-
Buber’s term for messianic movements headed by a leader
narianism and Muslim Mahdism that permeated the early
who claims to be the Messiah). The subsequent spiritual dis-
modern world. Events such as the fall of Constantinople to
array prepared the way for the Hasidic revival in eighteenth-
the Ottomans in 1453, the end of the reconquista in Spain,
century eastern Europe. The collapse of the last great messi-
European voyages of discovery, the Protestant Reformation,
anic outburst also contributed (according to Scholem) to the
and the scientific revolution all stoked the fires of messianic
process of modernizing assimilation. Brief but violent, the
expectation among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. All three
messianic dream had destroyed, for some believers, the tradi-
faiths dealt with a plethora of messianic pretenders in the six-
tional structure of faith; the bridges had been burned and
teenth and seventeenth centuries. Many Christian millenari-
there was no way back. Yet, even though the Shabbatean
ans in particular expected the year 1666 (the number of the
dream had failed in its original form, it had stimulated new
Beast added to a millennium) to be a date of redemption.
dreams: those of redemption as successful entry into modern
The movement that grew up around Shabbetai can hardly
society.
have done so in isolation from these larger trends.
Another important factor is the significance to Shab-
SEE ALSO Messianism, article on Jewish Messianism; Qab-
betai’s movement of the conversos, descendants of Jews con-
balah.
verted in Spain and Portugal during the fifteenth century.
The conversos and former conversos (those who had returned
BIBLIOGRAPHY
to their ancestral Judaism after escaping Iberia), coming from
Davies, W. D. “From Schweitzer to Scholem: Reflections on Sab-
a strong Christian background, were especially concerned
batai Svi.” Journal of Biblical Literature 95 (1976): 529ff.
with matters touching on the messiah. They had their own
Scholem, Gershom. Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah, 1626–
important messianic movements and ideas. Most of the
1676. Translated by R. J. Zwi Werblowsky. Princeton,
Mediterranean and western European centers of Shabbatean
1973. Includes a full bibliography.
activity, including ˙Izmir, Livorno, Venice, Amsterdam, and
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SHABBETAI TSEVI [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
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Hamburg, were also centers of former converso Jews. Many
Shabbatean theology has received much attention as
of Shabbetai’s strongest supporters came from this group, in-
well. The influence of astrological ideas, both qabbalistic and
cluding the theologian Abraham Miguel Cardoso. This can
more general, centers around the name Shabbetai, which also
help explain the strong strain of Christian ideas and parallels
means “the planet Saturn,” symbolizing both melancholy
in Shabbatean thought mentioned by Werblowsky.
and genius. Qabbalistic interpretations of Shabbetai as the
LIFE AND MOVEMENT. Scholem’s views on Shabbetai’s per-
“divine androgyne,” embodying certain relationships be-
sonality, which were very controversial early on, have be-
tween the mystical sephirot, are among many complex ideas
come widely accepted by scholars, including Scholem’s diag-
scholars have explored concerning Shabbetai’s persona,
nosis of Shabbetai as manic-depressive. More has been
name, and antinomian rituals. Several studies explicate the
written about the dynamics of the movement surrounding
role of faith in Shabbetai as a redeemer, sometimes consid-
Shabbetai, especially the social aspects of the movement, re-
ered almost divine, in the theology of Natan of Gaza.
lations between Shabbateanism and other contemporary
Finally, questions have been asked about the opposition
trends, and Shabbatean theology.
to Shabbetai, both before and after his apostasy. It is unclear
The converso influences on Shabbateanism include the
why there was not more vocal protest at Shabbetai’s many
messianic agitations of Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel of Amster-
ritual irregularities and why opponents met resistance even
dam in the previous decade and the reprinting of Menasseh’s
after Shabbetai’s apostasy. Discussions of these topics have
tract Hope of Israel in ˙Izmir in 1659 by a group of former
revealed larger rifts in the stability of rabbinic culture at the
conversos who would shortly become major supporters of
time.
Shabbetai. Several of the prophets supporting Shabbetai’s
AFTERMATH. This is perhaps a misnomer, for in the view of
mission were demonstrably from this background as well, in-
Scholem and others interested in the heretical Qabbalah of
cluding the aforementioned Cardoso.
the movement, Shabbateanism really only becomes impor-
Christian and Muslim messianism, and the interest
tant and interesting after Shabbetai’s apostasy. Extensive
shown by particular Christians in the Shabbatean move-
studies have appeared that, while objecting to certain tenet’s
ment, have come to be seen as critical to Shabbetai’s success.
of Scholem’s approach, see the convoluted mystical reason-
The Dutch divine Petrus Serrarius became a major conduit
ing of Shabbetai, Natan, Cardoso, and their followers as the
of news about the movement to the curious Christian world.
“real” significance of the movement.
The manifestation of religious ecstasies and popular prophe-
Shabbetai’s apostasy, like the Crucifixion of Jesus, has
cy among both contemporary Christians and Muslims has
come to be the most important moment of the messianic
been tied to the outbreak of prophecy among ordinary Jews,
drama. Because it is a great paradox, the thing that should
often women and children, that accompanied Shabbetai’s
never have been able to happen to the messiah, its explana-
travels in Turkey. Altogether scholars have begun to look at
tion challenges the theologians to produce their best efforts.
the public phase of Shabbateanism in 1665 and 1666 less as
Natan explains that the messiah must be reviled and go down
an internal Jewish development, connected strictly with the
into the realm of the evil husks (that is, the Gentile world)
Spanish expulsion and rise of Lurianic Qabbalah, than as an
in order to mystically redeem the holy souls that are trapped
integral part of the larger European and Ottoman messianic
there; only then can the messianic age become manifest. Car-
enthusiasm of the time.
doso purports that the messiah must become a converso like
The role of women in Shabbateanism has received in-
himself, just as Queen Esther had to abandon her people and
creased attention. Sarah, the wife of Shabbetai at the height
marry King Ahasuerus in order to save the Jews. Later Shab-
of the movement, is a fascinating figure who may have
batean theologians developed a secret mystical language, rec-
helped shape aspects of Shabbetai’s activities. Many other
ognizable almost exclusively to other believers, with which
women were found among the Shabbatean prophets, exert-
to describe their Shabbatean Qabbalah. Important studies
ing their influence through the persuasive medium of ecstatic
focus on how Shabbetai saw the meaning of his own apostasy
trance states. Women continued in important roles after
and on the instructions he gave his followers after the
Shabbetai’s apostasy as well.
apostasy.
Though Scholem exploited all the sources available to
With the confirmation of Shabbetai’s conversion to
him, more documents have surfaced. Some of these have in-
Islam, some die-hard believers converted to Islam in imita-
fluenced debates about Shabbetai’s acceptance in various re-
tion of Shabbetai’s decision. These apostates, the Dönmeh,
gions. Scholem’s contention that most of the Ashkenazi
left considerable records of their beliefs and practices, many
(German- and Yiddish-speaking) world quickly became be-
of which were published in the years following Scholem’s
lievers has been questioned, thought not disproved, in light
monograph. Perhaps most surprising is the continued exis-
of new evidence. Other sources throw light on the reception
tence of a recognizable cast of Dönmeh in modern Turkey.
of the movement (generally enthusiastic) in Yemen, Moroc-
The silence surrounding their identity was broken in the
co, Egypt, and elsewhere. The impact of the printing press
1990s by Ilgaz Zorlu, a Dönmeh member who wrote a con-
and improvements in transportation on the spread of Shab-
troversial book about what it meant to be part of that group
bateanism have also been discussed.
at that time.
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SHABISTAR¯I, AL-
A much larger group followed the other possible path
1998). Social aspects are the focus in Jacob Barnai, Sab-
for believers, that of secret adherence from within the Jewish
bateanism: Social Perspectives (in Hebrew; Jerusalem, 2000),
world. Studies suggest that the cells of underground Shab-
which includes a list of where the chapters were previously
bateans were more active, organized, and long-lived than was
published, several in English. Sociological perspectives are
previously suspected. They existed in Turkey, Greece, Italy,
the focus of Stephen Sharot, Messianism, Mysticism, and
and the Ashkenazic lands. Prophetic conventicles left note-
Magic: A Sociological Analysis of Jewish Religious Movements,
chaps. 7–9 (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1982). Social and historical
books and other evidence of their Shabbatean activities. Rab-
perspectives are dealt with in Matt Goldish, The Sabbatean
bis of major communities well into the eighteenth century
Prophets (Cambridge, Mass., 2004). Frankism is dealt with
were counted among those who kept faith with Shabbetai (or
in Hillel Levine, The Kronika—On Jacob Frank (in Hebrew,
his memory). Some of these believers committed ritual trans-
Polish, and English; Jerusalem, 1984); and Alexandr Krau-
gressions of Jewish law, whereas the adherence of others to
shar, The End of the Sabbataian Heresy, edited by H. Levy
the sect can be detected only through telltale terms and ideas
(Boston, 2000). The fight against the movement is the focus
in their mystical writings. Major crusades were undertaken
of Elisheva Carlebach, The Pursuit of Heresy: Rabbi Moses
to uproot these secret Shabbateans, but they often failed to
Hagiz and the Sabbatian Controversies (New York, 1990).
achieve their purpose, partly because the opponents could
MATT GOLDISH (2005)
not convince other Jews that such subtle evidence was mean-
ingful.
In Poland the Frankist movement grew out of Jacob
Frank’s manipulation of older Shabbatean traditions and his
SHABISTAR¯I, AL- (d. AH 720/1320 CE), more fully
own charismatic personality. Several extremely important
SaEd al-D¯ın Mah:mu¯d ibn EAbd al-Kar¯ım ibn Yah:ya¯
new documents from the Frankists turned up in the twenti-
al-Shabistar¯ı; celebrated S:u¯f¯ı author and Persian poet. He
eth century, allowing for a much more complete view of the
was born in the second half of the thirteenth century at Sha-
movement’s dynamics. These include fuller versions of
bistar (Cabistar), a village near Tabriz in Azerbaijan, but
Frank’s Dicta, which suggest that his self-portrayal as a
spent the greater part of his life at Tabriz, then capital of the
prostak, an uneducated Jew whose gifts are strictly divine, is
newly established Mongol (Il-khanid) empire. Little is
disingenuous. Other studies are slowly unraveling the various
known about him, except that he was married, probably at
groups and layers within Frankism that were often conflated
Kirman, and devotedly attached to one of his disciples
in earlier research.
named Shaykh Ibra¯h¯ım.
Finally, Scholem’s early suggestion that Shabbatean an-
In both the Islamic world and the West, his fame rests
tinomianism prepared the way for the Jewish Enlightenment
on the Gulshan-i ra¯z (Rose Garden of Mystery), a versified
(Haskalah) and reform movement by accustoming Jews to
compendium of S:u¯f¯ı teachings discovered by European trav-
nonobservance has continued to be debated. Most scholars
elers about 1700. In 1838, J. F. von Hammer-Purgstall pub-
appear to discount this thesis because there is not enough evi-
lished a Persian text along with a German verse translation.
dence. Others have shown that the Shabbateans and
In 1880, E. H. Whinfield critically edited what has become
Maskilim (proponents of Jewish Enlightenment) were hostile
the standard Persian text with an annotated English transla-
to each other. However, certain authors have attempted to
tion and an abstract of its contents.
recast Scholem’s idea in more convincing ways.
The Gulshan-i ra¯z (in the meter hazaj) was
al-Shabistar¯ı’s reply to fifteen questions posed by M¯ır Fakhr
SEE ALSO Dönmeh; Frank, Jacob; Messianism, article on
al-Sa¯da¯t H:usayn ibn EAl¯ı al-H:usayn¯ı (1273–1323), a S:u¯f¯ı
Jewish Messianism.
friend from Herat. Its 1,008 rhyming couplets, cast in the
form of questions and lengthy answers on a variety of mysti-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cal topics, focus on the unity of being and the perfect human
Many aspects of the Shabbatean movement are discussed in Ra-
being, the central concepts of S:u¯f¯ı theory after the time of
chel Elior, ed., The Sabbatian Movement and Its Aftermath:
Ibn al-EArab¯ı (d. 1240).
Messianism, Sabbatianism and Frankism, 2 vols., with He-
brew and English sections (Jerusalem, 2001). Mystical as-
Many of the same topics are treated in al-Shabistar¯ı’s
pects are central in Kabbalah, vol. 8 (2004), dedicated to the
Persian prose works: H:aqq al-yaqin (Certain Truth), pub-
Shabbatean movement. Theological aspects are the focus of
lished in little-known miscellanies (see MaEa¯rif al-Eawa¯rif,
Yehuda Liebes, On Sabbaeaism and Its Kabbalah (in Hebrew;
Shiraz, 1283/1867, pp. 1–44, and EAwa¯rif al-maEa¯rif, Shiraz,
Jerusalem, 1995). Some of these studies are available in En-
1317/1938, pp. 4–54); Mir Da¯t al-muh:aqqiq¯ın (The Mirror
glish in Yehuda Liebes’s Studies in Jewish Myth and Jewish
of the Mystics), published in the same miscellanies
Messianism, translated by Batya Stein (Albany, N.Y., 1993).
Extremely important work on Natan of Gaza is available in
(pp. 44–81 and section 2, pp. 1–46 respectively); Kanz
Abraham Elqayam, “The Mystery of Faith in the Writings
al-h:aqa¯Diq (The Treasure of Realities), edited by Sayyid
of Nathan of Gaza” (Ph.D. diss., Hebrew University of Jeru-
Muh:ammad EAl¯ı-i S:af¯ır (Tehran, 1344/1965); and possibly
salem, 1993). The theology of the movement is central in
Risa¯lah-i sha¯hid (Epistle of the Witness), apparently no lon-
Moshe Idel, Messianic Mystics, chap. 6 (New Haven, Conn.,
ger extant. Al-Shabistar¯ı is also said to be the author of the
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SHA¯FIE¯I, AL-
8263
Sa Ea¯dat-na¯mah, a collection of three thousand couplets, and
derlying norms and principles to resolve legal problems, sev-
a Persian translation of the Minha¯j al- Ea¯bid¯ın by Abu¯ H:a¯mid
eral jurists began to examine the problems that the prophet
al-Ghaza¯l¯ı (d. 1111).
Muh:ammad and his immediate successors had dealt with. It
Al-Shabistar¯ı’s Gulshan-i ra¯z became a traditional hand-
devolved upon al-Sha¯fiE¯ı to provide a method of legal reason-
book of instruction in the NiEmatulla¯h¯ı S:u¯f¯ı affiliation, and
ing that would make it possible to resolve problems and de-
its influence was further enhanced because of the numerous
velop the law into a coherent system. He was the first jurist
commentaries written on it in Sh¯ıE¯ı Iran for four centuries.
to examine the shar¯ı Eah in accordance with jurisprudential
One outstanding commentary, Mafa¯t¯ıh: al-i Eja¯z f¯ı sharh:-i
method, and the impact of his method, to which his succes-
Gulshan-i ra¯z (ed. Kaywa¯n-i Sam¯ıE¯ı, Tehran, 1337/1958),
sors added only refinements, has remained permanent.
was compiled in 1473 by Shams al-D¯ın Muh:ammad ibn
LIFE. Little is known of al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s childhood and early life.
Yah:ya¯ al-La¯h¯ıj¯ı (d. 1506), a follower of Nu¯rbakhsh
The earliest biographies are very brief, while the detailed ac-
(d. 1465). The best-known nineteenth-century commen-
counts given by classical biographers are mixed with legend-
taries are the lithograph of Mirza¯ Ibra¯h¯ım al-Sabzawa¯r¯ı
ary stories. The authorities disagree on whether al-Sha¯fiE¯ı was
(Tehran 1314/1898 and 1330/1912) and Sharh:-i Gulshan-i
born in Gaza, a small town on the coast of Palestine, or in
ra¯z (Tabriz 1334/1955) by Mirza¯ EAbd al-Kar¯ım Ra¯yid:
Ashkelon, a larger town not far away. His ancestors belonged
al-D¯ın al-Zinja¯n¯ı (d. 1882), a Dhahab¯ı shaykh of Azerbaijan
to the Banu¯ Ha¯shim, the clan of the prophet Muh:ammad.
known as EA¯rif EAl¯ı Sha¯h UEju¯bah. The anonymous extract
Some of them, it seems, went with the Arab armies in the
of an IsmaE¯ıl¯ı commentary (TaDw¯ılat) discovered by W. Iva-
early days of the Muslim conquests and stayed in the eastern
now and edited by Henry Corbin (Trilogie ismaelienne,
Mediterranean region. When al-Sha¯fiE¯ı was about ten years
1961, pp. 131–161, with an introduction, section 3,
old, his father died, and his mother took him from Palestine
pp. 1–196), documents a survival of IsmaE¯ıl¯ı ideas under the
to Mecca. Traditional stories, legendary for the most part,
mantle of Sufism long after the destruction of Alamut in
state that he learned the QurDa¯n by heart at the age of seven,
1256.
committed Ma¯lik’s Muwat:t:aD (a digest of law) to memory at
the age of ten, and was declared fit to give legal opinions at
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the age of fifteen.
Corbin, Henry, ed. Trilogie ismaelienne. Tehran, 1961.
After his arrival in Mecca, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı studied under sever-
Corbin, Henry. The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism. Translated
al jurists, then went to study in Medina under Ma¯lik ibn
by Nancy Pearson. Boulder, 1978. See pages 110–120.
Anas (d. 796), the leading jurist of the Hejaz and founder
Hammer-Purgstall, J. F. von. Mah:mud Schebisteri’s Rosenflor des
of the school of law bearing his name. Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı was then
Geheimnisses. Leipzig, 1838.
probably twenty years of age. In Medina, he studied Ma¯lik’s
Lah¯ıj¯ı, Muh:ammad ibn Yahya¯. Mifta¯h: al-i Eja¯z f¯ı sharh: Gul-shan-i
Muwat:t:aD and became a follower of the Ma¯lik¯ı school of law,
ra¯z. Edited by Kaywa¯n-i Sam¯ıE¯ı. Tehran, 1337/1958.
soon distinguishing himself as a student of the shar¯ı Eah. He
Whinfield, E. H., trans. Gulshan i Raz: The Mystic Rose Garden.
attracted the attention of the governor of Yemen, who was
London, 1880.
on a visit to Medina and who helped him to enter govern-
G
ment service at the age of thirty. But al-Sha¯fiE¯ı was soon to
ERHARD BÖWERING (1987)
become involved in local controversies, and this led not only
to dismissal from his post but also to his deportation in
chains to Iraq on the allegation that he was a follower of the
SHA¯FIE¯I, AL- (AH 150–208/767–820 CE), more fully
Zayd¯ı imam Yah:ya¯ ibn EAbd Alla¯h, a pretender to the caliph-
Muh:ammad ibn Idr¯ıs, was the founder of a school of law
ate and an opponent of the Abbasid dynasty in Baghdad.
and the author of several works of Islamic law (shar¯ı Eah).
Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı appeared before the caliph Ha¯ru¯n al-Rashid with
Perhaps more important, he wrote the first treatise of juris-
other conspirators in 803 but was pardoned after eloquently
prudence in Islam, in which he discussed the nature and
defending his loyalty to the caliph on the grounds that his
sources of law and developed a legal methodology for the sys-
great-grandfather was related to the great-grandfather of the
tematic study of the shar¯ı Eah.
caliph himself. It is said that al-Shayba¯n¯ı (d. 804), the lead-
ing jurist of the H:anaf¯ı school and a court counselor, defend-
Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı flourished in the early Abbasid period, a time
ed him and said that he was a well-known jurist, and this in-
of consolidation for the Islamic empire. Even before the Ab-
cident brought al-Sha¯fiE¯ı into contact with al-Shayba¯n¯ı,
basid dynasty had been established, Muslim jurists were
whose books he had studied. Despite the outcome, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı
grappling with legal problems resulting from the rapid ex-
was never again to seek government service.
pansion of the empire and the absorption of new elements
of law and local tradition. As a consequence, the Islamic
Until his deportation to Iraq, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı was known as
community abounded in legal doctrines, and several schools
a follower of Ma¯lik. His study of H:anaf¯ı doctrines, which
of law had emerged in response to the new conditions and
filtered to him through al-Shayba¯n¯ı’s works and contacts
demands. At this point, the need for a synthesis of divergent
with H:anaf¯ı followers, seems to have broadened his knowl-
legal doctrines became apparent, and in order to derive un-
edge of the law, and he began to see points of strength and
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SHA¯FIE¯I, AL-
weakness in both the Ma¯lik¯ı and H:anaf¯ı positions. Although
Risa¯lah, in particular, is a novel work in the literature of Is-
he held his own legal opinions, he had not yet emerged as
lamic law, dealing essentially with the sources of the law (us:u¯l
the leader of a new school of law.
al-fiqh). The us:u¯l (“roots” or “sources”) of the law had been
discussed by earlier jurists, each stressing a particular deriva-
In 804 al-Sha¯fiE¯ı suddenly left Iraq. The authorities dif-
tive source (in addition to the QurDa¯n and traditions, which
fer on his subsequent travels: Some state that he went to Syria
are agreed upon by all as the primary sources), which distin-
and the Hejaz and returned to Iraq in 810; others do not
guished him from other jurists; but none seems to have dealt
mention his visit to the Hejaz, reporting that he left Iraq in
with the subject in so coherent and systematic a way as
814 and went to Egypt after stopping in Syria. But they all
al-Sha¯fiE¯ı, who discussed the nature and relative significance
seem to agree that he left Iraq for Egypt and that his depar-
of each source, and how legal rules are derived from it.
ture from the Ma¯lik¯ı and H:anaf¯ı schools had become so pro-
nounced that he preferred to settle in a country where he
Before al-Sha¯fiE¯ı, there were two predominant schools
could discuss his own legal doctrine with greater inde-
of law: the Ma¯lik¯ı school in the Hejaz and the H:anaf¯ı in
pendence.
Iraq, each representing local traditions and interests, al-
though they were in agreement on fundamental principles.
In Egypt, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı found himself in a congenial posi-
Both recognized the primacy of the QurDa¯n and the tradi-
tion. He was on good terms with the governor, who seems
tions as sources of law, but they diverged on other sources,
to have encouraged him to leave Baghdad and to develop his
such as custom and local practice (sanctioned by their inclu-
teachings in Egypt, far from the center of court intrigues and
sion in the sunnah and the traditions ascribed to the Prophet)
rival doctrines. During the five years he lived there, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı
as well as the use of personal reasoning (ijtiha¯d) and consen-
devoted all his time to teaching and dictating his works to
sus (ijma¯ E). In the Risa¯lah, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı tried to define and set
his students. But it was still not without difficulty that he
the limits for each source and indicate how it should be used.
preached his own doctrines, and his disagreement with
According to al-Sha¯fiE¯ı, the QurDa¯n, as the embodiment
Ma¯lik¯ı teachings brought him into conflict with some
of divine revelation, and the traditions, consisting of the
Ma¯lik¯ı followers. According to one authority, after a particu-
Prophet’s practices and decisions, are equally binding as
larly heated controversy al-Sha¯fiE¯ı was attacked by an oppo-
sources of law, on the ground that the traditions, though not
nent who had lost the argument. Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı was already suf-
revelation in the literal sense, are based on divine wisdom in-
fering from an intestinal illness that kept him frail and ailing
spired in the Prophet. God has imposed on believers the duty
during the later years of his life; seriously injured in the at-
of obeying his prophet as they would obey God himself, and
tack, he was taken to his house and died a few days later.
he has given evidence that he regards disobedience to the
WORKS. Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s legal system is to be found in his collect-
Prophet as disobedience to himself. “When God and his
ed works, the Kita¯b al-umm (The Mother Book). It is said
apostle have decreed a matter,” says God to the Prophet in
that his leading disciples, especially al-Rab¯ıE al-Mura¯d¯ı
a revelation, “it is not for a believing man or woman to exer-
(d. 880), al-Bu¯wayt:¯ı (d. 845), and al-Muzan¯ı (d. 877), were
cise a choice in that matter; whoever opposes God and his
in the habit of transcribing al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s lectures, and that
Apostle has deviated into manifest error” (surah 33:36). In
al-Sha¯fiE¯ı would correct the text when it was read aloud to
law, therefore, the Prophet’s traditions are as valid and bind-
him. Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s disciples in Egypt, therefore, are responsible
ing as the QurDa¯n. However, in raising the Prophet’s sunnah
for all the books that have survived, whether copied or dictat-
to the level of revelation, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı warned that the traditions
ed from his original writings. Doubts have been raised as to
(consisting of the sunnah) must be authentic, since the
whether the Kita¯b al-umm was not actually composed by a
Prophet’s authority had often been invoked by the citation
disciple. Even if some words have been changed or rephrased,
of traditions of doubtful authenticity. In the Risa¯lah,
the book as a whole contains al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s own ideas and legal
al-Sha¯fiE¯ı devoted two chapters to a study of the nature and
reasoning, and al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s biographers agree that his works
scope of traditions and laid down rules on how to distinguish
were handed down to us as recorded by his disciples.
between authentic and inauthentic traditions. Once a tradi-
Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s book on jurisprudence, Al-risa¯lah f¯ı us:u¯l al-fiqh
tion is proved authentic, it must be binding. For this reason,
(Treatise on the Sources of the Law), was originally written
he disagreed with Ma¯lik, who considered the practice
in Iraq, long before he settled in Egypt, but it was revised
( Eamal) of Medina as representing the traditions of the
and rewritten after he left Iraq, and it was also dictated to
Prophet irrespective of authenticity (on the grounds that the
and put into writing by his disciples. Although al-Sha¯fiE¯ı
practice of the city of the Prophet was assumed to be equal
wrote or dictated several other works, including a book on
in validity to the Prophet’s traditions). Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı also dis-
the QurDa¯n called Kita¯b ah:ka¯m al-QurDa¯n (Treatise on the
agreed with Abu¯ H:an¯ıfah, representing the Iraqi school of
Legal Precepts of the QurDa¯n), and a compilation of tradi-
law, who applied istih:sa¯n (juristic preference) to his choice
tions called Al-musnad (Collected Traditions), his legal doc-
of traditions as a basis for legal decisions without distinguish-
trines and methodology are to be found mainly in the
ing between the traditions of the Prophet and those of his
Risa¯lah, a book on jurisprudence and legal method, and the
companions.
Kita¯b al-umm, a book on the law, in which his own system
The other sources of the law, based essentially on the
is set forth in accordance with his legal reasoning. The
exercise of ijtiha¯d (legal reasoning), may be called derivative
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SHA¯FIE¯I, AL-
8265
sources because they must have a certain basis in one of the
cluding men knowledgeable in the shar¯ı Eah, should exercise
textual sources (QurDa¯n and traditions). Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı rejected
ijma¯ E on behalf of the community of believers. This device
the use of unlimited ijtiha¯d, save in the form of qiya¯s (analo-
seems to satisfy al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s call that on all important matters
gy), since this form of legal reasoning presupposes the exis-
the action of the community should prevail. At the end of
tence of a general principle in the QurDa¯n or a precedent in
the chapter on ijma¯ E in the Risa¯lah he stated: “He who holds
the traditions. He rejected all other forms of ijtiha¯d—istih:sa¯n
that which the Muslim community holds shall be regarded
(juristic preference), istis:la¯h: (common good), and others—
as following the community, and he who holds differently
because they permit the use of sources for legal decisions out-
shall be regarded as opposing the community he was ordered
side the framework laid down in the QurDa¯n and traditions.
to follow. So the error comes from separation.”
In pursuing this method of legal reasoning, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı sought
Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı probably never intended to found a school
to idealize the law by insisting that it must be derived ulti-
bearing his name, for he warned against taql¯ıd (conformity
mately from divine revelation and divine wisdom, and to is-
to one school of law) and encouraged independent legal rea-
lamize it by confining its sources to the sacred texts of
soning; but his legal methodology, which laid restrictions on
Islam—the QurDa¯n and the traditions—and not to other sa-
the use of the sources of the law, necessarily limited differ-
cred sources (see Khadduri, 1960, pp. 42–45).
ences of opinion on legal questions. After he settled in Egypt,
Finally, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı discussed ijma¯ E as another derivative
his disciples became active in writing down and spreading his
source, one with which he was familiar as a former follower
teachings, not only there but also in other lands. Within a
of Ma¯lik. But Ma¯lik’s doctrine of ijma¯ E was limited to the
century after al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s death, his doctrine began to spread
agreement of the scholars of Medina, because he held that
to the Hejaz, Syria, and Central Asia. Although it was dimin-
only the scholars of the Prophet’s city understood what the
ished in Egypt under Fatimid rule, it again became predomi-
Prophet’s sunnah really meant, and that by their consensus
nant under Sultan S:ala¯h: al-D¯ın (known to the West as Sala-
on all matters of law they could make decisions in conformi-
din, d. 1169). By the time of the Ottoman occupation of
ty with precedents set in the sunnah. Other jurists outside
Arab lands, the Sha¯fiE¯ı school had become the most wide-
Hejaz, especially in Iraq, maintained that they were as com-
spread. Despite the official adoption of the H:anaf¯ı school by
petent to exercise ijma¯ E as the scholars in Medina, and
the Ottoman empire and the spread of Shiism in Iran after
claimed that they were no less familiar with the Prophet’s
the rise of the Safavid dynasty at the opening of the sixteenth
sunnah than their peers in Hejaz. But the Iraqi jurists, espe-
century, the Sha¯fiE¯ı school remains dominant to the present
cially those of the H:anaf¯ı school, considered ijma¯ E to be sec-
day in Egypt, Syria, the Hejaz, western and southern Arabia,
ondary to qiya¯s as a derivative source. Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı went beyond
parts of the Persian Gulf, East Africa, the Malay Archipelago,
Dagestan, and parts of Central Asia.
both Ma¯lik¯ı and H:anaf¯ı jurists by investing ijma¯ E with
higher authority as an expression of public action. The con-
cept of vox populi vox Dei implied in al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s formula-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tion of the ijma¯ E of the community is based on the tradition
Works by al-Sha¯fiE¯ı
of the Prophet that states: “My people will never agree on
The collected works of al-Sha¯fiE¯ı are available in Kita¯b al-umm,
an error,” although al-Sha¯fiE¯ı did not cite the tradition in this
7 vols., edited by Ibn Jama¯Eah (Cairo, 1904–1908). I have
form. By investing ijma¯ E with high authority, he ranked it
translated and commented on the Risa¯lah in my Islamic Ju-
higher than qiya¯s as a source of law and second only to the
risprudence (Baltimore, 1960) and provided a brief introduc-
textual sources.
tion to the life and jurisprudence of al-Sha¯fiE¯ı on pp. 3–54.
There are two published versions of the Risa¯lah in Arabic:
Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s doctrine of the ijma¯E of the community was
One is given in Ibn Jama¯Eah’s edition of Kita¯b al-umm; the
opposed by other scholars, including his own followers, but
other, a copy from the original edition of al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s disciple
al-Ghaza¯l¯ı (d. 1111) supported the doctrine by confining it
al-Rab¯ıE, has been edited and published separately by Ahmad
to fundamental principles and leaving matters of detail to the
Sha¯kir (Cairo, 1940). Other works include Kita¯b juma¯ E
agreement of the scholars. Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s doctrine of ijma¯ E,
al- Eilm (Treatise on Legal Knowledge; Cairo, 1940); Al-
musnad,
2 vols., edited by al-Sind¯ı (Cairo, 1950); and Kita¯b
though sound in principle, suffers from a procedural weak-
ah:ka¯m al-Qur Da¯n, 2 vols., edited by al-Kawthar¯ı (Cairo,
ness in that it provides no adequate method for the commu-
1951–1952).
nity to arrive at an agreement. Some of the jurists offered a
corrective measure by proposing that if a few scholars
Works about al-Sha¯fiE¯ı
reached an agreement and no objection was raised by others,
In addition to my own work mentioned above, useful works in
or if the majority of the scholars agreed and only a few raised
English include Eric E. F. Bishop’s “Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı, Founder of
an objection, agreement should be binding upon the com-
a Law School,” Moslem World 19 (1929): 156–175, and Jo-
seph Schacht’s Origins of Muh:ammad Jurisprudence (Oxford,
munity. The process remained undefined until modern
1950). Important works in Arabic include al-Khat:¯ıb
times, however, when Shaykh Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯ (d. 1935) pro-
al-Baghda¯d¯ı’s Ta Dr¯ıkh Baghdad (History of Baghdad; Cairo,
posed in his book on the caliphate, Al-khila¯fah aw al-ima¯mah
1931), vol. 2, pp. 56–73; Abu¯ EUmar Yu¯suf ibn EAbd al-
al- Euz:ma¯ (The Caliphate and the High Imamate; Cairo,
Barr’s Al-intiqa¯ D f¯ı fad:a¯ Dil al-thala¯thah al-aDimmah al-fuqaha¯ D
1924), that an elected assembly, composed of members in-
(Three Highly Qualified Leaders of Jurisprudence; Cairo,
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8266
SHAHA¯DAH
1932), pp. 66–103; Abu¯ EAbd Alla¯h ibn EUmar al-Fakhr
ready current, and well known to the Meccans, in
al-Ra¯zi’s Kita¯b mana¯qib al-Sha¯fi E¯ı (Treatise on al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s
Muh:ammad’s day. His own father (who died before his
Life Qualities; Cairo, n. d.); Abu¯ Muh:ammad EAbd
birth) was called EAbd Alla¯h, meaning “servant of God.”
al-Rah:ma¯n ibn Ab¯ı H:a¯tim al-Ra¯zi’s Kita¯b adab al-Sha¯fi E¯ı
Thus it was not the existence of Allah that the Prophet pro-
wa-mana¯qibuh (Treatise on the Literary and Life Qualities
claimed, but his sole existence. All other deities, agencies, or
of al-Sha¯fiE¯ı), edited by al-Kawthar¯ı (Cairo, 1953); Mus:t:afa¯
E
powers intervening between humanity at the base of a hierar-
Abd al-Ra¯ziq’s Al-Ima¯m al-Sha¯fi E¯ı (The Imam al-Sha¯fiE¯ı;
chical pyramid and Alla¯h at its apex, were nonentities, fic-
Cairo, 1945); Ta¯j al-D¯ın al-Subk¯ı’s T:abaqa¯t al-Sha¯fi E¯ıyah
al-kubra¯
(Treatise on the Life of al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s Leading Follow-
tions, leaving God and humanity in unmediated relation.
ers; Cairo, 1907), vol. 1, pp. 100–179; and Muh:ammad Abu¯
The force of the word la¯ in the Shaha¯dah is, as the gram-
Zahrah’s Al-Sha¯fi E¯ı (Cairo, 1948).
marians say, that of absolute negation: “There does not exist
MAJID KHADDURI (1987)
any deity except . . .” The seven l’s of the Shaha¯dah (i. e.,
occurrences of the Arabic letter la¯m) make the recitation lyri-
cal poetry, and serve, in their simple verticals (eleven verticals
plus two rounded letters), as a favorite calligraphic device.
SHAHA¯DAH is a term used in Islam to denote the all-
Numerous passages in the QurDa¯n cite the phrase “There is
important confession or affirmation of the unity of God and
no god except he” (e.g., 2:163, 2:255, 3:2, 3:6, 3:18, 4:84,
the apostleship of Muh:ammad. It derives from the Arabic
6:102). “There is no god but thou” occurs once (21:87), and
root shahida, meaning “to attest,” “to give decisive word,”
surah 16:2 reads “There is no god save I.” Clearly more than
hence “to acknowledge as true,” and is used in referring to
a bare propositional monotheism is meant, as is evident in
eyewitness testimony or other dependable evidence. The
surah 6:164: “Say: ‘Shall I desire as lord any other than God
same root yields one of the names of God in Islam,
when he is lord of everything?’” Here the confessing “theist”
al-Shah¯ıd, “the one whose word is authentic,” a term used
is brought close to Psalm 73:25: “Whom have I in heaven
in the QurDa¯n in contrast to al-Gha¯ Eib, “the one in hidden-
but thee?”
ness” or simply “hiddenness.”
That Muh:ammad is the rasu¯l, the “messenger” or “sent
For Muslims, the term shaha¯dah means giving open,
one” of God is axiomatic and fundamental in Islam. Rasu¯l
verbal evidence of what is incontestably true. “I bear wit-
Alla¯h, “apostle of God,” is his constant designation in the
ness,” the phrase runs, “that there is no god but God, and
QurDa¯n and in tradition. Indeed, the personal name
Muh:ammad is the messenger of God.” The Arabic reads “As-
Muh:ammad occurs only four times in the QurDa¯n (3:144,
hadu an la¯ ila¯ha illa¯ Alla¯h: Muh:ammadun rasu¯l Alla¯h.” Wit-
33:40, 47:2, and 48:29). This is indicative of how the per-
ness is always in the singular. It is a corporate faith, but the
sonality is absorbed into the vocation. Rasu¯l conveys a higher
witnessing unit is the person.
dignity than does nab¯ı (“seer, prophet-seer”), though this
These words constitute the vital first “pillar” of Muslim
term also is sometimes used of Muh:ammad. Whereas earlier
religion; the other four are ´sala¯t (prayer), zaka¯t (alms), s:awm
prophets and apostles had limited messages or areas of mean-
(fasting), and h:ajj (pilgrimage). As with all of the Five Pillars,
ing and of vocation to particular people or situations,
the n¯ıyah, or intention, has to be present in the recitation
Muh:ammad’s mandate was final and universal as “a mercy
of the Shaha¯dah if it is to avail as a genuine confession; its
to the worlds.”
casual citation, as, for example, in a classroom discussion,
Within Islam, the brevity and simplicity of the
would not amount to confession as faith.
Shaha¯dah are seen as great assets, inasmuch as it avoids the
The precise words in the ritual form do not, in fact,
complexities or subtleties attached to the Christian confes-
occur verbatim in the QurDa¯n. But the theme of the sole lord-
sion of “God in Christ.” The theologians in Islam were, of
ship of Alla¯h was germinal to Muh:ammad’s mission, and his
course, involved in subtle issues when they developed their
prophethood (rasu¯l¯ıyah) was the sole agency entrusted by
sophisticated Eaqidahs, or creeds. But ordinary believers find
God with the QurDa¯n. Muh:ammad’s prophethood therefore
ready assurance in what is terse, direct, and uncomplicated.
came to be conjoined inseparably in the Shaha¯dah with the
Faith is not so much an exploration of mystery as an ac-
theme of God.
knowledgement of that which warrants submission.
The word Alla¯h is precisely equivalent to the English
One theological complexity that cannot be avoided,
word God, capitalized and without the definite article. Alla¯h
however, is the question whether confession in itself, apart
is not a happy English usage, though it is sometimes em-
from behavior, constitutes Muslim adherence. In the Umay-
ployed in translations of the Shaha¯dah. Care should be taken
yad period and beyond, a form of Islam emerged in which
not to capitalize the word ila¯ha since it is a different term
Muslims, even caliphs, were utterly ready to recite with in-
and should be translated as “god” with lowercase g. To write
tention the confession, or kalimat al-Shaha¯da¯h (the “words
“There is no God but God” is without meaning. Ila¯ha is cer-
of witness”), even as they lived profligate or negligent lives.
tainly capable of being pluralized (“gods many and lords
Were they, then, true Muslims? Was a measure of ethical at-
many”). Not so Alla¯h. The core of Muh:ammad’s mission
tainment and allegiance necessary? Was a faith without
was this affirmation of divine unity. The term Alla¯h was al-
works enough? If not, who was to assess the modicum of ac-
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SHAHRASTA¯N¯I, AL-
8267
ceptable conduct? The questions had political implications
under accepted masters. He aligned himself with the domi-
where rulers were unworthy. Some interpreters insisted that
nant AshEa¯r¯ı school of kala¯m, although his independent in-
works were vital, that standards were not merely verbal. Oth-
tellect led him to declare the shortcomings as well as the ben-
ers, frightened by the toils of assessment, preferred to leave
efits of al-AshEa¯r¯ı’s system.
the question with God and stay hopeful.
The formative period in his life began at age thirty. On
It is not clear when the form of the Shaha¯dah was estab-
his return from the pilgrimage to Mecca, he stopped in Bagh-
lished, but it was certainly well within the Medinese period
dad for three years to pursue further theological studies. His
of Muh:ammad’s mission, when accessions to Islam used this
presence was forceful: By his interaction with some of the
formula. The formulation probably belongs to a very early
finest religious minds of his generation he gained respect as
period, the time when Muh:ammad’s status as the sole recipi-
the most articulate exponent of AshEa¯r¯ı kala¯m at the presti-
ent of the QurDanic revelation had become assured to his fol-
gious Baghdad Niz:a¯m¯ıyah. After leaving Baghdad he briefly
lowers. As in the other Semitic faiths, in Islam the concepts
engaged his theological peers in debate at Jurja¯n¯ıyah and
of “witness to faith” and “witness unto death” were closely
Nishapur then resettled in Shahrasta¯n, where he spent the
linked by a single cognate term, here shah¯ıd, meaning both
remainder of his life as a teacher and author until his death
“testimony giver” and “martyr.” During the definitive early
in 1153.
expansion of Islam the Shuhada¯D (from the plural form of
Among al-Shahrasta¯n¯ı’s several writings, only one,
shah¯ıd) were warriors in battle.
Kita¯b niha¯yat al-iqda¯m f¯ı Eilm al-kala¯m (The height of daring
S:u¯f¯ı, or mystical, Islam has its characteristic dimension
in the science of theology), has been critically edited and
for the Shaha¯dah as for the tawh:¯ıd, or unity, of God to which
translated into English. His most influential work is Kita¯b
the Shaha¯dah witnesses. The formula “La¯ ila¯ha illa¯ Alla¯h” in
al-milal wa-al-nih:al (The book of sects and creeds). In it
S:u¯f¯ı rhythmic recitation, accompanied by bodily swaying
al-Shahrasta¯n¯ı attempts, as its title implies, an extended in-
and at gradually increasing tempo, serves to induce ecstatic
vestigation into religious sects and philosophical groups. It
experience of what S:u¯f¯ıs call the unitive state. Shaha¯dah in
has been frequently cited, by both Muslim and non-Muslim
this esoteric sense may be said to contain “all metaphys-
scholars, as the most significant Muslim heresiography of the
ics. . . . It negates all relativity and multiplicity from the
premodern period. It surpasses its predecessors—
Absolute and returns all positive qualities back to God. . . .
al-Baghda¯d¯ı’s Farq bayn al-firaq (Difference among differ-
Through its repetition this Unity comes to leave its perma-
ences), al-Isfara¯Din¯ı’s Tabs:¯ır f¯ı al-d¯ın (Clarification in reli-
nent imprint upon the human soul and integrates it into its
gion), and Ibn H:azm’s Fis:al f¯ı al-milal (Distinctions among
Center” (Seyyid Hossein Nasr, Islam and the Plight of Mod-
sects)—in objectivity and insight as well as detail and scope.
ern Man, London, 1975).
Al-Shahrasta¯n¯ı’s scholarship rests on the shoulders of
SEE ALSO Worship and Devotional Life, article on Muslim
his Muslim predecessors; he interprets what they only report.
Worship.
Among the novel aspects of his eclectic methodology is his
reliance on a group of Neoplatonic spiritualists known as the
B
Sabians, with whom he probably came into contact while in
IBLIOGRAPHY
Carra de Vaux, Bernard. Les penseurs de l’Islam, vol. 3, L’exégèse,
Baghdad and to whom he ascribes both a limited concept of
la tradition et la jurisprudence. Paris, 1923. See the chapter
prophecy and a rational system of statutes and ordinances.
on tradition.
By upgrading the theological status of the Sabians, he is able
Mouradgea d’Ohsson, Ignatius. Tableau général de l’empire otho-
to stretch the category of ahl al-kita¯b (“people of the Book”)
man. 7 vols. in 8. Paris, 1778–1824. See especially volume
to accommodate non-Muslims such as the Sabians, includ-
1, page 176, and volume 2, pages 319–324 and 348–350.
ing Indian Brahmans, Buddhists, and even some enlightened
idolaters, into an ecumenical Muslim worldview.
Schimmel, Annemarie. “The Sufis and the Shaha¯da.” In Islam’s
Understanding of Itself, edited by Richard G. Hovannisian
and Speros Vryonis, Jr. Malibu, Calif., 1983.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Al-Shahrasta¯n¯ı’s Kita¯b niha¯yat al-iqda¯m f¯ı Eilm al-kala¯m has been
KENNETH CRAGG (1987)
edited and translated into English by Alfred Guillaume as
The Summa Philosophiae of al-Shahrastani (London, 1931–
1934). Kita¯b al-milal wa-al nih:al has been edited by William
Cureton, 2 vols. (London, 1846), and translated into Ger-
SHAHRASTA¯N¯I, AL- (1086–1153), more fully, Abu¯
man by T. Haarbrücker as Schahrastani’s Religionspartheien
al-Fath Muh:ammad ibn EAbd al-Kar¯ım al-Shahrasta¯n¯ı, was
und Philosophen Schulen, 2 vols. (Halle, 1850–1851).
a Muslim theologian, heresiographer, and historian of reli-
Beyond these editions and translations, there are few secondary
gions. His extant biographical profile, derived from the thir-
sources to consult. For a comparative view of his thought
teenth-century biographical dictionary of Ibn Khallika¯n, re-
with reference to Niha¯yat al-iqda¯m, see Alfred Guillaume’s
mains thin. He was born in 1086 in the town of Shahrastan
“Christian and Muslim Theology as Represented by
in Khorasan (Iran). There he obtained his earliest education,
Al-Shahrasta¯n¯ı and St. Thomas Aquinas,” Bulletin of the
studying both jurisprudence (fiqh) and theology (kala¯m)
School of Oriental and African Studies 13 (1950): 551–580.
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SHA¯H WAL¯I ALLA¯H
A thorough examination of his acquaintance with Greek
of expansion, inspired by the Kentucky Revival and drawing
philosophical categories is set forth in Franz Rosenthal’s
heavily on the indefatigable Richard McNemar, a new light
“Aˇs-Sˇayh al-Yûnânˇı and the Arabic Plotinus Source,” Orien-
Presbyterian minister who converted to Shakerism, led to the
ˇ
talia 21 (1952): 461–492, 22 (1953): 370–400, and 24
establishment of seven additional settlements, in Ohio, Ken-
(1955): 42–66. On his evaluation of Indian material, see my
tucky, and Indiana, by 1826.
“Shahrasta¯n¯ı on Indian Idol Worship,” Studia Islamica 38
(1973): 61–73, and Shahrasta¯n¯ı on the Indian Religions (The
The high point of Shaker membership and the last
Hague, 1976).
major effort to revitalize the society came during the decade
BRUCE B. LAWRENCE (1987)
of spiritual manifestations that began in 1837. Frequently
called “Mother Ann’s work” because many of the revelations
purportedly came from the spirit of Ann Lee and showed her
continuing concern for her followers, the period saw a rich
SHA¯H WAL¯I ALLA¯H SEE WAL¯I ALLA¯H, SHA¯H
outpouring of creativity in new forms of worship, song, and
dance, including extreme trance and visionary phenomena.
Following the great Millerite disappointments of 1843 and
SHAIVISM SEE S´AIVISM
1844 when the world failed to come to a literal end, hun-
dreds of Millerites joined the Shakers, bringing membership
to a peak of some six thousand by the late 1840s. Thereafter
the group entered into a long, slow decline. The loss of inter-
SHAKERS. Members of the American religious group the
nal momentum and the changing conditions of external soci-
United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing
ety led the Shakers to be viewed increasingly not as a dynam-
were popularly called Shakers. One of the longest-lived and
ic religious movement but as a pleasant anachronism in
most influential religious communitarian groups in America,
which individuals who could not function in the larger soci-
the Shakers originated in 1747 near Manchester, England,
ety could find refuge. As late as 1900 there were more than
in a breakaway from the Quakers led by Jane and James
one thousand Shakers, but by the beginning of the twenty-
Wardley. The group may also have been influenced by Cam-
first century, only Sabbathday Lake, Maine, remained as an
isard millenarians who had fled from France to England to
active community, with very few people living as Shakers
escape the persecutions that followed revocation of the Edict
there.
of Nantes in 1685. The nickname Shaking Quaker, or Shak-
er, was applied to the movement because of its unstructured
As the largest and most successful religious communi-
and highly emotional services, during which members sang,
tarian group in nineteenth-century America, the Shakers at-
shouted, danced, spoke in tongues, and literally shook with
tracted the attention of numerous visitors, writers, and cre-
emotion. Under the leadership of Ann Lee, a Manchester
ators of more ephemeral communal experiments. The
factory worker who became convinced that celibacy was es-
Shakers were known for their neat, well-planned, and suc-
sential for salvation, the core of the Shakers emigrated to
cessful villages; their functional architecture, simple furni-
America in 1774 and settled two years later near Albany,
ture, and fine crafts; their distinctive songs, dances, and ritu-
New York. Until Lee’s death in 1784 the Shakers remained
als; and their ingenuity in agriculture and mechanical
a loosely knit group that adhered to Lee’s personal leadership
invention. They also were sometimes criticized because of
and to what they viewed as a millenarian restoration and ful-
their sophisticated and highly unorthodox theology, which
fillment of the early Christian faith.
stressed a dual godhead combining male and female elements
equally; perfectionism and continuing revelation; and the ne-
During the 1780s and 1790s under the leadership of
cessity of celibacy for the highest religious life. They were
two of Ann Lee’s American converts, Joseph Meacham and
unique among American religious groups in giving women
Lucy Wright, Shakerism developed from a charismatic
formal equality with men at every level of religious leader-
movement into a more routinized organization. Meacham
ship, and they created a fully integrated subculture that has
and Wright oversaw the establishment of parallel and equal
increasingly come to be viewed with interest and respect.
men’s and women’s orders. Adherents lived together in celi-
bate communities and practiced communal ownership of
SEE ALSO Lee, Ann.
property inspired by the Christian communism of Acts 2:44–
45. Supreme authority was vested in the ministry at New
B
Lebanon, New York, usually two men and two women, one
IBLIOGRAPHY
of whom headed the entire society. Each settlement was di-
Among the numerous scholarly treatments of the Shakers, the
most important are the studies by Edward Deming Andrews,
vided into “families”—smaller, relatively self-sufficient com-
particularly his The People Called Shakers, new enl. ed. (New
munities of thirty to one hundred men and women living
York, 1963). Andrews is excellent on Shaker material cul-
together under the same roof but strictly separated in all their
ture, especially furniture and crafts, but weaker on religious
activities. By 1800, eleven settlements with sixteen hundred
motivation. Another popular historical overview is Margue-
members were functioning in New York, Massachusetts,
rite Fellows Melcher’s The Shaker Adventure (Princeton,
Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine. A second wave
N.J., 1941). For the most incisive analysis of the group, see
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SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
8269
Constance Rourke’s “The Shakers,” in her The Roots of Amer-
activity is completely usurped by him. In many tribes the sac-
ican Culture and Other Essays, edited by Van Wyck Brooks
rificing priest coexists with the shaman, not to mention the
(New York, 1942). A provocative but sometimes misleading
fact that every head of a family is also the head of the domes-
analysis that attempts to place Shakerism within a larger so-
tic cult. Nevertheless, the shaman remains the dominating
cial and conceptual framework is Henri Desroche’s The
figure, for throughout the vast area of Asia in which the ec-
American Shakers: From Neo-Christianity to Presocialism (Am-
static experience is considered the religious experience par ex-
herst, Mass., 1971). Mary L. Richmond has compiled and
annotated Shaker Literature: A Bibliography, 2 vols. (Hano-
cellence, the shaman, and he alone, is the great master of ec-
ver, N.H., 1977), a comprehensive bibliography of printed
stasy. A first definition of the complex phenomenon of
sources by and about the Shakers that supersedes all previous
shamanism—and perhaps the least hazardous—is that it is
reference works of its kind. Richmond lists the major reposi-
a technique of ecstasy.
tories at which each printed item may be found. She also in-
cludes information on collections of manuscripts. The most
As such, shamanism was documented and described by
important of these are at the Western Reserve Historical So-
the earliest travelers in the various regions of Siberia and
ciety in Cleveland and the Library of Congress in Washing-
Inner Asia. Later, similar magico-religious phenomena were
ton, D.C., and are available on microfilm from their respec-
observed in North and South America, Indonesia, Oceania,
tive libraries.
and elsewhere. Because of their shared characteristics, there
Benjamin Seth Youngs’s The Testimony of Christ’s Second Appear-
is every reason to study them together with Siberian and
ing (Lebanon, Ohio, 1808) was the first and most compre-
Inner Asian shamanism. But the presence of a shamanic
hensive Shaker theological and historical overview. A shorter
complex in one region or another does not necessarily mean
and more accessible treatment is Calvin Green and Seth Y.
that the magico-religious life of the corresponding people is
Wells’s A Summary View of the Millennial Church or United
crystallized around shamanism. This can occur (as, for exam-
Society of Believers (Commonly Called Shakers) (Albany, N.Y.,
ple, in certain parts of Indonesia), but it is not the most usual
1823). The most valuable primary account of Ann Lee and
the earliest Shakers is the rare Testimonies of the Life, Charac-
state of affairs. Generally, shamanism coexists with other
ter, Revelations, and Doctrines of Our Ever Blessed Mother Ann
forms of magic and religion. As is well known, magic and
Lee and the Elders with Her, edited by Rufus Bishop and Seth
magicians are to be found more or less all over the world,
Y. Wells (Hancock, Mass., 1816). Among the many ac-
whereas shamanism exhibits a particular magical specialty,
counts by Shaker seceders and apostates, the most compre-
such as mastery over fire, or magical flight. By virtue of this
hensive and historically oriented is Thomas Brown’s An Ac-
fact, though the shaman is (among other things) a magician,
count of the People Called Shakers: Their Faith, Doctrine, and
not every magician can properly be termed a shaman. The
Practice (Troy, N.Y., 1812). Anna White and Leila S. Tay-
same distinction must be applied in regard to shamanic heal-
lor’s Shakerism: Its Meaning and Message (Columbus, Ohio,
ing; every medicine man is a healer, but the shaman employs
1904) presents a thorough and insightful history of the Shak-
a method that is unique to him. As for the shamanic tech-
ers from the perspective of the late nineteenth century.
niques of ecstasy, they do not exhaust all the varieties of ec-
New Sources
static experience documented in the history of religions and
Morgan, John H. The United Inheritance: The Shaker Adventure
religious ethnology. Hence not every ecstatic can be consid-
in Communal Life. Bristol, Ind., 2002.
ered a shaman; the shaman “specializes” in the trance state,
LAWRENCE FOSTER (1987)
during which his soul is believed to leave his body and to as-
Revised Bibliography
cend to the sky or descend to the underworld.
A similar distinction is also necessary to define the sha-
man’s relation to spirits. All through the primitive and mod-
SHAMANISM
ern worlds we find individuals who profess to maintain rela-
This entry consists of the following articles:
tions with spirits, whether they are possessed by them or
AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
control them. But the shaman controls his helping spirits,
AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
SIBERIAN AND INNER ASIAN SHAMANISM
in the sense that he is able to communicate with the dead,
NORTH AMERICAN SHAMANISM
demons, and nature spirits without thereby becoming their
SOUTH AMERICAN SHAMANISM
instrument. To be sure, shamans are sometimes found to be
NEOSHAMANISM
possessed, but these are rather exceptional cases. In Inner and
Northeast Asia the chief methods of recruiting shamans are
SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
(1) hereditary transmission of the shamanic profession and
Shamanism in the strict sense is preeminently a religious phe-
(2) spontaneous vocation (“call” or “election”). There are
nomenon of Siberia and Inner Asia. The word comes to us,
also cases of individuals who become shamans of their own
through the Russian, from the Tunguz 0aman. Throughout
free will (as, for example, among the Altaic Turkic peoples)
the immense area comprising the central and northern re-
or by the will of the clan (as with the Tunguz), but these self-
gions of Asia, the magico-religious life of society centers on
made shamans are considered less powerful than those who
the shaman. This, of course, does not mean that he is the
have inherited the profession or who have obeyed the call of
one and only manipulator of the sacred, nor that religious
the gods and spirits.
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8270
SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
However selected, a shaman is not recognized as such
tempts have been made to explain the phenomenon of sha-
until after he has received two kinds of teaching: (1) ecstatic
manism as a mental disorder (ibid., pp. 25ff.). But the prob-
(dreams, trances, etc.) and (2) traditional (shamanic tech-
lem was wrongly put. On the one hand, it is not true that
niques, names and functions of the spirits, mythology and
shamans always are, or always have to be, neuropathics; on
genealogy of the clan, secret language, etc.). This twofold
the other hand, those among them who had been ill became
course of instruction, given by the spirits and the old master
shamans precisely because they had succeeded in healing
shamans, is equivalent to an initiation. Sometimes the initia-
themselves. Very often in Siberia, when the shamanic voca-
tion is public and constitutes an autonomous ritual in itself.
tion manifests itself as some form of illness or as an epileptic
But absence of this kind of ritual in no sense implies absence
seizure, the initiation is equivalent to a cure. To obtain the
of an initiation; the latter can perfectly well occur in a dream
gift of shamanizing presupposes precisely the solution of the
or in the neophyte’s ecstatic experience. The syndrome of the
psychic crisis brought on by the first symptoms of election
shaman’s mystical vocation is easily recognized. Among
or call.
many Siberian and Inner Asian tribes, the youth who is
called to be a shaman attracts attention by his strange behav-
But if shamanism cannot simply be identified with a
ior; for example, he seeks solitude, becomes absentminded,
psychopathological phenomenon, it is nevertheless true that
loves to roam in the woods or unfrequented places, has vi-
the shamanic vocation often implies a crisis so deep that it
sions, and sings in his sleep. In some instances this period
sometimes borders on madness. And since the youth cannot
of incubation is marked by quite serious symptoms; among
become a shaman until he has resolved this crisis, it is clear
the Yakuts, the young man sometimes has fits of fury and
that it plays the role of a mystical initiation. The shock pro-
easily loses consciousness, hides in the forest, feeds on the
voked in the future shaman by the discovery that he has been
bark of trees, throws himself into water and fire, cuts himself
chosen by the gods or the spirits is by that very fact valuated
with knives. The future shamans among the Tunguz, as they
as an “initiatory illness.” His sufferings are exactly like the
approach maturity, go through a hysterical or hysteroid cri-
tortures of initiation. Just as, in puberty rites or rites for en-
sis, but sometimes their vocation manifests itself at an earlier
trance into a secret society, the novice is “killed” by semidi-
age—the boy runs away into the mountains and remains
vine or demonic beings, so the future shaman sees in dreams
there for a week or more, feeding on animals, which he tears
his own body dismembered by demons. The initiatory rituals
to pieces with his teeth. He returns to the village, filthy,
peculiar to Siberian and Inner Asian shamanism include a
bloodstained, his clothes torn and his hair disordered, and
symbolic ascent to Heaven up a tree or pole; in a dream or
it is only after ten or more days have passed that he begins
a series of waking dreams, the sick man chosen by the gods
to babble incoherent words.
or spirits undertakes his celestial journey to the world tree.
The psychopathology of the shamanic vocation is not pro-
Even in the case of hereditary shamanism, the future
fane; it does not belong to ordinary symptomatology. It has
shaman’s election is preceded by a change in behavior. The
an initiatory structure and significance; in short, it repro-
souls of the shaman ancestors of a family choose a young man
duces a traditional mystical pattern.
among their descendants; he becomes absentminded and
moody, delights in solitude, has prophetic visions, and some-
Once healed of his initiatory psychopathological crisis,
times undergoes attacks that make him unconscious. During
the new shaman displays a strong and healthy constitution,
this period, the Buriats believe, the young man’s soul is car-
a powerful intelligence, and more energy than others of the
ried away by spirits; received in the palace of the gods, it is
male group. Among the Buriats the shamans are the princi-
instructed by his shaman ancestors in the secrets of the pro-
pal guardians of the rich oral literature. The poetic vocabu-
fession, the forms and names of the gods, the worship and
lary of a Yakut shaman contains twelve thousand words,
names of the spirits. It is only after this first initiation that
whereas the ordinary language—the only language known to
the youth’s soul returns and resumes control of his body (see
the rest of the community—has only four thousand. The
the examples quoted in Eliade, 1964, pp. 13ff.). This heredi-
same observation applies to the shamans of other regions,
tary form of the transmission of the vocation is also known
such as North and South America, Oceania, and Australia
in other parts of the world (ibid., pp. 21ff.).
(see some examples in Eliade, 1964, pp. 29ff.).
INITIATORY ORDEALS OF SIBERIAN SHAMANS. Relating their
A man may also become a shaman following an accident
ecstatic initiations, the Siberian shamans maintain that they
or a highly unusual event—for example, among the Buriats,
“die” and lie inanimate for from three to seven days in their
the Soyot, and the Inuit (Eskimo), after being struck by
yurts or in solitary places. During this time, they are cut up
lightning, or falling from a high tree, or successfully under-
by demons or by their ancestral spirits; their bones are
going an ordeal that can be homologized with an initiatory
cleaned, the flesh scraped off, the body fluids thrown away,
ordeal, as in the case of an Inuit who spent five days in icy
and their eyes torn from their sockets. According to a Yakut
water without his clothes becoming wet.
informant, the spirits carry the future shaman’s soul to the
SHAMANISM AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY. The strange behavior
underworld and shut him in a house for three years. Here
of future shamans has not failed to attract the attention of
he undergoes his initiation; the spirits cut off his head (which
scholars, and since the middle of the past century several at-
they set to one side, for the novice must watch his own dis-
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SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
8271
memberment with his own eyes) and hack his body to bits,
that he exchanges the novice’s eyes and tongue for others and
which are later distributed among the spirits of various sick-
puts a stick through his abdomen. At Malekula, in the South
nesses. It is only on this condition that the future shaman
Pacific, the initiation of the medicine man includes, among
will obtain the power of healing. His bones are then covered
other things, the novice’s dismemberment: the master cuts
with new flesh, and in some cases he is also given new blood.
off his arms, feet, and head, and then puts them back in
According to another Yakut informant, black devils cut up
place. Among the Dayak, the manangs (shamans) say that
the future shaman’s body and throw the pieces in different
they cut off the candidate’s head, remove the brain, and wash
directions as offerings, then thrust a lance into his head and
it, thus giving him a clearer mind. Finally, cutting up the
cut off his jawbone. A Yurak Samoyed shaman told Toivo
body and the exchange of viscera are essential rites in some
Lehtisalo that spirits had attacked him and hacked him to
initiations of Australian medicine men (ibid., pp. 59ff.).
pieces, also cutting off his hands. For seven days and nights
One of the specific characteristics of shamanic initia-
he lay unconscious on the ground, while his soul was in
tions, aside from the candidate’s dismemberment, is his re-
Heaven.
duction to the state of a skeleton. We find this motif not only
From a long and eventful autobiography that an Avam
in the accounts of the crises and sicknesses of those who have
Samoyed shaman confided to A. A. Popov, I shall select a
been chosen by the spirits to become shamans but also in the
few significant episodes. Stricken with smallpox, the future
experiences of those who have acquired their shamanic pow-
shaman remained unconscious for three days, so nearly dead
ers through their own efforts, after a long and arduous quest.
that on the third day he was almost buried. He saw himself
Thus, for example, among the Inuit group known as the Am-
go down to Hell, and after many adventures he was carried
masilik, the apprentice spends long hours in his snow hut,
to an island, in the middle of which stood a young birch tree,
meditating. At a certain moment, he falls “dead” and remains
which reached up to Heaven. It was the Tree of the Lord of
lifeless for three days and nights; during this period an enor-
the Earth, who gave him a branch of it to make himself a
mous polar bear devours all his flesh and reduces him to a
drum. Next he came to a mountain. Passing through an
skeleton. It is only after his mystical experience that the ap-
opening, he met a naked man plying the bellows at an im-
prentice receives the gift of shamanizing. The angakkoqs, or
mense fire on which was a kettle. The man caught him with
shamans, of the Iglulik Inuit are able in thought to strip their
a hook, cut off his head, chopped his body to bits, and put
bodies of flesh and blood and to contemplate their own skel-
the pieces into the kettle. There he boiled the body for three
etons for long periods. Visualizing one’s own death at the
years, and then forged him a head on an anvil. Finally he
hands of demons and final reduction to the state of a skeleton
fished out the bones, which were floating in a river, put them
are favorite meditations in Indo-Tibetan and Mongolian
together, and covered them with flesh. During his adventures
Buddhism. Finally, it is worth noting that the skeleton is
in the otherworld, the future shaman met several semidivine
quite often represented on the Siberian shaman’s costume
personages, in human or animal form, each of whom in-
(ibid., pp. 62ff., 158ff.).
structed him in the secrets of the healing art. When he awoke
PUBLIC RITES OF SHAMANIC INITIATIONS. Among the pub-
in his yurt, among his relatives, he was initiated and could
lic initiation ceremonies of Siberian shamans, those of the
begin to shamanize.
Buriats are among the most interesting. The principal rite in-
A Tunguz shaman relates that, during his initiatory ill-
cludes an ascent. A strong birch tree is set up in the yurt, with
ness, his shaman ancestors pierced him with arrows until he
its roots on the hearth and its crown projecting through the
lost consciousness and fell to the ground; then they cut off
smoke hole. The birch is called ude´si burkhan, “the guardian
his flesh, drew out his bones, and counted them before him;
of the door,” for it opens the door of Heaven to the shaman.
if one had been missing, he could not have become a shaman.
The birch will always remain in his tent, serving as the distin-
According to the Buriats the candidate is tortured by his sha-
guishing mark of the shaman’s residence. On the day of his
man ancestors, who strike him, cut up his body with a knife,
consecration, the candidate climbs the birch to the top (in
and cook his flesh. A Teleut woman became a shamaness
some traditions, he carries a sword in one hand) and, emerg-
after having a vision in which unknown men cut her body
ing through the smoke hole, shouts to summon the aid of
to pieces and boiled it in a pot. According to the traditions
the gods. After this, the master shaman, the apprentice, and
of the Altaic shamans, their ancestral spirits open their bel-
the entire audience go in procession to a place far from the
lies, eat their flesh, and drink their blood (see examples in
village, where, on the eve of the ceremony, a large number
Eliade, 1964, pp. 42ff.).
of birches have been set upright on the ground. The proces-
sion halts by a particular birch, a goat is sacrificed, and the
The ecstatic experience of the initiatory dismember-
candidate, stripped to the waist, has his head, eyes, and ears
ment of the body followed by a renewal of organs is also
anointed with blood, while the other shamans play their
known in other preliterate societies. The Inuit believe that
drums. The master shaman now climbs a birch and cuts nine
an animal (bear, walrus, etc.) wounds the candidate, tears
notches in the top of its trunk. The candidate then climbs
him to pieces, or devours him; then new flesh grows around
it, followed by the other shamans. As they climb they all
his bones. In South America, during the initiation of the
fall—or pretend to fall—into ecstasy. According to G. N.
Araucanian shaman, the master makes the spectators believe
Potanin, the candidate has to climb nine birches, which, like
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8272
SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
the nine notches cut by the master shaman, symbolize the
such powers, the shaman proclaims that he shares in the spir-
nine heavens (Ocherki severo-zapadnoi Mongolii, 4 vols.,
its’ condition.
Saint Petersburg, 1881–1883).
CELESTIAL ASCENTS AND DESCENTS TO THE UNDER-
In the initiatory rite of the Buriat shaman, the candidate
WORLD. The Buriats, the Yakuts, and other Siberian tribes
is believed to ascend to Heaven for his consecration. The
speak of “white” shamans and “black” shamans, the former
climb to Heaven by the aid of a tree or pole is also the essen-
having relations with the gods, the latter with the spirits, es-
tial rite in the séances of the Altaic shamans. The birch or
pecially evil spirits. Their costumes differ, being—as among
pole is likened to the tree or pillar that stands at the center
the Buriats—white for the former and blue for the latter. The
of the world and that connects the three cosmic zones—
Altaic “white” shaman himself sacrifices the horse offered to
Earth, Heaven, and Hell. The shaman can also reach the cen-
the god of heaven; afterward, in ecstasy, he conducts the ani-
ter of the world by beating his drum, for the body of the
mal’s soul on its journey to the throne of Bai Ülgen, lord of
drum is supposed to be made from a branch taken from the
the upperworld. Putting on his ceremonial costume, the sha-
cosmic tree. Listening to the sound of his drum, the shaman
man invokes a multitude of spirits, beats his drum, and be-
falls into ecstasy and flies to the tree, that is, to the center
gins his celestial ascent. He laboriously mimes the difficult
of the world (see Eliade, 1964, pp. 115ff.).
passing through heaven after heaven to the ninth and, if he
is really powerful, to the twelfth or even higher. When he
TECHNIQUES OF ECSTASY. Whether he is chosen by superhu-
has gone as high as his powers permit, he stops and humbly
man beings or himself seeks to draw their attention and ob-
addresses Bai Ülgen, imploring his protection and his bless-
tain their favors, the shaman is an individual who succeeds
ings. The shaman learns from the god if the sacrifice has been
in having mystical experiences. In the sphere of shamanism
accepted and receives predictions concerning the weather
the mystical experience is expressed in the shaman’s trance,
and the coming harvest. This episode is the culminating mo-
real or feigned. Shamanistic ecstasy signifies the soul’s flight
ment of the ecstasy: the shaman collapses, exhausted, and re-
to Heaven, its wanderings about the earth, or its descent to
mains motionless and dumb. After a time he rubs his eyes,
the subterranean world, among the dead. The shaman un-
appears to wake from a deep sleep, and greets those present
dertakes these ecstatic journeys for four reasons: first, to meet
as if after a long absence.
the celestial god face to face and bring him an offering from
the community; second, to seek the soul of a sick man, which
The Altaic shaman’s celestial ascent has its counterpart
has supposedly wandered away from his body or been carried
in his descent to the underworld. This ceremony is far more
off by demons; third, to guide the soul of a dead man to its
difficult, and though it can be undertaken by both “white”
new abode; or fourth, to add to his knowledge by frequent-
and “black” shamans, it is naturally the specialty of the latter.
ing higher nonhuman beings.
The shaman makes a vertical descent down the seven succes-
sive subterranean levels, or regions, called pudak, “obstacles.”
Through his initiation, the shaman learns what he must
He is accompanied by his dead ancestors and his helping
do when his soul abandons the body—and, first of all, how
spirits. At the seventh “obstacle” he sees the palace of Erlik
to orient himself in the unknown regions that he enters dur-
Khan, lord of the dead, built of stone and black clay and de-
ing his ecstasy. He learns to explore the new planes of exis-
fended in every direction. The shaman utters a long prayer
tence disclosed by his ecstatic experiences. He knows the
to Erlik, then returns to the yurt and tells the audience the
road to the center of the world: the hole in the sky through
results of his journey.
which he can fly up to the highest heaven, or the aperture
in the earth through which he can descend to the under-
THE SHAMAN AS PSYCHOPOMP. These descents to the un-
world. He is forewarned of the obstacles that he will meet
derworld are undertaken especially to find and bring back a
on his journeys, and knows how to overcome them. In short,
sick person’s soul, or to escort the soul of the deceased to
he knows the paths that lead to Heaven and Hell. All this
Erlik’s realm. In 1884 V. V. Radlov published the descrip-
he has learned during his training in solitude, or under the
tion of a séance organized to escort the soul of a woman to
guidance of the master shamans.
the underworld forty days after her death. The ceremony
takes place in the evening. The shaman begins by circling the
Because of his ability to leave his body with impunity,
yurt, beating his drum; then he enters the tent and, going
the shaman can, if he so wishes, act in the manner of a spirit:
to the fire, invokes the deceased. Suddenly the shaman’s
he flies through the air, he becomes invisible, he perceives
voice changes; he begins to speak in a high-pitched falsetto,
things at great distances; he mounts to Heaven or descends
for it is really the dead woman who is speaking. She com-
to Hell, sees the souls of the dead and can capture them, and
plains that she does not know the road, that she is afraid to
is impervious to fire. The exhibition of certain faq¯ır-like ac-
leave her relatives, and so on, but finally consents to the sha-
complishments during ritual séances, especially the so-called
man’s leading her, and the two set off together for the subter-
fire tricks, is intended to convince spectators that the shaman
ranean realm. When they arrive, the shaman finds that the
has assimilated the mode of being of spirits. The ability to
dead refuse to permit the newcomer to enter. Prayers proving
turn into an animal, to kill at a distance, and to foretell the
ineffectual, brandy is offered; the séance gradually becomes
future are also among the powers of spirits; by exhibiting
more lively, even to the point of the grotesque, for the souls
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SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
8273
of the dead, through the shaman’s voice, begin quarreling
Haguenaur, the essential functions of a female shaman con-
and singing together; finally they consent to receive the dead
sist in causing a soul to descend into a house support (a sa-
woman. The second part of the ritual represents the return
cred post or any other substitute) and incarnating a soul in
journey; the shaman dances and shouts until he falls to the
order to make it serve as intermediary between the dead and
ground unconscious (Aus Siberien: Lose Blätter aus dem Tage-
the living, and then sending it back (cited in Eliade, 1964,
buche eines reisenden Linguisten, Leipzig, 1884).
p. 464).
MEDICAL CURES. The principal function of the shaman in
A number of shamanic conceptions and techniques have
Siberia and Inner Asia is healing. Several conceptions of the
been identified in the mythology and folklore of the ancient
cause of illness are found in the area, but that of the “rape
Germans (ibid., pp. 379ff.). To quote only one example:
of the soul” is by far the most widespread. Disease is attribut-
Óðinn descends on his eight-hoofed horse, Sleipnir, to Hel
ed to the soul’s having strayed away or been stolen, and treat-
and bids a long-dead prophetess rise from the grave and an-
ment is in principle reduced to finding it, capturing it, and
swer his questions. In ancient Greece, Abaris flies through
obliging it to resume its place in the patient’s body. The Bur-
the air on his arrow. Hermotimos of Clazomenae had the
iat shaman holds a preliminary séance to determine if the pa-
power of leaving his body “for many years”; in his long ecsta-
tient’s soul has strayed away or if it has been stolen from him
sy he journeyed to great distances (see other examples, ibid.,
and is a captive in Erlik’s prison. The shaman begins to
pp. 389ff.). Shamanic practices are also to be found in an-
search for the soul; if he finds it near the village, its reinstalla-
cient India as well as in the traditions of the Scythians, Cau-
tion in the body is easy. If not, he searches the forests, the
casians, and Iranians (ibid., pp. 394–421). Among the ab-
steppes, and even the bottom of the sea. Failure to find it in-
original tribes of India, of particular interest is the
dicates that it is a prisoner of Erlik, and the only recourse
shamanism of Savara (Saura), characterized by an “initiatory
is to offer costly sacrifices. Erlik sometimes demands another
marriage” with a “spirit girl,” similar to the practice of the
soul in place of the one he has imprisoned; the problem then
Siberian Nanay (Goldi) and Yakuts (ibid., pp. 72ff., 421ff.).
is to find one that is available. With the patient’s consent,
the shaman decides who the victim will be. While the latter
SOME CONCLUSIONS. It is as yet impossible to reconstruct
is asleep, the shaman, taking the form of an eagle, descends
the prehistory and earliest history of different shamanisms.
on him and, tearing out his soul, goes with it to the realm
But we can appraise the religious and cultural importance of
of the dead and presents it to Erlik, who then allows him to
the shamans in those archaic societies dominated by a sha-
take away the patient’s soul. The victim dies soon afterward,
manistic ideology. To begin with, the shamans have played
and the patient recovers. But he has gained only a respite,
an essential role in the defense of the psychic integrity of the
for he too will die three, seven, or nine years later.
community. They are preeminently the antidemonic cham-
pions; they combat not only demons and disease, but also
SURVIVAL AND METAMORPHOSIS OF SOME SHAMANIC TRA-
the “black” magicians. In a general way, it can be said that
DITIONS. Shamanic symbolism and practices were well
shamanism defends life, health, fertility, and the world of
known in Tibet, China, and the Far East (see Eliade, 1964,
“light,” against death, disease, sterility, disasters, and the
pp. 428ff.). The Bon shamans were believed to use their
world of “darkness.”
drums as vehicles to convey them through the air. Their cure
included seeking the patient’s soul, a shamanic ceremony
It is as a further result of his ability to travel in the super-
popular also with the Tibetan exorcists. In the Tantric rite
natural worlds and to see the superhuman beings (gods, de-
named Gcod, the practitioner offers his own flesh to be eaten
mons, spirits of the dead, etc.) that the shaman has been able
by demons: they decapitate him, hack him to pieces, then
to contribute decisively to the knowledge of death. In all
devour his flesh and drink the blood. Since sickness is inter-
probability many features of funerary geography, as well as
preted as the flight of the soul, the Lolo shamans of southern
some themes of the mythology of death, are the result of the
Yunnan, as well as the Karen “doctors” of Burma, read a long
ecstatic experiences of shamans. The lands that the shaman
litany imploring the patient’s soul to return from the distant
sees and the personages that he meets during his ecstatic jour-
mountains, forests, or fields. Among the Lolo and the Mea
neys in the beyond are minutely described by the shaman
of Indochina, the shamans climb a double “ladder of knives,”
himself, during or after his trance. The unknown and terrify-
symbolizing their ascent to Heaven. A great number of sha-
ing world of death assumes form and is organized in accor-
manic symbols and rituals are to be found among the Tibeto-
dance with particular patterns; finally, it displays a structure
Burmese Moso (or Na-hsi) inhabiting southwestern China:
and, in the course of time, becomes familiar and acceptable.
ascension to Heaven, accompanying the soul of the dead,
In turn, the supernatural inhabitants of the world of death
and so forth. In China, “magical flight” or “journeying in
become visible; they show a form, display a personality, even
spirit,” as well as many ecstatic dances, present a specific sha-
a biography. Little by little the world of the dead becomes
manic structure (see examples quoted in Eliade, 1964,
knowable, and death itself is evaluated primarily as a rite of
pp. 447–461). In Japan shamanism is practiced almost exclu-
passage to a spiritual mode of being. In the last analysis, the
sively by women. They summon the dead person’s soul from
accounts of the shamans’ ecstatic journeys contribute to a
the beyond, expel disease and other evil, and ask their god
“spiritualizing” of the world of the dead, at the same time
the name of the medicine to be used. According to Charles
that they enrich it with wondrous forms and figures.
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SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
There are certain likenesses between the accounts of sha-
mentation, especially with regard to Indo-Tibetan areas. For
manic ecstasies and certain epic themes in oral literature (see
a clear presentation, see John A. Grim’s The Shaman: Pat-
Eliade, 1964, pp. 213ff., 311ff., 368ff.). The shaman’s ad-
terns of Siberian and Ojibway Healing (Norman, Okla.,
ventures in the otherworld, the ordeals that he undergoes in
1983). Michael J. Harner’s The Way of the Shaman (New
his ecstatic descents below and ascents to the sky, suggest the
York, 1980), which includes a valuable bibliography, and the
adventures of the figures in popular tales and the heroes of
volume Hallucinogens and Shamanism, which Harner edited
(Oxford, 1973), are stimulating and original, as is Studies in
epic literature. Probably a large number of epic subjects or
Shamanism, edited by Carl-Martin Edsman (Stockholm,
motifs, as well as many characters, images, and clichés of epic
1967). Among comparative studies, see Alois Closs’s “In-
literature, are, finally, of ecstatic origin, in the sense that they
terdisziplinäre Schamanismusforschung an der indoger-
were borrowed from the narratives of shamans describing
manischen Völkergruppe,” Anthropos 63/64 (1968–1969):
their journeys and adventures in the superhuman worlds.
967–973, and his “Die Ekstase des Shamanen,” Ethnos
It is likewise probable that the preecstatic euphoria con-
(1969): 70–89.
stituted one of the universal sources of lyric poetry. In pre-
On shamanism in Southeast Asia and Oceania, see my Shaman-
paring his trance, the shaman drums, summons his spirit
ism, pages 337–374. In addition to my bibliography, the
helpers, speaks a secret language or the “animal language,”
reader should consult Rex L. Jones’s “Shamanism in South
imitating the cries of beasts and especially the songs of birds.
Asia: A Preliminary Survey,” History of Religions 7 (May
He ends by attaining a “second state” that provides the impe-
1968): 330–347; Joachim Sterly’s “Heilige Männerund
Medizinmänner in Melanesien
(Cologne, 1965), especially
tus for linguistic creation and the rhythms of lyric poetry.
pages 437–553 and the bibliography; Guy Moréchand’s “Le
Something must also be said concerning the dramatic
chamanisme des Hmong,” Bulletin de l’École Francaise
structure of the shamanic séance. The sometimes highly elab-
d’Extrême-Orient (Paris) 54 (1968): 53–294; and Andreas
orate staging of this session obviously exercises a beneficial
Lommel’s Shamanism: The Beginnings of Art (New York,
influence on the patient. In addition, every genuinely sha-
1966) with its rich bibliography. On the shamanistic struc-
manic séance ends as a spectacle unequaled in the world of
ture of the Australian medicine man, see my Australian Reli-
daily experience. The fire tricks, the “miracles” of the rope-
gions: An Introduction (Ithaca, N. Y., 1973), pp. 131–160.
trick or mango-trick type, the exhibition of magical feats, re-
For sources on the shamanic symbolism and techniques in Tibet,
veal another world—the fabulous world of the gods and ma-
China, and the Far East, see, in addition to my Shamanism,
gicians, the world in which everything seems possible, where
Helmut Hoffmann’s Symbolik der tibetischen Religionen und
the dead return to life and the living die only to live again,
des Schamanismus (Stuttgart, 1967), especially the bibliogra-
phy; P. Jos Thiel’s “Schamanismus im Alten China,”
where one can disappear and reappear instantaneously,
Sinologica 10 (1968): 149–204; Ichiro¯ Hori’s “Penetration
where the laws of nature are abolished and a certain superhu-
of Shamanic Elements into the History of Japanese Folk Re-
man freedom from such structures is exemplified and made
ligion,” in Festschrift für Adolf E. Jensen, edited by Eike Ha-
dazzlingly present.
berland et al. (Munich, 1964), vol. 1, pp. 245–265; Carmen
It is difficult for us to imagine the repercussions of such
Blacker’s The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Practices
a spectacle in a “primitive” community. The shamanic “mir-
in Japan (London, 1975); H. Byron Earhart’s critical review
acles” not only confirm and reinforce the patterns of the tra-
“The Bridge to the Other World”, in Monumenta Nipponica,
31 (1976): 179–187; and Jung Young Lee’s “Concerning the
ditional religion, they also stimulate and feed the imagina-
Origin and Formation of Korean Shamanism,” Numen 20
tion, demolish the barriers between dream and present
(1973): 135–160.
reality, and open windows upon worlds inhabited by the
gods, the dead, and the spirits.
On shamanism among the Turks and the Mongols, see the origi-
nal and learned synthesis of Jean-Paul Roux’s La religion des
SEE ALSO Ascension; Buriat Religion; Descent into the
Turcs et des Mongols (Paris, 1984), pp. 59ff.
Underworld; Dismemberment; Ecstasy; Flight; Spirit
MIRCEA ELIADE (1987)
Possession.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A general presentation of the shamanistic initiations, mythologies,
SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER
and practices in Siberia and Inner Asia, North and South
CONSIDERATIONS]
America, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and the Far East is found
The cross-cultural concept of shamanism promoted by Mir-
in my book Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, rev. &
enl. ed. (New York, 1964). To the bibliography found there,
cea Eliade (1907–1986) has stood the test of time and has
I need add only a few important general works and a number
been extended and refined. Eliade’s conceptualization of sha-
of contributions to the study of shamanism in Southeast
manism has promoted the cross-cultural and interdisciplin-
Asia, Oceania, and the Far East. The bibliographies related
ary application of the term shaman. Systematic cross-cultural
to Inner Asia or South and North America appear in the
research has validated a universal (etic) concept of the sha-
other articles on shamanism that follow.
man, illustrating the substantial similarities among spiritual
Matthias Hermann’s Schamanen, Pseudoschamanen, Erlöser und
healing practices found in hunter-gatherer societies world-
Heilbringer, 3 vols. (Wiesbaden, 1970), is useful for its docu-
wide. Archaeological research has established a deep prehis-
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SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8275
torical depth for shamanism, illustrating its central role in the
characterization led to the extension of the concept of sha-
emergence of modern human culture. Perspectives from evo-
man to include many different practices, including those that
lutionary psychology have helped explain the emergence and
do not exhibit the other characteristics of the shaman empha-
cross-cultural distribution of shamanism in terms of adaptive
sized by Eliade, such as soul flight, animal allies, death-and-
psychological, social, and cognitive effects that contributed
rebirth experiences, hunting magic, and the capacity for sor-
to human evolution. The worldwide distribution of shaman-
cery. Other practitioners that engage in ASC to interact with
ism reflects its basis in innate brain processes and modules
spirits on behalf of their communities have some different
and in biologically based cognitive and representational sys-
characteristics that differ from those of the core shamans.
tems. Modern perspectives reject the earlier pathological
Winkelman has suggested the term shamanistic healers for
characterizations of shamanism, instead recognizing it as a
this universal manifestation of the shamanic potential involv-
primordial spiritual healing practice that managed psychoso-
ing ASC, community ritual, and spirit interaction.
cial processes and fundamental aspects of brain function.
Differences in shamanic practices were explored by
The role of the hunter-gatherer shamans, with their biologi-
Anna Siikala, who proposed that the breakdown of the clan
cal basis in altered states of consciousness, was transformed
structure along with stratification of the community led to
by sociocultural evolution, producing a universal manifesta-
different types of shamanism, particularly professional sha-
tion of “shamanistic healers” who entered ecstatic states in
mans. She distinguished between the following:
order to interact with spirits on behalf of the community and
clients.
1. small-group shamans, characteristic of the nomadic
C
northern ethnic groups of Siberia;
ROSS-CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SHAMANS. Eliade
emphasized shamanism as “preeminently” of Siberia, but he
2. independent professional shamans, prevalent among
recognized similar practices around the world. Dissension
paleo-Asian groups, such as the Chukchee;
concerning whether shamanism was strictly limited to Sibe-
3. clan shamans, found in Altaic groups; and
ria or was found worldwide has been resolved through cross-
cultural research by Michael Winkelman (1986, 1990, 1992)
4. territorial professional shamans, found in Central Asia
that illustrates empirically the existence of similar magico-
and southern Siberia.
religious practitioners in many hunter-gatherer and simple
Winkelman’s cross-cultural research, however, indicates that
agricultural and pastoral societies. Michael Harner refers to
different types of shamanistic healers developed in different
this worldwide phenomenon as “core shamanism.” Shamans
places as a consequence of the effects of sedentary residence
were charismatic social leaders who engaged in healing and
and agricultural and political integration. These effects are
divination for the local community. In addition to ecstasy, or
illustrated in the following characterizations of the distinc-
an altered state of consciousness (ASC), spirit world interac-
tive aspects of core shamans, shaman/healers, healers, and
tion, and community relations, other beliefs and practices as-
mediums.
sociated with shamans include:
Core shamanism. Shamans are found worldwide in no-
• an ASC experience known as soul journey or magical
madic or seminomadic hunter-gather, horticultural, and pas-
flight;
toral societies. Shamans were predominantly male, but most
• the use of chanting, drumming, and dancing;
societies also had female shamans. In the past, shamans tend-
ed to come from shaman families, but anyone could become
• training through deliberately induced ASC, producing
a shaman if selected by the spirits. Early in life, shamans un-
visionary experiences;
dertook deliberate activities to enter ASC, undertaking a “vi-
• an initiatory crises involving a death-and-rebirth experi-
sion quest” in which they developed personal relationships
ence;
with spirits who provided direct training. The developmental
experiences of shamans included death-and-rebirth experi-
• abilities of divination, diagnosis, and prophecy;
ences involving dismemberment and reconstruction by the
• therapeutic processes focused on soul loss and recovery;
spirits. This provided shamans with powers, especially ani-
mal allies that could provide assistance in healing, divination,
• disease caused by spirits, sorcerers, and the intrusion of
hunting, and the ability to use sorcery to harm others. A sha-
objects or entities;
man’s all-night ceremony involved the entire local commu-
• interaction with animals, including control of animal
nity in dancing, drumming, and chanting. A central aspect
spirits and transformation into animals;
involved the shaman recounting ASC experiences called soul
• malevolent acts, or sorcery; and
journey or magical flight, in which an aspect of the shaman
departs the body and travels to other places. Shamans were
• hunting magic.
not normally possessed by spirits; rather they controlled spir-
CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN SHAMANISTIC PRAC-
its and were believed to be able to fly and transform into ani-
TICES. One characterization of shamanism offered by Eliade
mals. Therapeutic processes involved removal of objects or
was the practice of entering ASC (Eliade used the term ecsta-
removal of spirits sent by other shamans through sorcery, as
sy) to interact with spirits on behalf of the community. This
well as soul journeys to recover lost souls and engage in rela-
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SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
tionships with “power animals” (aspects of the shaman’s per-
the world, and the universal distribution of shamanistic heal-
sonal essence and powers).
ers, reflect ecological and social adaptations to human bio-
Shaman/healers. Shaman/healers are found in agricul-
logical potentials. The psychobiological bases of shamanism
tural or pastoral societies at all levels of social complexity.
include basic brain processes, operations of innate represen-
They share characteristics with other types of shamans, but
tational modules, and neurological structuring of fundamen-
they differ from shamans in important ways. The shaman’s
tal structures of consciousness (Winkelman, 2000, 2002a,
direct tutelage by spirits and affirmation by the community
2002b). Neurological foundations underlie the principal
is replaced in shaman/healers with instruction by elder prac-
characteristics of shamanism that Eliade emphasized—
titioners, as well as public ceremonial recognition of the suc-
ecstasy, spirits, and community—as well as other universal
cessful initiate, marking their entrance into the profession.
characteristics of shamanism (e.g., the visionary journey, the
In addition, shaman/healers are subordinated to religious
use of music and dance, and animal allies).
practitioners called priests. Shaman/healers also engage in ag-
Shamanic rituals activate brain structures and processes
ricultural rituals and often use instruments, such as Tarot
that elicit integrative psychological and social processes and
cards, with established interpretative systems for divination.
produce visual and metaphoric representations. This integra-
Shaman/healers are generally characterized by extensive
tion of brain functions involves physiologically based brain
role specialization, and the practitioner engages in a limited
integration induced by ASC, as well as cognitive synthesis
subset of professional activities associated with the position.
based in integration of specialized representational functions,
For instance, a shaman/healer may perform divination but
producing symbolic thought in animism, animal spirits, to-
not healing or agricultural rites. Their ASC experiences are
temism, and soul flight. The primary neurological features
similar to those characteristic of meditators and mystics, al-
of shamanism are discussed below in terms of the underlying
though the shamanistic healer’s ASC may involve soul
physiological bases and functional dynamics of the follow-
journey.
ing:
Mediums. Mediums are often referred to as “shamans”
• ASC, or operations of consciousness that produce cog-
(Lewis, 1988), but they were in most respects distinct from
nitive and personal integration;
core shamans. Historically, Most mediums have been female,
• visionary experiences, manifesting a cognitive capacity
and their call to the profession has generally been a posses-
for presentational symbolism;
sion episode in early adulthood. Possession is interpreted as
a “take over” of the person’s personality by a spirit. The pos-
• fundamental structures of human consciousness reflect-
session ASC generally involves tremors, convulsions, sei-
ed in spirits (animism);
zures, and amnesia (these characteristics are often interpreted
• self-objectification processes reflected in soul journey
as evidence of the spirits’ control of the medium). Mediums
and death-and-rebirth experiences;
do not usually engage in malevolent acts but instead are
called upon to act against sorcerers, witches, and other evil
• metaphoric representations using animal and body rela-
entities. Mediums may worship their possessing spirits, and
tions, which is manifested in animism, animal powers,
they often maintain relationships with superior deities to
and totemism;
whom they make sacrifices.
• community bonding processes that elicit attachment
Mediums may be more powerful than ordinary women,
dynamics and opioid mechanisms, including mimetic
but, in contrast to the social leadership role of shamans, they
expression, chanting, and dance to produce social coor-
tend to appear in complex societies with political hierarchies
dination; and
and religious practitioners, such as priests and healers, who
• physiological healing processes based in the relaxation
are more powerful than the medium.
response, anxiety management, and elicitation of opioid
Healers. Healers are not usually referred to as shamans.
and serotonergic neurotransmitters.
They are almost exclusively male and generally have high
ASC: THE INTEGRATIVE MODE OF CONSCIOUSNESS The ec-
economic status and political power. Healers’ professional
stasy, or ASC, that is central to the selection, training, and
organizations provide training, which is generally expensive,
professional practice of shamans typically involves singing,
but the profession is remunerative, enabling healers to be
chanting, drumming, and dancing, followed by collapse and
full-time specialists. Most healers do not engage in the ASC
apparent unconsciousness but accompanied by intense visual
practices characteristic of shamans, but healers sometimes
experiences. This ASC involves a natural brain response that
use rituals and incantations to induce ASC in clients. A prin-
produces physiological, functional, and psychological inte-
cipal healing activity is exorcism. Healers also perform life-
gration. Arnold Mandell has argued that the physiological
cycle activities, such as naming ceremonies, marriage rituals,
dynamics of ASC involve slow-wave discharges from the se-
and funerals. Healers often identify sorcerers or witches, and
rotonin circuits of the limbic brain, which produces synchro-
take action against them.
nized waves across the brain. Auditory driving (singing,
PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF SHAMANISM. The sha-
chanting, drumming, and music) is a primary mechanism for
manistic practices found in hunter-gatherer societies around
producing ASC and brain-wave synchronization. Dancing,
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SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8277
fasting, and other austerities, most psychoactive drugs, and
oped through animal familiars, soul flight, and death-and-
social and sensory isolation reinforce the response. Shamanic
rebirth experiences. These representations reflect preverbal
ASCs activate the autonomic nervous system to the point of
structures of consciousness and the thought processes of
exhaustion, and it collapses into a parasympathetic dominant
lower-brain structures. These specialized forms of knowledge
state that evokes the relaxation response. Skilled shamans
production are combined in metaphoric processes to pro-
may directly enter this state of relaxation through an internal
duce the shamanic features of animism, totemism, and ani-
focus of attention, as in meditation. The relaxation response
mal spirits. Anthropomorphism and interaction with the
is one of the body’s natural healing processes, with adaptive
spirit world (animism) use the brain’s innate representation
advantages in stress reduction and physiological restoration.
modules for understanding the self and social others, and for
attributing human mental and social characteristics to ani-
The shaman’s ASC elicits the “integrative mode of con-
mals, nature, and the unknown. The phenomena of totem-
sciousness” (Winkelman, 2000), a normal brain response to
ism, animal allies, and animal powers involve the natural his-
many activities (e.g., chanting, drumming, fasting, medita-
tory intelligence, employing capacities for distinguishing
tion) with synchronized brain-wave patterns in the theta and
animal species to understand and mold personal identity and
alpha range. These slow-wave patterns are produced by acti-
produce differentiation of self and social groups.
vation of serotonergic linkages between the limbic-brain sys-
tem (the “emotional brain” or paleomammalian brain) and
Animism and animal allies. Animism involves the use
lower-brain structures. These connections produce coherent
of innate representation modules for understanding self and
theta brain-wave discharges that synchronize the frontal areas
social others, and for attributing human mental and social
of the brain, replacing the normal fast and desynchronized
capabilities to animals, nature, and the unknown. Stewart
brain-wave activity of the frontal cortex. The integrative
Guthrie discusses animism as a human being’s use of self-
mode of consciousness integrates preverbal behavioral and
characteristics as a model for the unknown; it is a natural
emotional information into the cultural and language medi-
projection of a human being’s own qualities in relationship
ated processes of the frontal cortex.
to the environment. Spirit concepts are based in social intelli-
gence, the ability to infer the mental states of others. This
Visionary experience as presentational symbolism.
intuitive psychology and “theory of mind” attributes mental
An intense visual imagery, what Richard Noll refers to as
states to others through the organism’s use of its own mental
“mental imagery cultivation,” is central to the shamanic ASC
states to model the mind and behaviors of others. This attri-
experience. These experiences reflect an innate representa-
bution underlies the spirit world.
tional system referred to as “presentational symbolism” by
Harry Hunt. Visionary experiences provide analysis, analogic
Animal allies, guardian spirits, and totemism involve a
synthesis, diagnosis, and planning. Shamanic visions are nat-
process that is reciprocal to animism and represents humans
ural brain phenomena that result from release of suppression
through the use of the natural-history module’s capacity for
of the visual cortex; the visions involve the same brain sub-
organizing knowledge about animal species. This universal
strates used for the processing of perceptual information.
analogical system for creation and extension of meaning uses
Images are a form of psychobiological communication
natural-history intelligence to differentiate personal and so-
experienced in a preverbal symbol system. Imagery plays a
cial identities. Animal species provide natural symbol systems
fundamental role in cognition, providing a basis for meta-
for differentiation of self and social groups and have psycho-
phoric expression and the formation of relations between dif-
social functions in empowering people, as illustrated in the
ferent levels of information processing. Mental imagery inte-
guardian spirit quest discussed by Guy Swanson. Spirits are
grates unconscious psychophysiological information with
“sacred others,” the integration of the spiritual and social
emotional levels, linking somatic and cognitive experience
worlds in cultural processes, which Jacob Pandian character-
and recruiting and coordinating muscles and organic
izes as the production of the symbolic self. Spirit beliefs ex-
systems.
emplify social norms and psychosocial relations, structuring
individual psychodynamics and social behavior. Spirit beliefs
SPIRITS AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS. The fundamental
protect from stress and anxiety through management of
features of shamanism—animism, totemism, and animal
emotions and attachments. Spirits provide variable com-
spirits—are representations of self, intrapsychic dynamics,
mand-control agents for mediating conflict between the dif-
and social groups. These representations are produced
ferent instinctive agents and aspects of self. This facilitates
through integration of specialized innate processing modules
the operation with respect to a hierarchy of goals and the use
for natural history intelligence (recognition of animal spe-
of problem-solving modules for nonroutine tasks.
cies) with modules for self-conceptualization and mental at-
tributions regarding social “others” (mind reading). The sha-
Death and rebirth. Transformations of self are also il-
manic role in managing these modules is exemplified in
lustrated in a universal feature of shamanic development, the
certain characteristics of shamans: (1) social intelligence—
death-and-rebirth experience. This involves illness, suffering,
being group leader and mediator of intergroup relations; (2)
and attacks by spirits, leading to the experience of death and
natural history knowledge—being master of animals; and (3)
dismemberment, followed by a reconstruction of the body
self-conceptualization exemplified in identity shifts devel-
with the help of spirit allies and powers. Roger Walsh charac-
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SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
terizes the death-and-rebirth experience as a natural response
which can elicit an ancient communicative system that Mer-
to overwhelming stress and intrapsychic conflicts. This
lin Donald discusses as mimesis, an imitative communica-
breakdown of ego structures reflects neurognostic processes
tion channel that evolved to enhance social bonding and
of self-transformation, experienced in “autosymbolic images”
communication of internal states. Music, chanting, singing,
of bodily destruction. Charles Laughlin, John McManus,
and dancing have origins in mimetic modules that provide
and Eugene d’Aquili (1992) discuss these experiences as in-
rhythm, affective semantics, and melody (see Wallin,
volving the activation of innate drives toward psychological
Merker, and Brown, 2000). Chanting and music provide a
integration and the restructuring of ego and identity through
nonlinguistic channel for communication that induces heal-
activation of holistic imperatives to produce a new self-
ing states by engaging theta and alpha brain-wave production
identity and higher levels of psychological integration.
and by promoting cohesion, coordination, and cooperation
among the group. The shamanic practices of drumming,
Soul flight as self-objectification. Soul-flight experi-
dancing, and ritual imitation are based in operations of this
ences involve natural symbolic systems for self-
innate mimetic controller and the unique human ability to
representation. The shaman’s soul journey is structurally
entrain the body and community to external rhythms.
similar to ASC found cross-culturally in out-of-body and
near-death experiences. The homologies reflect their innate
SHAMANIC THERAPIES. Shamanism is the original psycho-
basis in psychophysiological structures as forms of self-
socio-physiological therapy in that it uses rituals and cultural
representation that are a natural response of the human ner-
processes to manipulate health from physical through sym-
vous system. Charles Laughlin (1997) discusses the univer-
bolic levels. Therapeutic mechanisms of shamanism include:
sality of a body-based metaphor that is manifested in sha-
• inducing relaxation and the parasympathetic dominant
manic cosmology and a natural body-based epistemology.
responses that elicit organic healing;
Soul flight involves “a view of self from the perspective of
• reducing the physiological effects of stress and anxiety
other,” a form of “taking the role of the other” in presenta-
by providing meaning and assurance;
tional symbolism (Hunt, 1995). These self-representations
• integrating dissociated aspects of the self and the spiritu-
provide forms of self-awareness referenced to the body, but,
al-social models into identity;
apart from the body, they produce the altered consciousness
and transcendence experienced by shamans.
• enhancing the mammalian bonding-attachment pro-
C
cess;
OMMUNITY RITUALS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL DYNAMICS. Sha-
manic activity is accomplished on behalf of the community
• producing individual psychosocial development and so-
and requires community participation. Soul loss, the most
cial integration;
fundamental shamanic illness, is healed by reintegration of
• synchronizing and integrating the information processes
the patient into the community. Community rituals produce
of the brain’s subsystems;
both psychosocial effects (community cohesion, positive ex-
• activating opioid and serotonergic neurotransmitter sys-
pectation, and social support) and psychobiological effects
tems; and
(the elicitation of attachment and opioid mechanisms).
• producing ritual elicitation and cultural programming
Opioid-mediated attachment processes. Ede Frecska
of neurological processes.
and Zsuzsanna Kulcsar illustrate how communal rituals elicit
Hypnosis in shamanic healing. James McClenon dis-
attachment bonds and other psycho-socio-physiological
cusses how an inheritable hypnotizability provided founda-
mechanisms that release endogenous opiates and produce
tions for shamanistic healing. Hypnotic susceptibility pro-
psychobiological synchrony in a group of people. Shamanic
vided mechanisms for enhancing recovery from disease, as
rituals release endogenous opiates through a variety of mech-
well as innovations derived from access to the unconscious
anisms, including austerities, fasting, water restriction, stren-
mind and its creative visions. Hypnotizability produces phys-
uous exercise, and emotional hyperstress (Winkelman,
iological and psychophysiological responses that facilitated
1997). Shamanic rituals elicit responses from the brain’s
shamanic healing. Hypnotic and ritual behavior among
opioid systems by tapping into social attachment and condi-
other animals provides mechanisms for adaptation to the so-
tioned cultural symbols (Frecska and Kulcsar, 1989). Emo-
cial environment by reducing stress and promoting intra-
tionally charged symbols elicit the opioid system and permit
group cohesion, which is experienced by humans as “union”
ritual manipulation of physiological responses in the linking
or “oneness.” Shamanic healing potentials exploit the co-
of the psychic, mythological, and somatic spheres. Opioids
occurrence of hypnotizability, dissociation, fantasy prone-
stimulate the immune system; produce a sense of euphoria,
ness, temporal lobe lability, and thin cognitive boundaries to
certainty, and belonging; and enhance coping skills, pain re-
enhance connections between the unconscious and con-
duction, stress tolerance, environmental adaptation, group
scious mind. This access provided survival advantages by fa-
synchronization, and maintenance of bodily homeostasis
cilitating the development of creative strategies, enhancing
(Valle and Prince, 1989).
suggestibility to symbolically induced physiological changes,
Mimetic expression and emotional vocalization.
and inducing ASC experiences to facilitate psychosomatic
Community bonding involves chanting, music, and dance,
healing.
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SHAMANISM: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8279
Soul loss. Jeanne Achterberg and Sandra Ingerman dis-
The triune brain and shamanic healing. Human evo-
cuss soul loss as a central shamanic illness that involves injury
lution produced a fragmentation of consciousness in the
to the essence of one’s being and damage to crucial aspects
modular structure of the brain (Mithen, 1996), the diversifi-
of the self, fundamental aspects of personal identity, and the
cation of personal and social identities, and the habitualiza-
essence of self-emotions. This injury to one’s essence is mani-
tion of brain processes (Laughlin et al., 1992). Shamanistic
fested as despair, a loss of meaning in life, and a loss of one’s
activities use ASC, visual symbols, and group rituals to pro-
sense of belonging and connection with others. Soul loss re-
duce psychological, social, and cognitive integration, which
sults from trauma that causes an aspect of one’s self to disso-
serves to manage relationships among behavioral, emotional,
ciate, making reintegration of these dissociated aspects of self
and cognitive processes, and between physiological and men-
central to healing. Soul recovery involves regaining the sense
tal levels of the organism.
of social self that was alienated by trauma. Community par-
One aspect of this shamanic integration involves link-
ticipation is central to soul retrieval because social support
ages across the evolutionary strata of the brain. Paul Mac-
is vital for the reintegration of the self.
Lean has proposed that the brain involves three anatomically
THE EVOLUTIONARY ROOTS OF SHAMANISM. Jean Clottes,
distinct yet interconnected systems—the reptilian brain, the
David Lewis-Williams, Robert Ryan, and Michael Winkel-
paleomammalian brain, and the neomammalian brain—that
man have reconstructed the prehistorical emergence of sha-
provide the basis for behavioral and emotional “subsym-
manism, which occurred more than forty thousand years ago
bolic” information. These communication systems employ
in the earliest manifestations of modern human culture in
a visual presentational symbolism (Hunt, 1995) that medi-
the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. The similarity in
ates interactions across levels of the brain and social, affec-
shamanism around the world derives from human nature; it
tive, and visual symbolic information. The hierarchical man-
is an aspect of an evolved psychology. Several lines of evi-
agement of behavior, emotions, and reason is mediated both
dence point to a biogenetic origin for shamanic ritual: (1)
physiologically and symbolically. The relationships among
continuity with animal ritual and hominid group activities
innate drives, social attachment, and cultural demands create
involving vocalizations for interpersonal communication and
many different kinds of health problems, including chronic
group coordination, as well as drumming, dancing and mi-
anxiety and fear, behavioral disorders, conflict, excessive
mesis; (2) the direct correspondences of the central features
emotionality and desire, obsessions and compulsions, disso-
of Paleolithic cave art to the universals of shamanism; and
ciations, and repression. The paleomammalian brain medi-
(3) the ability of shamanic ritual processes to provide psycho-
ates many of these processes to promote an integration of the
logical and social integration processes; that is, the group
self within the community, thus accommodating the instinc-
needs that characterize the changes associated with this peri-
tual responses of the reptilian and paleomammalian brain
od of transition in human history (Winkelman, 2002a).
systems to the cultural demands mediated by the frontal
brain systems.
The central role of shamanic elements in Middle to
CONCLUSIONS. Shamanism is now getting recognition as the
Upper Paleolithic cave art is seen in the elements and style
original basis of human spiritual and religious practice, a part
of these artistic depictions, the nature of the representations
of human nature that played a significant role in human cog-
of animals and humans, and the ritual use of natural cave fea-
nitive and cultural evolution. As a biologically based spiritual
tures (Winkelman, 2002b; Ryan; Clottes, and Lewis-
and healing system that played a significant role in human
Williams, 1998; Lewis-Williams, 2002). This art is key evi-
survival, social relations, and cosmology, shamanism was hu-
dence for the cultural cognitive revolution, with shamanic
manity’s original neurotheology. As human societies became
ritual, beliefs, practices, and cosmology characterized by
more complex, the original biological basis of shamanism
cross-modal cognitive integrations that typify the emergent
that was manifested in hunter-gatherer societies was substan-
features of Paleolithic thought.
tially modified, eventually emerging in the form of medium-
This role of shamanism in the Middle to Upper Paleo-
ship and possession. Ethnography and cross-cultural studies
lithic transition can be understood from psychosocial and
have, however, helped revive shamanism and have reintro-
psychobiological perspectives that illustrate how shamanic
duced it to the modern world, enabling shamanism to re-
ritual practices and beliefs facilitated adaptations to the eco-
emerge as a natural religious and spiritual form.
logical and social changes of the Upper Paleolithic, and thus
SEE ALSO Healing and Medicine, overview article.
facilitated cognitive evolution. Shamanism produced social
bonding mechanisms, self-transformation processes, and an-
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Possession and Shamanism. London, 1971; 2d ed., 1988.
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Lewis-Williams, David. The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and
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Pandian, J. “The Sacred Integration of the Cultural Self: An An-
therefore been described as shamanistic. Shamanism itself is
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not, however, a religion, but rather a complex of different
Anthropology of Religion: A Handbook, edited by Steven Gla-
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means of which the shaman enters an altered state of con-
Ryan, Robert. The Strong Eye of Shamanism: A Journey into the
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Siikala, Anna-Leena. The Rite Technique of the Siberian Shaman.
of trance, the shaman is regarded as capable of direct com-
Helsinki, Finland, 1978.
munication with representatives of the otherworld, either by
Spilka, Bernard, and Daniel McIntosh, eds. The Psychology of Reli-
journeying to the supranormal world or by calling the spirits
gion: Theoretical Approaches. Boulder, Colo., 1997.
to the séance. He is thus able to help his fellow men in crises
believed to be caused by the spirits and to act as a concrete
Swanson, Guy. “The Search for a Guardian Spirit: The Process
of Empowerment in Simpler Societies.” Ethnology 12 (1973):
mediator between this world and the otherworld in accom-
359–378.
panying a soul to the otherworld, or fetching it from the do-
main of the spirits. The shaman acts as a healer and as a pa-
Valle, Jacques, and Raymond Prince. “Religious Experiences as
Self-Healing Mechanisms.” In Altered States of Consciousness
tron of hunting and fertility, but also as a diviner, the
and Mental Health: A Cross Cultural Perspective, edited by
guardian of livelihoods, and so on.
Colleen A. Ward, pp. 149–166. Newbury Park, Calif., 1989.
THE ORIGIN OF SHAMANISM. The ecological and cultural
Wallin, Nils, Bjorn Merker, and Steven Brown, eds. The Origins
differences among the peoples of Siberia and Inner Asia are
of Music. Cambridge, Mass., 2000.
considerable. The way of life of the Arctic sea-mammal hunt-
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8281
ers and reindeer breeders differs greatly from that of the no-
clan. Even at the end of the nineteenth century the Yukagir,
mads of the steppe or the hunters and fishermen of the taiga.
a Siberian tribal people, lived off deer hunting and reindeer
It follows that, despite certain basic similarities, the shaman-
breeding, the latter having been assimilated from the Evenki.
istic complexes are not uniform either. There are variations
The population, consisting of the remains of formerly larger
in the shaman’s status in the community, as there are differ-
clans, lived in camps or villages of related families. The sha-
ences, for example, in his ritual accessories or the tradition
man, who had to be related to the clan by ties of blood, was
of beliefs he represents. Tracing the history of shamanism is
one of the leaders of the clan and acted as its general patron.
thus a complicated matter. Shamanism is generally thought
It was also his job to maintain contact between the living and
to be founded on the animistic concepts of the northern
the dead members of the clan and to arrange the shamanizing
hunting peoples. On the other hand, soul flight, the ability
connected with the calendrical hunting rites. It was during
of the shaman to journey to the otherworld, a striking feature
these rites that the shaman would retrieve the souls of the
of northern and western shamanistic complexes, has led
animals to be hunted from the keeper of the species in the
scholars to regard a dualistic concept of the soul as the ideo-
otherworld store. The shaman helped individual members of
logical basis of shamanism. According to this belief, man has
the clan by curing diseases and infertility, by prophesying,
one soul confined to the body and a second soul, or part soul,
and by preventing misfortune threatened by the spirits.
capable of leaving the body freely during sleep, trance, or
sickness.
A highly advanced clan system existed among the
Evenki, who were spread over a wide area and were divided
The word shaman comes through Russian sources from
into different occupational categories: hunters and fisher-
the Tunguz word ˇsaman (xaman). There are such varied
men, reindeer breeders, and hunters breeding horses and cat-
names for the shaman in Siberia and Inner Asia that these
tle. Their chief social unit was the clan, which had its own
names cannot be used to throw light on the origin of sha-
area or “river”; the clans were in turn grouped into larger
manism. A theory was put forward in the nineteenth century
tribes. One of the leaders of the clan was a shaman. Such spe-
that the word derived from the Pali saman:a (Sanskrit,
cial status among the Evenki living along the Podkamennaia
´sraman:a) and Chinese shamen. Although this theory has
Tunguska is illustrated by the belief that the shaman’s hair
been disproved (Németh, 1913–1914; Laufer, 1917), the
may not be cut because it is the dwelling place of the souls
cultural-historical foundations of shamanism have been
of the members of the clan. As the protector and leader of
sought in Buddhism or others of the great scriptural tradi-
his clan, their shaman set up a marylya (a fence made of spir-
tions of the East. It is indeed a fact that Buddhism and Lama-
its) around the clan’s lands; he also possessed knowledge of
ism had a significant effect on the development of shaman-
the mythical clan river leading to the otherworld. The clan
ism among the Evenki (a Tunguz people), the Mongols, and
shaman held séances on behalf of his supporters, shamaniz-
the Buriats. The wide distribution of the phenomenon of
ing in the course of hunting rites and helping individual
shamanism and the endemicity of certain of its basic ideas—
members of the clan. At the end of the nineteenth century
soul flight, soul dualism, the link with animal ceremonial-
there also were professional Evenk shamans who would sha-
ism—in Arctic and sub-Arctic cultures do, however, support
manize on behalf of members of a different clan for a fee.
the view that the roots of shamanism lie in the Paleolithic
These “false” shamans were not accorded the honored and
hunting cultures. In his fundamental work Shamanism: Ar-
important position of the clan shaman.
chaic Techniques of Ecstasy (1964), Mircea Eliade regards the
The small-group shaman. The shamans in circles of
ideas of ecstatic experience and soul flight as the basis of sha-
neighbors and relatives among the hunters of northwestern
manism, and asserts that shamanism grew out of the ancient
and northern Siberia had a relationship with their supporters
Paleolithic inheritance, fertilized by Buddhism, Lamaism,
comparable to that of the clan shaman. For example, the
and even more ancient East and South Asian influences.
Nganasani (a Samoyed people) were spread over such a wide
THE SHAMAN IN THE COMMUNITY. The small hunting and
area that the clan was of no significance as an economic or
fishing communities of northern Siberia have provided a set-
local unit. It retained its significance mainly in religious con-
ting for shamanism completely different from that of the
nections, such as in annual rituals. On an occasion such as
agrarian cultures of Inner Asia rooted to one locale. Both the
the clean-tent festival of the Nganasani, held in February
status of the shaman in the community and his tasks depend
when the sun began to rise again, the shaman might act as
on the supporting culture, its economy, the nature of its so-
representative of the clan. He did not, however, achieve a sta-
cial structure, and its practice of religion as a whole. Varia-
tus symbolizing clan unity and the welfare of the clan. He
tions in the status of the shaman and the importance of sha-
was equipped by his own small community, the tent commu-
manism as an institution spring from the relationship
nity or village whose members he assisted as a healer, a bring-
between the shaman and the group supporting him as well
er of success in hunting, a guardian at difficult births, and
as from the nature of the particular group.
so on.
The clan shaman. The Yukagir and the Evenki retained
The professional shaman of the north. The relation-
their clan system until relatively recent times, and their sha-
ship between the shaman of the north and his supporters was
manism is clearly connected with the organization of the
not as close as that described above in northeastern Siberia.
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SHAMANISM: SIBERIAN AND INNER ASIAN SHAMANISM
The Chukchi and the Koriak—small tribal peoples indige-
The categories of shaman used by different ethnic
nous to Siberia—fell into two occupational categories inter-
groups themselves are evident in the names for types of sha-
acting closely with one another: reindeer breeders and sea-
mans. For example, the most highly respected shaman
mammal hunters. They showed no signs of a clear clan sys-
among the Entsy (a Samoyed people) was the budtode, who
tem, their basic social unit being the hunting communities
is in contact with the spirits who live in heaven. The less
and nomad camps made up of relatives and neighbors. The
highly regarded d’ano was able to protect humans from evil
annual occupational rites were handled by the family or oc-
spirits, and the least respected sawode shaman could contact
cupational unit, one typical feature being family shamanism.
the dead. In the same way the lowest category of shaman
In this type of shamanism, which cannot be considered sha-
among the Nanay (Goldi) was the siurinka, shamans who
manism proper, anyone attending a festival could drum and
cure the sick. Nemati shamans were able both to cure the sick
dance in the manner of a shaman. Since the occupational and
and to perform the shamanizing at the first festival in memo-
other important rites were performed among the family or
ry of the dead. Among the shamans with the greatest prestige
kin, the shaman was not tied to any clearly defined band of
were the kasati shamans, who had command of all shamanic
supporters. He was a healer and a resolver of various inciden-
knowledge and who are capable of the most important task
tal crises. The status of the shaman who was able to choose
of the Nanay shaman, that of accompanying the souls of the
his clients freely depended on his personal skills. Thus the
dead to the otherworld.
performance of various tricks played a considerable part in
The Yakuts believed that the shaman’s prestige was de-
the competition between shamans.
termined by the status of the god who granted him his chief
Shamanism in the south. The hierarchical community
spirit helper, and by the height of the branch on the mythical
of the nomads and farmers of southern Siberia and Inner
shaman’s tree on which the shaman was instructed by the
Asia (e.g., the Yakuts, the Buriats, the Tuvin, the southern
spirits during his initiation. The division of shamans into
black and white, encountered among the Yakuts and else-
Altais, the Khakasy, and the horse-breeding Evenki of Trans-
where (e.g., among the Altaic peoples) points to the nature
baikalia) and the rise in status of the area to an administrative
of the spirits with whom the shaman came into contact.
unit (called “patriarchal feudalism” by Soviet scholars) above
White was the color of the sky, black that of the earth. Ac-
the clan provided a background to shamanism that differed
cording to the shamanic tradition, the shaman’s nature and
from that of the northern hunting communities. Under the
rank are determined by the spirits initiating him. In practice
influence of the Lamaism and Buddhism of the south, the
the distinguishing features were probably the skills and abili-
ritual aspects of shamanism and the beliefs concerning
ty to achieve ecstasy of the initiate and the nature of the tra-
the supranormal world here developed in a richer and more
dition that he assimilated. A shaman could also rise to a
complex form than shamanism in the north.
higher category as his knowledge increased. A great shaman
While contact with the clan may be significant, regional
often bore the epithet “old.”
factors often determine the shaman’s sphere of activities.
INITIATION. Gaining command of the shamanic tradition
Since becoming a shaman and the passing down of the sha-
and the ecstatic rite technique called for special training on
manic tradition is under the strict control of older shamans,
the part of the beginner. The nature and length of the initia-
shamanism in the south clearly has more institutionalized
tion period depended on the position of the shaman in his
forms than in the north. Among the Buriats, for example,
community and the importance of shamanism in the culture
a large number of initiated shamans join the new candidate
in question. The length of the apprenticeship, the amount
in taking part in the shamanic initiation ceremony, thus
and nature of the tradition to be internalized, the initiate’s
demonstrating the importance of control from within to the
instruction, the number of initiation rites, and the control
institution of shamanism. In addition to acting as a healer
of the initiate’s abilities varied from one region to another.
and a diviner and carrying out other conventional tasks, the
Two features common to all areas were the shaman’s meeting
shaman may also assume the role of sacrificial priest. Prac-
of spirits and winning of spirit helpers while in a state of ec-
tices such as the sacrifice made by the Altaic Tatars of a horse
stasy and the recognition of a new shaman by his supporters.
to the god in the sky rely on the ability of the shaman to ac-
company to the otherworld the soul of the animal sacrificed.
The shaman’s disease. A potential shaman could be
recognized by an abnormal, often highly nervous, disposi-
CATEGORIES OF SHAMANS. In addition to the fundamental
tion. All over Siberia and Inner Asia, selection was often pre-
differences in the status of shamanism as a whole, shamans
ceded by the shaman’s sickness. The first symptoms might
differ in their nature and prestige from one ethnic group to
be states of mental unbalance, fits of hysteria, periods of se-
another. The Hungarian expert on shamanism Vilmos
clusion, unusual visions and the hearing of voices, or states
Diószegi observed on interviewing former Tofa shamans in
of physical torment. Usually the sickness struck at adoles-
the late 1950s that they fell into different categories accord-
cence, but people stricken as adults might also become sha-
ing to clan, the color symbolism of their accoutrements, their
man initiates. It is impossible to give any specific account of
power, their skill, and ultimately also their own personal
the illness from reports of the symptoms, The point is that
characteristics.
shamanizing was the only recognized cure. Often a shaman
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8283
called in to cure the sufferer would teach him how to sha-
ice is given his spirit helpers by the initiating spirits, and he
manize.
promises to follow his calling. The handling of his bones, the
dismembering and reassembling of his skeleton by the spirits,
Scholars such as Waldemar Jochelson, an expert on the
plays a significant part in the visions describing the shaman’s
tribal peoples indigenous to Siberian and Inner Asia, have
rebirth. In the background here is the idea also found in ani-
compared the shaman’s initiatory sickness to hysteria. The
mal ceremonialism that the bones are the point of attach-
healing effect of shamanizing would then mean that the nov-
ment for the soul.
ice, under the instruction of an older shaman, learned to con-
trol his ego functions and the regression of hysteria became
Following his initiation by the spirits the shaman still
an ego-controlled regression during the initiation stage. It is
had to prove his powers to his community. He did so at vari-
significant that shamans suffering from a preliminary sick-
ous test shamanizings and through public rites. The small-
ness have found that repeated shamanizing is a condition for
group shaman of northwestern Siberia acquired his attributes
remaining healthy.
gradually in the course of annual rites. His dress and ritual
objects were made by neighbors and relatives who were
The shaman’s sickness was interpreted as the call of the
among his supporters and who also took part in the sha-
spirits to become a shaman; since the task was so dangerous,
manizings at which these objects were first used. Similarly,
shamans say they often resisted the call to the very end. Inter-
great test shamanizings were held in the clan shamanism re-
nal compulsion was not the only reason for selection; there
gion and were attended by the entire clan. Through prayers
could also be external reasons. A young Chukchi, for exam-
and sacrifices, an ancestor shaman might be asked to indicate
ple, might choose to become a shaman in the hope of gaining
a suitable animal for making the shaman’s requisites. As we
wealth and prestige. Among the Evenki the clan elders or
have seen, the rituals surrounding the initiation of the sha-
clan shaman might select a child of suitable temperament for
man were most richly developed in the shamanism of the
training as a shaman.
southern regions. The Buriat shaman, for example, promised
The position of shaman was handed down within the
during a great initiation festival to fulfill the obligations of
family, especially in the areas of clan shamanism and the pro-
his profession.
fessional shamanism of the south. A. F. Anisimov, an expert
The shaman’s initiation was less formal among the tribal
on the shamanism of the Podkamennaia Tunguska Evenki,
peoples of Siberian and Inner Asia than elsewhere. The mys-
observed that shamans deliberately tried to keep this impor-
teries surrounding the call of the spirits and the experience
tant position within the family. The inheritance of shaman-
of meeting them were paramount; as there were few requi-
ism is founded on shamanistic ideology. In the northern re-
sites, the ritual announcement of the new status was not of
gions, where selection as shaman was often a matter of
itself significant. The shaman’s later actions proved whether
incidental vocation, the spirits encountered by the novice
or not he was capable and whether he had gained any sup-
were chiefly spirits of nature. The principle of inheritance
porters.
within the family is a reflection of the notion that the spirits
preparing the initiate to become a shaman were ancestor sha-
THE SHAMANISTIC BELIEF TRADITION. Some indication of
mans or spirits of nature undertaking the task at the request
the nature of the shamanistic belief tradition is provided by
of the ancestor spirits.
the visions of the initiation period and the shaman songs de-
scribing, for example, the shaman’s journey to the other-
The initiation period. At the start of the initiation peri-
world. Although the cosmographic concepts vary greatly over
od the initiate retired in solitude, learned how to use the
Siberia and Inner Asia, and although the influence of Lama-
drum in seeking ecstatic experiences, and steeped himself in
ism and Buddhism is very much in evidence among the
the shamanic tradition. One of his main tasks was to com-
southern peoples, there are certain structural features shared
pose his own shaman songs. The songs for calling the spirits
by all and of wide distribution. Among these are concepts
sung at séances of Chukchi shamans, for example, were prod-
of a multilevel cosmos, the world above, the middle world
ucts of the initiation period. In the shamanic view the novice
inhabited by man, and the world below, which is divided
is taught by the spirits; there are, however, reports of situa-
into three, seven, or nine levels. The layers are connected ei-
tions in which older shamans guide the novice in the art of
ther by the world stream (among the Ket, it is by holy water),
shamanizing.
which begins in heaven and flows through the earth to the
The next phase of the initiatory period is one of visions
underworld, or by a hole at the North Star in the center of
and the hearing of voices, during which the novice undergoes
the globe through which the Chukchi, among others, believe
his initiation by the spirits. During these experiences the
it is possible to pass from one layer to another. Besides believ-
novice feels that the spirits are actually destroying his old ego,
ing in a multilayered cosmos, the northern peoples in partic-
dissecting or boiling it, after which he is to be reassembled
ular believe in the concept of a tentlike upper world, the fir-
as a new shaman, capable of seeing that which is hidden to
maments spanning a round or square world. Supporting it
ordinary men. Thus is repeated the theme of death and re-
in the center is the cosmic pillar. Phenomena parallel to the
birth. Despite individual differences the visions follow tradi-
cosmic pillar are the cosmic mountain and the cosmic tree.
tional patterns. For example, among the Samoyeds, the nov-
The latter’s counterpart in the shamanistic belief tradition is
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SHAMANISM: SIBERIAN AND INNER ASIAN SHAMANISM
the shaman’s tree, by means of which the shaman might trav-
Another inherited spirit is the Nanay ajami, the tutelary
el from one world level to another.
spirit of the novice period, who instructs the novice in mat-
During his initiation period the novice had to study the
ters of the otherworld and provides him with the spirits nec-
structure of the cosmos and above all learn the topography
essary for shamanizing. The relationship between the ajami
of the otherworld: the paths and rivers leading to the other-
and the shaman is erotic, the spirit in question being a spirit
world and the dwellings of the various gods, the guardian
wife or husband handed down from one shaman to another
spirits, the demons of disease, and the dead. The way to the
within the family. Similar marriagelike relationships between
otherworld was usually described as being fraught with diffi-
spirit and man are also reported elsewhere. The transvestite
culties and dangers. The Nanay shaman, for example, was
shamans among the tribal peoples indigenous to Siberia and
able to list the landmarks along the road to the kingdom of
Inner Asia, for example, might have a spirit lover.
the dead and the dangers in store along the way.
An important part is played in the initiation tales of
At the séance the shaman turned to various gods and
Yakut shamans by the Animal Mother and the spirits of an-
spirits as it became necessary. Linked directly with the sha-
cestor shamans, the evil abaasy spirits that may perform the
manistic complex were the spirits of his initiation and his ec-
novice’s initiation mysteries. The Animal Mother, who is the
static experiences. In some cases the shaman enters the ser-
incarnation of the shaman’s kut soul, his invisible double,
vice of these spirits; at other times, they are at the shaman’s
was thought to show itself on the birth or death of a shaman
command.
and during his supranormal initiation. The Animal Mother,
in the form of a bird with iron feathers, was thought to sit
The spirits influencing a shaman’s initiation in north-
on a branch of the shaman’s tree, incubating an egg contain-
eastern Siberia were mainly spirits of nature. One Koriak
ing the soul of a novice until the soul hatches from the egg.
shaman described how spirits of the wolf, the raven, the bear,
the sea gull, and the plover appeared before him in the forest,
The nature and number of spirit helpers proper varies
sometimes in human form, sometimes in the form of an ani-
from one ethnic group to another. Among the Ob-Ugrians
mal, demanding that he enter their service. The Chukchi be-
(i. e., the Khanty and Mansi), the shaman might have seven
lieved that “everything lives,” that even inanimate objects
spirit helpers, most of them in the form of an animal, such
have some sort of soul principle. Thus the shaman’s band of
as a bear, a deer, a wolf, a horse, a snake, a fish, or a bird.
spirits might also include various objects, stones, or house-
Birds common to the northern regions were the eagle and
hold utensils. It is significant that there is no difference be-
the owl, as well as various waterfowl, in whose form the sha-
tween the guiding spirits of the initiation period and the spir-
man was said to travel the underwater routes to the other-
it helpers proper: the spirits appearing before the novice
world. The beliefs concerning the relationship between the
become his spirit helpers when he is a shaman.
shaman and his spirits are complex. The shaman might travel
In the small-group shamanism of northwestern Siberia,
in the form of the animal accompanying him; the Yakut sha-
too, the spirits influencing a shaman’s initiation are mainly
man, for example, fights other shamans in the form of his
spirits of nature. The initiation visions of the Nganasani
Animal Mother, as an elk or a deer. On the other hand, the
demonstrate that the novice meets a number of spirits who
spirit helpers may accompany him as outside assistants. For
help him in different ways. The selection of a shaman might
example, the Evenk shaman of the Podkamennaia Tunguska
be made by spirits of nature, such as the spirit of water, who
region had command over a large band of spirits on his jour-
give the novice zoomorphic guides on his journey to the oth-
neys to the underworld.
erworld. The shaman’s initiation is performed by special
THE SHAMAN’S ACTIVITIES. The shaman’s public activities
smith spirits, who forge a new shaman on their anvil. The
took place at the séance, a ritual performance. While there
guiding spirits leave the shaman after his ecstatic initiation,
were many reasons for calling a séance, there was a need to
by which time he has gotten to know his spirit helpers
make direct contact with representatives of the spirit world
proper.
in all cases. All the vital elements of shamanism were present
at the séance: the shaman and his assistant, those in need of
The spirits of ancestor shamans play an important part
assistance, an interested audience, and representatives of the
in a shaman’s initiation in clan shamanism and the profes-
spirit world called on by the shaman.
sional shamanism of the south. For example, the Transbai-
kalia Evenki say that a dead shaman appears before a pro-
The shaman’s attributes. The ritual objects and the
spective candidate and orders him to follow. The spirits of
shaman’s attributes symbolize the shamanistic worldview.
ancestor shamans may appear as candidate selectors, as the
The most important item is the drum. Names for the drum
novice’s supranormal teachers, or as initiators carrying out
are usually connected with the idea of the shaman’s journey.
the dissection process, as in the Lower Tunguska region. The
For example, the Transbaikalia Evenki call the drum a boat,
spirit of an ancestor shaman usually remains as the shaman’s
while the Yakuts, Buriats, and Soyot call it a horse. In this
spirit helper proper. Although most of the spirit helpers of,
case the drumstick is a “whip.” By means of his drum the
for example, the Evenk shaman are in the form of an animal
shaman “rides” or “flies”; in other words, he achieves an al-
or a bird, he is usually also supported by shaman’s spirits in
tered state of consciousness. The frame of the drum is made
human form.
from a special tree—a representative of the cosmic tree—
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SHAMANISM: SIBERIAN AND INNER ASIAN SHAMANISM
8285
indicated by the spirits, and the membrane from the skin of
perform during the séance. He transfers to the role of shaman
an animal also chosen by the spirits. The drum-reviving cere-
by putting on the ritual dress and by tuning the drum.
monies in the Altaic regions indicate that the drum animal
represents one of the shamanistic spirits: during these cere-
The actual séance is usually held inside after dark, in a
monies the animal from whose skin the membrane was made
dwelling with a fire burning in the center. Because the spirits
“comes to life again,” telling of its life and promising to help
are thought to be afraid of light, darkness is a prerequisite
the shaman. The motifs carved on the drum frame or drawn
for shamanizing. The settings for séances varied greatly, de-
on the skin likewise symbolize shamanistic spirits and express
pending on the status of the shaman and the importance of
cosmological concepts.
his task. In the Podkamennaia Tunguska region the shaman
and protector of the clan held his séance in the sevenˇcedek,
Although the shaman’s dress, along with the drum, is
a tent specially erected for the purpose. Here he acted out
one of the most striking features of shamanism in northern
the fundamental features of the shamanistic world concept:
and Inner Asia, the number and type of attributes varies from
the middle world inhabited by humans, the upper and lower
one area to another. There is no shaman’s dress proper
worlds with their spirits, and the cosmic stream and cosmic
among the Chukchi. While preparing for a séance the sha-
tree as landmarks along the shaman’s route in the other-
man was, like the Inuit (Eskimo) shaman, stripped to the
world. The séance was attended by the entire clan, members
waist. Similarly, the only item that identified the shaman
helping with the preparations. Similar large séance settings
among the Nentsy (a Samoyed people) in the northwest of
are found among the Nanay, whose shaman, being the repre-
Siberia was the headdress that he wore. The dresses with the
sentative of his clan, transported the souls of the dead to the
greatest number of symbolic ornaments are to be found in
otherworld. It seems that the higher the status of the shaman
central and southern Siberia and in Inner Asia.
and the bigger the group he represented, the richer were the
symbolic requisites of the dress and the setting for the séance
The shaman’s dress is made of leather or cloth, and onto
and the more theatrical the course of shamanizing. The im-
it are sewn pendants of metal, bone, and cloth depicting spir-
posing settings of the séance in the southern areas are proba-
its in animal or human shape or phenomena associated with
bly a later development influenced by the great scriptural tra-
the supranormal world. On the back of the Yakut shaman’s
ditions of the East.
dress are metal disks, the shaman’s sun and moon, providing
light on the dark route to the otherworld. Despite the variety
Before the séance, the shaman’s assistant, those in need
of symbolic emblems, the basic idea behind the shaman’s
of the shaman’s help, and the audience would assemble. At
dress is clear. The feathers attached to the headdress, the
the start of the séance the shaman concentrates on calling his
winglike or furry appendages on the sleeves, the antlers or
spirit helper by singing and drumming. The themes of the
bear’s snout on the headdress show that the dress basically
shaman’s songs are the calling of the spirit helpers, a descrip-
represents some kind of animal. The most common type is
tion of the spirits’ journey, an account of the shaman’s own
a bird, found not only in the Altai-Sayan region but also in
journey to the otherworld, and a description of the topogra-
northern Mongolia and different parts of Siberia. In the Alta-
phy of the supranormal world. In the songs calling the spir-
ic region the dress most often imitates an owl or an eagle,
its, during which the shaman might imitate the sounds of his
in northern Siberia a deer. The Samoyeds and the Ket also
zoomorphic spirit helpers through whistles, shouts, and
wear a dress reminiscent of a bear.
growls, the shaman invites the spirits to the séance and may
also give a step-by-step description of their journey to the sé-
In addition to the pictures associated with the spirits or
ance from their dwelling in the otherworld.
the otherworld, the shaman’s dress also has iron or bone ap-
pendages resembling a human or animal skeleton. These
The calling of the spirit helpers is the trance-induction
symbolize the death and rebirth experienced by the shaman
stage. The rhythmic drumming, dancing, and singing gradu-
during the ecstatic visions of his initiation period. The dress
ally become louder and more frenzied as the shaman, while
represents the mysteries experienced by the shaman and is
concentrating on the world of the spirits, achieves an altered
the dwelling place of the spirits. Thus the dress itself is
state of consciousness. This phenomenon, similar to Western
thought to possess supernormal power. In the areas of clan
hypnosis, is brought about by rhythmical stimulation of the
shamanism the dress could not be sold outside the clan, be-
nervous system, growing concentration, motivation on the
cause the shaman’s spirits belonging to the clan were at-
part of the shaman, and the emotional charge produced by
tached to it. A worn-out shaman’s dress might be hung on
the expectations of the audience. The effect of rhythmical
a tree in the forest, so that the spirits could leave it gradually
stimulation was further enhanced among the Ob-Ugrians
and enter a new dress.
and the tribal peoples indigenous to Siberian Asia by, for ex-
ample, eating amanita mushrooms. Other common means
The shamanic séance. The shamanizing séance requires
were the burning of various herbs producing intoxicating
that both the shaman himself and the setting for the rite be
smoke, and, more recently, smoking tobacco and consuming
meticulously prepared. The séance is often preceded by a pe-
alcohol. The use of hallucinogens and other intoxicants is
riod of time during which the shaman goes into seclusion,
not, however, essential to or even a vital factor in the sha-
fasts, meditates, and recalls the details of the rituals he must
man’s trance technique.
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SHAMANISM: SIBERIAN AND INNER ASIAN SHAMANISM
The ecstatic climaxes of the séance come at the point
The séance usually ends with an episode during which
where the shaman meets his spirit helpers, journeys with
the shaman sends his spirit helpers away, answers questions
them to the otherworld, or banishes, for example, a disease
from the audience, and issues instructions on the sacrifices
demon that has taken up residence in a patient. The biggest
or required propitiations to be made. The basic structure of
cultural differences in the shamanistic rite technique are
the séance is thus relatively uniform, regardless of the object
manifest at precisely this stage. The forms of meeting the
of shamanizing, showing variation according to the way in
spirits are based on different belief traditions.
which the spirits are encountered. The various rites, manifes-
Common to the central and eastern parts of Siberia, for
tation of the presence of or banishing of spirits, and tricks
example, among the Yukagir, the Evenki, the Yakuts, the
or demonstrations of skill proving the supranormal abilities
Manchus, the Nanays, and the Orochi is the possession sé-
of the shaman do, however, vary from one area to another.
ance, during which the shaman’s chief spirit helper enters his
Despite cultural differences, the basic features of the sha-
body and speaks through him. The shaman fully identifies
man’s technique of ecstasy, his main requisites, the concept
with the spirit; he in fact turns into the spirit and manifests
of the spirits helping the shaman, and the part played by the
this change in his gestures, movements, and speech. Another
audience as a chorus assisting at séances are elements of sha-
person present at the séance, usually the shaman’s assistant,
manism common throughout northern and Inner Asia.
then becomes the shaman, talking to the spirit. In regions
where this type of possession-trance is common, the usual ex-
SEE ALSO Arctic Religions, overview article; Buriat Religion;
planation for disease is that a demon has entered a person.
Khanty and Mansi Religion; Samoyed Religion; Southern
Siberian Religions; Tunguz Religion; Yakut Religion.
It is then the shaman’s task to banish the demon, and to do
this the shaman takes the disease demon upon himself after
his spirit helper; in other words, he turns into the demon.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There are also complex possession-trance séances at which
There is a vast amount of literature on shamanism in Siberia and
the shaman, having manifested various spirits, travels with
Inner Asia. A list of Russian sources and research literature
his spirit helpers to the otherworld—when banishing a
appearing before 1932 is given in A. A. Popov’s Materialy
demon, for example.
dlia bibliografi russkoi literatury po izucheniiu shamanstva
severoaziatskikh narodov
(Leningrad, 1932). The first widely
The shaman may also create an illusion that the spirit
known general treatise on Siberian shamanism was V. M.
helpers are present at the séance without identifying with
Mikhailovskii’s “Shamanism in Siberia and European Rus-
them. The Chukchi display great skill in the manifestation
sia,” translated by John Oliver Wardrop, Journal of the An-
of the spirits by the technique of ventriloquism. The shaman
thropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 24 (1985):
brings one spirit after another to the séance, and the audience
126–158. Of the general treatises that appeared in the early
can hear the spirits speak outside the shaman’s body. Meet-
decades of the twentieth century among the most thorough
ings of shaman and spirits at séances without possession are
are M. A. Czaplicka’s Aboriginal Siberia: A Study in Social
Anthropology
(Oxford, 1914) and G. K. Nioradze’s Der Scha-
also known in western Siberia and Inner Asia. Among the
manismus bei den sibirischen Völkern (Stuttgart, 1925). Uno
Minusinsk Tatars, for example, the shaman’s assistant sprin-
Harva’s work Die religiösen Vorstellungen der altaischen Völk-
kles water around for the spirits to drink, so that they will
ern, “Folklore Fellows Communications,” no. 125 (Helsinki,
not come too close to the shaman.
1938), first published in Finnish in 1933, contains both a
If the main idea of the séance is soul flight, or the sha-
survey of shamanism and a systematic account of the main
man’s journey to the otherworld, the manifestation of the
religious features of the peoples of Siberia and Inner Asia.
spirits is not as dramatic as at séances of the possession type.
The section on Inner Asian shamanism in the extensive work
Typical séances in the western and northern parts of Sibe-
Der Ursprung der Gottesidee, 12 vols. (Münster, 1912–1955),
by Wilhelm Schmidt is interesting because of the author’s
ria—among the Samoyeds and the Ob-Ugrians, for exam-
thorough familiarity with the sources.
ple—are those at which the shaman is imagined as traveling
to the otherworld with his spirit helpers. The emphasis is not
Later general works dealing with the fundamental idea behind
on role-changing and talking to the spirits but on the de-
shamanism include A˚ke Ohlmarks’s Studien zum Problem des
scription of the shaman’s journey. At this type of séance the
Schamanismus (Lund, 1939), Hans Findeisen’s Schamanen-
tum dargestellt am Beispiel der Besessenheitspriester nordeura-

shaman’s trance usually deepens steadily and ends with loss
siatischer Völker (Stuttgart, 1957), Matthias Hermanns’s
of consciousness. At possession-type and ventriloquist sé-
Schamanen, Pseudoschamanen, Erlöser und Heilbringer, 3 vols.
ances the shaman often calls his spirits again after his return,
(Wiesbaden, 1970), and Mircea Eliade’s Shamanism: Archaic
by singing and drumming. In other words, the depth of the
Techniques of Ecstasy, rev. & enl. ed. (New York, 1964). This
trance moves in waves. Since concentration on the spirit
last work, which first appeared in French as Le chamanisme
world leads to a change in consciousness and focusing his at-
et les techniques archaïques de l’extase (Paris, 1951), examines
tention on the audience brings the shaman back to his wak-
shamanistic phenomena in different parts of the world and
ing state, the depth of shamanic ecstasy depends upon the
is regarded as a classic in its field.
extent to which he must allow for the audience’s wishes dur-
Material publications and studies on the shamanism of different
ing the séance, and thus ultimately on the relationship be-
peoples and ethnic groups have appeared individually and in
tween the shaman and his supporters.
certain scientific series. One of the most important is The
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SHAMANISM: NORTH AMERICAN SHAMANISM
8287
Jesup North Pacific Expedition, edited by Franz Boas (Leiden
manism; Ake Hultkrantz’s “A Definition of Shamanism,”
and New York, 1900–1930), in which the following works
Temenos 9 (1973): 25–37; Lauri Honko’s “Role-Taking of
give a good account of shamanism in northeastern Siberia:
the Shaman,” Temenos 4 (1969): 26–55, on the shaman’s rite
Waldemar Bogoraz’s The Chukchee, vol. 7 (1904–1909);
technique; and László Vajda’s “Zur phaseologischen Stellung
Waldemar Jochelson’s The Koryak, vol. 6 (1905–1908); and
des Schamanismus,” Ural-Altaische Jahrbucher 31 (1959):
the latter’s The Yukaghir and the Yukaghirized Tungus, vol.
456–485, examining the history of the development of sha-
9 (1926). The results of Russian and Soviet researchers’ field
manism. Special aspects of shamanism have also been studied
trips to the Altai and to western and central Siberia have been
by Gisela Bleibtrau-Ehrenberg in “Homosexualität und
given considerable coverage in the journal Sbornik Muzeia
Transvestition im Schamanismus,” Anthropos 65 (1970):
antropologii i etnografii (Leningrad, 1900–).
189–228; and by H. Nachtigall in “Die Kulturhistorische
Wurzel der Schamanen-skelettierung,” Zeitschrift für Eth-
The work Chernaia vera, ili Shamanstvo u mongolov (Saint Peters-
nologie 77 (1952): 188–197. Two articles disproving the Pali
burg, 1891) by Dorzhi Banzarov on Mongolian shamanism
or Sanskrit origins of the word shaman are Julius Németh’s
is an extensive late-nineteenth-century monograph. Informa-
“Über den Ursprung des Wortes Sˇaman und einige
tion on shamanism in the Altaic region is covered in A. V.
Bemerkungen zur türkisch-mongolischen Lautgeschichte,”
Anokhin’s Materialy po shamanstvu u altaitsev (Leningrad,
Keleti Szemle (Budapest) 14 (1913–1914), and Berthold
1924). One of the best sources on the Ob-Ugrian peoples is
Laufer’s “Origin of the Word Shaman,” American Anthropol-
K. F. Karjalainen’s Jugralaisten uskonto (Porvoo, Finland,
ogist 19 (1917).
1918). Toivo Lehtisalo describes Nentsy or Yurak shaman-
ism in Entwurf einer Mythologie der Jurak-Samojeden, “Mém-
ANNA-LEENA SIIKALA (1987)
oires de la Société Finno-ougrienne,” vol. 53 (Helsinki,
Translated from Finnish by Susan Sinisalo
1924). Some of the most interesting information on Samo-
yed shamanism is provided by A. A. Popov in, for example,
The Nganson: The Material Culture of the Tavgi Samoyeds
(1949), translated by Elaine K. Ristinen (Bloomington, Ind.,
SHAMANISM: NORTH AMERICAN
1966). Evenki shamanism is examined by A. F. Anisimov in
SHAMANISM
Religiia evenkov v istoriko-geneticheskom izuchenii i problemy
proiskhozhdeniia pervobytnykh verovanii
(Moscow, 1958) and
In the general literature on native North Americans, every
by S. M. Shirokogoroff in the extensive Psychomental Com-
sort of priest, healer, ritual specialist, and sorcerer is some-
plex of the Tungus (London, 1935), this latter being one of
where called a shaman. Here the term is synonymous with
the main sources on research into shamanism. Information
some unarticulated notion of “primitive religious specialist.”
on Nanay shamanism is included in P. P. Shimkevich’s
A clearer understanding of shamanism can be discerned from
Materialy dlia izucheniia shamanstva u gol’dov, “Zapiski pria-
those scores of descriptions of Native American religions and
murskogo otdela Russkogo geograficheskogo obshchestva,”
cultures where romantic and primitivist biases are less influ-
vol. 1 (Khabarovsk, 1896), and Ivan A. Lopatin’s The Cult
ential, although the statement of what distinguishes shaman-
of the Dead among the Natives of the Amur Basin, “Central
ism from other phenomena is necessarily complicated be-
Asiatic Studies,” vol. 6 (The Hague, 1960).
cause of the diversity of shamanism in North America.
Translations of certain extremely interesting articles on shaman-
ism in the U.S.S.R. have been published in Studies in Siberi-
In broad terms, North American shamans are individu-
an Shamanism, edited by Henry N. Michael (Toronto,
als with extraordinary access to spiritual power. Shamans
1963). In Hungary, Vilmos Diószegi and Mihály Hoppál
must not be simply equated with priests, although they may
have edited anthologies containing general theoretical trea-
serve priestly functions. Shamans must not be equated with
tises and a wealth of fresh information produced during field
the recipient of a guardian spirit through vision quest or
research, and these are also among the main publications on
dream, although they frequently find access to spiritual
research into shamanism: Popular Beliefs and Folklore Tradi-
power in vision and dream experiences. Shamans must not
tion in Siberia, edited by Vilmos Diószegi, translated by Ste-
simply be identified with healers, for not all healers are sha-
phen P. Dunn (Budapest, 1968); Shamanism in Siberia, ed-
mans, and further, there are numerous shamanic functions
ited by Vilmos Diószegi and Mihály Hoppál and translated
by S. Simon (Budapest, 1978); and Shamanism in Eurasia,
other than healing.
edited by Mihály Hoppál, “Forum,” no. 5 (Göttingen).
SHAMANIC TRAITS. Given the ambiguity of these broad
criteria of North American shamanism, a fuller presentation
Comparative studies of special aspects of shamanism are The Sha-
man Costume and Its Significance, by Uno Holmberg (later
may take the form of an outline of shamanic traits. This out-
Harva), in “Turun suomalaisen yliopiston julkaisuja,” series
line is a set of features no one of which is, by itself, distinctive
B, vol. 1 (Turku, 1922); my The Rite Technique of the Siberi-
or adequate and no set or single combination of which con-
an Shaman, “Folklore Fellows Communications,” no. 220
stitutes an exclusive definition of shamanism. This approach
(Helsinki, 1978); and E. C. Novik’s Obriad i fol’klor v sibir-
has advantages over the attempt to define North American
skom shama-nizme (Moscow, 1984).
shamanism in terms of a single necessary distinguishing fea-
Significant opinions on the fundamental issues of shamanism have
ture. The outline establishes a framework in which to investi-
been put forward in a number of shorter articles. These in-
gate and study a variety of often complex religious phenome-
clude Dominik Schröder’s “Zur Struktur des Schamanis-
na that may be interrelated around the idea identified by the
mus,” Anthropos 50 (1950), aiming at a definition of sha-
term shamanism.
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North American shamans invariably have extraordinary
son’s body at the place where the object is diagnosed to exist.
spiritual power, that is, the capacity to influence the world
The object, once removed, may or may not be presented in
through spiritual forces. Thus a central element of North
material form to demonstrate to those present the success of
American shamanism is spiritual power—its nature, acquisi-
the treatment. Soul loss, the other common theory of disease,
tion, accession, use, and loss. Native American spiritual con-
is based upon a variety of often complex theories of soul or
cepts are very difficult for the outside observer to compre-
life forms that may depart the body or be drawn or stolen
hend, and herein lies what is both a major obstacle and a
from the body. Entranced magical flights, dramatized spirit
challenge to the study of North American shamanism.
journeys, and prayer recitations are techniques used to re-
trieve and return the soul or life form, thus restoring health
Spiritual powers are usually identified in some way that
and life.
allows them to be humanly conceivable. The spirit forms
vary widely; some are identified with animal (or other natu-
Several other functions are common among North
ral) forms, others with mythological figures and deities. Even
American shamans: weather control; hunting-related func-
the ghost of an ancestor or the soul of some living thing may
tions, such as game divination, game charming, and interces-
be identified as a shaman’s spirit power.
sion with master or mistress of animals; war-related func-
Individuals initially gain access to spiritual powers in a
tions; and general clairvoyant and divinatory practices, such
variety of ways, including inheritance, personal quest, pur-
as diagnosing disease, foretelling the future, and finding lost
chase, election by society or by the spiritual power, and ex-
objects. These functions are usually, but not always, second-
traordinary experience accompanying the suffering of a ma-
ary to healing. While most shamanic actions are clearly un-
levolence. In North America quests for power only rarely
derstood as having a benevolent intent in societal terms, the
involve the use of hallucinogenic drugs; these quests more
shaman is commonly seen within his or her society as poten-
commonly involve fasting and isolation. The quest for sha-
tially, if not actually, malevolent. Shamanic powers may thus
manic power and the quest for a guardian spirit are usually
be used for sorcery, witchcraft, or revenge, either on the sha-
distinguishable, although the techniques may not be. In
man’s initiative or at the behest of another.
some cultures there is continuity between guardian spirit
Shamanic performances occasionally include the use of
practices and shamanism. Initiatory experiences, as well as
esoteric languages through which shamans communicate
the periods of training that usually follow initiations, may be
with spirits. In some cultures shamans employ speakers or
brief or may extend over a considerable period of time. Ini-
assistants who interpret shamanic speeches to those present.
tiatory experiences may include images of skeletonization,
death, and rebirth or images of magical flight with extended
The shaman’s characteristic attraction to the mystical is
revelatory scenarios, but more often they contain none of
often a distinguishing feature of his or her personality. The
these elements.
role of the shaman in society varies widely, from reclusive ec-
centric on the fringes of society to leader and teacher at the
The acquisition of power is commonly accompanied by
very center of the authority and political structure of the soci-
the revelation of a power object or other means by which to
ety. Very commonly a community expresses a sense of am-
objectify, display, and make contact with spiritual power.
bivalence toward its shamans. While they are sought after
There are endless varieties of power objects held by North
and held as highly important individuals, they are feared and
American shamans. They are often referred to by native
avoided because of the powers they control. Few North
terms commonly translated as “medicine.” Power and access
American cultures totally exclude females from shamanic
to power may also take the form of formulas, charms, and
roles, and in some cultures, particularly those found in
songs. Objects of power and special songs are also commonly
northern California, females even predominate; nonetheless,
held by those who are allied with a guardian spirit. The pres-
throughout the region shamans tend to be more frequently
ence of power is demonstrated by its use in any of the many
male.
shamanic functions and, occasionally, in highly dramatized
power performances using legerdemain.
CULTURE AREAS. Shamanism and related beliefs and prac-
tices occur widely throughout North America. The following
Throughout North America, healing is the most central
brief review of culture areas presents some of the major reli-
function and use of spiritual power. The most common and
gious phenomena in North America that may be considered
widespread theories of disease are those of object intrusion
shamanism or closely related to it.
and soul loss. According to the first theory, illness results
when a health-obstructing object enters the body. Object in-
The Inuit (Eskimo) tribes, both along the coast and in
trusion is most commonly believed to be a consequence of
the interior, have figures that most closely resemble Siberian
malevolent intent and is ascribed to sorcery and witchcraft,
shamans, with whom there is a likely historical connection.
but sometimes it is simply an objectification, even personifi-
Inuit shamans, working individually or in groups, use tech-
cation, of an illness. The corresponding treatment usually in-
niques of ecstasy as well as dramatic performances and clair-
volves a technique of sucking, in which the curer, entranced
voyance to serve individuals in need of curing, and they serve
or not, sucks the object from the body using an instrument
the community by controlling weather and procuring game
such as a tube, horn, or his or her mouth directly on the per-
for the hunt. Magical flights and transformations into spirit
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8289
beings are characteristic of Inuit shamans; they are also con-
the shaking of the lodge or the appearance of little flashing
duits through which the spirits speak. Spiritual power is
lights.
demonstrated through combats between shamans and the
The Midewiwin, or Great Medicine Society, is an im-
use of legerdemain in dramatic performances.
portant part of the religious, social, political, and economic
Tribes along the Northwest Coast have complex sha-
systems of central Algonquin and other tribes in the Great
manic practices. The experience of trance is common to both
Lakes region. The initiation practices of the Midewiwin call
initiatory experiences and shamanic performances, although
for the ritual shooting and killing of the initiate, who is then
techniques of ecstasy are not used everywhere in the region
revived as a newly born member of the society. The Midewi-
or by all shamans in any one community. While curing is
win includes graded levels of shamanic figures. The curing
their most important practice, shamans also perform other
performances are complex and involve many in the com-
functions, such as locating food supplies and, in former times
munity.
when wars were fought, weakening the enemy. The great cer-
A variety of shamanic activities are important to the
emonial periods in the winter include shamanic festivals dur-
tribes in the Northeast and Southeast Woodlands areas. The
ing which groups of shamans demonstrate their spiritual
earliest records of some of these activities were set down by
powers. Groups of Coast Salish shamans perform dramatiza-
Jesuit missionaries in the seventeenth century. For some
tions of canoe journeys into dangerous spirit worlds where
tribes in the eastern portion of this area, shamans served the
they struggle to win back the lost soul of a sufferer. Through-
needs of family groups. Costumes and paraphernalia were
out the area sucking techniques are used to remove malevo-
elaborate in the shamanic practices of many of these tribes.
lent objects. Considerable variation occurs within this area.
Shamans tended to specialize according to function: curing,
The shamanic practices of the Northwest Coast exhibit
weather control, and hunting. “Societies of affliction,” that
some continuity with those of the adjacent Basin, Plateau,
is, societies composed of all those treated, exist among the
and northern California areas. Sucking techniques are com-
Seneca.
mon, and there is some use of ecstatic techniques. The cos-
The North American Southwest is culturally and histor-
tume of the shaman is believed to be very powerful, and is
ically complex. Among Pueblo cultures there are both sha-
a vehicle through which the shamanic tradition is passed
mans and priests, although their roles sometimes overlap.
from one person to another.
Shamans may either participate in or remain aloof from the
dramatic ceremonial performances distinctive among the
In the Plateau area male and female shamans using song
Pueblo tribes. The integration, yet distinction, of shamanic
and formula in ritual performances serve a variety of needs.
activities and functions in intensely communal contexts is
Illness is commonly attributed to witchcraft and ghosts, and
important to the understanding of these cultures and their
shamans act to combat these malevolent forces. The prophet-
religions.
ic and millenarian movements that arose in the nineteenth
century, which culminated in the Ghost Dance movement
Navajo religion centers on conceptions of health. Ex-
of 1890, developed from a shamanic religious heritage. Ele-
traordinarily complex curing ceremonials that last as long as
ments of shamanism also influenced the Indian Shaker reli-
eight days and nine nights are performed by individuals who
gion that arose in this area.
learn through apprenticeship the many songs, prayers, and
ritual procedures as well as the accompanying story tradi-
On the Plains and the Prairies, there are many kinds of
tions. Many ceremonies are directed toward associated class-
medicine and holy persons. Fasting and praying in quest of
es of disease etiology.
spiritual power is widespread, and while most tribes in this
region distinguish between the individual recipient of a
Among the Pima of the Southwest, shamans treat many
guardian spirit and the shamanic figures, there is a continuity
kinds of illnesses attributed to spirit forces identified with an-
between them. Evidence of spiritual power can manifest it-
imals and other natural forms. The treatment is private and
self in various forms, such as a public ritual, a tipi or lodge
includes sucking, blowing, and singing.
decoration, special garments, and medicine bundles. Medi-
In recent decades in Oklahoma and other areas where
cine bundles are especially important as the residence of spir-
Native Americans have experienced significant intertribal
itual powers; the bundles are kept by a community and
contact, as well as contact with non-natives, innovative forms
passed from generation to generation.
of shamanism have resulted that are directed toward the
The shamans of these tribes perform many functions,
complexities and dangers associated with an acculturative en-
acting either individually or in groups and societies. Besides
vironment.
curing, they were at one time important for success in war,
The development and widespread practice of the peyote
and during the hunt they charmed and called game. Their
religion, legally organized in the twentieth century as the Na-
powers of clairvoyance and prophecy are still widely exer-
tive American Church, are rooted in an older shamanic tradi-
cised in various forms of spirit lodges or the Shaking Tent
tion. This religious movement commonly serves some of the
ceremonies. In these ceremonies, the shaman enters a lodge
same needs as does shamanism; its techniques and practices
and reads the messages communicated by the spirits through
are often similar to those of shamanism.
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SHAMANISM: SOUTH AMERICAN SHAMANISM
This brief survey is perhaps adequate only in suggesting
SHAMANISM: SOUTH AMERICAN SHAMANISM
the extent, complexity, and importance of shamanism
In particulars of cosmology, ritual, and paraphernalia, sha-
among tribal peoples throughout North America. In many
manism in South America has obviously been shaped by, and
respects the study of shamanism in North America is unde-
has adapted to, local environments and local historical
veloped. The publication of Mircea Eliade’s Shamanism: Ar-
and cultural processes. Nevertheless, in its mental universe
chaic Techniques of Ecstasy (1951; Eng. ed., New York, 1964)
and its dialectics and techniques of the sacred, South Ameri-
widely expanded the interest in the study of shamanism as
can shamanism exhibits similarities not only within the sub-
a worldwide religious phenomenon but has had relatively lit-
continent but to shamanism in North America, the Arctic,
tle impact on the study of North American shamanism. Con-
and Siberia, indicating historical relationships that must date
versely, the consideration of the North American religious
back to the early peopling of the Americas. This suggests that
practices we have called “shamanism” has had little impact
the basic ideology of shamanism may be sufficiently funda-
on the broader study of shamanism. North American sha-
mental to the human condition to have favored its survival
manism therefore raises many important issues that consti-
over enormous distances in time, space, environment, and
tute an enriching challenge to the study of the phenomenon
social context.
worldwide.
GENERAL MOTIFS OF ECSTASY. Shamanism and religion
among the Selk’nam (Ona), Yámana (Yaghan), and Halakw-
SEE ALSO Ghost Dance; North American Indian Religions,
alip (Alacaluf) of the Tierra del Fuego, on the southernmost
article on New Religious Movements; North American In-
edge of South America—all presumably descended from the
dians, article on Indians of the Plains.
earliest migrants to the subcontinent—appear to represent
survivals of archaic ideological systems. But many of the
B
same archaic traits also appear—sometimes attenuated or
IBLIOGRAPHY
overlaid with elaborations resulting from outside influences
The principal definitional discussions of shamanism that take
or internal dynamics, often little modified from their ances-
North America into consideration are A˚ke Hultkrantz’s
tral forms—across the whole South American continent, not
“Spirit Lodge, a North American Shamanistic Séance,” in
excluding the high culture areas of the Andes. These com-
Studies in Shamanism, edited by Carl-Martin Edsman
mon traits include familiar motifs of Siberian and Inuit (Es-
(Stockholm, 1962), pp. 32–68, and Hultkrantz’s “A Defini-
tion of Shamanism,” Temenos 9 (1973): 25–37. In the later
kimo) shamanism: mystic vocation; initiatory sickness; skele-
article “techniques of ecstasy” is put forward as a necessary
tonization, dismemberment, and contemplation by the
criterion, thus leading to the conclusion that most North
shaman of his or her own bones; recruitment of supernatural
American practices are pseudoshamanism, since ecstasy is not
helpers; rock crystals as manifestations of helping spirits;
widespread. Kenneth M. Stewart’s “Spirit Possession in Na-
marriage to spirit wives, or, in the case of female shamans,
tive America,” Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 2 (1946):
spirit husbands; “rape” of the soul; sickness through soul loss
323–339, attempts to show that ecstatic and other entranced
or intrusion of illness projectiles into the body by magical
states, which the author loosely terms “possession,” existed
means, and, conversely, restoration of health, in the first case
widely throughout North America, but close examination of
through retrieval of the patient’s strayed or abducted soul by
his data reveals that ecstasy in shamanism occurs rarely be-
the shaman, and in the second by sucking out the disease-
yond the sub-Arctic and the Northwest Coast.
causing foreign object; stratified upperworld and underworld
Surprisingly few widely comparative studies of shamanism exist.
through whose levels the shaman travels in celestial flight or
Leonard L. Leh’s “The Shaman in Aboriginal North Ameri-
in descent into the chthonic regions; world trees as sky sup-
can Society,” University of Colorado Studies 21 (1934): 199–
ports with both phallic and uterine associations; great ances-
263, is a relatively extensive survey by geographic area. Wil-
tral First Shamans and culture heroes as shaman/
lard Z. Park’s study Shamanism in Western North America
transformers; and divination of future events, weather, or fa-
(1938; reprint, New York, 1975) compares Paviotso (North-
vorable hunting conditions.
ern Paiute) shamanism with shamanic practices throughout
western North America.
Of first importance everywhere is the ecstatic trance,
mainly attained through the use of botanical hallucinogens,
The great resource for the study of North American shamanism
during which the shaman projects his or her soul into other-
is the ethnographic record. Although uneven in most re-
worlds, and returns with word of the departed, the wishes
spects, it often includes extensive material on shamanism.
of the greater powers, and enhanced knowledge and confir-
Exemplary studies that focus on shamanic practices of a sin-
mation of the sacred geography and cosmology by which the
gle tribe are Park’s work on the Paviotso; Piman Shamanism
community orders its social and supernatural environment.
and Staying Sickness (Tucson, 1974) by Donald M. Bahr and
This knowledge makes the shaman indispensable to the
others; the section on shamanism in Franz Boas’s Religion of
Kuakiutl Indians
, vol. 2, Translations (New York, 1930); and
maintenance of the social and metaphysical equilibrium, and
David E. Jones’s Sanapia, Comanche Medicine Woman (New
accounts for the shaman’s chieflike role in societies that oth-
York, 1972).
erwise lack chieftainship. As demonstrated by Johannes Wil-
bert’s work among the Warao, a fishing people of the Orino-
SAM D. GILL (1987)
co Delta, even among preagricultural peoples and incipient
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8291
horticulturalists, shamanic cosmologies and cosmic models
day. Thus, the Tacana of eastern Bolivia told the German
constructed on the common foundations of a pan-Indian, ar-
ethnologist Karin Hissink in 1952 that their yanaconas (sha-
chaic shamanistic worldview can reach extraordinary heights
mans) regularly transform themselves into their jaguar alter
of complexity. Wilbert’s and other recent studies (e.g., Swiss
egos through such techniques as somersaulting or taking hal-
ethnologist Gerhard Baer’s work among the Matsigenka of
lucinogenic snuff. Theodor Koch-Grünberg, who traveled
eastern Peru) confirm the shaman’s central role across the
widely among the Indians of northern Brazil and Venezuela
whole spectrum of indigenous life, from religion, ritual, and
(1911–1913) reported that all the shamans he met or heard
curing to social organization and politics.
of identified themselves with the jaguar. All had techniques
SPECIFIC FEATURES. Notwithstanding shared motifs in pan-
of jaguar transformation, including the donning of jaguar
South American shamanism that seem to be survivals of a
pelts, claws or teeth as well as intoxication with psychoactive
common archaic substratum, shamanism in the subconti-
plants. Maquiritaré (Yecuana) shamans believed that special-
nent exhibits culture-specific tropical New World traits that
ized benches carved in the likeness of their jaguar counter-
are at least as significant.
parts were indispensable to their magic art.
The rattle. Among these distinctive features is the re-
The conceptional identification of shaman and jaguar
placement of the drum by the gourd rattle as the indispens-
is confirmed by linguistics. Koch-Grünberg found all Betoi-
able percussion instrument in the shamanic arts over most
speaking groups using the same or closely related words for
of South America. Even where the shaman’s drum persists,
“shaman” and “jaguar.” The Dätuana, for example, call the
as among the Mapuche, or Araucanians, of Argentina and
shaman djaika and the jaguar dzaja. Even though the ap-
Chile, it is generally used in combination with the rattle. The
proximately thirty tribes belonging to theTucanoan language
symbolism and functions of the rattle are complex and var-
family are separated into a western division and an eastern
ied. But, in general the rattle’s functions parallel the func-
division, with little contact between the two branches, all
tions of the shamanic drum, including the connection with
identify shamans with jaguars and most use the same or a
the world tree as axis mundi. Indeed, even more obviously
closely related term for both. Ute Bödiger reported in 1965
than the iconography of the Siberian shaman’s drum, the
that the common term for shaman and jaguar among the
hollow gourd represents the cosmos; the staff that pierces it
Siona was yái and among the Coreguaje, dyái. Since Siona
and serves as handle symbolizes the world tree as cosmic
shamans are themselves jaguars in human form, no jaguar
pathway. The small stones or seeds inside the rattle, in turn,
ever attacks them; all they have to do to protect themselves
are ancestral souls and spirits whom the shaman activates
when encountering a jaguar is call out, “My name is Yái!”
when he shakes the instrument. The sound of the rattle, in
The Huitoto, whose language is identified by linguists as in-
combination with the chants the shaman has been taught by
dependent and whose culture is intermediate between Paleo-
the spirits, enables the shaman to concentrate his or her pow-
Indian hunters and Neo-Indian tropical forest cultivators,
ers for the flight or descent to otherworlds. Despite the ex-
call their shamans ikodyai, a term derived from two Tu-
traordinary prominence and complex ideology of this instru-
canoan words, dyái (“jaguar”) and iko (“soul”). Irving Gold-
ment in South and Central American shamanism, the
man (1963) reports that the Tucanoan Cubeo differentiate
literature on the subject is poor, with Wilbert’s study of the
between two kinds of shaman, the pariékokü, meaning “man
feathered hebumatarao, the “spirit rattle” of the Warao sha-
of power,” and the yaví, meaning “jaguar.” The latter has
man (1973), the outstanding exception.
greater prestige: every yaví is a pariékokü, but not every pa-
The jaguar. Another trait specific to the American trop-
riékokü is a yaví.
ics is qualitative identification between the shaman and the
Bird symbolism. Several other animal species also play
jaguar (Felis onca). This dominant motif cuts across linguis-
a more or less important symbolic role in shamanism, along-
tic, geographical, and cultural boundaries on the subconti-
side the great jungle cat. Outstanding among these is the
nent. In pre-Columbian times it extended into the high cul-
harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) and its close relatives. Its role
tures of Mexico. Still another leitmotif is the widespread use
as shaman’s alter ego was first examined in detail in 1962 by
of one or more potent psychoactive plants as a “technique
the German ethnologist Otto Zerries; in 1977 his student
of ecstasy,” not only by shamans but, in specified ritual con-
Hildegard Matthäi followed with a study of the general role
texts, a wider adult community under the shaman’s direc-
of raptors among extra-Andean South American Indians,
tion. Jaguar transformation and the use of plant hallucino-
with particular attention to the harpy eagle and the king vul-
gens, in turn, are ideologically and experientially linked.
ture, Sarcoramphus papa. The ecology of these high-flying,
In the belief systems of many South American Indians,
carrion-eating birds clearly fits them especially well for a sha-
shamans, alone among their fellows, can transform them-
manlike role as mediators between the celestial and chthonic
selves at will into jaguars, whose inherent qualities they share;
spheres. The brilliant plumage of parrots, macaws, and other
conversely, jaguars may not actually be animals but trans-
spectacular tropical forest birds is widely used for feather
formed shamans, or soul bearers of deceased shamans.
crowns and wands or prayer sticks, and here the symbolism
Hence, killing a jaguar is fraught with supernatural risk. Re-
extends beyond that of shamanic flight to that of “light.”
ported by early travelers, these beliefs persist to the present
Thus, Gerhard Baer (1978) reports that the Matsigenka sha-
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SHAMANISM: SOUTH AMERICAN SHAMANISM
man’s feather headdress “gives light and brightness” during
wise, modify the metaphysical experience. The ethnobotanist
the nocturnal séance, just as the feather crowns of the person-
Richard Evans Schultes and his collaborators have identified
ified sun, moon, star beings, and spirits do. Light, which the
up to two hundred different plant hallucinogens used now
shaman can also activate with hallucinogens and chants, in
or in the past by American Indians, the greater part in South
turn, is potentiated communication between the human and
America. Of special interest are several kinds of potent
extrahuman spheres. The Matsigenka shaman numbers
snuffs, including those based on the seeds of Anadenanthera
many birds among his or her spirit helpers, and one, the
peregrina and its sister species A. colubrina, and on the inner
swallow-tailed kite, Elanoides forficatus—or, more correctly,
bark of trees of the genus Virola, with admixtures of other
its female spirit (i Dnato, “its Mother”)—is the most impor-
plant materials. The former are legumes related to the acacias
tant tutelary. This bird is nown as i Dvanki, meaning “his
and mimosas; the latter, like nutmeg, a popular spice of Old
wing.” On the other side of the subcontinent the Venezuelan
World origin, are related to the Myristicaceae. Snuffs made
Warao credit the same bird with having established bahana
from A. peregrina were being used in the shamanistic rituals
shamanism, one of the major orders of shamanism whose
of Arawakan Indians when Columbus first landed in the An-
main concern is human reproduction and its attendant bio-
tilles; he and his men mistakenly identified the potent pow-
logical, psychological, and social concerns (Wilbert, 1986).
der as tobacco. Anadenanthera colubrina was, and is still, em-
Still, it is the jaguar that predominates in the imagery
ployed by Andean Indians as the ritual intoxicant known as
of South American shamanism, perhaps because like the sha-
huilca. Huilca is presumably the snuff used by the ancient
man, and unlike most other species, it seems not to be con-
preagricultural inhabitants of coastal Peru, where Junius Bird
fined by its nature to one cosmic realm or one ecological
excavated the oldest snuffing paraphernalia thus far known
niche. It is nocturnal and inhabits caves, behaviors that asso-
from South America—a whalebone snuff tablet and bird-
ciate it with the underworld. It hunts principally on land but
bone snuffing tube dating from the second millennium BCE.
is so well adapted to water and so expert a swimmer in pur-
Such Indian populations as the several subgroups of the
suit of fish and aquatic game that many Indian mythologies
Yanoamö of the upper Orinoco, until recently one of the last
tell of powerful “water jaguars” that spend their lives in the
pure hunting and gathering societies in South America, em-
watery underworld to which only shamans have access. Fi-
ploy intoxicating snuffs derived mainly from scrapings of the
nally, in the manner of the shaman ascending the tree as met-
inner bark of Virola, whose effects on the central nervous sys-
aphorical world axis, the jaguar is an agile climber of the
tem are activated by the addition of certain other plant mate-
great forest trees. Among some tribes it also has powerful,
rials. Such sophisticated knowledge of the properties of
dualistic sexual associations. Like its human counterpart, the
plants suggests long experimentation.
jaguar is thus a mediator par excellence. The most detailed
studies of the shaman-jaguar complex are those of the Co-
Archaeological and iconographic evidence has also es-
lombian anthropologist Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff among
tablished a time depth of more than three thousand years for
the Tucanoan Desána of the Vaupés in the northwest Ama-
the ritual use and deification of yet another important South
zon of Colombia. His 1975 work, The Shaman and the Jag-
American plant hallucinogen that remains in use to this day,
uar, presents the jaguar-shaman transformation complex and
the mescaline-containing San Pedro cactus, Trichocereus pa-
its interrelationship with hallucinogenic plants in a specific
chanoi (Sharon, 1978). Now widely used by a class of mestizo
social and ideological context.
folk healers whose practice includes symbols and techniques
inherited from traditional indigenous shamanism, San Pedro
Plant hallucinogens. Reichel-Dolmatoff found that
is depicted on ancient Peruvian pottery and painted textiles
among the Desána “practically all shamanistic attitudes and
of the Chavin culture, significantly in association with the
practices” are based on the ecstatic trance induced by power-
jaguar, from the late second millennium BCE. Somewhat later
ful plant hallucinogens, notably yagé, an infusion of the Ban-
the ceramic sculptors of the brilliant Nazca culture of the
isteriopsis caapi vine. The same drink is called ayahuasca by
early first millennium CE personified San Pedro as a super-
Quechua-speakers in the Andes. Especially in the Peruvian
natural being with the columnar cactus projecting, hornlike,
Amazon, ayahuasca is often used in conjunction with one or
from his forehead and from his shoulders. Like other halluci-
more species of Brugmansia (an arboreal form of the well-
nogens of Amazonia, the San Pedro beverage is used in con-
known shrublike daturas traditionally used by Indians in
junction with tobacco juice, which is usually administered
Mexico and, in North America, by native peoples in Califor-
through the nostrils. Indeed, tobacco (Nicotiana, especially
nia, Nevada, Virginia, and the Southwest), as well as with
N. rustica and N. tabacum, both native to South America)
thickened tobacco juice. The Matsigenka shaman may use
plays an important role in ritual intoxication, most often in
either or all in curing rites. Like Banisteriopsis, the different
conjunction with another psychoactive species that is consid-
species of Brugmansia have their spirit “Mothers,” whose
ered of first importance to the ecstatic experience. Less com-
“sons” are recruited by the shaman as helpers (Baer, 1978).
monly tobacco is the consciousness-transforming plant of
Along with yagé, South American Indians have discov-
choice. A prime example is the tobacco shamanism of the
ered the psychoactive properties of many other species that
Venezuelan Warao, a phenomenon of which Wilbert (1972,
are employed alone or as admixtures to heighten or, other-
1975, 1987) is the outstanding student. But even where to-
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SHAMANISM: SOUTH AMERICAN SHAMANISM
8293
bacco is not the primary activator of the ecstatic shamanic
Baer, Gerhard, and Wayne W. Snell. “An Ayahuasca Ceremony
trance, it is conceptually linked to the shaman. Thus, the
among the Matsigenka (Eastern Peru).” Zeitschrift für Eth-
Matsigenka term for tobacco is seri, and that for the shaman
nologie 99 (1974): 63–80.
seripigari (Baer, 1976).
Bartholomé, Miguel Alberto. “Shamanism among the Avá-
Chiripá.” In Spirits, Shamans, and Stars: Perspectives from
Hallucinogens and the shamanic vision quest. To the
South America, edited by David L. Browman and Ronald A.
question why the Indians of South America, and also those
Schwarz, pp. 95–148. New York, 1979.
to the north, should have developed such an extraordinary
Bödiger, Ute. Die Religion der Tukano im nordwestlichen Amazo-
interest in botanical hallucinogens, the hypothesis of anthro-
nas. Kölner Ethnologische Mitteilungen, no. 3. Cologne,
pologist Weston La Barre provides an elegant answer: their
1965.
ancestors, as carriers of an archaic Asiatic shamanistic tradi-
Dobritzhofer, Martin. An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian
tion that valued the ecstatic trance experience, arrived in the
People of Paraguay (1784). 3 vols. Translated by Sara Cole-
New World predisposed toward exploration of the environ-
ridge from the Latin. London, 1822.
ment for plants capable of triggering that experience. Ameri-
Furst, Peter T. Hallucinogens and Culture. San Francisco, 1976.
can Indian religions, La Barre proposed in 1970, including
Goldman, Irving. The Cubeo: Indians of the Northwest Amazon. Il-
those of the great pre-Columbian civilizations of South and
linois Studies in Anthropology, no. 2. Urbana, Ill., 1963.
Mesoamerica, are or were essentially shamanistic, and so may
Hissink, Karin, and Albert Hahn. Die Tacana: Ergebnisse der Fro-
be seen as extensions into the New World of Mesolithic and
benius-Expedition nach Bolivien 1952 bis 1954, vol. 1, Erzä-
even Paleolithic antecedents in northeastern Asia. Shaman-
hlungsgut. Stuttgart, 1961.
ism values the ecstatic vision quest.
Koch-Grünberg, Theodor. Vom Roroima zum Orinoco, vol. 3,
In some areas of North America the preferred tech-
Ethnographie. Stuttgart, 1923.
niques for the vision quest apparently were sensory depriva-
La Barre, Weston. “Old and New World Narcotics: A Statistical
tion, lonely vigil, self-torture, and other nonchemical “tech-
Question and an Ethnological Reply.” Economic Botany 24
niques of ecstasy.” In others, especially the tropics, shamans
(1970): 73–80.
must have searched their new environments from the start
Matthäi, Hildegard. Die Rolle der Greifvögel, insbesondere der Har-
not only for potentially therapeutic flora but for species capa-
pyee und des Königsgeiers, bei ausserandinen Indianern Sü-
ble of altering consciousness, and, as among the Colombian
damerikas. Hohenschäftlarn, Germany, 1978.
Desána, at least temporarily and in strictly structured ritual
Métraux, Alfred. Religions et magies indiennes d’Amérique du Sud.
settings, conferring even upon ordinary persons capabilities
Paris, 1967.
otherwise reserved for the religious specialist. Universally the
Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo. The Shaman and the Jaguar: A Study
special power of these plants was, and is, attributed not to
of Narcotic Drugs among the Indians of Colombia. Philadel-
chemicals but to the divine nature of the species, that is, to
phia, 1975.
the male or female spirit believed to inhabit the individual
Schultes, Richard Evans. “An Overview of Hallucinogens in the
plant. In a sense the communal use of sacred psychoactive
Western Hemisphere.” In Flesh of the Gods: The Ritual Use
plants represents, like the North American vision quest, a
of Hallucinogens, edited by Peter T. Furst, pp. 3–54. New
“democratization” of the shamanic experience, akin to the
York, 1972.
occasional communal ritual consumption by Siberian natives
Schultes, Richard Evans, and Albert Hofmann. The Botany and
of the fly agaric mushroom, Amanita muscaria, under the
Chemistry of Hallucinogens. Springfield, Ill., 1973.
leadership of the shaman. However, even where a relatively
Sharon, Douglas. Wizard of the Four Winds: A Shaman’s Story.
high proportion of adult males lays claim to some shamanic
New York, 1978.
powers, or where, as among the Desána or Yanoama, most
Wilbert, Johannes. “Tobacco and Shamanistic Ecstasy among the
men ritually partake of the ritual hallucinogen, those individ-
Warao Indians of Venezuela.” In Flesh of the Gods: The Ritual
uals who have been mystically recruited as religious special-
Use of Hallucinogens, edited by Peter T. Furst, pp. 55–83.
ists and “technicians of the sacred”—the true shamans—
New York, 1972.
remain uniquely the indispensable mediators between the
Wilbert, Johannes. “The Calabash of the Ruffled Feathers.” Art-
world of humans and the greater powers of the natural and
scanada 30 (1973–1974): 90–93.
supernatural environment and of the larger universe.
Wilbert, Johannes. “Magico-Religious Use of Tobacco among
South American Indians.” In Cannabis and Culture, edited
SEE ALSO Jaguars; Tobacco.
by Vera D. Rubin, pp. 439–461. The Hague, 1975.
Wilbert, Johannes. “The House of the Swallow-Tailed Kite:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Warao Myth and the Art of Thinking in Images.” In Animal
Baer, Gerhard. “A Particular Aspect of Matsigenka Shamanism
Myths and Metaphors in South America, edited by Gary
(Eastern Peru): Male-Female Ambivalence.” In Actas del
Urton, pp. 145–182. Salt Lake City, 1986.
XLI Congreso Internacional de Americanistas, vol. 3,
Wilbert, Johannes.Tobacco and Shamanism in South America. New
pp. 114–121. Mexico City, 1976.
Haven, Conn., 1987.
Baer, Gerhard. “Religion y Chamanismo de los Matsigenka (Este
Wilbert, Johannes. “El Significado Cultural del Uso de Tobaco en
Peruano).” Amazonia Peruana (Lima) 2 (1978): 101–138.
Sudamèrica.” Acta Americana 3(2) (1997): 43–57.
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SHAMANISM: NEOSHAMANISM
Zerries, Otto. “Die Vorstellung zum zweiten Ich und die Rolle der
historian of religions Mircea Eliade (1907–1986) that in the
Harpye in der Kultur der Naturvölker Südamerikas.” An-
diverse magico-religious practices of traditional cultures
thropos 57 (1962): 889–914
there was some common core, which scholars called shaman-
P
ism. Harner devised methods for peeling away cultural gar-
ETER T. FURST (1987 AND 2005)
ments from these various “techniques of ecstasy” to provide
safe and speedy ways for urban dwellers to acquire the experi-
ences that could be called “shamanic,” and to achieve altered
SHAMANISM: NEOSHAMANISM
states of consciousness in which one could enter alternative
Neoshamanism (also known as urban shamanism) denotes
realities and interact with the spiritual beings encountered
a set of notions and techniques borrowed from traditional
there. The main element of these techniques was the drum
peoples and adapted to the life of contemporary urban dwell-
journey (Harner, 1980; Bowie, 2000).
ers. The essence of these techniques lies in attaining a shift
DRUM JOURNEY. A drum journey often serves as a first occa-
of consciousness in which practitioners experience being
sion for spiritual seekers to encounter neoshamanism and to
transported to other worlds—to “non-ordinary reality”—
get a taste of what it has to offer. To the monotonous beat
where they interact with spiritual beings, enlisting their help
of the drum, participants are invited to experience what in
to solve problems of this world. Neoshamanism became a
the literature on shamanism is known as “a magic flight of
part of urban alternative spirituality during the flower power
and the human potential movements of the 1960s and
the soul,” a journey to non-ordinary reality. Drum journeys
1970s. This was a period marked by heightened environ-
are performed at courses or lectures, and at New Age fairs,
mental awareness, interest in non-Western religions, and at-
festivals, cafes, and retreat centers. By way of introduction,
tempts to find alternative ways to organize spirituality and
the aspirants are given instructions as to how to perform their
community that were modeled on an idealized image of “tra-
journey, while at the same time they are offered a generalized
ditional peoples.”
shamanic worldview. The world of “traditional peoples,” it
is usually said on these occasions, consists of the lower world,
One basic idea of the counterculture of the 1960s was
where one meets power animals; the upper world, where one
that alternative realities could be explored in altered states of
meets spiritual teachers, and the middle world, which is the
consciousness, achieved through mind-altering drugs. When
ordinary world in its non-ordinary aspect. To reach the lower
the dangers of this approach became evident, and when
world, the students are asked to imagine a hole in the ground
drugs were delegitimized in Europe and North America,
and, to the sound of drumming, enter it, journey through
neoshamanism offered drug-free ways of altering conscious-
the tunnel that follows, come out in the lower world, and
ness through monotonous percussion (such as that of a drum
interact with the beings they encounter, engaging with them
or rattle), through dancing and chanting, and through the
through all their senses. Some of these beings become their
practice of varieties of the Native American vision quest,
allies or spirit helpers, also known as power animals. When
such as sitting out in the woods without food, or exposure
the drumming ends and people wake up from the trance-like
to intense heat, as in a sweat lodge.
state they have been in, they are expected to write about their
These techniques were brought to Western urban spiri-
experience, then share it with the teacher and the rest of the
tual seekers through descriptions by travelers and anthropol-
group.
ogists, as well as through lectures and courses by teachers
Prior to the journey, people are given instructions as to
who claimed to be native or partly native—or to have done
which spirit helpers they are supposed to meet. These are
their apprenticeship with native shamans or medicine men.
wild animals that in Western popular culture are associated
The anthropologist and writer Carlos Castaneda, who
with the desirable “natural” qualities of freedom, body har-
claimed to have done field research with a Yaqui medicine
mony, and physical prowess—such as lions, tigers, pumas,
man called Don Juan, described in his books his experiences
eagles, and dolphins, but not such animals as hens, cows, hy-
of shamanic apprenticeship involving explorations of non-
enas, or skunks. There is a high degree of uniformity in the
ordinary reality under the effect of native mind-altering
power animals that people meet, even though spirit helpers
plants. Castaneda had a strong impact on the broad audience
are supposed to be individual, and even though some people
of spiritual seekers by introducing into the popular imagina-
meet idiosyncratic creatures that resemble the aliens in mov-
tion an archetype of “native shaman,” a figure of power and
ies or fantasy literature, or even abstract shapes, such as “egg-
wisdom.
shaped pyramids.” The same is true for the spiritual teachers
Another founding father of neoshamanism was the
of the upper world, which may include brave Indian chiefs
American anthropologist Michael Harner. Harner studied
and warriors, wise medicine women, saints and angels,
shamanic practices in the Americas and Northern Europe (in
prophets and spiritual masters, Asa gods (for those engaged
Saamiland), and he received shamanic training among the Ji-
with Scandinavian mythology), or even Christ and Buddha.
varo people of Ecuador, where, under the influence of
In the words of one neoshamanic teacher, “spirits are chunks
“teaching plants,” he underwent dramatic experiences of al-
of universal energy presented to us in a form that we can un-
ternative reality. Harner brought to fruition the idea of the
derstand and accept.” The repository of images that people
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encounter on drum journeys is their shared cultural imagina-
the gods and other figures of ancient Nordic cosmology. This
tion (Lindquist, 1997, p. 75–77).
form of seidr, practiced extensively by North American and
British neo-heathens, can be used for divination; while the
This drum journey can be used to meet and address
Voelva is in a trance, people approach the high seat and ask
such spiritual beings, in whatever form, and to seek their an-
questions, which the Voelva answers, consulting whatever
swers to various questions, from the concrete and practical
spirits she or he confronts, or aided by other signs encoun-
to the abstract and existential, and to ask their help in accom-
tered in the otherworld (Blain, 2002; Lindquist, 1997).
plishing various tasks, such as quitting smoking, finding a
job, or dealing with deep psychological traumas, diseases,
The trance state in seidr can also be attained by drum-
and even death and dying. Physical healing modeled on tra-
ming and chanting performed by the group standing around
ditional methods of removing foreign intrusions and retriev-
the platform. The rhythmic songs used on these occasions
ing a lost or stolen soul are also taught at courses and per-
are special galdrar. The drummers are understood to send to
formed for urban clients by individuals who practice
the Voelva their “energies,” their special intensities or inten-
shamanic techniques for physical and psychological healing.
tionalities, which the Voelva accumulates as if he or she were
Other forms of therapy devised by Harner on the basis of
a sort of battery cell. These energies are then directed toward
drum journeys include power animal retrieval, wherein a
communal aims, spelled out at the outset of the ritual and
healer makes a journey to meet a power animal on behalf of
dictated by shared normative social morality. The aims
another person; and shamanic counseling, where a client nar-
might include global or local environmental problems, such
rates his or her journey as it unfolds, then analyzes the narra-
as bringing health and strength to the earth and saving rivers,
tive with the counselor in terms of the client’s initial ques-
seas, forests, and wild animals. Such local tasks as stopping
tions. This latter technique closely resembles other types of
the cutting down of woods for residential or road construc-
psychotherapy that are based on mental imagery. Such thera-
tion or healing a local population from disease, may also be
py is used, for example, in transpersonal psychology and psy-
set. Alternatively, the goal may be to stop a war, a famine,
chosynthesis (Assagioli, 1965), in Neuro-Linguistic Pro-
or a natural calamity in a faraway country, or to offer healing
gramming, in the religious healing of Christian charismatic
to a specific individual who may or may not be present
groups (Csordas, 1997), and in the guided meditation em-
among the group. In addition to this kind of “instrumental”
ployed in Western high magic (Luhrmann, 1989; Green-
seidr, the ritual can be performed to receive information on
wood, 2000).
times past or to “see” what a place of historical or archeologi-
cal significance looked like in ancient times.
SEIDR. The seidr ritual is another practice associated with
neoshamanism that took root in North America and north-
Most seidr consist of several runs of the ritual, and sever-
ern Europe. Seidr was developed by people who were accus-
al people are given an opportunity to act as Voelva. All those
tomed to working with consciousness-altering techniques of
present are welcome to try, and all who do try are duly at-
drumming and chanting, and with mental imagery associat-
tended to. As in drum journeys, the ability to journey to
ed with drum journeys, but who were also well acquainted
non-ordinary reality and meet the inhabitants there is con-
with pre-Christian Scandinavian sources, notably the Edda
sidered to be an innate human quality that is available to all.
(a poetic collection of ancient Scandinavian epics) and Ice-
However, people are endowed with varying abilities to “see,”
landic sagas. The Edda describes the outward form of seidr
and to convey what they have “seen” to other participants.
as follows: A sorceress or wise woman, Voelva, is invited to
Individuals gifted in this respect become informal leaders of
farms to deal with failing harvests. Holding a staff, she climbs
the community, performing rituals in what becomes an in-
onto a platform (or, as modern practitioners call it, a “high
ternal tradition, creating new rituals, and inspiring new occa-
seat”) and covers her face with a hood. She falls into trance,
sions for rituals that can reinforce community cohesion and
journeys to the other worlds, meets the spirits, and interacts
the community’s normative morality and values.
with them on behalf of the community in order to answer
Both the drum journey and seidr (as well as other meth-
questions and magically secure the desired goals.
ods of entering non-ordinary reality) are methods of con-
The seidr was adopted by Neopagans and neoshamans
sciously working with the mental imagery that one encoun-
in North America and northern Europe and developed into
ters in altered states. This imagery can be used for divination
several versions of a communal ritual that can be performed
and therapy, but also for creative endeavors in the visual and
for a variety of goals. The ritual always involves the “seiding”
performance arts, and many neoshamanic practitioners are
individual, who acts as Voelva, and a group of fellow practi-
actively engaged in arts and crafts. Indeed, a person often ap-
tioners who play an auxiliary role. The landscapes evoked in
propriates the cultural attitude of neoshamanism when he or
the seidr’s guided meditation (recited by a member of the
she starts to use this imagery as a source of creativity, infor-
group) are based on Scandinavian mythology and on the cos-
mation, and pragmatic action in everyday life. The reality of
mologies of Asatror. In a trance-like state both the partici-
the journeys becomes integrated into the overall reality of an
pants and the Voelva make a magical soul flight to non-
individual and, sometimes, of a community.
ordinary reality, but it is only Voelva who enters its inner-
AIMS, IDEOLOGICAL PREMISES, AND WORLDVIEW. Contro-
most realms. The spiritual beings Voelva meets are chiefly
versy exists among practitioners as to how to regard non-
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ordinary reality: Is it an independently existing ontological
cludes “nature” into the realm of human morality, makes
realm (a position that is extremely important for some practi-
neoshamanism particularly appropriate for spiritual and
tioners), or does it refer to concealed spheres of individual
ideological movements that affirm the sacredness of nature
or group consciousness, the realm of imagination and cre-
while pursuing the empowerment of subaltern groups (e.g.,
ativity, the subconscious? The drum journey is more geared
varieties of feminist spirituality, postcolonial national identi-
to the individualistic practice of interacting with the images
ty construction).
that make up alternative realities. The cosmology and the
Shamanism also serves as a metaphor for alternative,
pantheon of non-ordinary reality do not need to be shared,
nonmainstream modes of creativity, such as those engen-
although they often are shared. For many, non-ordinary real-
dered by female and native artists. More generally, shaman-
ity becomes most real in interaction with fellow practition-
ism is used as a trope for a visionary mode of creativity in
ers—through sharing narratives of journeys, through discov-
which both artist and shaman are seen as tapping the well-
ering other people’s spirits in one’s own non-ordinary
spring of an archaic “mythic imagination” that had previous-
realities, and through sharing the effects of these interactions
ly been suppressed by patriarchal or colonial domination
in real life.
(Orenstein, 1990; Balzer Mandelstam, 1993).
The ritual of seidr, by contrast, is premised on the com-
The democratic ethos of neoshamanism is reiterated in
munity, on shared cosmology, and on the ritual division of
the experience of the non-ordinary that is induced primarily
labor between people who are willing and capable of “seeing”
by drum journeys, but also by seidr. The tacit understanding
and conveying the seen, and others who ask questions and
among practitioners is that every person has shamanic abili-
direct their intentions toward shared goals. Drum journeys
ties, everybody has access to non-ordinary reality, and the ex-
may exist as purely therapeutic, nonembedded practices, an-
periences and narratives of every journeyer are of equal
chored in a broadly shared Western cultural imaginary, yet
worth. Normative neoshamanic literature often repeats the
otherwise independent of a specific place and a more narrow-
premise that “shamanism is not a religion; one does not be-
ly defined communal identity. Seidr, however, can and often
lieve in anything in shamanism, not even that it works.”
does become embedded in the projects of the community.
There are no dogmas in neoshamanism, no priests; every-
Both seidr and drum journey are neoshamanic rituals
body is her or his own priest and everyone is expected to
that were devised by Westerners, although both refer to the
create her or his own cosmology and pantheon through indi-
authentic “other,” distant in space and time. Both have a goal
vidual experiences of the non-ordinary. Thus, neoshaman-
that can be conceived as universally shamanic—to connect
ism, especially in Scandinavia, is defined as anarchistic spiri-
the non-ordinary reality with the social, lived reality of this
tuality, with no rules to adhere to, no authorities to follow.
world, and to engage the inhabitants of non-ordinary reality,
The practice, however, sometimes contradicts these
the spirits, as social beings. Seidr, however, is more suitable
ideological premises, especially within more structured reli-
as a means to reiterate shared values and normative moral
gious communities, such as those found in Neopaganism. As
premises. Seidr is better for enacting “magical activism” that
in every movement, there are charismatic teachers and lead-
is focused on furthering the goals that worldly activists pur-
ers who set the tone and formulate the canons. For example,
sue, notably environmental and peace activism, activities in
the ontological reality of the non-ordinary and the spirits is
which many neoshamans are involved. Magical or shamanic
treated by some devout practitioners as near dogma, while
activism is a supplement, or perhaps a substitute, for other,
others prefer to regard the non-ordinary as the Jungian un-
more conventional kinds of activism, mostly because people
conscious and the spirits as archetypes. This theoretical dis-
perceive the latter as lacking in efficiency, as corrupted, or
cussion, however, is limited to ideologists, who articulate it
as ensnared in bureaucracy. Seidr thus fits better as a sha-
in written and oral discourse, and often act within and near
manic form for more active political and social engagement,
academic circles. Other practitioners are not concerned with
while drum journeys are more suitable as a means of self-
this ontological discussion and continue to engage in neosha-
realization and self-healing, along with other methods of
manic practices as long as they work, and as long as they give
New Age and human potential therapies.
meaningful answers to their questions. As a rule, practition-
The goals for which seidr is performed reflect ideas and
ers of high engagement are more concerned with these ques-
values that underlie neoshamanism as a coherent cultural sys-
tions than those of low engagement.
tem. Internal literature, such as do-it-yourself books, course
NEOSHAMANISM AMONG SHAMANISMS. The practices that
handouts, and books and articles written by academics who
are broadly labeled shamanic are highly contextual (Atkin-
are also practitioners, presents these norms and values with
son, 1992), and comparisons between neoshamanism and
even greater clarity. One of the attractions of neoshamanism
traditional forms of shamanism can be problematic. Insofar
is its power to democratize spirituality and broaden the realm
as shamanism comprises a set of practices where the non-
of the sacred. Drawing on the animistic worldview of tradi-
ordinary and its inhabitants become relevant for, or even a
tional peoples, neoshamanism declares that everything in na-
part of, the this-worldly human community, some highly en-
ture—animals, plants, and even stones—is alive and all life
gaged communities of Western neoshamans become more
is sacred. This ethos of democratic spirituality, which in-
comparable with so-called traditional societies. The most ob-
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vious difference is the democratic appeal of neoshamanism,
and exotica, metropolitan neoshamans searching for tradi-
as compared to the widespread view that traditional shamans
tional wisdom, and local shamans traveling abroad and be-
are special individuals who are chosen by spirits. In tradition-
coming acquainted with Western neoshamanism and with
al societies, shamanic vocation is often a heavy duty, borne
renewed native shamanisms in, for example, North America.
by an individual because she or he cannot avoid it. In addi-
Russian metropolitan scholars tend to label new local sha-
tion, traditional shamanic initiations often involve real or-
mans as neoshamans. This labeling implies that such local
deals, such as the periods of physical and mental suffering
practitioners are to be explicitly distinguished from (possibly
that are known in Siberian societies as “shamanic illness.”
imagined) others who are supposed to have survived hidden
Here, the interaction with spirits resembles combat, and the
away from local urban centers and to represent a putatively
shaman’s victory leads to relationships with spirits that are
authentic local shamanism. Such terminology causes chagrin
spelled out in the idiom of mastery and control (Jakobsen,
among local practitioners who claim legitimacy in terms of
1999). As a person of power, the shaman in many traditional
their belonging to an unbroken tradition of direct initiation.
societies is feared as well as respected; he or she is expected
Many Western practitioners are also uncomfortable with the
to be able to harm as well as to heal. In most neoshamanic
label neoshaman, since this term implies that their practices
contexts, the process comparable to the traditional shamanic
are separate from the “traditional” practices they claim as
initiation may be an overwhelming experience, but it is rarely
their prototypes. What in the West can be seen as a struggle
reported to be frightening or traumatic, nor is it expected to
for the primacy of representation, however, in postcolonial
entail any physical or psychological pain.
contexts can have serious consequences for the practitioners’
reputations and careers.
In Western neoshamanism, spirits are strict but benevo-
lent allies whose lessons are to be embraced, rather than fierce
SEE ALSO Spirituality.
opponents to be conquered and tamed. This neoshamanic
construction of spirits as entirely benevolent beings tends to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
be associated with low-engagement practice and the use of
Assagioli, Roberto. Psychosynthesis: A Manual of Principles and
neoshamanism for therapy and self-enhancement. It should
Techniques. New York, 1965. A normative exposition of the-
be recalled that neoshamanism organized around drum jour-
ory and practice of the field by one of its founders.
neys was originally marketed as a safe alternative to drugs,
Atkinson, Jane Monning. “Shamanisms Today.” Annual Review
so it is no wonder that its dangerous aspect was downplayed
of Anthropology 21 (1992): 307–330. A comprehensive an-
before it became a major popular movement. The innocu-
thropological review of the various uses of the term shaman-
ism
and shamanic practices all over the world.
ousness of the spirits, however, is contested by the accounts
of some high engagement practitioners who act as profes-
Balzer Mandelstam, Marjorie. “Two Urban Shamans: Unmasking
Leadership in Fin-de-Soviet Siberia.” In Perilous States: Con-
sional shamans or seidr workers for clients or communities
versations on Culture, Politics, and Nation, edited by George
(Blain, 2002).
E. Marcus, pp. 134–165. Chicago, 1993. An anthropological
Native American neoshamanic practices are most wide-
account of how ideas and metaphors of shamanism are used
to legitimize leadership and to shape creativity in post-Soviet
spread in North America, but they are also practiced in
Siberia.
northern Europe and Scandinavia and have became a part
Blain, Jenny. Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic: Ecstasy and Neo-
of the global neoshamanic repertoire. This appropriation of
Shamanism in North European Paganism. London and New
Native American spiritual practices by mainstream spiritual
York, 2002. An account of historical sources and contempo-
seekers has been controversial and has generated indignation
rary practices of seidr by a practitioner who is also an anthro-
among some Native Americans, who themselves hope to re-
pologist. Combines insider advocacy with anthropological
store their indigenous traditions. Native American spiritual
analysis.
leaders have blacklisted some teachers whom they accused of
Bowie, Fiona. The Anthropology of Religion: An Introduction. Ox-
selling sacred ritual knowledge at courses and lectures. How-
ford, 2000. A reader; see pages 190–218.
ever, such Native American practices as the vision quest,
Csordas, Thomas. The Sacred Self: A Cultural Phenomenology of
sweat lodge, and Sun Dance are now firmly established as
Charismatic Healing. Berkeley, 1997. An anthropological
neoshamanic practices.
analysis of healing practices among North American Catho-
lic charismatics.
Whether the revival of local shamanisms in postcolonial
Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Trans-
and post-Soviet regions should be considered neoshamanism
lated from the French by Willard R. Trask. London, 1964.
will not be discussed here (but see Vitebski, 1995; Hum-
A classic review of shamanic practices all over the world by
phrey 2002). The shamanic traditions of many indigenous
a historian of religions.
peoples, especially those of Siberian Russia after the fall of
Greenwood, Susan. Magic, Witchcraft, and the Otherworld: An An-
Communism, were rediscovered in the 1990s and have been
thropology. Oxford and New York, 2000. A historical review
adopted into local medical practices and the political dis-
and analysis of high magic in England by an anthropologist,
course on new identity construction. These projects have
based on fieldwork as a participating insider.
been heavily influenced by global flows of information and
Harner, Michael. The Way of the Shaman: A Guide to Power and
people, including Western seekers of shamanic spirituality
Healing. San Francisco, 1980. A popular how-to book that
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SHAMASH
introduces drum journeys and other neoshamanic practices
Pure Land belief he devoted his life to propagating nianfo
to broad circles of spiritual seekers.
practice among clergy and laity alike. Owing to his ardent
Humphrey, Caroline. “Shamans in the City.” In The Unmaking
belief in Amita¯bha’s saving grace and his strict adherence to
of Soviet Life: Everyday Economies after Socialism,
the Buddhist precepts, Shandao came to be popularly regard-
pp. 202–222. Ithaca, N.Y., 2002. An anthropological essay
ed as an incarnation of the Buddha. According to legend,
on newly emerged shamanism in a post-Soviet context.
whenever Shandao recited the name of Amita¯bha a beam of
Jakobsen, Merete Demant. Shamanism: Traditional and Contem-
light issued from his mouth. Tradition has it that he copied
porary Approaches to the Mastery of Spirits and Healing. New
the “smaller” Sukha¯vat¯ıvyu¯ha Su¯tra (Chin., Emituo jing) over
York and Oxford, 1999. A critical account of courses in
ten thousand times and painted some three hundred scenes
neoshamanism as compared to Inuit shamanic practices; see
of Amita¯bha’s Pure Land. Between the years 672 and 675
pages 147–257.
he supervised, at the insistence of the empress Wu, the con-
Lindquist, Galina. Shamanic Performances on the Urban Scene:
struction of a great image of Maha¯vairocana Buddha in the
Neo-Shamanism in Contemporary Sweden. Stockholm, 1997.
caves at the Longmen escarpment, presiding over the inaugu-
An anthropological account based on participant obser-
ral service upon its completion. Among his many writings
vation.
are a commentary to the Guan jing, the Guan wuliangshou
Luhrmann, Tanya. Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft: Ritual Magic
jing shu (T.D. no. 1753), and four books treating practical
in Contemporary England. Cambridge, Mass., 1989. A criti-
rules for devotions to Amita¯bha.
cal anthropological account of high magic in England.
Orenstein Fenman, Gloria. The Reflowering of the Goddess. 1990.
Like many of his Buddhist contemporaries, Shandao be-
An ideological manifesto of a founder of eco-feminism who
lieved that the era of mofa (Jpn., mappo¯: the “latter days of
is also a literary critic.
the law” or “era of the decadent Dharma”), a degenerate age
Vitebski, Piers. “From Cosmology to Environmentalism: Sha-
foretold in scripture in which few devotees would be able to
manism as Local Knowledge in a Global Setting.” In Coun-
observe Buddhist principles faithfully and attain salvation
terworks: Managing the Diversity of Knowledge, edited by
through their own efforts, was at hand. Shandao’s writings
Richard Fardon, pp. 182–203. London and New York,
are infused with the deep conviction that he was a common
1995. An anthropologist’s review and analysis of the political
mortal, thoroughly immersed in ignorance and delusion and
and social resurgence of shamanism in post-Soviet Siberia.
possessing only a minimal capacity to attain enlightenment.
GALINA LINDQUIST (2005)
Shandao argued that it was precisely for these reasons that
one must place faith in Amita¯bha Buddha, who, in a series
of vows made at the beginning of his religious career, had
SHAMASH SEE UTU
promised to create a Pure Land in which beings might win
salvation. One of these vows, number eighteen in the most
common Chinese translation of the Larger Sukha¯vat¯ıvyu¯ha
SHAME SEE SIN AND GUILT
Su¯tra, promises birth in the Pure Land for all those who,
with undistracted mind, direct their thoughts to Amita¯bha
up to ten successive times. This practice (represented by the
SHANDAO (613–681), eminent Buddhist scholar and
Chinese term nianfo) was variously interpreted by Buddhist
major figure in the Chinese Pure Land (Jingtu) movement.
exegetes, but by Shandao’s time was held to include the ver-
Shandao was born in the village of Linzu (Shandong prov-
bal recitation of Amita¯bha’s name.
ince) and was ordained while still a youth. Eventually, his
Shandao’s originality lay in his claim that the recitation
study of Buddhist scripture led him to the Guan wuliangshou
of the name of Amita¯bha was the single direct cause of the
jing (Meditation on the Buddha of immeasurable life su¯tra),
attainment of supreme enlightenment. Prior to Shandao, the
a text that teaches devotion to the Buddha Amita¯bha as a
tradition of nianfo devotion had encompassed a range of
means of universal salvation. Profoundly impressed by the
practices—meditation on the Buddha’s body, circumam-
message of this text, Shandao retired to Mount Zhongnan
bulation of his image, and recitation of his name. In most
to pursue his religious career. Later, he became a disciple of
Buddhist sects nianfo was done in conjunction with other
the Pure Land scholar Daochuo (562–645) at the latter’s
practices, including the chanting of su¯tras, observation of
monastic home at the Xuanzhong Si. Through him, Shandao
Vinaya precepts, repentance of sins, and praise of the adorn-
became convinced that the deliverance of ordinary sentient
ments of the Pure Land. But in most cases, the recitation of
beings was possible through the power of the Buddha
Amita¯bha’s name was considered an inferior, expedient, or
Amita¯bha, and thus he gave himself up to the practice and
merely provisional method for achieving rebirth in the Pure
propagation of Pure Land Buddhism. His lifelong practice
Land. It was Shandao who first elucidated the notion of reci-
of recitative nianfo (the recitation of the name of the buddha
tative nianfo as an independent and soteriologically decisive
Amita¯bha) began when he was in his thirties.
action that would assure birth in the Pure Land in its own
In addition to being a learned scholar, Shandao was
right. Shandao attributed the efficacy of recitative nianfo to
known as a charismatic preacher. After his conversion to
the inconceivable power of Amita¯bha’s vows.
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SHANGDI
8299
For Shandao, the most important element in nianfo de-
Fujiwara Ryo¯setsu. Zendo¯ jo¯dokyo¯ no chu¯shin mondai. Kyoto,
votion, and thus the sole requisite for rebirth in the Pure
1977.
Land, was a profound faith in Amita¯bha’s saving grace. Ac-
New Sources
knowledging the frailty of human nature, Shandao taught
Chappell, David Wellington. “The Formation of the Pure Land
that the devotee should first become fully convinced he or
Movement in China: Tao-ch’o and Shandao.” In The Pure
she has been, from time immemorial, possessed of sinful pas-
Land Tradition: History and Development, edited by James
sions and subject to the cycle of birth and death. He must
Foard, Michael Solomon and Richard K. Payne,
then believe, with the deepest sincerity, that Amita¯bha’s
pp. 139–171. Berkeley, 1996.
forty-eight vows embrace him and all other sentient beings,
Inagaki, Hisao. “Shandao’s Exposition of the Method of Contem-
and that such belief assures him of birth in the Pure Land
plation on Amida Buddhism, part 1.” Pacific World: Journal
as a bodhisattva.
of the Institute of Buddhist Studies (1999): 77–89.
Shandao’s reputation spread with the fame of his reli-
Inagaki, Hisao. “Shandao’s Exposition of the Method of Contem-
gious parable known as the “Two Rivers and a White Path.”
plation on Amida Buddhism, part 2.” Pacific World: Journal
This parable relates the story of a lone traveler who suffers
of the Institute of Buddhist Studies (2000): 207–228.
the attacks of bandits and wild animals, successfully crosses
Pas, Julian. “Dimensions in the Life and Thought of Shandao
a narrow path between the River of Raging Waters (symbol-
(613–681).” In Buddhist and Taoist Practice in Medieval Chi-
izing greed) and the River of Blazing Flames (symbolizing
nese Society, edited by David W. Chappell, pp. 65–84. Ho-
anger), and finally reaches the safety of the opposite bank
nolulu, 1987.
(the Pure Land). The traveler finds the White Path by fol-
Pas, Julian F. Visions of Sukha¯vat¯ı, Shandao’s Commentary on the
lowing the instructions of his two teachers, S´a¯kyamuni Bud-
Kuan Wu-Liang-Shou- Fo Ching. Albany, 1995.
dha and Amita¯bha Buddha. According to Shandao, the ban-
FUJIWARA RYO¯SETSU (1987)
dits and wild animals represent the human hindrances to
Revised Bibliography
enlightenment (e.g., the six sense organs and six correspond-
ing kinds of defilements), while the White Path signifies
Amita¯bha’s salvific power as expressed in his vows. The para-
ble, with its ultimate resolution of these obstructions, acts as
SHANGDI. During the Shang dynasty (c. 1550–1050
a guide to Buddhists who desire to faithfully follow
BCE), prayers and sacrifices were offered to a large number
Amita¯bha’s teachings.
of gods, collectively referred to as di. Regarded as the deified
ancestors (real or putative) of the Shang royal clan and high
In general, Shandao’s many disciples advocated the
aristocracy, the di were worshiped at regular intervals in ac-
practice of recitative nianfo as the principal cause of rebirth
cordance with a liturgical calendar. At appropriate times they
in the Pure Land. They did, however, endorse a variety of
were also consulted for aid and advice by means of the crack-
adjunct disciplines, including meditation. Therefore, from
ing of oracle bones (i.e., the practice of scapulimancy).
the middle of the Tang dynasty (618–907), Pure Land devo-
tion gradually synthesized and unified the three practices of
The Shang kings also worshiped a more powerful god,
meditation, monastic discipline, and invocation. Shandao’s
known as Shangdi (High God, or God Above). Owing to the
notions of recitative nianfo and faith, however, continued to
absence of plural forms in Chinese, it is not certain that there
be recognized in later Pure Land Buddhism as the purest and
was only one god known as Shangdi—the phrase could also
the most essential means to winning rebirth in the Pure
mean, collectively, “high gods.” But most authorities agree
Land.
that it was a single deity. Shangdi might also have been re-
garded in some sense as an ultimate human ancestor; howev-
After its introduction to Japan, Shandao’s teachings en-
er, the deity was not included in the regular liturgical round
joyed wide acceptance. There, the notion of recitative nianfo
of ancestral sacrifices and oracular consultations.
(Jpn., nenbutsu) underwent further development and refine-
ment, culminating in doctrines expounded by Ho¯nen
There is no mythic account of Shangdi’s origins, nor
(1133–1212) and Shinran (1173–1263), the founders of the
does he appear in the mythic accounts of the founding per-
Jo¯doshu¯ (Pure Land sect) and Jo¯do Shinshu¯ (True Pure Land
sonages (whether gods, culture heroes, or sage-emperors) of
sect), respectively. Shandao’s emphasis on recitation and ab-
Chinese high antiquity, such as Yao, Shun, and Yu the Great.
solute faith became the hallmarks of Japanese Pure Land de-
There is, however, reason to suppose some correspondence
votion.
between Shangdi and Huangdi, the Yellow Thearch (a name
that first appears in texts long postdating the Shang), the
S
mythic culture hero, patron of metallurgy, and god of the
EE ALSO Daochuo; Ho
¯nen; Jingtu; Nianfo; Shinran;
Tanluan.
center.
Unlike the lesser di, who had authority over such
BIBLIOGRAPHY
human-centered affairs as the king’s health and his fortunes
Fujiwara Ryo¯setsu. The Way to Nirvana. Tokyo, 1974. A basic
in marriage, warfare, and the hunt, Shangdi had jurisdiction
study of Shandao’s doctrines.
in larger-scale natural and cosmic matters. According to sur-
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8300
SHANGO
viving oracle-bone inscriptions, Shangdi had the power to
knew by heart such stock phrases from the classics as “[King
prevent, or put an end to, plagues, drought, floods, violent
Wen] brilliantly served Shangdi and secured abundant bless-
storms, and other such phenomena. Shangdi apparently was
ings.” With the development of the state cult of Confucian-
never consulted directly by means of scapulimancy, and only
ism and the imperial worship of and sacrifice to Heaven
rarely were prayers offered to him directly. Rather, when nec-
(Tian), Shangdi came to be regarded as a virtual synonym,
essary the lesser gods were consulted to learn his will; they
perhaps somewhat more concretely conceived, of Heaven.
could also be asked to intercede with him on behalf of the
Finally, the term Shangdi was adopted by Protestant
king and his people.
missionaries, and their Chinese converts, to designate the
While the surviving evidence does not permit a very
Judeo-Christian God. More commonly, however, that deity
exact description of Shang theology, it seems probable that
is known in Chinese by a name that was coined by the early
Shangdi was thought of as a cosmic god, dwelling in or above
Jesuit missionaries, Tianzhu, “Lord of Heaven.”
the sky at the apex of the rotating heavens. Indeed, Shangdi
might have been a deified embodiment of the pole star itself.
SEE ALSO Chinese Religion, article on Mythic Themes;
Huangdi; Yuhuang.
It is certain that a few centuries after the fall of the Shang
dynasty gods were thought of as being, in part, personifica-
tions of stars, planets, and astral configurations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The term Shangdi appears many times in the Confucian canon;
With the conquest of the Shang state by the Zhou
the standard translation is that of James Legge, The Chinese
dynasty around 1050 BCE, Shangdi’s place as the paramount
Classics, 5 vols. (Oxford, 1893–1895; 3d ed., Hong Kong,
deity of the royal cult was usurped by the Zhou high god,
1960). For the role of Shangdi in the religion of the Shang
Tian (“heaven”). Tian was not simply Shangdi under anoth-
dynasty, see Chang Tsung-tung’s Der Kult der Shang-
Dynastie im Spiegel der Orakelinschriften
, edited by Otto
er name, but the two high gods were similarly regarded as
Karow (Weisbaden, 1970); Henri Maspero’s La Chine an-
conscious but relatively impersonal cosmic forces.
tique (1924; Paris, 1965), translated as China in Antiquity by
The term Shangdi, however, survived the fall of the
Frank A. Kierman, Jr. (Amherst, Mass., 1979) treats the reli-
Shang dynasty and continued to appear in religious and cos-
gious role of Shangdi in both Shang and post-Shang classical
times.
mological texts for centuries thereafter. In such texts it is not
so clear that the reference is always to a unitary high god; in
JOHN S. MAJOR (1987)
some contexts it seems preferable to construe the term as
“high gods.” In some texts of the Warring States period
(481–221 BCE) a near-synonym, taidi (“great god”), is substi-
SHANGO SEE CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS, ARTICLE
tuted for the term Shangdi. Regardless of which term is used,
ON AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS
it is clear that the reference is to a celestial god (or gods)
dwelling at or around the celestial pole. According to chapter
4 of the Huainanzi (139 BCE), “If the height of the Kunlun
SHANG-TI SEE SHANGDI
[cosmic] mountain is doubled . . . [and redoubled, and
again redoubled], it reaches up to Heaven itself. If one
mounts to there, one will become a demigod. It is called the
abode of the Great God [Taidi].” In his commentary to the
SHANKARA SEE S´AN˙KARA
Huainanzi, Gao You (fl. 205–212) states that “the Changhe
Gate is the gate [through which] one begins an ascent to
Heaven. The Gate of Heaven is the gate of the Purple Forti-
SHAN-TAO SEE SHANDAO
fied Palace [i.e., the circumpolar stars] where Shangdi
dwells.”
With the development of the organized religion of Dao-
SHAPE SHIFTING can be defined as the alteration in
ism around the end of the Latter Han dynasty (third century
form or substance of any animate object. There seems no
CE), the term Shangdi took on new prominence. As a Daoist
limit to the kinds of objects susceptible to such alteration.
term, however, it rarely appears alone; rather it has the gener-
Examples abound of the shape shifting of plants, animals,
al meaning “high god” in the elaborate compound titles
humans, and gods. Shape shifting can be caused either by the
given to the numerous divinities in the hierarchical, bureau-
object changed or by an external force; it can occur for good
cratically organized Daoist pantheon. Yuhuang Shangdi
or for ill and for reasons simple or profound.
(“jade sovereign high god”) is a characteristic example of
Shape shifting is found in essentially every religion and
such a divine title of nobility.
mythological tradition. By no means is it a phenomenon re-
Meanwhile, the old sense of Shangdi was preserved
stricted to unsophisticated cultures remote in history and ge-
through the officially sponsored study of classical texts by the
ography from the dominant civilizations. An enduring fasci-
Confucian bureaucratic elite. Every examination candidate
nation with shape shifting is easily detected in modern
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SHAPE SHIFTING
8301
popular culture as well as in the major religions: Comic-book
of her beloved Amphitryon. But Zeus is usually more inven-
and cartoon characters such as Superman and Spiderman are
tive, coming to his unsuspecting lovers as a satyr, a shower
typical shape-shifters, and shape shifting is certainly an ele-
of gold, a white bull, a swan, and once even as the goddess
ment in the deepest spiritual insights of Christianity, Hindu-
Artemis. Seductive shape shifting can sometimes be reversed,
ism, and Buddhism as these religions are currently practiced.
as commonly happens in Arthurian legend, for example,
where the seducer appears as an irresistible young woman but
Because of the rich variety of contexts and levels of sub-
is in fact an agent of evil or death in disguise.
tlety in which it is found, it is impossible to assign shape
shifting a universal meaning. Zeus’s appearance as a swan
Trickery is the theme of an enormous body of folk tale
and Christ’s transfiguration are both instances of shape shift-
and myth. Tricksters, displaying remarkably similar charac-
ing, but they have quite distinct meanings and importance.
teristics, can be found in a diversity of cultures. They typical-
It is possible, however, in a survey of the phenomenon in its
ly take the form of animals but can also be such borderline
manifold occurrence, to distinguish between types of shape
beings as dwarfs, elves, imps, and trolls. Not always, but fre-
shifting and to find within those types a common meaning
quently, tricksters carry out their mischief through shape
and function.
shifting. A trickster may, for example, present himself as a
person of supernatural powers in order to win a bride or
The most frequent type of shape shifting involves strate-
change himself into a snake to steal meat hidden in a skull.
gic deception. Strategic shapeshifters change themselves for
A common feature of trickster stories is that these deceptions
reasons of aggression, seduction, or trickery. A second class
either are exposed or they backfire on the trickster. The false
of shapeshifters are those who use the device for escape from
bridegroom is revealed as a malevolent fox, the trickster finds
another’s aggression or seduction. A third type has the simple
that his own head has grown onto the snake’s body he has
function of punishment, and a fourth rewards or compen-
assumed, making it impossible for him to draw it out of the
sates the changed object, usually by immortalization. A fre-
skull. Tricksters very often suffer, and even die, for their
quent but often subtle kind of shape shifting seeks liberation
blundering misdeeds, but they nonetheless return miracu-
from bondage or punishment. A somewhat murkier, though
lously for more adventure, changing from death back into
widely found, type may best be described as instances of bor-
life—the ultimate feat of the shapeshifter.
derline or confused identity, where one mode of existence is
so much like another that the two are repeatedly exchanged.
The line between trickery and evil is often fuzzy. Satan,
Finally, by far the most profound variety of shape shifting
for example, has a great supply of tricks, many of which in-
is that which has revelation as its design.
volve shape shifting, but he is certainly no mere trickster.
S
Similarly, the great mischief-maker of Norse mythology,
TRATEGIC DECEPTION. Stealth is so essential an ingredient
in any conflict that it is in the interest of all contestants to
Loki, capable of assuming such diverse forms as bird, flea,
be something or somewhere else than their opponents expect
milkmaid, or fish, sometimes seems to be the originator of
them to be. Kuloscap, for example, the major god of the
evil itself and not just another divine trickster.
Micmac Indians of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, over-
ESCAPE. If stealth is valuable to the aggressor, it is no less
comes a series of enemies by clever ruses and rapid shape
valuable to the intended victim. The Greek goddess Daphne
shifting. His power to change himself includes the power to
is changed into a laurel tree to elude the amorous advances
change others, for he will occasionally grant immortality, in
of Apollo. Zeus transforms Io into a heifer to protect her
the form of a tree or stone, to those who request it. The
from the wrath of Hera. But such shape shifting is filled with
Maruts, bellicose deities in the service of the Hindu god
risk. The Celtic god Cian transforms himself into a boar to
Indra, can enter undetected into the presence of their ene-
escape his pursuing enemies. They in turn become grey-
mies by such means as changing themselves into apparently
hounds, hunt down their quarry, and kill him. When Deme-
helpless infants. Perhaps the most prodigious of all the
ter, in the shape of a mare, flees Poseidon, he accomplishes
shapeshifters of this type is another Hindu god, Vis:n:u, who
the seduction by taking the shape of a stallion.
assumes a great number of incarnations, or avataras, in his
PUNISHMENT. Shape shifting has such obvious utility for
battle against evil. The best known of the avataras of Vis:n:u
pursuit and flight that examples of it have little inherent in-
are Ra¯ma and Kr:s:n:a, each of whom is remembered for epic
tellectual or religious weight. When it takes the form of pun-
struggles involving shape shifting.
ishment it becomes considerably more nuanced. There are,
to be sure, numerous simple instances of direct retribution.
Seduction is probably as usual a reason for shape shift-
Thus, Lot’s wife is transformed into a pillar of salt for violat-
ing as is aggression, and it certainly takes more colorful and
ing the command not to look back at Sodom; in Roman my-
ingenious forms. At its most basic level seductive shape shift-
thology Picus pays for his rejection of Circe’s sexual advances
ing consists in taking the appearance of another’s beloved.
when she transforms him into a woodpecker.
Thus the magician Merlin gives Uther Pendragon the form
of the duke Gorlois, that he may satisfy his sexual longing
In its more refined form shape shifting as punishment
for Gorlois’s wife. The fruit of this union based on deception
emerges in a number of traditions as the transmigration, or
is Arthur, king of Britain. So too Zeus, the foremost of the
reincarnation, of souls. In Hinduism, where the concept is
Greeks’ Olympian deities, appears to Alcmena in the form
most thoroughly developed, the reincarnated soul has a new
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SHAPE SHIFTING
shape determined by the quality of its spiritual life in previ-
Therefore, the path (or dao) of the liberated person does not
ous existences. There is no end to this serial shape shifting
have a goal; it is a path of endless change. Zhuangzu, a Daoist
until the soul is able to cleanse itself of all attachment to the
philosopher who lived several centuries before the common
changeable. In other words, the soul will be punished by
era, wrote that the liberated person “rides on the flow of
shape shifting until it has no shape left whatsoever. This idea
heaven and earth and the transformation of the six elements
persists in Buddhism, though with much less emphasis. Plato
and wanders in the infinite” (Zhuangzsu, trans. Jane English
gives the idea considerable authority in the West. In the
and Giafu Feng, New York, 1974, p. 9). In other words, the
Phaedo, for instance, he has Socrates argue that souls will go
liberated person is an eternal shapeshifter, possessing no
through an indefinite number of rebirths but with appropri-
shape that is truly his or her own.
ate transformations. Those who are gluttons in this existence
IMMORTALIZATION. A relatively small number of shapeshift-
will be asses in the next; the unjust and tyrannical will be-
ing tales and beliefs fall into the category of immortalization.
come wolves and hawks; and those who practice the civil and
At the simplest level are the stories in Greek mythology of
social virtues will be bees or ants, if they are not changed
Hyacinth, a lover of Apollo who was changed into a lily; of
“back again into the form of man.” Elsewhere Plato suggests
Narcissus, a lover of his own image who also became a flow-
that humans have fallen into this earthly shape from one
er; and of Echo, a lover of Narcissus, who was cruelly immor-
more desirable.
talized in the disembodied form of a voice that could never
LIBERATION. For every tale of punishment by shape shifting
speak for itself.
there is one of liberation. The princess of one of the tales of
the brothers Grimm must weave six shirts out of flower pet-
It has been a common belief in many cultures that gods
als and keep silence for six years in order to break the witch’s
and heroes have taken permanent places in the night sky.
spell that has changed her six brothers into swans. Cinderella
This belief enters into Plato’s philosophical speculation, in
must be found by the prince, the café waitress by the movie
the Timaeus, that the stars are the souls of those liberated
producer, each thus to be freed from her humiliating
from their earthly shapes. The Christian doctrine of the res-
bondage.
urrection of the body also shares in the general character of
immortalization by shape shifting. “Lo, I tell you a mystery,”
The shape shifting of liberation, since it must always
Paul wrote; “we shall not all sleep but we shall all be
come from without, grants unusual, often unknown or hid-
changed.” It is a change in which “this mortal nature must
den, powers to the changers. Pygmalion, a Greek sculptor
put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:51–53). This more philo-
of great skill, innocently shapes a statue, then finds he has
sophical, or theological, understanding of shape shifting, it
fallen in love with it; Aphrodite secretly brings the statue to
should be noted, is the precise opposite of that of the Daoists,
life as the woman Galatea. Just as innocently a child in an-
in which all possibility of immortality is rejected.
other Grimm tale takes a frog to dinner and then to bed,
B
acts of affection that transform him back into the prince he
ORDERLINE AND CONFUSED IDENTITIES. There is a large
class of shapeshifters who seem to be existing in two realms
really is.
at the same time, who seem to be both human and animal,
There is often the assumption in this kind of shape shift-
or both deity and natural phenomenon.
ing that the change from one state to another is the liberation
The best example of this kind of shape shifting in Greek
of a being from its false to its true nature. The water-jar boy
mythology is Dionysos, a god of multiple origins and traits.
of the Indian tale not only springs into human form; he leads
There is only one continuous characteristic of Dionysos
his mother into a secret well where she is joined with the su-
through all his often contradictory manifestations: He is al-
pernatural beings who are her true family. The Christian
ways closely associated with natural process. His usual dwell-
thinker Boethius, tortured to death by the Ostrogoth ruler
ing place is in the wild, physically and psychically far from
of Rome Theodoric in 524 CE, wrote that Philosophy, in the
civilized human existence. The natural order from which he
shape of a woman, entered his cell to console him with the
is inseparable usually causes social disorder. He is widely
message that he suffered from his punishment only because
known as the god of wine and revelry. Even his birth has a
“you have forgotten what you are.” As long as he could re-
strange ambiguity about it: He was born twice, once prema-
member that he was in truth pure soul he would be freed
turely of the goddess Semele, and once from the thigh of
from the torment suffered by his earthly shape. The idea that
Zeus. This double birth may account for the fact that he can
humans are liberated from a false existence to a true one is
sometimes be found in female form. He can assume a great
widely found in mystical literature. Islamic mystics, for ex-
number of shapes, as though the line between his divinity
ample, declare that it is their desire “to be who I am before
and natural process has no restraining effect. Dionysos is as
I was.”
closely associated with death as he is with life. He was raised
A highly sophisticated and extreme form of liberation
in the forest by the satyr Silenus, who was fond of saying that
by shape shifting is found in classical Daoism. For the an-
the only happiness in life is to die and leave it as soon as pos-
cient Daoists the spiritual goal was not a transformation
sible. Dionysos dies by being pulled apart by women in an
from one kind of being into another, but continuous trans-
ecstatic ritual and is thus also known by the name Zagreus,
formation. All that is, they taught, is in the process of change.
the Torn. Once dead, however, he comes back to life, a sym-
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bol of the natural process itself, which requires death for the
Revelatory shape shifting does more than simply occur
regeneration of life.
in Christianity; it is its central affirmation. The doctrine of
the incarnation is properly to be understood as the revealing
Other Greek deities, notably Artemis, Poseidon, and
self-transformation of God. “In the beginning was the word,
Demeter, have identities bound up with nature, though none
and the word was with God, and the word was God. . . .
so closely as Dionysos, whose origins are, in any case, more
And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we
Middle Eastern than Greek. The ancient religions of Meso-
beheld his glory,” the Gospel of John begins. Only once, how-
potamia and Egypt included the worship of a great many
ever, does one find in the Gospels an event in which some-
gods who changed their shapes in a manner imitative of na-
thing of Jesus’ divine form is revealed. Jesus took several of
ture. Ishtar, the Assyro-Babylonian goddess of love and vo-
his disciples up a mountain “and was transfigured before
luptuousness, performs an annual ceremonial killing of her
them.” His face shone as the sun and his raiment was of a
lover Tammuz, “lord of the wood of life,” who vanishes into
brilliant light. The disciples fell on their faces in fear and rev-
the earth like the threshed and planted grain, only to rise
erence.
again in the spring into the arms of Ishtar, who then repeats
the process. This particular kind of agricultural shape shift-
A remarkably similar event can be found in one of the
ing has distant but unmistakable echoes in many other
best-known works of Hindu literature, the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯.
mythological and religious traditions. Note the parallels in
This text is the account of a conversation between the famed
the story of Christ: Scourged and crowned in a mock cere-
warrior Arjuna and the god Kr:s:n:a, who was in the form of
mony, he is executed and buried at the time of a spring festi-
Arjuna’s chariot driver. Near the end of this discourse Arjuna
val, shortly to rise in the midst of women as a new food for
begged Kr:s:n:a to show himself in his true divine form. When
the life of the community.
Kr:s:n:a did so his face shone with the light of a thousand suns,
and Arjuna “beheld the universe, in all its multitudinous di-
There are instances of the elusive sort of shape shifting
versity, lodged as one being within the God of gods.” Like
that seem at once to be both divine and natural. Equally elu-
the disciples of Jesus, he was both terrified and worshipful
sive is the shape shifting caused by the intimate identity of
before this transformation.
the human with the animal. Popular Chinese legend com-
monly has the trickster fox posing as a respected citizen,
In referring to Jesus and Kr:s:n:a as shapeshifters it may
often without anyone ever seeing his fox form. In Europe
seem that their spiritual importance has been trivialized, that
werewolf legends are found everywhere. Indeed, until the
they have been placed in the company of tricksters and se-
eighteenth century it was widely believed that some human
ducers. On the contrary, these self-transforming powers of
beings could periodically pass into the form of a wolf; the
Jesus and Kr:s:n:a show how immensely varied the phenome-
belief even encouraged a quasi-scientific study of such crea-
non of shape shifting is. What the many shapeshifters have
tures, thought to be afflicted with a form of insanity called
in common is only an external resemblance. When one looks
lycanthropy (from the Greek words for “wolf” and
into the inner meaning of each instance of shape shifting and
“human”).
try to understand it in its context, similarities rapidly disap-
pear. Shape shifting is a universal phenomenon to which no
REVELATION. Finally, there is the shape shifting that appears
universal meaning can be applied. To cite an event as an ex-
to have as its principal function the awakening or enlighten-
ample of it is not, therefore, to state its meaning, but to en-
ing of observers to an otherwise unnoticed reality.
courage inquiry into its meaning.
Þórr (Thor), the hero-god of Norse mythology, was
once admitted with his companions to a magical castle where
SEE ALSO Monsters; Therianthropism; Tricksters.
they had to prove themselves by such feats as racing with a
giant who seemed to reach the finish line as soon as he start-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ed, lifting a cat whose single paw Thor could not raise from
Because there is no major work on shape shifting as such, the most
the floor, and wrestling with an old woman of frail appear-
useful texts for further study are the introductory and classifi-
ance but astounding strength. When they had lost these con-
catory volumes on world mythology. Without question, the
tests it was explained to them that they had been competing
most comprehensive classification of mythological themes is
Stith Thompson’s Motif-Index of Folk Literature, 6 vols.
with thought, the world serpent, and time, as though these
(Bloomington, Ind., 1955–1958). The New Larousse Encyclo-
were realities about which the heroes needed instruction.
pedia of Myth (London, 1973) is a broad and accessible sum-
The Greek god Proteus offers an interesting variation
mary of mythological narratives. Funk and Wagnalls Stan-
on this theme. Because he possessed the gift of prophecy,
dard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, 2 vols.
(1949–1950; reprint, New York, 1972), provides brief but
Proteus was often asked to reveal what the future held for
useful introductions to the basic terms and categories of
a person. As though to impress his suppliants with the an-
mythological study. Joseph Campbell’s The Masks of God, 4
guish that comes from such revelations, he would change
vols. (New York, 1959–1968), deftly combines an introduc-
himself into monstrous forms meant to terrify them. To
tion to the world’s mythological literature with the author’s
those who refused to be intimidated he offered the requested
interpretations of its major themes. The most useful com-
knowledge.
pendium of Greek mythology for the general reader is Robert
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SHAR¯IEAH
Graves’s The Greek Myths, 2 vols. (Harmondsworth, 1955).
Nicol Farquhar (one of Brandon’s predecessors). With the
For a bibliography of works on the myth and folktale tradi-
rise of the Uppsala school of New Testament criticism at the
tions of other cultures see World Folktales, edited by Atelia
time, with its stress on oral transmission, young Sharpe also
Clarkson and Gilbert B. Cross (New York, 1980).
accepted the honor of translating works by such scholars as
New Sources
Birger Gerhardsson (on the remembrance of the rabbi Jesus’
Barkan, Leonard. Gods Made Flesh: Metamorphosis and the Pursuit
sayings) and Bertil Gärtner (on the Jesus logia in the Gospel
of Paganism. New Haven, 1986.
of Thomas).
Forbes Irving, P.M.C. Metamorphosis in Greek Myths. Oxford,
By the time he returned to Britain with his Swedish wife
1990.
Birgitta in 1966, Sharpe had become extremely well-
Jackson, Michael. “The Man Who Could Turn into an Elephant:
informed in the history of different Western approaches to
Shape-Shifting Among the Kuranko of Sierra Leone.” In Per-
the critical study of the world’s religions. The traditions of
sonhood and Agency: The Experience of Self and Other in Afri-
particular interest to him were the Hindu and the Germanic,
can Cultures, edited by Michael Jackson and Ivan Karp,
pp. 59-78. Uppsala, 1990.
but he kept abreast of studies in the history of ancient and
modern Christianity (with special concern for ecumenics).
Kennett, Frances. “Sor Juana and the Guadelupe.” Feminist Theol-
Brandon wanted him back in Manchester, and the Sinologist
ogy: The Journal of the Britain & Ireland School of Feminist
Howard Smith deferred his retirement until Sharpe returned
Theology 11/3 (2003): 307-325.
from a temporary appointment in Indiana. Consolidating his
Smith, W. L. “Changing Bodies: The Mechanics of the Metamor-
research interests in the encounter between Christianity and
phic Curse.” Acta Orientalia 56 (1995): 125-143.
Hinduism (and other traditions), Sharpe was eventually en-
Steiger, Brad. Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting
ticed into a research and lecture tour to India itself during
Beings. Detroit, 1999.
1969. The next year he secured a senior lectureship in reli-
Traini, Renato. “La métamorphose des êtres humains en brutes
gious studies at the new University of Lancaster, collaborat-
d’après quelques textes arabes.” (The metamorphosis of
ing with Ninian Smart in the public forum for a better un-
human beings into monsters according to some Arab texts).
derstanding of religious diversity in Britain and for the
In Miscellanea Arabica et Islamica, edited by Uitgeverij
teaching of world religions. Visiting professorships to North
Peeters, pp. 90–134. Louvain, 1993.
America came his way (Northwestern; Manitoba), and in
JAMES P. CARSE (1987)
1975, serving his last year as the organization’s acting general
Revised Bibliography
secretary, he and his wife organized the Thirteenth Congress
of the International Association for the History of Religions.
After Brandon’s unexpected death in Egypt, Sharpe recon-
SHAR¯IEAH S
nected with Manchester. There he kept up a close collegial
EE ISLAMIC LAW, ARTICLE ON
SHAR¯IEAH
friendship with John Hinnells, leading to the co-authored
book Hinduism (1972).
Ambitious for a professorship, Sharpe was forced to look
to Commonwealth countries for opportunities, and in 1977
SHARPE, ERIC J. Eric John Sharpe (1933–2000) was
he won the Foundation Chair in religious studies at the Uni-
born in Lancashire, England, into a family of straitened cir-
versity of Sydney, the first of its kind on the Australian conti-
cumstances during the Great Depression. The first in his
nent. This success was mostly due to the publication of his
family to undertake tertiary studies, he was fortunate to se-
finest book, Comparative Religion: A History (1975)—on
cure a studentship at the University of Manchester. Sharpe
modern theories and methods in the study of the world’s reli-
seemed destined for the Methodist ministry, yet, when
gions. After recovering from ill health, Sharpe settled down
choosing between two eminent supervisors for his masters
at Sydney. While being allowed to test the waters in Sweden,
thesis, evangelical New Testament specialist F. F. Bruce and
where for a time he held the coveted professorship in the his-
the more adventurous liberal scholar of comparative religion
tory of religions (within the humanities faculty) at Uppsala,
S. G. F. Brandon, he chose the latter, researching “the Doc-
Sharpe committed himself to Australia, and was bent on con-
trine of Man” in New Testament and early Vedic thought.
solidating a vigorous (if small) department at Sydney until
Thereafter Sharpe’s primary attention was on the business of
his retirement in 1996. His weakening condition restricted
analyzing and comparing different religions. In 1958 a
his role in public life during his last years.
World Council of Churches award took him to Uppsala,
Sweden, where he began doctoral studies within the Faculty
Sharpe was one of the world’s leading methodologists
of Theology. Interestingly, he did not opt to study under
in the comparative and historical study of religions. If one
Geo Widengren, a continental equivalent to Brandon, but
admits a certain competition between his claims and those
under the brilliant historian of mission and church in south-
of other doyens (e.g., Mircea Eliade, Ninian Smart, and
ern Africa—Bengt Sundkler. Sharpe’s doctorate, published
Jacques Waardenburg) at least Sharpe emerged as the world’s
under the title Not to Destroy but to Fulfil (1965), centered
foremost authority on how one should best orient oneself for
on the missiological approach to Indian religions by John
understanding other religions. His personal academic experi-
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8305
ence gave him a distinct advantage in accounting for British
ing Religion (London, 1983). For reflection on his work, see
evolutionist and diffusionist theories, the myth and ritual
Annette Aronowicz et al., “Doing the History of Religion”
school in both English and Scandinavian scholarship, conti-
(the Sharpe Symposium), Method and Theory in the Study of
nental phenomenology, and the German Religionsgeschichtli-
Religion 1, no. 1 (1989): 40–114; followed by Sharpe, “On
che Schule associated with Wilhem Bousset and Richard
the Sharpe Symposium,” Method and Theory in the Study of
Reitzenstein. Other books confirming this status were Un-
Religion 1, no. 2 (1989): 213–226. See also Arvind Sharma,
ed., The Sum of Our Choices: Essays in Honour of Eric J. Shar-
derstanding Religion (1983) and Nathan Söderblom and the
pe (Atlanta, 1996), which includes a portrait (p. v) and a cur-
Study of Religion (1990), even if both exposed his flanks to
riculum vitae with a full list of publications (pp. 409–417),
theorists of a different bent.
and Sharma’s “Portrait: Eric J. Sharpe,” Religion 31 (2001):
Although Sharpe primarily self-inscribed as a historian
63–66; Carole M. Cusack and Peter Oldmeadow, eds., This
of religions (and religious ideas), and remained loyal to the
Immense Panorama: Studies in Honour of Eric Sharpe (Syd-
historically rooted agenda followed in Manchester and Upp-
ney, 1999); and Garry W. Trompf, “Eric John Sharpe,”
Svensk Missions Tidskrift 89, no. 2 (2001): 176–182.
sala, he was always intrigued by Christian and Western im-
ages of the East (thus Faith meets Faith [1977] and The Uni-
GARRY W. TROMPF (2005)
versal Gita [1985]), and he was concerned with under-
standing Christian missionary interpretations of the “other”
(e.g., Karl Ludwig Reichelt [1984]). These missiological inter-
SHAVUEOT, or Pentecost, is the Jewish festival that falls
ests could be misunderstood, and, in the last stages of his ca-
on the sixth day of the month of Sivan (and also on the sev-
reer, Sharpe fell subject to criticism by younger methodolo-
enth day, outside Israel). In the Pentateuch (Ex. 34:22, Dt.
gists that his work carried a hidden theological agenda. In
16:10) the festival is called ShavuEot (“weeks”) because it falls
Understanding Religion, admittedly, he appeared strident in
after seven weeks (forty-nine days) have been counted from
separating the new discipline of religious studies from divini-
the “morrow of the Sabbath” (Lv. 23:15) of Passover. In the
ty (because at Sydney his department was initially launched
Talmudic literature a debate is recorded between the Saddu-
through the Board of Studies in Divinity). Yet in his critics’
cees and the Pharisees: the former understood the word Sab-
eyes he looked to be a man with plenty of theological procliv-
bath in the verse to mean literally the Sabbath of Passover
ities himself. Had he not received a doctorate in theology
(so that, for them, ShavuEot always fell on Sunday), while the
from Uppsala? And had not he occasionally engaged in
latter, whose view is accepted, understood “the Sabbath” to
Christian theology?
be the first day of Passover. It is difficult to know what doc-
These questions were brewing at the so-called Sharpe
trinal issues really lie behind these two opinions, since, if the
Symposium, hosted by the American Academy of Religion
report is accurate, it is unlikely that the debate was purely
in Chicago in 1988. If some wanted to accuse him of “closet
exegetical.
theology,” however, Sharpe could maintain against his de-
In the Pentateuch the festival appears to have been a
tractors that only a warped methodological orientation
purely agricultural one. The rabbinic name for the festival,
would arise if a theorist had rejected his own natal tradition.
EAtseret (“assembly”), the term used in Numbers 29:35 for
In any case, Sharpe’s approach to theology was more nu-
the additional festival of Sukkot, suggests that originally the
anced than met the eye. Certainly, he denied the possibility
festival was no more than an adjunct to Passover. But begin-
of eluding theological values. The phenomenology of reli-
ning no later than the second century
gion, in his view, could never be an act of pure objectivism
CE a vast transforma-
tion of the festival took place. The arrival at Mount Sinai of
per se; it inevitably involved “charity,” or the concession of
the people coming from slavery in Egypt (Ex. 19:1) occurred
goodwill that gave someone else the chance to voice their
in the third month from the Exodus (the month of Sivan,
commitments. He also held that studies in religion should
as it came to be called). Through examination of the texts,
not be willfully secularized, and that the scholar of religion
a view developed that the theophany at Sinai had taken place
did best with a “dual citizenship” between his or her own and
on the sixth of Sivan, and ShavuEot was then celebrated as
another’s tradition. In private notes, however, Sharpe recog-
the anniversary of the giving of the Torah. (Although the
nized how, “professionally speaking, [theology] may be one
passage speaks only of the Decalogue being given at Sinai,
of the narrowest and most inbred [disciplines].” Only when
later Jewish tradition held that the whole of the Torah was
one’s attitudes were broadened, “Faith could best meet
given to Moses at that time.)
Faith” in generous interreligious dialogue; yet dialoguers
would lack integrity and demean the other if they did not
The liturgy of the day contains references to the Torah
represent their own faith (or faith background) existentially,
and the 613 commandments (the rabbinic figure for the sum
so that believers, including willing theologians, are essential
total of positive precepts and negative injunctions of the
in the dialogical process.
law). A feature found only on this festival is the recital of an
Aramaic hymn on the first day in praise of the Torah. It is
BIBLIOGRAPHY
generally held that these hymns are vestiges of introductions
Eric Sharpe’s most important theoretical works are Comparative
in Aramaic to the Targum, the Aramaic translations of the
Religion: A History, 2d ed. (London, 1986), and Understand-
texts that, in ancient times, were always read in the syna-
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SHAYKH AL-ISLA¯M
gogue. The Pentateuchal reading is from the Sinai narrative
Mura¯d II (1421–1451). With the conquest of Constantino-
(Ex. 19–20), and the Prophetic reading from Ezekiel 1, the
ple (Istanbul) in 1453, the shaykh al-Isla¯m, always chosen
vision of the heavenly chariot. The link between the two is
from among the noted jurists of the day, thereafter resided
that of revelation, to the people as whole and to the individu-
in the capital city as its chief muft¯ı.
al prophet. The Book of Ruth as well is read in the synagogue.
Like any muft¯ı, the shaykh al-Isla¯m was responsible for
Ruth, the prototype of the righteous proselyte, took upon
issuing written opinions (fatwa¯s), based on established
herself the observance of God’s laws, as did the Israelites at
shar¯ı Eah authorities, in response to legal questions submitted
Sinai.
for his expert interpretation of the law. Such opinions were
There are no special ShavuEot rituals, in view of the late
not binding. The petitioner was under no legal obligation to
origin of the festival in the form in which it is now celebrat-
follow a muft¯ı’s findings, or even those of a shaykh al-Isla¯m.
ed. However, there are a number of customs, such as decorat-
Nonetheless, a fatwa¯ delivered by the shaykh al-Isla¯m pos-
ing the synagogue with plants and flowers (because beautiful
sessed compelling moral authority. A shaykh al-Isla¯m pre-
plants are said to have flowered on the barren mountain
sumably earned his post as much through a reputation for
when the Torah was given) and eating dairy dishes at the fes-
integrity as for scholarship. Moreover, he was the only officer
tive meal (because, like milk, the Torah nourishes young and
in the realm entitled to pronounce on the sultan’s fitness to
old). The sixteenth-century mystics of Safad introduced the
rule. The subordination of the worldly to the spiritual was
all-night vigil on ShavuEot night, a practice that has been
more in theory than in practice, but many shaykh al-Isla¯ms
widely adopted by all Jews. During this night an anthology
did not hesitate to issue opinions at odds with their sover-
of readings from all the classical sources of Judaism is
eign’s wishes. In any case, for the entire span of the empire,
studied.
the shaykh al-Isla¯m’s fatwa¯ was the emblem of legitimation,
required for the deposition of the sultan as well as for the un-
B
dertaking of any major imperial policy.
IBLIOGRAPHY
The little book by Chaim Pearl, A Guide to Shavuoth (London,
During the tenure of the post’s most renowned incum-
1959), is an adequate statement of the laws and customs of
bent, Mehmed Ebussüud (d. 1574), the shaykh al-Isla¯m came
the festival.
to control the examination and appointment of the major
L
judges and professors in the empire. As a result, the indepen-
OUIS JACOBS (1987)
dence of the office was further compromised, and subsequent
holders of the past became increasingly subject to political
pressures, including summary dismissal.
SHAYKH AL-ISLA¯M (Turk., ¸seyhülislam) is a title as-
With the secularizing reforms of the nineteenth century,
sociated with Islamic religious figures; it was used most com-
the shaykh al-Isla¯m, with the entire body of Ottoman
monly in the period of the Ottoman empire, when it denot-
Eulama¯D, was systematically deprived of authority and impor-
ed the chief jurisconsult, or muft¯ı, of Istanbul, who was the
tance. In November 1922, the last shaykh al-Isla¯m left office
supreme religious authority in the empire and the adminis-
when the nationalist Turks under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
trative head of the Ottoman hierarchy of religious scholars
(d. 1938), founder of the Turkish Republic, abolished the
( Eulama¯D). The title seems to have come into use in the Islam-
Ottoman sultanate. The post was never reconstituted, but
ic east in the late tenth century. From that time it served to
local officials in Muslim countries outside Turkey have occa-
distinguish individuals who had achieved prominence in
sionally used the title in the modern era.
some branch of the faith. Although pre-Ottoman biographi-
cal literature mentions the title in connection with S:u¯f¯ı nota-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
bles, it was even then more commonly, and later almost ex-
The history of the important Ottoman office of shaykh al-Isla¯m,
clusively, applied to specialists in Islamic holy law, the
making use of still largely unmined and untranslated Otto-
shar¯ı Eah.
man sources, remains to be written. The standard work in
The transition of the term form an honorific to an actu-
Turkish on the entire Ottoman religious hierarchy, Ismail
Hakki Uzunçar¸sılı’s Osmanlı Devletinin ˙IIlmiye Te¸skilâtı
al office defies charting. However, from the tenth century
(Ankara, 1965), should be supplemented by relevant chap-
certain local religious officials are known to have held office
ters in Halil ˙Inalcık’s The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age,
under the title (although not necessarily performing the same
1300–1600, translated by Norman Itzkowitz and Colin
functions) in such disparate lands as Seljuk Iran and Anato-
Imber (New York, 1973), along with R. C. Repp’s Ph.D. dis-
lia, Mamluk Egypt and Syria, the Delhi sultanate of India,
sertation, “An Examination of the Origins and Development
Safavid Iran, Timurid Transoxiana, and the Muslim regions
of the Office of Shaikh al-Islam in the Ottoman Empire”
of China. It was under the Ottomans, however, that the of-
(Oxford University, 1966), and my own Ph.D. dissertation,
fice achieved both its full definition and its preeminence.
“The Ottoman Ulema 1703–1839 and the Route to Great
Mollaship” (University of Chicago, 1976), J. H. Kramers’s
According to Ottoman tradition, the first shaykh
“Shaikh al-Isla¯m,” in The Encyclopaedia of Islam (Leiden,
al-Isla¯m was S¸emseddin al-Fenari (d. 1431), a celebrated
1913–1934), while somewhat dated, can be read alongside
shar¯ı Eah scholar and qa¯d:¯ı (“judge”) appointed by Sultan
Richard W. Bulliet’s “The Shaikh al-Isla¯m and the Evolution
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SHAYKH¯IYAH
8307
of Islamic Society,” Studia Islamica 35 (1972): 53–67, for the
including learned scholars, are to follow the ima¯m. Conse-
general history of the office in the Islamic world.
quently they held that the QurDa¯n and traditions reveal the
M
will of God and provide sufficient guidance for the practice
ADELINE C. ZILFI (1987)
of Shiism; in the absence of explicit proof texts, the believer
must forgo judgment on a ruling.
Shaykh Ah:mad remained uncommitted to either party.
SHAYKH¯IYAH. Shaykh¯ıyah was a controversial school
In Iraq he studied under leading representatives of both
of theology within Twelver or Ima¯m¯ı Shiism, originally in-
schools, but his philosophical worldview kept him aloof from
spired by the teachings of Shaykh Ah:mad al-Ahsa¯D¯ı (1753–
identification with either Us:u¯l¯ı rationalism or Akhba¯r¯ı con-
1826), a leading scholar of the early Qa¯ja¯r period, and his
servatism. He quickly established a reputation for piety and
immediate followers. His thought is a creative synthesis of
learning and attracted a large following of students and ad-
considerable merit and complexity, selectively drawing from
mirers. In 1806 he ventured to Iran, where he gained increas-
the mystical philosophy (h:ikmat-i ila¯h¯ı) of Mulla¯ S:adra¯
ing fame not only among the clerics but also with a large
Sh¯ıra¯z¯ı (1579–1641) and other famous Sh¯ıE¯ı heretics, from
number of Qa¯ja¯r royalty, including Fath: EAl¯ı Sha¯h, and pow-
certain elements of the Akhba¯r¯ı school of Sh¯ıE¯ı scholarship
erful merchants.
with its emphasis on the exclusive authority of the words of
the ima¯ms, and apparently from Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı eschatological theo-
In Iran Shaykh Ah:mad wrote his most important works
ries. Though advancing several criticisms of the h:ikmat tradi-
dealing with the spiritual exegesis of Sh¯ıE¯ı traditions, discuss-
tion and of Sufism, the Shaykh¯ıyah may be regarded as the
ing al-Ziya¯rah al-Ja¯mi Dah (1861), and critiques of the philo-
most powerful expression of spiritual dissent from the theol-
sophical systems of Mulla¯ S:adra¯ Sh¯ıra¯z¯ı, al-Masha¯Dir and
ogy and claims to authority of the dominant Us:u¯l¯ı Eulama¯D
al- DArsh¯ıyah (1861), and of Muh:sin Fayd: Ka¯sha¯n¯ı,
of Iran and Iraq during the eighteenth century and early
al-Risa¯lah al- Dilm¯ıyah (1856). His writings appear to have
nineteenth century. As a strong movement toward the charis-
been widely circulated and commented on. Although he ex-
matic individual and his or her access to direct inner revela-
pressed his views cautiously and frequently resorted to
tion from the ima¯ms, the early movement was originally
taq¯ıyah (pious dissimulation of one’s true beliefs), his grow-
called the Kashf¯ıyah. The condemnation of their doctrines
ing popularity and seeming unorthodox beliefs soon made
as heretical and splits within the movement alongside the de-
him the target of fierce attacks from certain mujtahids.
velopment of Ba¯bism from its midst led to a variety of re-
Al-Ah:sa¯D¯ı was accused of holding that the ima¯ms are the
sponses, most of which led to the two main branches of the
creators and sustainers of the cosmos (the notion of delega-
Shaykh¯ıyah reconciling themselves to the dominant theolo-
tion, or tafw¯ıd:), a charge that arose from his understanding
gy and jurisprudence of Twelver Shiism.
of certain traditions of the ima¯ms dealing with ontology and
SHAYKH AH:MAD: LIFE AND THOUGHT. Shaykh Ah:mad was
the mystery of the emergence of being. Shaykh Ah:mad ad-
born in the eastern Arabian province of al-Ah:sa¯D in 1753.
vanced a strict apophatic theology in which God remains for-
From an early age he showed an inclination toward learning
ever beyond human comprehension and indeed beyond
and an ascetic form of spirituality. In his autobiography he
being as the essential divine ground (kunh al-dha¯t). Yet other
relates how as a child and a young man he experienced a se-
traditions and QurDanic verses indicate that the very purpose
ries of initiatory dreams and visions in which certain of the
of human existence is to know and love a God who is closer
twelve Sh¯ıE¯ı ima¯ms and the Prophet Muh:ammad taught him
to one than one’s life vein. The bridge between the transcen-
esoteric knowledge. These visionary experiences later became
dence and immanence of God is the primordial
central in the formation of his philosophical and religious
Muh:ammadan reality (h:aq¯ıqah muh:ammad¯ıyah), which is,
teachings on the nature and functions of the ima¯ms in cre-
for Shaykh Ah:mad, none other than the pleroma of the
ation (al-Ah:sa¯D¯ı, 1957).
Fourteen Immaculate Ones (chaha¯rdah-i ma Ds:u¯m, namely
Muh:ammad, Fa¯t:imah, and the twelve Sh¯ıE¯ı ima¯ms). Here
In the early 1790s Shaykh Ah:mad left his native country
the ima¯ms are held to be eternal spiritual realities who, in
for Iraq. There he came into close contact with the contro-
their unity, are the creative primal will of God and the means
versies then stirring among the Twelver Eulama¯D. In religious
through which God is known to persons. In Shaykh
debates dominated by questions of juristic authority, the
E
Ah:mad’s hierarchy of being, the Fourteen Immaculate Ones
ulama¯ D were largely divided into two camps: Us:u¯l¯ıyah and
are also designated as the “Light of Lights” (nu¯r al-anwa¯r).
Akhba¯r¯ıyah. The Us:u¯l¯ı triumph of the eighteenth century
It is only through the ima¯ms in their reality as the primal will
(the result of a mixture of power politics, rational argument,
that a manifestation (maz:har) of God occurs. On this point
and intimidation) successfully raised the Us:u¯l¯ı mujtahids
al-Ah:sa¯D¯ı differs with the Ishra¯q¯ı school of Sh¯ıE¯ı Neoplato-
(the preeminent jurists) to a dominant position within Shi-
nism, which sees the Light of Lights as the originating source
ism through their doctrine of taql¯ıd, which dictated that the
of being.
Sh¯ıEah must follow the rulings of a living mujtahid on all
matters of ritual practice. For their part the Akhba¯r¯ıyah held
Shaykh Ah:mad maintains that the ima¯ms’ nature as
that only the now-hidden twelfth ima¯m is infallible, immune
spiritual beings demands, in contrast to the dominant theol-
from sins, and therefore worthy to be followed; all persons,
ogy of Shiism, that the ima¯ms exist within spiritual bodies
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SHAYKH¯IYAH
situated in the visionary, mediate realm of Hu¯rqalya¯, an in-
closure of esoteric truths. The first age ended at the close of
termediate world of archetypal figures ( Ea¯lam al-mitha¯l).
the twelfth Islamic century (eighteenth century CE), and
Within this imaginal world, the soul encounters the ima¯ms
Shaykh Ah:mad is held to be the first promulgator of the new
and is transformed through a divine anthropomorphosis
age of inward realities. These views, not widely circulated but
designated as a second or spiritual birth (al-wala¯dah
well known among Rasht¯ı’s closest followers, heightened a
al-ru¯h:a¯n¯ıyah). It is in this archetypal region of being that the
sense of millenarian hope among some Shaykh¯ıyah for the
night journey (mi Dra¯j) of the Prophet and the final resurrec-
full disclosure of the new age through the guidance of the
tion occur, a belief that undermines the insistence upon the
perfect Sh¯ıEah or possibly even the long-expected return of
physicality of these experiences in the dominant theology of
the Hidden Ima¯m.
Shiism (see Corbin, 1977, chaps. 9–11, for translations of
Shaykh¯ı texts on this theme).
Despite opposition, the Shaykh¯ıyah attained its greatest
successes under Rasht¯ı’s leadership. Indeed the Sh¯ıEah in
Shaykh Ah:mad’s rejection of the mujtahids’ claims to
Karbala became divided into Shaykh¯ı and Us:u¯l¯ı factions.
authority also caused conflicts. As with the Akhba¯r¯ıyah,
When Rasht¯ı died without designating a successor, the
Shaykh Ah:mad denies that believers must submit to the rul-
movement splintered into several antagonistic parties, of
ings of some mujtahid. Instead, he advances his doctrine of
which the three most important were the conservative
the Fourth Support (al-rukn al-ra¯bi D). Shaykh Ah:mad logi-
Tabr¯ız¯ı Shaykh¯ıyah led by M¯ırza¯ Íasan Gawhar (d. 1849),
cally reduces the traditional five bases of Shiism to three: the
the Kirma¯n¯ı Shaykh¯ıyah led by the powerful Qa¯ja¯r notable
unity of God, prophethood, and the imamate. In addition
H:a¯jj Muh:ammad Kar¯ım Kha¯n Kirma¯n¯ı (1810–1870), and
there must always exist the “perfect Sh¯ıEah”: Sh¯ıE¯ı saints who
the Ba¯b¯ı movement led by Sayyid EAl¯ı Muh:ammad Sh¯ıra¯z¯ı
serve as intermediaries between the ima¯ms and believers. The
(1819–1844), known as the Ba¯b.
perfect Sh¯ıEah partake of the grace of the ima¯ms through spir-
The Tabr¯ız¯ı Shaykh¯ıyah later led by the Ma¯maqa¯n¯ı
itual vision and not through the fallible discursive reasoning
family played a central role in the trial and execution of the
of the mujtahids. Consequently their knowledge of religious
Ba¯b and reached a reconciliation with the Us:u¯l¯ıs. Hence-
truths is immune from error by virtue of their intimacy with
forth they remained undistinguishable in outward practice
the ima¯ms. Although Shaykh Ah:mad did not specifically
and appearance from the rest of the Sh¯ıE¯ı community. Their
claim to be the “bearer” of this Fourth Support, his descrip-
only distinguishing feature was their championing of the
tion of the attributes of the perfect Sh¯ıE¯ı appears to be a self-
character and thought of Shaykh Ah:mad.
portrait. Thus he distinguishes himself from earlier philoso-
phers and theologians by asserting that he is at variance with
The Ba¯b¯ı movement’s millenarian fervor and eventual
both these groups because of his unique spiritual relationship
rejection of Sh¯ıE¯ı orthodoxy forced Kar¯ım Kha¯n to adjust
with the ima¯ms. Unlike the former, he “does not speak with-
Shaykh¯ı teachings in order to distance himself and his party
out being guided by the ima¯ms” (al-Ah:sa¯D¯ı, 1957, p. 14).
from the Ba¯b¯ıs. In contrast to the Ba¯b¯ıs, he emphasized the
continuing role of the ima¯ms and accepted the Us:u¯l¯ı legal
In about 1822 an undistinguished mujtahid from Qaz-
method. Kar¯ım Kha¯n denied that either Shaykh Ah:mad or
vin, Mulla¯ Muh:ammad Taq¯ı Baragha¯n¯ı, accused him of the
Sayyid Ka¯z:im was to be regarded as the Fourth Support of
heresies of tafw¯ıd: and the denial of bodily resurrection. Most
their day, for this is a general category of guides consisting
of the leading Eulama¯D and philosophers remained sympa-
of all Ima¯m¯ı Eulama¯D (Kirma¯n¯ı, Al-rukn al-ra¯biD, Kirman,
thetic or neutral toward Shaykh Ah:mad, and it was not at
1949). Eventually the Kirma¯n¯ı Shaykh¯ıyah returned to the
this point that his close followers were considered to be here-
more mystical position that the Fourth Support is an un-
tics outside Shiism. Nevertheless this controversy prompted
named spiritual hierarchy of saints who, like the Hidden
the shaykh to leave Iran for Iraq. There too Shaykh Ah:mad
Ima¯m, remain unknown to the general populace. The
found himself at the center of debate with many Eulama¯D an-
Kirma¯n¯ı Shaykh¯ıyah came to regard themselves as an elite
tagonistic to his views. Deciding that it was wiser to move
minority within Shiism, preserving and deepening the eso-
once more, he set out for Mecca but died in 1826 at the age
teric dimensions of Shiism through the guidance of their
of seventy-three before he reached the holy city.
shaykhs (see Corbin, 1972). The leadership of the school re-
THE SHAYKH¯I SCHOOL. Al-Ah:sa¯D¯ı designated Sayyid Qa¯Eim
mained in the Ibra¯h¯ım¯ı family, descendents of Kar¯ım Kha¯n.
Rasht¯ı (d. 1843) as his successor. Under Rasht¯ı’s leadership,
After the assassination of Shaykh EAbd al-Rid:a¯ Kha¯n
the Shaykh¯ı school emerged as a separate and organized
Ibra¯h¯ım¯ı in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution of 1979,
movement within Shiism. Rasht¯ı clearly formulated the
the school moved to Basra, where it is led by Sayyid EAl¯ı
Shaykh¯ı doctrine of salvation history and the evolutionary
al-Mu¯saw¯ı. Kirma¯n¯ı Shaykh¯ı groups are found in the early
cycles of revelation that had been ambiguously expressed by
twenty-first century in Iran and Iraq (particularly in Basra).
his master (al-Ah:sa¯D¯ı, 1956, vol. 1, p. 103). Possibly influ-
Tabr¯ız¯ı Shaykh¯ıs (although unlike the Kirma¯n¯ıs they never
enced by Isma¯D¯ıl¯ı ideas, Rasht¯ı held that there are two ages
use the term) relocated to Karbala at the beginning of the
of the dispensation of Muh:ammad: the period of outward
twentieth century to rekindle the original Shaykh¯ı commu-
observances (z:awa¯hir) and perfection of the shari Eah, fol-
nity there under Rasht¯ı. They are well integrated in the
lowed by the period of inward realities (bawa¯t:in) and the dis-
Twelver scholarly community (their leader is described as a
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SHEEP AND GOATS
8309
marja D, a source of emulation using the Us:u¯l¯ı term) and are
Shaykh Ah:mad. For a comprehensive catalog of Shaykh¯ı pri-
based in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, and Damascus, led
mary sources, see Abu¯ al-Qa¯sim Kha¯n Ibra¯h¯ım¯ı’s Fihrist-i
in the early twenty-first century by M¯ırza¯ EAbd Alla¯h Ía¯Dir¯ı
kutub-i Shaykh Ah:mad Ah:sa¯ D¯ı va sa¯ Dir masha¯yikh-i Eiz:a¯m, 3d
Ih:qa¯q¯ı.
ed. (Kirman, Iran, 1977); now abridged and translated by
Moojan Momen as a Bulletin of BahaDi Studies Monograph
S
(Newcastle, U.K., 1991). Among Shaykh Ah:mad’s pub-
EE ALSO Ba¯b¯ıs.
lished works are his autobiography, S¯ırat al-Shaykh Ah:mad
al-Ah
:sa¯ D¯ı (Baghdad, 1957); Jawa¯miD al-kalim, 2 vols.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(Tabr¯ız, Iran, 1856–1860), a general collection; Sharh:
A useful summary of Shaykh¯ı teachings is in chapter 2 of Mangol
al-Ziya¯rah al-Ja¯mi Dah al-kab¯ırah, 4 vols. (Tehran, 1850–
Bayat’s Mysticism and Dissent (Syracuse, N.Y., 1982), which
1851), a vast commentary that provides a veritable summa
attempts to link the Sh¯ıE¯ı traditions of philosophical dissent
of Sh¯ıE¯ı philosophy as a commentary on a famous supplica-
to late-nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century anti-
tion and visitation recitation of the tenth ima¯m, EAl¯ı
clerical, secular nationalists. On the relationship between the
al-Ha¯d¯ı; and other commentaries on the writings of Mulla¯
Shaykh¯ıyah and the Ba¯b¯ıs, see Abbas Amanat’s Resurrection
S:adra¯ (Tabr¯ız, Iran, 1861–1862). Most of these works have
and Renewal (Ithaca, N.Y., 1989); and Denis MacEoin’s
been reprinted in Beirut since the late 1990s and are available
“Early Shaykh¯ı Reactions to Babism,” in Studies in Babi and
on Shaykh¯ı websites. A new institute, MuDassasat al-Fikr
Baha Di History, vol. 1, edited by Moojan Momen (Los Ange-
al-Awh:ad, based in Damascus and founded by the Tabr¯ız¯ı
les, 1982) and “Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy in Nineteenth
and Karbala¯D¯ı Shaykh¯ıs, has been producing studies and edi-
Century Shiism: The Cases of Shaykhism and Babism,” Jour-
tions of the works of Shaykh Ah:mad since 2001. Shaykh¯ı
nal of the American Oriental Society 110 (1990): 323–329.
texts on the theme of spiritual bodies are translated in Henry
Both Bayat and Amanat suffer from a Whiggish approach to
Corbin’s Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth (Princeton, N.J.,
Shaykh¯ı history as a moment in the historical development
1977), chaps. 9–11.
of the BahaDi faith. A number of studies have appeared on
The World Wide Web has become a major resource for Arabic
Shaykh Ah:mad, including Juan Cole’s “Shaykh Ah:mad
texts and academic studies. A descriptive bibliography of the
al-Ah:sa¯D¯ı and the Sources of Religious Authority,” in The
Shaykh¯ıyah by Stephen Lambden is at http://
Most Learned of the Shi Ea, edited by Linda Walbridge,
www.hurqalya.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/SHAYKHISM/
pp. 82–93 (New York, 2001), and “The World as Text: Cos-
shaykhism-bib1.htm. Two academic sites affiliated with H-
mologies of Shaykh Ah:mad al-Ah:sa¯D¯ı,” Studia Islamica 80
Net, with primary source materials in translation and studies,
(1994): 145–163. Idris S. Hamid’s “The Metaphysics and
are “Occasional Papers in Shaykhi, Babi and BahaDi Studies”
Cosmology of Process” (Ph.D. diss., State University of New
at http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/bhpapers.htm and “Transla-
York, Buffalo, 1998) is a valuable study of the philosophical
tions of Shaykhi, Babi and BahaDi Texts” at http://www.
method and system of Shaykh Ah:mad. A useful modern bi-
h-net.org/~bahai/trans.htm. The Kirma¯n¯ı Shaykh¯ıs have a
ography is Muh:ammad Isbir, al- DAlla¯ma al-Jal¯ıl Shaykh
site with an extensive library of texts at http://
Ah:mad ibn Zayn al-D¯ın al-Ah:sa¯ D¯ı f¯ı da¯ Dirat al-d:awD (Beirut,
www.alabrar.info. There are also a number of Tabr¯ız¯ı and
Lebanon, 1993).
Karbala¯D¯ı Shaykh¯ı sites, including http://www.awhad.com.
Garcia Scarcia’s “Kirma¯n 1905: La ‘Guerra’ tra Seih¯ı e Ba¯lasar¯ı,”
Annali del Instituto Universitario di Napoli 13 (1963): 186–
STEVEN SCHOLL (1987)
S
203, discusses the Shaykh¯ı-Us:u¯l¯ı division in Twelver Shi-
AJJAD H. RIZVI (2005)
ism. Denis MacEoin’s “From Shaykhism to Babism” (Ph.D.
diss., University of Cambridge, 1979) is an excellent study
on the role of authority claims and the interplay of charis-
matic versus legal authority in the rise of the Shaykh¯ı and
SHCHERBATSKII, FEDOR SEE
Ba¯b¯ı movements. Moojan Momen’s “Us:u¯l¯ı, Akhba¯r¯ı,
STCHERBATSKY, THEODORE
Shaykh¯ı, Ba¯b¯ı: The Tribulations of a Qazwin Family,” Ira-
nian Studies
36 (2003): 317–337, is a masterful microhistori-
cal study of relations between these differing groups.
SHEEP AND GOATS
Henry Corbin presents a concise study of the Kirma¯n¯ı Shaykh¯ı
appear frequently in the history
school, with emphasis on philosophical issues, in L’école
of religions, from prehistoric times down to the present, and
shaykhie en théologie shi’ite (Tehran, Iran, 1967), an expanded
across a wide geographic area. Both appear most commonly
version of which appears in his En Islam iranien, vol. 4, bk.
as animals of sacrifice, but the ram and especially the goat
6 (Paris, 1972). M. A. Amir-Moezzi’s “An Absence Filled
have also served as symbols of sexual virility and so are often
with Presences,” BSOAS 64 (2001): 1–18, is a useful study
associated with fertility cults.
of Shaykh¯ı hermeneutics. Shaykh¯ı ontology and eschatology
PREHISTORIC TIMES. Evidence of the symbolic importance
are treated in Vahid Rafati’s “The Development of Shaykh¯ı
of sheep and goats in prehistoric times comes primarily from
Thought in Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam” (Ph.D. diss., University of Califor-
nia, Los Angeles, 1979). A. L. M. Nicolas’s Essai sur le cheik-
their representation in art. Their importance as totemic ani-
isme, 4 vols. (Paris, 1910–1914), is outdated but contains
mals among some contemporary tribal peoples also presum-
some valuable biographical information.
ably reflects much more ancient beliefs.
There are many primary sources for the history and teachings of
Prior to their domestication in the Neolithic period,
the Shaykh¯ıyah, including more than one hundred tracts by
wild sheep and goats were hunted as game and seem to have
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SHEEP AND GOATS
become cult objects quite early. In Upper Paleolithic art, for
widespread in Judaism, ancient Greece, ancient China, and
instance, 7 percent of the animal representations consist of
elsewhere.
images of rams. From the Neolithic period to the Bronze
Numerous examples of sheep as sacrificial animals can
Age, depictions of both goats and rams (most commonly the
be found in the Judeo-Christian tradition. A lamb was
former) are encountered quite often in the art of Mesopota-
slaughtered in the Israelite Passover rite (Ex. 12:21–24, Nm.
mia, Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. It may be assumed
8:8–12). In the New Testament, in both the Gospel of John
that beliefs and myths connected with these animals under-
and the Book of Revelation, Christ is referred to as the Lamb
went a considerable development at this time.
of God who redeems the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29, 1:36;
On a diadem from Hissar III (Iran, first half of the sec-
Rv. 5:6–14, 6:1): that is, the killing of Christ is directly com-
ond millennium BCE) images of rams and goats are arranged
pared to the slaughtering of a sacrificial sheep in order to take
in mirrorlike symmetry. In Çatal Hüyük (Asia Minor, sev-
away sins (compare the motif of the scapegoat). Lamb is the
enth and sixth millennia BCE) ram heads are depicted on the
traditional meal during Christian celebrations of Easter; mar-
walls of sanctuaries. Rams seem to have been associated with
zipan and chocolate lambs holding flags—to represent Christ
the goddess who is also depicted there as a kind of propri-
victorious—are also popular at Easter time.
etress of human beings and of both wild and domestic ani-
Sheep have been sacrificial animals among many other
mals. On a wall of the Leopard Sanctuary, also at Çatal
peoples as well. In the Islamic world, the ritual slaughter of
Hüyük, there is a depiction of a stylized tree with a goatlike
a sheep is called for during the feast of the pilgrimage. Just
animal on either side. This general motif, a tree or a plant
as in the Judeo-Christian tradition a ram is sacrificed in the
with flanking sheep or goats, is very common in pottery dec-
place of Isaac, in the Islamic tradition a ram is substituted
oration and glyptic art from this period. Symbolic represen-
for Ishmael.
tations of water (perhaps rain) and of snakes are also found
in connection with it. These mythologems became very
Among the ancient Greeks sheep were sacrificed to Aph-
widespread and existed up to modern times in Central Asia.
rodite and Zeus, and also to the chthonic gods. For sacrifice
to the last a black sheep or ram was used and was allowed
More indirect evidence for the religious importance of
to be completely consumed by fire, whereas when sacrifices
sheep and goats in Neolithic times comes from the practices
were made to other gods most of the animal’s flesh was re-
of various tribal peoples. Their survivals of worship of sheep
served to be eaten. The most important sacrifice was the
as totemic animals up to the modern period may represent
Kriobolion (“slaughter of sheep”), an orgiastic and mystical
a practice that goes back to very ancient times. One such
event associated with the cult of Attis.
practice was the prohibition against eating mutton among
some tribes of Madagascar, who believed that tribal members
In addition to their use in sacrifice, sheep have also been
were descended from sheep. The sheep was also a totemic an-
associated with weddings and thus with fertility. In ancient
imal for the Kharia of Bengal, the Kalanga of South Africa,
Athens, for instance, the fleece of a sacred sheep (aegis) was
the Batoro of Uganda, and the tribes of the Altaic region,
brought by a priestess to newly married women. The ram,
among others. The fact that the word for “ram” is contained
viewed primarily as a symbol of sexual power, played an even
in the Greek family name Krioid (from the Greek krios) may
more important role in Classical Greece. It was associated
hint at an earlier totemic belief in Greece as well. Finally, it
mainly with the cult of Hermes but also with the cults of
should be noted that the goat has served as a totemic animal
Aphrodite, Zeus, Poseidon, Cybele, Hera, Hephaistos, the
among some San (Bushmen) tribes of southern Africa.
sileni, and the satyrs. Although Hermes was often depicted
next to sheep or riding a sheep, particular emphasis was
HISTORICAL TIMES. In historical times one begins to find
placed on the ram and especially on its connection with viril-
more differentiated notions of the symbolic importance of
ity. The size and weight of the ram’s sexual organ were com-
sheep and goats and are thus able to discuss each in more
mented upon, and it was believed that a good ram could
detail.
cover fifty ewes. Such beliefs are reflected in mythology: Her-
mes, burning with love for Persephone, decided to approach
Sheep. Because of the innate traits and behavior of
her in the form of a ram. It was thought that a god could
sheep, such qualities as gentleness, timidity, inoffensiveness,
have much more amorous enjoyment in the form of a ram
and passivity have been consistently attributed to them.
than as a human. The ram was also connected with gold and
These qualities have also been interpreted as expressions of
the sun, both symbols of vital power.
innocence, mildness, simplicity, and love, and, consequently,
as a willingness to be sacrificed. The sheep’s defenselessness
In Rome there were similar beliefs and practices. Sheep
against predators (some animals are actually called “sheep
were favored as sacrificial animals and were offered to Mars,
eaters”) also made a deep cultural impression. Considering
Faunus (the protector of sheep and flocks), Pales, and Dea
such perceptions of sheep, and taking into account their rela-
Dia. They were also associated, as in Greece, with weddings:
tively high fecundity (and hence their availability and ex-
A bridegroom and his bride were required to sit on a sheep-
pendability), it becomes easy to understand how the idea of
skin that was specially sanctified for the occasion. Finally,
the sheep as a sacrificial animal came into being and became
sheep also seem to have acquired a chthonic meaning in
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Rome: They were used in the cult of the lares and manes, sac-
the moment when a corpse was brought out of the house for
rificed to the dead, and depicted on tombs.
burial. Zoroastrians have also believed that one could be
helped to cross the Chinvat Bridge leading to Heaven by the
In ancient Egypt the cult of the ram was widespread. On
ritualistic sacrifice of a ram.
the island of Elephantine the ram was believed to embody
the local god Khnum. Excavations there have revealed the
Goats. In religious practice and mythology, goats have
burial ground of the sacred rams of Khnum’s temple, and ac-
been important as symbols of extraordinary virility and fe-
tual mummies of sacred rams have been found. In Mendes
cundity and as animals associated with the profane. Like
(which means “ram”), the ram embodied Osiris, the Egyp-
the sheep, the goat has also long been a favorite animal of
tian god of the underworld, and in Thebes the sun god
sacrifice.
Amun was depicted as a ram.
Many references to goats can be found in the ancient
Various Hindu deities are associated with the ram as
Near East. A Babylonian hymn compares Ishtar to a goat and
well. Indra, the warrior god, is called a ram in the R:gveda
Tammuz to a kid. Also in Babylonia, a goat was sacrificed
(1.10.2, 1.51.1), and one of the forms of the god of fire,
in order to rid a person of disease. The goat was killed while
Agni, was that of a ram.
a tamarisk knife was drawn across the person’s throat, and
The ancient and modern peoples of Iran and Central
the goat was then buried as if it were a person. Among the
Asia have many beliefs concerning sheep. Among the Pamiri
Hittites, the parts of the body of a newborn child were ho-
of Central Asia, sheep are believed to have a divine nature
mologized to the body of a sacrificed goat. In a Sumerian tra-
and are associated with the sun. A story is told of a sacred
dition the goat was linked with the god Enki, who had the
sheep, illumined by a sacred flame, descending from the
form of a goat in front and a fish’s tail in back and who was
mountains. In the Islamic version of this story, the sheep is
crowned with the head of a ram. This bizarre combination
said to have been sent by the Prophet. In the Pahlavi-Sasanid
reflects Enki’s nature as ruler of both water and plants.
work Karnamag (eleventh century), an enormous ram sym-
In the Israelite religion the goat was the preferred sacri-
bolizes the happiness (farr) of the king and his dynasty, and
fice to Yahveh. Here is also found the institution of the
more broadly the happiness and well-being of any man. In
“scapegoat.” A goat was brought before a priest, who placed
Iranian Sasanid art, rams are depicted with ceremonial rib-
his hands upon its head while enumerating the sins of the
bons around their necks, for sheep were believed to bring
people. A special envoy then took the goat into an impassable
happiness and health; if one walked through a flock of sheep
wilderness and let it go. Upon return the envoy had to un-
one would free oneself of disease. There is a striking parallel
dergo a ritual purification (Lv. 16:3–28). The practice was
to these Iranian themes in the Chinese tradition, where the
not limited to the Israelites alone, however, but was common
term for happiness consists of the graphs for “man” and
to many peoples, although the expelled animal was not al-
“ram.” For the Kalmuks, a Mongolian people, the ram is a
ways a goat.
symbol of fertility and abundance, and a white ram is be-
The goat was less important to the Greeks. Nevertheless,
lieved to be a creature from heaven. The connection of the
depictions of goat-demons appeared at a very early period in
ram with fertility is found in Hittite and Russian rituals as
Greek art. In Classical Greece this was Pan, with hooves and
well. The mountain Tajiks annually attach drawings of a
horns but with a man’s body and head. His Roman analogue
ram’s horn to the front walls of their houses in order to in-
was Faunus, who was called the “goat god,” although he was
crease fertility.
originally worshiped as a wolf god.
Many ancient beliefs and practices were connected with
The Olympian god most closely associated with the goat
the chthonic nature of the ram. The late Bronze Age ceme-
was Dionysos. According to one legend, Zeus changed the
teries of northern Afghanistan and southern Uzbekistan con-
young Dionysos into a kid, which Hermes brought to the
tain separate burials of goats and rams isolated from the
nymphs at Mount Nysa. Dionysos was able to assume the
human graves and supplied with a large number of vessels
form of a goat and was sometimes regarded as a goat. His
and even funeral food—part of the carcass of a ram! Evident-
progeny were often seen as goatlike; goats were offered to
ly the animals were substituted for human corpses that for
him in sacrifice, and the goat was his attribute. Such beliefs
some reason could not be buried here. Much later, in graves
and practices were doubtless connected with the cult of vege-
in Ferghana (Central Asia) dating from the seventh and
tation and fertility, which is also the link between the goat
eighth centuries CE, rams were buried equipped with saddles
and the cult of Aphrodite. The goat was her sacred animal,
and bridles, evidently as substitutes for horses. The mountain
which she was often portrayed as riding. The goat also played
people of the Iagnob River valley in Tajikistan held a funeral
a role in the cults of Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Artemis, and Her-
feast for a dead sheep as though it were human. The Tajiks
mes, and the Greeks had the institution of the scapegoat as
believed that if a person killed a ram for a purpose pleasing
well. In Rome, goats were sacrificed during the Lupercalia
to God, a ram would meet that person in the next world to
and were also associated with the storm deities.
carry him or her across the bridge leading to paradise; similiar
beliefs are found in Islamic culture generally and among the
Goats appear in ancient Indian religion in several con-
Turkmens, who thought it necessary to slaughter a ram at
nections. The god Agni sometimes had a goat as his mount.
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SHEKHINAH
The Asvins were compared to two goats (R:gveda 2.39.2–3).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The deity Pusan, who was associated with the sun and with
The literature on beliefs connected with the ram and the goat is
roads, rode on a chariot harnessed to goats (R:gveda 6.58.2),
extensive. A general compilation of information on animals,
and during the Asvamedha (the horse sacrifice) a goat was
although partly outdated, is Angelo de Gubernatis’s Zoologi-
sacrificed to him. The goat’s connection with fertility is also
cal Mythology, or Legends of Animals, vol. 1 (London, 1872).
See also Jean-Pierre Dones’s Des animaux dans la mythologie
apparent in ancient India; a woman wanting a child had to
(Lyons, 1956), a very useful survey, and Mify narodov mira,
eat the ritually cooked flesh of a red goat (Kausitaki Sankhay-
2 vols. (Moscow, 1980–1982), an excellent compilation of
ana 35.17ff.). The milk of a red goat was believed to protect
mythological and religious information. Ancient beliefs are
one from misfortune.
analyzed in depth in E. V. Antonova’s Ocherki kul Dtury drev-
nikh zemledel Dtsev Perednei i Srednei Azii: Opyt rekonstruktsii

In Zoroastrianism, Verethraghna, the god of victory, is
mirovospriiatiia (Moscow, 1984). The best compilation of
sometimes described as a “beautiful wild goat with sharp
the beliefs of antiquity is Otto Keller’s Die antike Tierwelt,
horns” (Yasht 14.8.25). In Mithraic reliefs the goat symbol-
vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1909). A basic study is The Scapegoat, vol. 9
izes a mortal being at the peak of vitality and power.
of James G. Frazer’s The Golden Bough, 3d ed., rev. & enl.
(London, 1913). For Central Asia and adjacent areas, see my
A cult of the goat was widespread from ancient times
Kangiuisko-sarmatskii farn (k istoriko-kul Dturnym sviaziam
in Central Asia. The depiction of a goat on a figurine dating
plemen iuzhnoi Rossii i Srednei Azii) (Dushanbe, 1968),
from the beginning of the third millennium BCE establishes
translated into German as “Das Kangzhu-Sarmatische
the existence at that period of a goddess in whose cult a goat
Farnah,” Central Asiatic Journal 16 (1972): 241–289 and 20
figured importantly. Traces of this cult can still be found
(1976): 47–74; and my Sredniaia Aziia v drevnosti i sred-
among the inhabitants of the Pamir and among the Nuri-
nevekov De (Moscow, 1977).
stani, inhabitants of the Hindu Kush. The latter have even
New Sources
retained the altars of this goddess, Markum, to whom
Bonney, Meta. The World of Sheep and Goats. Carmarthen, U.K.,
women annually sacrifice a goat. For the Pamiri this goddess
1993.
has become a peri, or fairy, who is recognized as the sole
Edwards, Jeanette. “Why Dolly Matters: Kinship, Culture, and
owner and proprietress of the mountain goats. When a hunt-
Cloning.” Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology 63 (November
er kills a goat, his kill is believed to be the gift of the heavenly
1999): 301–325.
owner of goats, the peri.
Shoemaker, H. Stephen. “Sheep and Goats.” Christian Century
117 (July 5–12, 2002): 714.
Ancient beliefs about goats have survived in the folklore
of various modern peoples. The sacrifice of a goat figures in
B. A. LITVINSKII (1987)
the Russian fairy tale about Alenushka and her brother
Translated from Russian by Sylvia Juran
Revised Bibliography
Ivanushka, for instance, and the goat Schmierbock appears
in Norwegian folk tales as the owner of a treasure of gold.
Goats are often described as sources of light and milk and
are associated with the Milky Way. The goat Heiðrún gives
SHEKHINAH. The term Shekhinah, generally translat-
mead in Valholl, while in Indian stories the goat gives neither
ed as “presence,” was coined by rabbinic sages in the forma-
E
milk nor mead but coins. An Estonian folktale features a ser-
tive period (first through sixth centuries) to denote the mani-
pent king with a golden cup that contains the milk of a heav-
festation of a transcendent God in the world of space and
enly goat and has the properties of a magic mirror. Modern-
time. On balance, there is little evidence in classical rabbinic
day mummers continue to link the goat with the ancient cult
literature that Shekhinah denotes a hypostatic entity ontically
of fertility when they sing “Where the goat goes, there the
distinct from God, a secondary or demiurgical being akin to
wheat grows” and when they portray the mock death of a
the Logos in the writings of Philo or in the prologue to the
goat and its subsequent resurrection.
Gospel of John. As a number of scholars have noted, in most
instances, Shekhinah is used interchangeably for the supreme
As in ancient times, the goat continues to be associated
divine being, though it is evident that the reference is, more
in various traditions with the netherworld and with chthonic
specifically, to the appearance of God in history and nature,
power. In this respect the goat is opposed to the “pure” lamb.
a mythopoeic expression of divine providence related espe-
A Slavic popular belief holds that a water sprite can be ap-
cially to Israel. This theme is epitomized in a dictum that has
peased with the pelt of a black goat; among the Slavs a black
instilled hope in the hearts of pious Jews through many a
goat was sometimes sacrificed to a deceased person. In Slavic
dark moment, Shekhinah accompanies the Jewish nation into
and Germanic folklore the Devil has the hooves of a goat.
exile (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 29a). The implication
Finally, it should be noted that the goat figures impor-
of this promise is clearly that the deliverance of Israel from
tantly in astrological symbolism (Capricorn the Goat is a sign
exile heralds the redemption of God, a bold mythical idea
of the zodiac, as is Aries the Ram), folk medicine, heraldry,
that a number of rabbis insist must be accepted since Scrip-
and the interpretation of dreams.
ture sanctions it explicitly.
The word shekhinah is derived from the root shkn,
SEE ALSO Scapegoat.
which means to dwell, to abide, and thus it is functionally
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8313
synonymous with kavod, the scriptural expression used to
construct of the heavenly Temple, an idea well attested in
designate the divine glory, the revelatory aspect of God that
ancient Near Eastern mythologies and reaffirmed in different
assumes material form—most often of a luminous nature—
cultural settings throughout Jewish history; it is precisely the
in relation to the people of Israel. Related to shkn is mishkan,
offering of prayer in the former that activates God’s forgive-
the priestly designation of the Tabernacle, the temporary
ness in the latter. Solomon cannot logically resolve the para-
abode of God’s indwelling that accompanied the Israelites on
dox of how a God so vast that he cannot be contained by
the sojourn through the desert (Ex. 40:34-38), the prototype
the heavens will reside in the earthly Temple. Interestingly,
of the Jerusalem Temple built in the time of Solomon, which
there is a rabbinic text, transmitted in the name of Rabbi
is described in similar language as the place where God shall
Yoh:anan by Rabbi Judah bar Simon, that expands on Solo-
abide if the Israelites uphold the covenant and obey the com-
mon’s wonder by placing an analogous question in the
mandments (1 Kgs 6:13). In the Solomonic account, a para-
mouth of Moses. Perhaps the theological significance of the
dox that has plagued the religious sensibility of Jews from
midrashic text lies in the fact that it deepens the scriptural
time immemorial is made explicit: on one hand, God de-
mystery and comes close to offering the rabbinic version of
scribes himself as dwelling in the darkness of the thick cloud,
a kenotic incarnation: When Moses is commanded to build
lishkon ba-arafel (1 Kgs. 8:12; cf. Ex. 20:18; Dt. 5:19; 2 Sm.
the Tabernacle, he trembles and asks God how the presence
22:10; Ps. 18:10, 97:2; Jb. 38:9; 2 Chr. 6:1), an image that
can reside in the Tabernacle when all the heavens cannot
conveys the inherent inscrutability and hiddenness of the di-
contain him, recalling that when Solomon built the Temple,
vine, and yet, on the other hand, it is the will of God that
a physical space larger than the Tabernacle, he posed a simi-
summons Solomon to build a “stately house” (beit zevul) to
lar question to God. The divine response is instructive:
serve as a place for his dwelling eternally (1 Kgs. 8:13), a do-
“Moses, it is not as you think, rather twenty planks on the
micile to give shelter to the name (1 Kgs. 20), a locution that
north, twenty planks on the south, eight on the west (Ex.
resonates with the Deuteronomistic emphasis on the abiding
26:18-25), and I will descend and constrict my presence in
of the divine name (shem) in the sanctuary (Dt. 12:5, 11;
your midst below (ered u-metsamtsem shekhinati beineikhem
14:23-24; 16:11). The glory inhabits the earthly temple
lematan)” (Pesiqta D Rabbati 2:10; compare Exodus Rabbah
through the agency of the name, presumably the tetragram-
34:1). Paradoxical though it may be, God has the capacity
maton, a conception that is related to the widespread belief
to delimit his presence to a constricted physical space, wheth-
in the ancient Near East concerning the magical power of
er the Tabernacle, the Temple, or the Synagogue; the spiritu-
divine or angelic names. The query placed in the mouth of
al calling of liturgical worship within a theistic framework
Solomon when he addresses God as he stands before the altar
demands this very possibility. Lest there be any misunder-
reflects the anxiety that lies at the core of this paradox: “But
standing, it must be stated emphatically that the rabbinic text
will God really dwell on earth? Even the heavens and the
does not employ the language of emptying and suffering the
heaven of heavens cannot contain You, how much less this
humility of death, hallmark features of the kenotic orienta-
house that I have built” (1 Kgs. 8:28). In the continuation
tion, scripturally anchored in Philippians 2:7-8. This use of
of Solomon’s remarks, the reader confronts one of the axi-
the term “kenosis” to depict the midrashic theme is limited
omatic principles of theistic faith that persists to this very
to the theme of God constricting his presence to a space with
day:
distinctive and measurable boundaries, an occurrence that
would necessitate self-limitation on the part of the seemingly
Turn, O Lord my God, to the prayer and supplication
limitless divine being.
of Your servant, and heed the song and prayer that Your
servant offers before You this day. May your eyes be
A crucial verse that doubtlessly informed the rabbinic
open night and day toward this House, to the place of
conception is the command uttered by God to the Israelites
which you have said “Let My name be there,” to heed
through Moses, “They should make a sanctuary (miqdash)
the prayer that your servant prays toward this place.
for me and I will dwell (shakhanti) in their midst” (Ex. 25:8).
And You will listen to the supplications of Your servant
This surmise regarding the rabbis is supported by the render-
and Your people Israel that they pray toward this place,
ing of the verse in Targum Onkelos, one of the ancient Ara-
and You will give heed in Your place of dwelling in
maic interpretative translations of the Torah: “And they shall
heaven (el meqom shivttekha el ha-shamayim), You will
listen and pardon (1 Kgs 8:28-30).
make a sanctuary before Me and I shall cause My Shekhinah
to dwell among them (asherei shekhinetti beineihon).” The
This archaic text captures the insight that the possibility of
disclosure of the divine presence requires an enclosure—the
prayer within a theisitic context, that is, a religious setting
root of the word miqdash, “sanctuary,” is qdsh, which means,
that presumes a personal deity attentive to human needs, is
primarily, “to set aside” and, secondarily, “to consecrate,” to
dependent on the representation of God in embodied form,
separate holy from mundane—initially the transient Tent of
which, in turn, necessitates the construction of a physical
Meeting (ohel mo Eed) and later the stationary Temple (beit
place where this form will reside—even though it is forbid-
miqdash). In accord with some of the Jerusalem priests re-
den to depict it iconically—and become accessible to the
sponsible for the section of Torah demarcated by biblical
worshipper. From the aforecited verses readers learn, more-
scholars as P, the priestly stratum, identified more recently
over, that the sacred space below corresponds to the imaginal
by Israel Knohl as the “Holiness School,” a distinct layer
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SHEKHINAH
within this stratum, the theological rationale for the narrative
lief that study of Torah facilitates the indwelling of
of Israel’s sacred history is linked especially to the mishkan,
Shekhinah is a presumption regarding the congruence of the
the edifice that provided an enclosure to both shelter the
hermeneutical enterprise and religious experience that may
glory and facilitate its disclosure in the community of the
even be on the level of prophetic revelation. Such an inter-
holy people (Lv. 15:31, 28:11): “I will dwell (shakhanti)
pretative possibility is supported by a Talmudic pericope that
amidst the children of Israel, and I will be their God. And
begins with a comment attributed to the third-century Pales-
they will know that I am the Lord their God who brought
tinian Amora, Avdimi of Haifa: “From the day the Temple
them out of Egypt that I might dwell (leshokhni) in their
was destroyed, prophecy was taken from the prophets
midst, I am the Lord their God” (Ex. 29:45-46). The de-
(nevi Dim) and given to the sages (h:akhamim).” The anony-
mand for ritual purity contained in the priestly interdictions,
mous redactor interposes the rhetoric query, “Is it not the
particularly salient in the holiness code (Lv. 18), which had
case that a sage (h:akham) is a prophet (navi)? Thus it is said
a profound impact on the religious sensibility promulgated
even though it is taken from the prophets it is not taken from
by the rabbis in their construction of a halakhic framework,
the sages.” At this juncture the redactor transmits the teach-
was in no small measure dependent on the mythopoeic belief
ing of Ameimar, a fifth-century Babylonian Amora, “The
in the material abiding of the divine presence in the midst
sage is preferable to the prophet (h:akham adif mi-navi), as
of the Israelites (Nm. 5:3, 16:3).
it says ‘and the prophet wise of heart’ (Ps. 90:12). Who is
dependent upon whom? I would say the lesser one is depen-
In general terms, the rabbinic conception of Shekhinah
dent on the greater” (Babylonian Talmud, Baba Batra 12a).
is phenomenologically on a par with the priestly notion. To
Ameimar’s exegetical proof rests on an intentional misread-
be sure, the rabbis formulated their ideas after the destruc-
ing of the Masoretic text from Psalms 90:12 (also attested in
tion of the Second Temple in 70 CE, and thus, in contrast
the Targum to the verse), we-navi levav hohkmah, part of the
to the priests whose views are preserved in Scripture, the
psalmist’s appeal to God, limnot yamenu ken hoda we-navi
abiding of Shekhinah is not restricted to the physical space
lev hokhmah, “Instruct us to number our days that we might
where the sacrificial cult is performed. The Temple, tellingly
gain wisdom of the heart.” Ameimar reads wenavi (nun-bet-
referred to by Onkelos as the “house of His presence,” beit
alef), “and we might gain,” as we-navi (nun-bet-yod-alef) “and
shekhintteih (Dt 12:5), is replaced by the rabbinic institutions
the prophet,” a textual change—and not simply an eisegeti-
of the schoolroom (beit midrash), the synagogue (beit kenes-
cal interpretation masked as exegesis—that lends support to
set), and the domestic space of the family, as these are the
his claim that the sage is more worthy than the prophet. The
main locations wherein one can access the indwelling of the
strategy reflected in the dictum of Avdimi is not to deny the
divine presence through the cultivation of a life of holiness
efficacy of prophecy nor is it based on the supposition that
by means of the performance of ritual. Rabbinically, the two
the institution of prophecy ended at a certain period in the
primary ways of worshipping God in the absence of the sacri-
past. On the contrary, prophecy endures, but since the de-
ficial cult were Torah study and prayer. Concerning the for-
struction of the Temple it has been entrusted to the sages,
mer, a classic formulation of this sentiment is found in the
an insight that affirms not only that prophetic vision serves
respective dicta of Rabbi Hananyah ben Teradyon and Rabbi
scholastic wisdom, but also that scholastic wisdom is inher-
Halafta from the village of Hananyah. According to the for-
ently visionary. This, one suggests, is the intent of Ameimar’s
mer, if two men sit down together to study Torah, Shekhinah
dictum “The sage is preferable to the prophet”—textual
resides with them (Mishnah, Pirqei Avot 3:2); according to
study, the principle task of the sage, is not merely on a par
the latter, Shekhinah dwells amidst ten men who sit together,
with prophecy, but it is itself a prophetic undertaking.
occupied with Torah, though he eventually acknowledges
that Shekhinah is found even with the solitary individual en-
The juxtaposition of Torah study and the indwelling of
gaged in study (Mishnah, Pirqei Avot, 3:6; compare Babylo-
Shekhinah points to the influential role assigned by rabbinic
nian Talmud, Berakhot 6a).
authorities to the imagination in actively configuring the
semiotic body of God. The key source that articulates the
The rabbinic emphasis on the indwelling of Shekhinah
contemplative practice of visualization is a passage wherein
should not be taken as a mere figurative expression, or as a
the dictum “It matters not whether one augments or one di-
circumlocution to avoid an anthropomorphic conception of
minishes if only one orients one’s heart to heaven” (Babylo-
the deity, but rather as signifying an encounter that approxi-
nian Talmud, Berakhot 5b) is applied to Torah study. The
mates the intensity of mystical experience. The view that
proper intention, kawwanah, required by study entails that
Shekhinah dwells with the man who studies Torah by himself
one direct one’s heart to God, she-yekhawwen libbo la-
is supported by the prooftext “In every place where I cause
shamayim. The word kawwanah is derived from kiwwen
my name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you”
(from the root kwn), to turn or to face a particular direction,
(Ex. 20:21). Implicit in the homiletical use of this verse is
to orient oneself, to find one’s spatial bearings. Despite the
the presumption that the name of God is symbolically inter-
many embellishments and transformations of this critical
changeable with Torah, an idea that became a cornerstone
term through the course of the history of Jewish thought and
for various forms of medieval Jewish esotericism. It is reason-
religious philosophy, something of its etymological founda-
able to suppose, moreover, that underlying the rabbinic be-
tion is retained, for kawwanah involves an orientation in
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space, an intentional facing, a directing of the heart to the
sefirot, the luminous attributes that constitute the revealed
other. But what is it to face the other when the face of the
aspect of the hidden God, although one also finds evidence
other is not visible, to turn one’s gaze upon that which can-
in some sources, including Sefer ha-Bahir, one of the earliest
not be seen? Here one arrives at the phenomenological mys-
documents that expounds a theosophic conception, a dis-
tery of the rabbinic notion of incarnation: By directing the
tinction (which can be traced terminologically to pre-
heart through study heavenward, the celestial habitation of
qabbalistic texts) between Shekhinah above and Shekhinah
the transcendent other (the word shamayim, which literally
below; interpreted qabbalistically, the former is associated
means “heaven,” is one of God’s appellations in rabbinic
with the third sefirah, binah, and the latter with the tenth,
thought), the individual provides the mental space wherein
malkhut. Needless to say, qabbalists absorb many of the older
the incorporeal God is embodied. The body of Shekhinah is
rabbinic portrayals of Shekhinah, but what is most distinctive
composed of the letters of Torah, which is the name, but that
about their approach is the explicit representation of the di-
body is apprehended only when Torah is contemplated with
vine presence in a litany of female images, to wit, matronae,
the appropriate intention.
bride, daughter, sister, mother, community of Israel, heaven-
ly Jerusalem, throne, temple, tabernacle, moon, sea, and
In a similar manner, the rabbinic conception of kaw-
earth, just to mention a few of the salient examples.
wanah in prayer, at least according to one trajectory discern-
ible in the landscape of rabbinic texts, entailed the visual ap-
To appreciate the gender valence associated with
prehension of the divine presence in the imagination. In this
Shekhinah, it is necessary to contextualize the matter in a
context, the term kawwanah refers to an internal state of con-
broader hermeneutical and cultural perspective. Undeniably,
sciousness by means of which the worshiper creates a mental
one of the great contributions of qabbalists to the history of
icon of God. Although one must speak of this as an “inter-
Judaism is the explicit utilization of gender images to depict
nal” state, the phenomenal boundaries of inside and outside
the nature of God and the consequent application of erotic
dissolve, for only by means of the internal image does the
symbolism to characterize the divine-human relationship. In
worshiper experience the divine as external. The conception
line with earlier rabbinic tradition regarding the two main
of mental imaging is epitomized in the teaching attributed
attributes of God, but explicating the sexual implications far
to Simeon the Pious, reported by Hana ben Bizna: “The one
more openly, qabbalists envisage the unity of God in androg-
who prays must see himself as if Shekhinah were opposite
ynous terms as the coupling of male and female, which are
him, as it says, ‘I have set the Lord always before me’ (Ps.
respectively aligned with the attributes of lovingkindness and
16:8)” (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 22a). Prayer requires
judgment, the right and left side of the divine economy.
a visualization of that which cannot be visualized, a process
Gender symbolism in traditional qabbalistic literature is dy-
predicated on the assumption that God can assume incarnate
namic, presupposing, as it does, crossing of boundaries and
form. The word “incarnate” refers to the ontic presencing of
intermingling of identity, male in female and female in male,
God in a theophanic image, a form that should be distin-
one containing the other within which the other is con-
guished from both the embodiment of God in human flesh
tained. In spite of the flexibility of gender transformation,
and the metaphorical representation of that which cannot be
however, the process is determined by an inflexible structure,
represented in a rhetorical trope. The specific form that this
and hence while one may legitimately speak of variability in
image assumes is suggested by the prooftext cited by Simeon
qabbalistic gender symbolism, it is not helpful to introduce
the Pious, shiwwiti yhwh lenegddi tamid, “I shall place the tet-
the notion of ambiguity. Male and female are correlated con-
ragrammaton before me constantly.” The image that the
sistently with the activity of projection and the passivity of
worshiper must set in his mind is that of the ineffable name,
restriction: the potency to overflow is masculine, the capacity
the sign of that which cannot be signified, for only through
to withhold feminine. The religious obligation imposed tra-
the name is the invisible rendered visible. Rabbinic discus-
ditionally on the Jewish man to unify God is interpreted as
sions on the intention in prayer are based on the notion of
the harnessing of male and female, a pairing of right and left,
an imaginal body attributed to God. The form that the body
the will to bestow and the desire to contain. But, just as the
of Shekhinah assumes, which inheres in human imagination,
entirety of the Godhead is androgynous, so each of the sefirot
is constituted by the letters of the unutterable name
exemplifies the dual capacity to overflow and to receive, and
(un)spoken in the sacred space of prayer.
Shekhinah is no exception. In relation to the sefirot above her,
Shekhinah receives the divine efflux and is thus engendered
The symbol of Shekhinah continued to play a decisive
as feminine; in relation to the worlds below her, Shekhinah
role in the various genres of medieval Jewish religious creativ-
overflows and is thus engendered as masculine. The sover-
ity, to wit, rabbinic homilies, biblical commentaries, philo-
eignty or governance over this world—in virtue of which the
sophical treatises, mystical compositions, and liturgical poet-
name malkhut, “kingship,” is attributed to Shekhinah—is not
ry. In the minds of qabbalists, in particular, Shekhinah is
indicative of a positive valorization of the feminine, as some
accorded a significance, both quantative and qualitative, un-
have maintained, but rather it marks the capacity of
paralleled in earlier texts. As the theosophic system of the
Shekhinah to be transformed into a demiurgic being, which
qabbalah crystallized in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,
is masculine in relation to the worlds beneath the realm of
Shekhinah routinely was associated with the last of the ten
divine emanations.
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8316
SHEMBE, ISAIAH
In spite of the symbolic representation of God as male
Wolfson, Elliot R. Through a Speculum that Shines: Vision and
and female, the gender orientation of medieval qabbalists was
Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism. Princeton, N.J.,
androcentric in nature, and, consequently, both the male and
1994.
female elements, active bestowal and passive reception, were
Wolfson, Elliot R. Circle in the Square: Studies in the Use of Gender
interpreted as features of the male. The simplest way to ex-
in Kabbalistic Symbolism. Albany, N.Y., 1995.
press the matter is to note that qabbalists read the account
Wolfson, Elliot R. “Coronation of the Sabbath Bride: Kabbalistic
of God having created Adam male (zakhar) and female (ne-
Myth and the Ritual of Androgynisation.” Journal of Jewish
qevah) in the first chapter in Genesis in light of the second
Thought and Philosophy 6 (1997): 301-344.
account wherein the derivative ontic status of woman (ish-
Wolfson, Elliot R. “Occultation of the Feminine and the Body of
shah) from man (ish) is made explicit, the woman having
Secrecy in Medieval Kabbalah.” In Rending the Veil: Conceal-
been constructed from the body of man. Accordingly, the
ment and Secrecy in the History of Religions, edited by Elliot
proto-human, adam, is conceived as a male androgyne, the
R. Wolfson, pp. 113-154. New York and London, 1999.
single gender that contains its other as part of itself, a typical
patriarchal construction. For qabbalists, therefore, one can
ELLIOT R. WOLFSON (2005)
speak properly of an Edenic state of the androgynous prelap-
sarian man, a condition to be retrieved in the end of time.
In the conjunctio oppositorum, two sexes are unified and
SHEMBE, ISAIAH (c. 1870–1935), was the founder
woman is restored to man, the ideal unification that tolerates
of the Zulu amaNazaretha church and the most outstanding
no difference. Representations of Shekhinah as feminine, and
figure in the independent church movement in South Africa.
especially as the erotic object of male desire, bespeak the sex-
The large majority of the three thousand African indepen-
ual dimorphism characteristic of a state of exile wherein the
dent churches are either “Ethiopian” or “Zionist.” The Ethi-
unity of the male androgyne has been severed, and as a conse-
opian churches are carbon copies of mission-related churches
quence the male seeks his other, to restore the part of his self
(mainly of a Methodist or Congregational type) that have se-
that has been taken and rendered independent. Redemption
ceded from white mission churches over the issue of apart-
entails the overcoming of this dimorphic condition, the re-
heid in the church. The Zionist churches, whose name im-
constitution of the androgynous male, expressed by the
plies an identification with the holy mountain of Zion in the
image of the ascent of Shekhinah as the diadem (atarah) that
Old Testament, are largely charismatic prophet-led healing
rises to the head of keter, the first of the sefirot. By virtue of
groups. Worship in the Zionist churches is an African variant
this ascent Shekhinah is transformed into the crown of the
of Pentecostal spirituality. Shembe is the outstanding per-
male and the unity that was rendered asunder in the begin-
sonality associated with a very small group of churches, often
ning of creation is repaired.
referred to as African “messianic” churches, where the leader
S
is ascribed by his followers with supernatural powers.
EE ALSO Attributes of God, article on Jewish Concepts;
Qabbalah.
Fountains and mountains are the holy places where
these prophets generally receive their calling. Shembe was
BIBLIOGRAPHY
told by a voice to climb a mountain, and it directed him to
Green, Arthur. “Shekhinah, the Virgin Mary, and the Song of
a cave where he had a dream. From this lofty position he was
Songs: Reflections on a Kabbalistic Symbol in Historical
invited by the voice to survey the earth, and he there discov-
Context.” AJS Review 26 (2002): 1-52.
ered his own putrefying corpse. The voice warned him
Liebes, Yehuda. Studies in the Zohar. Translated by Arnold
against sexual sins, and he woke up exclaiming, “I have seen
Schwartz, Stephanie Nakache, and Penina Peli. Albany,
N.Y., 1993.
Jehovah.” This experience on the mountain was to remain
with him as a determinative factor throughout his life. By
Mopsik, Charles. “The Body of Engenderment in the Hebrew
Bible, the Rabbinic Tradition, and the Kabbalah.” In Frag-
a divine call he had been set apart for a prophetic task on
ments for a History of the Human Body, edited by Michel
behalf of the Zulu.
Feher with Ramona Naddaff and Nadia Tazi, pp. 49-73.
These were turbulent times in Zulu society and South
New York, 1989.
African politics, and Shembe was closely related to Meseni
Pattai, Raphael. The Hebrew Goddess. New York, 1967.
Qwabe, one of the militant leaders of the Zulu “reluctant re-
Schäfer, Peter. Mirror of His Beauty: Feminine Images of God from
bellion” of 1906. At the same time he met W. M. Leshega,
the Bible to the Early Kabbalah. Princeton, N.J., 2002.
a leader of a newly formed African Baptist church, who was
Scholem, Gershom. On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead: Basic
also one of the leaders of the “Ethiopian” movement. In
Concepts in the Kabbalah. Translated by Joachim Neugros-
1911 Shembe founded his own organization, the amaNaza-
chel, edited and revised by Jonathan Chipman. New York,
retha Baptist Church, which differed from Leshega’s organi-
1991.
zation on one elementary point: Saturday rather than Sunday
Tishby, Isaiah. The Wisdom of the Zohar. Translated by David
was observed as the holy day of the week.
Goldstein. Oxford, 1989.
Urbach, Ephraim E. The Sages: Their Concepts and Beliefs. Trans-
In 1912, Shembe once again had a revelation and was
lated by Israel Abrahams. Jerusalem, 1975.
compelled to climb a particular mountain, called Inhlan-
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SHEMBE, ISAIAH
8317
gakazi, located inland from the city of Durban. This moun-
perience had now become a Zulu reality. “So it is also today
tain retreat lasted twelve days. During that time Shembe felt
/ on the hilltops of Ohlange” (Ohlange being the place where
that he was being challenged by mysterious and supernatural
Shembe built his church center called Ekuphakameni). In a
powers, but he met all their temptations with the answer,
manner that can easily be misinterpreted, he draws a compar-
“No, I am waiting for Jehovah.” Angels then brought him
ison between himself and the biblical archetypes Moses and
heavenly food in the form of bread and wine; having received
Jesus. One of his hymns comes close to being a creed for the
these gifts, he knew that he had acquired a new identity and
amaNazaretha church. It begins “I believe in the Father and
was now a new man. When he returned to his people he also
the Holy Spirit / and the communion of saints of the Naza-
discovered that he had received a new and surprising power,
retha.” Here the Son is omitted so as to provide room for
one which he interpreted as the characteristic gift of Jesus of
the Servant of the Spirit. But it is important to emphasize
Nazareth: that of driving out demons and healing the sick.
that while referring to his own role as a servant, healer, and
To Shembe, these were fundamental experiences: the pil-
helper, he is at the same time aware of Christ on the throne
grimage to the mountain with its asceticism and its nearness
in heaven. Shembe knew that he himself, “having come with
to God, the identification with Moses who had climbed an-
nothing and leaving with nothing,” would stand before the
other mountain and was then received as the liberator of his
judgment seat of God.
people, and the acquisition of the power of healing. He was
In order to understand Shembe’s relationship to Jesus
now ready for his task as a prophet to his people.
the Christ one must recall that in hierarchial Zulu society,
Compared with other African charismatic church lead-
a visitor could not directly approach the king but first had
ers, Shembe’s originality stands out on a number of points.
to turn to junior chiefs whose task it was to introduce the
Especially noteworthy is his creative use of traditional Zulu
visitor to the ultimate authority. According to Nazaretha be-
culture in the life of worship within the church. During
lief, this is the task of Servant Shembe in heaven, concerning
church festivals the whole congregation, divided into differ-
the approach to the King of Kings on the throne. The Zulu
ent gender and age-groups and arrayed in traditional Zulu
prophet is seen as having a mediating role. In the words of
dress, expresses its collective religious experience in a slow-
Shembe’s hymns there is ambiguity and richness of meaning.
moving, dignified, and solemn dance. The annual pilgrimage
And those words, no less than the totality of Shembe’s reli-
to the Inhlangakazi mountain provided an opportunity for
gious practice, must of course be understood in the context
intense group cohesion of the multitude arriving from near
from which they emerged: in the worship and struggle of the
and far.
Nazaretha community.
Hymns in other independent and mission-related
churches are sometimes just mechanical translations of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anglo-Saxon revival songs or ancient ecclesiastical rhymes.
Becken, Hans J. Theologie der Heilung: Das Heilen in den afri-
Shembe’s hymns, on the other hand, convey the very heart-
kanischen unabhängigen Kirchen. Hermannsburg, 1972.
beat of Zulu religious experience from birth to death. Shem-
Dube, John L. uShembe. Durban, 1936. A biography of Shembe,
be was highly auditive; new hymns—both lyrics and melo-
in Zulu.
dies combined—often came to him while he was sleeping.
Kiernan, J. P. “Prophet and Preacher: An Essential Partnership in
This was, indeed, his strongest motive for learning the art of
the Work of Zion.” Man 11 (November 1976): 356–366.
writing. Having remained illiterate until he was roughly forty
years of age, Shembe acquired this new ability in order to
Marks, Shula. Reluctant Rebellion: The 1906–8 Disturbances in
commit to writing these irresistible songs that would well up
Natal. Oxford, 1970.
from his unconscious: solemn, simple, and searching. His
Oosthuizen, Gerhardus C. The Theology of a South African Messi-
congregation—probably without exception—shared the
ah: An Analysis of the Hymnal of “The Church of the Naza-
feeling of being healed by the prophet, by his incisive exor-
renes.” Leiden, 1967.
cism, and his healing hand, mesmerizing the expectant
Schlosser, Katesa. Eingeborenenkirchen in Süd- und Südwest Afrika.
crowd with his mystical black veil.
Kiel, 1958.
Shembe’s Zulu hymn book, John L. Dube’s biography
Shembe, J. G., ed. Izihlabelelo zamaNazaretha. Durban, 1940. A
of Shembe in Zulu, and Absalom Vilakazi’s recent work
hymn book, in Zulu, by Shembe’s son, Johannes Galilee,
(1986) are the main sources for a study of Shembe’s faith and
who succeeded him as leader of the church.
spirituality, and they remain a unique testimony that pro-
Sundkler, Bengt. Bantu Prophets in South Africa. 2d. ed. Oxford,
vides insight into the mind and spirit of an independent
1961.
church leader of that period. The title Shembe claimed for
himself was that of “the Servant,” sent by the Lord to his de-
Sundkler, Bengt. Zulu Zion and Some Swazi Zionists. Lund and
prived and despised Zulu people: “But I alone come from
Oxford, 1976.
afar, / Sent by the Lord among you.”
Vilakazi, Absalom. Shembe: The Revitalization of African Society.
Johannesburg, 1986.
Just as Moses and Jesus had been sent to the Jews, so
the Servant was sent to the Zulu. What once was biblical ex-
BENGT SUNDKLER (1987)
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SHEMINI EATSERET
SHEMINI EATSERET SEE SUKKOT
peace of mind (B.T., EEruv. 54a, Hag. 10a), and as seen in
his formulation of a blessing that is to be said before Torah
study (B.T., Ber. 11b) that studying enables a person to
achieve an experience of the sacred.
SHEMUDEL THE AMORA (c. 180–c. 263), called
Mar ShemuDel, was a first-generation Babylonian amora, son
SEE ALSO Amoraim; Mishnah and Tosefta.
of AbbaD bar AbbaD. With his contemporary, Rav, ShemuDel
spread the Mishnah—edited in Palestine—and thus laid the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
foundation for the rabbinic movement outside the Land of
ShemuDel’s traditions are discussed from a literary perspective in
Israel. He learned the Palestinian tradition primarily from
Abraham Weiss’s Hithavut ha-Talmud bi-shelemuto (New
masters who had been in Palestine and combined it with the
York, 1943) and Jacob N. Epstein’s Mavo D le-nusah: ha-
native Persian Jewish heritage.
Mishnah, 2 vols. (1948; reprint, Jerusalem, 1964),
ShemuDel’s influence as a teacher was enhanced by his
pp. 211–234. Jacob Neusner’s A History of the Jews in Babylo-
nia,
5 vols. (Leiden, 1966–1970), esp. vol. 2, and David M.
authority as a judge in the Jewish court of Nehardea, a city
Goodblatt’s Rabbinic Instruction in Sasanian Babylonia (Lei-
on the Euphrates River. He probably functioned not as a
den, 1975) address historical questions. See also my books
head of an actual academy but rather as a rabbi with a circle
Samuel’s Commentary on the Mishnah (Leiden, 1975) and
of disciples. The prestige he enjoyed is reflected in the por-
Post Mishnaic Judaism in Transition (Chico, Calif., 1980),
trayal of him as a master devoted to Torah study, extremely
which, after raising the methodological problems in studying
honest, enjoying divine protection, friendly with the exilarch
ShemuDel and his teachings, comprehensively treat his tradi-
and the Sasanid king Sha¯pu¯r, an expert in monetary law, and
tons and attempt to place his work within an intellectual his-
unusually well versed in dreams, medicine, astronomy, and
tory of Judaism.
other natural sciences (B.T., Ber. 18b, 19a, 56a, 58b; Shab.
BARUCH M. BOKSER (1987)
129a; Goodblatt, 1975).
ShemuDel played a pivotal role in the history of Judaism
in that he enabled the Mishnah to become not only a central
work of study but also a source of guidance in the actual life
SHENOUTE. This early Christian monastic leader and
of Jews. The present arrangement of his and Rav’s dicta in
outstanding Coptic author is often referred to as “the Great”
the gemara D is probably the result of a decision to use them
or “the Archimandrite,” a title equivalent to “abbot” and
as a literary framework for post-ShemuDel traditions. Many
given to him by Cyril of Alexandria (412–444) in order to
of ShemuDel’s teachings in their original, oral form may have
distinguish him from later namesakes in the Coptic Church.
consisted of brief explanatory glosses to individual mishnay-
Born in southern Egypt c. 347 CE, Shenoute became a monk
yot. Longer traditions of ShemuDel used the Mishnah as a
while still in his youth and was chosen c. 385 to head his
point of departure for extending its teachings. Although She-
monastery. His death is commemorated on July 14 (Coptic
muDel comprehensively treated the Mishnah, including those
Epe¯p 7 = Julian July 1), and probably he died on that date
laws inapplicable in the Diaspora, he especially responded to
in 465. The tradition that Shenoute lived to be 118 years old
topics relevant to a third-century Babylonian audience.
can be at least approximately confirmed from statements in
his own and his immediate successor’s writings. Unknown
Following the rise of the new Sasanid empire in 226 and
in the West until the late seventeenth century, Shenoute has
the disruption of the existing relationship between the Per-
emerged only gradually as a significant historical figure. His
sians and the Jews, ShemuDel worked out a modus vivendi
writings provide invaluable glimpses into the development
with King Sha¯pu¯r I (r. 241–272?) and thereby provided
of Egyptian monasticism during its second and third genera-
guidelines for a Diaspora Jewish life. He declared that for
tions, as well as information about Christianity during the
certain matters, “the law of the kingdom is the law” (B.T.,
period when it became the dominant, state-sanctioned reli-
Git:. 10b), and he offered a “realistic” definition of the messi-
gion of the Roman Empire.
anic age as entailing the end of political subjugation for the
people of Israel and not a supernatural transformation of
Shenoute was the third head of his monastery, which
the world (B.T., Ber. 34b). He drew from the Book of Esther
was founded by his uncle, across the Nile from Panopolis
the message that Jews can live peacefully in the Diaspora.
(modern Akhm¯ım), on the model of Pachomius’s monastic
system, although it was never formally a part of that system.
He was concerned with establishing the proper prayer
Shenoute’s native language was Coptic (the Egyptian lan-
texts and, especially, with the need for the right intention in
guage during the centuries after the rise of Christianity), but
praying (e.g., J.T., Ber. 2.4). By asserting that the divine pres-
he learned Greek while he was still an ordinary monk, when
ence is found in the whole world, he made traditional
he also acquired a profound knowledge of the Bible in both
liturgical and other religious language applicable in the
languages. His earliest writings are two long open letters to
Diaspora.
his community (written c. 380) exposing sin and hypocrisy
ShemuDel believed that learning the Mishnah lengthens
in the monastery, criticizing its leadership, and announcing
one’s life, that explicating one’s Mishnaic learning gives one
his intention to depart and live as a hermit. Subsequent
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SHENOUTE
8319
events revealed Shenoute as gifted with penetrating insight,
and prophetic father Apa Shenoute” quickly became a re-
for which reason he was made head of the monastery when
vered saint in the Coptic Church. His sermons, treatises, and
his disgraced predecessor died.
letters were assembled in volumes alongside his Canons and
Shenoute was the ultimate authority over two men’s
served as a source of liturgical readings, at least in his own
communities and one for women. He himself spent most of
monastery. Later, some of these lections were added to the
his time in isolation in the nearby desert, communicating
standard Coptic Holy Week liturgy.
with the three communities through trusted, older male
Although Shenoute’s name and reputation were known
monks, who carried letters back and forth. Over the years of
all over Egypt during his lifetime, the Arab Conquest (641)
his leadership, Shenoute compiled his own letters into a set
heralded the end of the transmission of his writings. In subse-
of nine volumes of “canons,” which served as a set of rules
quent centuries very little of his corpus was translated into
for the monastery during Shenoute’s lifetime and then for
Arabic, so that when his monastery collapsed in the four-
centuries afterwards. Shenoute’s Canons provide detailed in-
teenth century, little remained of Shenoute’s writings except
formation about the carefully regulated life of the male and
a large heap of deteriorating parchment books within the
female monastics (covering nearly every aspect of life, from
monastery’s spectacular mid-fifth-century church (the only
prayer to defecation), as well as insight into the personality
monastery building that remained standing, whose brilliant
of this remarkable late antique monastic figure.
white limestone walls gained it the designation “White Mon-
Despite living as a hermit, Shenoute visited the monas-
astery”). Shenoute’s continuing fame and veneration in the
tery regularly to worship with his fellow monks (typically
Coptic Church has depended almost entirely on the liturgi-
perhaps only four times each year). On these occasions he
cal tradition, based on a hagiographic “Life of Shenoute,”
might also preach, and his appearance could attract large
with roots in an ancient encomiastic tradition, but to which
crowds of laypeople. The predominant theme of Shenoute’s
legends continued to accrue even after it was translated into
preaching was the urgent need for repentance, but his ser-
Arabic.
mons often provide fascinating vignettes from the everyday
Although Shenoute’s great literary achievement marks
world of late antique Egypt. This information is supple-
the high point of Coptic literature, his corpus must now be
mented by Shenoute’s treatises and letters, the latter ad-
reconstructed from thousands of manuscript fragments that
dressed either to specific individuals, including local authori-
in modern times became scattered in dozens of museums and
ties from the provincial governor on down, or to entire
libraries from Egypt across Europe to North America. Recent
communities, including Panopolis and nearby villages.
progress in this task of reconstruction has led to a renewed
This part of Shenoute’s corpus is particularly illuminat-
effort to edit and translate his works systematically.
ing of the conflict between Christianity and paganism in the
late Roman Empire. Shenoute was among those fanatic
SEE ALSO Coptic Church; Monasticism, overview article;
Pachomius.
Christians who were willing to use every means, including
violence, to destroy the physical basis of pagan worship (tem-
ples, images) and to convert nonbelievers. The relevant dos-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
sier of texts from Shenoute is without parallel elsewhere and
Behlmer, Heike. Schenute von Atripe, De iudicio (Torino, Museo
throws extraordinary light on events and people in and near
Egizio, Cat. 63000, Cod. IV). Turin, 1996. An edition and
translation (German) of one major work by Shenoute, with
Panopolis around the end of the fourth century, especially
commentary.
a confrontation between Shenoute and a former governor
(Flavius Aelius Gessius) who apparently was trying to dis-
Emmel, Stephen. “From the Other Side of the Nile: Shenute and
guise his pagan sympathies in a world that was becoming
Panopolis.” In Perspectives on Panopolis: An Egyptian Town
from Alexander the Great to the Arab Conquest,
edited by Arno
overwhelmingly Christian.
Egberts et al., pp. 95–113. Leiden, 2002. An analysis of cru-
Shenoute’s writings also provide information about so-
cial aspects of Shenoute’s antipagan activities.
cioeconomic circumstances (he championed the poor against
Emmel, Stephen. “Shenoute the Monk: The Early Monastic Ca-
oppressive landowners), ecclesiastical politics (he was an un-
reer of Shenoute the Archimandrite.” In Il monachesimo tra
questioning supporter of Alexandrian theology and church
eredità e aperture. Atti del simposio “Testi e temi nella tradiz-
politics, although refusing to be made a bishop; in 431 he
ione del monachesimo cristiano” per il 50° anniversario
accompanied Archbishop Cyril to the Council of Ephesus),
dell’Istituto Monastico di Sant’Anselmo, Roma, 28 maggio–10
efforts to establish a unified orthodoxy and orthopraxy (he
giugno 2002, edited by M. Bielawski and D. Hombergen,
opposed Arians, Melitians, Origenists, magicians, and
pp. 151–174. Rome, 2004. An analysis of Shenoute’s earliest
Manichaeans, among others), and Christian spirituality (par-
letters, from the first volume of his Canons.
ticularly interesting themes in Shenoute’s works are demon-
Emmel, Stephen. Shenoute’s Literary Corpus. 2 vols. Louvain,
ology, proper interpretation of the Bible, appropriate forms
2004. A summation of two centuries of scholarship on Shen-
of worship, and the role of prophetic insight and visions).
oute, laying the groundwork for future research by means of
a reconstruction of nearly one hundred manuscripts of Shen-
Near the end of his life, Shenoute took up residence
oute’s works; a fundamental guide to what was published of
again within the monastery walls. After his death, “our holy
Shenoute’s corpus up to 2004, with complete bibliography.
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8320
SHERIRAD GAON
Krawiec, Rebecca. Shenoute and the Women of the White Monas-
theory of Talmudic law, much of it based on statements and
tery: Egyptian Monasticism in Late Antiquity. Oxford, 2002.
materials found in the Talmud itself, has remained the ideo-
A study of Shenoute’s letters to female monastics, especially
logical basis of Orthodox Judaism until present times.
the letters in the second volume of his Canons (as recon-
structed by Emmel, 2004).
SEE ALSO HDai Gaon; Halakhah, article on History of
Layton, Bentley. “Social Structure and Food Consumption in an
Halakhah; Judaism, article on Judaism in the Middle East
Early Christian Monastery: The Evidence of Shenoute’s
and North Africa to 1492.
Canons and the White Monastery Federation AD 385–465.”
Muséon 115 (2002): 25–55. The first systematic study of all
BIBLIOGRAPHY
nine volumes of Shenoute’s Canons (as reconstructed by
Isaac Hirsch Weiss’s Dor dor ve-dorshav, vol. 4 (New York, 1924),
Emmel, 2004).
pp. 106–174, remains the best overall treatment of the career
Leipoldt, Johannes. Schenute von Atripe und die Entstehung des na-
and achievement of SheriraD. Salo W. Baron’s A Social and
tional ägyptischen Christentums. Leipzig, 1903. The first fun-
Religious History of the Jews, vol. 6, 2d ed., rev. & enl. (New
damental study of Shenoute, not yet entirely superseded (al-
York, 1958), pp. 204–206, 425–427, provides ample biblio-
though sooner or later it must be replaced).
graphic and comparative data on the Epistle. In my article
“RaEayon Torah she-beEal peh beiggeret Rav SheriraD GaDon,”
Young, Dwight W. Coptic Manuscripts from the White Monastery:
Da Eat 4 (1980): 5–17, I discuss the ideological import of the
Works of Shenute. Vienna, 1993. An assortment (rather arbi-
Epistle.
trary than systematic or thematic) of fragments of Shenoute’s
works, with English translations and notes.
GERALD J. BLIDSTEIN (1987)
STEPHEN EMMEL (2005)
SHIISM
This entry consists of the following articles:
SHERIRAD GAON (c. 906–1006), Babylonian halakh-
AN OVERVIEW
ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
ist and head of the academy at Pumbedita for some thirty
ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
years. SheriraD was a major league authority whose many re-
sponsa
circulated throughout the whole Jewish Diaspora. He
combined his legal preeminence with a rational attitude to-
SHIISM: AN OVERVIEW
ward Talmudic legend, thus setting the pattern that was fol-
Shiism is a major branch of Islam with numerous subdivi-
lowed by his son and successor, HDai.
sions, all upholding the rights of the family of the Prophet
(ahl al-bayt) to the religious and political leadership of the
The single most influential work by SheriraD is the book-
Muslim community. The name is derived from sh¯ı Eat EAl¯ı,
length Iggeret (Epistle), sent as a response to the community
the Arabic term for the “party” of EAl¯ı ibn Ab¯ı T:a¯lib, cousin
of Kairouan in North Africa. YaEaqov bar Nissim had asked
of the prophet Muh:ammad and husband of Muh:ammad’s
on behalf of his co-religionists that the gaon explain how the
daughter Fa¯t:imah.
oral law had reached its present form in the Talmud, how
and when the various rabbinic works had been compiled and
ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT. Historically, the
edited, and what was the import of the frequent disagree-
Sh¯ıEah emerged in support of the caliphate of EAl¯ı (AH 35–
ments among the Talmudic rabbis. This series of questions
40/656–661 CE) during the First Civil War, which followed
doubtless reflected the anxiety felt among rabbinites con-
the murder of the third caliph, EUthma¯n. The Sh¯ıEah see the
fronted by the Karaite claim that the Talmud was a human
foundation of Shiism, however, in Muh:ammad’s appoint-
product anchored in history rather than a divine oral law. In
ment of EAl¯ı as his successor, a choice that the Prophet is
the Epistle, which Salo Baron has called the “outstanding his-
claimed to have made at Ghad¯ır Khumm not long before his
toriographic contribution of the geonic era,” SheriraD provid-
death, and one that the Muslim community ignored in rec-
ed indispensable literary and historical data on the process
ognizing Abu¯ Bakr as the first caliph. After the murder of
E
by which the Talmud evolved; indeed, he defined the terms
Al¯ı and the abdication of his eldest son, H:asan, in 661, the
of much future discussion of this topic, both medieval and
Sh¯ıEah continued a latent opposition to the Umayyad caliph-
modern. The Epistle divides into two parts: the first traces
ate from their center in EAl¯ı’s former capital of Kufa in Iraq.
the history of Talmudic literature through the pioneering in-
Their attachment to the family of the Prophet, and especially
ductive use of selected source materials, while the second is
to EAl¯ı’s sons and descendants, reflected local resentment of
a history of exilarchic and geonic leadership probably based
both the loss of the caliphate to Damascus and the Umayyad
on the academy’s archives. The basic ideological position of
denigration of EAl¯ı and his caliphate. Reports about the activ-
SheriraD is that the oral law had a literary history but did not
ity of one EAbd Alla¯h ibn SabaD, who in some anti-Sh¯ıE¯ı
substantively develop through the Mishnaic and Talmudic
sources is described as the founder of Shiism and as having
periods. The Mishnah and the Talmud are authoritative
denied EAl¯ı’s death and taught his divinity, are legendary. If
crystallizations of the law possessed by the earlier genera-
such beliefs arose at this early stage, they remained marginal.
tions, and even Talmudic discussion simply recaptures, on
Kufan revolts. The violent death of EAl¯ı’s second son,
the whole, the knowledge of the ancients. This conservative
H:usayn, at Karbala, Iraq, in 680 led to the formation of a
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SHIISM: AN OVERVIEW
8321
radical wing within the Sh¯ıEah. After the death of the caliph
vinely invested imams back to EAbba¯s through his own ances-
MuEa¯wiyah, the Kufan Sh¯ıEah invited H:usayn from Medina,
tors, thus denying that the Abbasids had inherited their title
promising to back his claim to the caliphate. The Umayyad
from Abu¯ Ha¯shim and EAl¯ı. The Abbasid Sh¯ıEah disintegrat-
governor gained control of the situation, however, and it was
ed soon afterward.
a Kufan army that met H:usayn and killed him together with
Extremists and moderates. Other minor offshoots of
many of his relatives. A Penitents movement arose in Kufa;
the Hashim¯ıyah were notable for their extremist doctrine.
they lamented the death of the Prophet’s grandson at his
Baya¯n ibn SamEa¯n (killed 936) taught in Kufa that Abu¯
grave in Karbala and sought revenge from those responsible.
Ha¯shim, who had conferred prophethood on him, would re-
In 685 the leadership of the Penitents was taken over by
turn as the Mahdi. EAbd Alla¯h ibn MuEa¯w¯ıyah (d. 748/9),
al-Mukhta¯r ibn Abi EUbayd, who revolted in Kufa and pro-
a descendant of EAl¯ı’s brother JaEfar and recognized by some
claimed another son of EAl¯ı, Muh:ammad, to be the imam
as the successor of Abu¯ Ha¯shim, claimed that the Divine
and Mahdi, the messianic Restorer of Islam. Unlike H:asan
and H:usayn, Muh:ammad was not the son of Fa¯t:imah, and
Spirit had devolved upon him through the prophets and
he was known, after his own mother, as Ibn al-H:anaf¯ıyah.
imams and that he was able to revive the dead. To EAbd Alla¯h
The movement backing him was called the Kaysa¯n¯ıyah after
ibn al-H:a¯rith, one of his followers in al-Mada¯Din (Ctesi-
Abu¯ EAmrah Kaysa¯n, chief of al-Mukhta¯r’s guard and leader
phon), Iraq, is ascribed a major role in the elaboration of key
of the non-Arab clients (mawa¯l¯ı) in Kufa. These clients, local
doctrines including metempsychosis, the preexistence of
Semites and Persians, now joined the Sh¯ıEah in large num-
human souls as shadows (az:illah), metaphorical interpreta-
bers for the first time, although the leading role in the move-
tion of the resurrection, judgment, paradise, and hell, and
ment was still played by Arabs.
a cyclical history of eras (adwa¯r) and aeons (akwa¯r) initiated
by seven Adams. Such teaching became characteristic of
The Kaysa¯n¯ıyah movement, which survived the collapse
many groups of extremists (ghula¯t) excommunicated by the
of al-Mukhta¯r’s revolt and the death of Muh:ammad ibn
mainstream Sh¯ıEah in the following centuries. The
al-H:anaf¯ıyah in 700, elaborated some of the beliefs and doc-
Kaysa¯n¯ıyah as a whole was repudiated by the more conserva-
trines that came to distinguish the radical wing of the Sh¯ıEah.
tive, moderate Sh¯ıEah in Kufa. All of its branches rapidly dis-
They condemned the first three caliphs before EAl¯ı as illegiti-
integrated after the rise of the Abbasid caliphate and virtually
mate usurpers and considered EAl¯ı and his three sons, H:asan,
disappeared by the end of the second century AH. Its place
H:usayn, and Muh:ammad, as successive, divinely appointed
in the radical wing of the Sh¯ıEah was taken by the Ima¯m¯ıyah,
imams endowed with supernatural qualities. Many of them
who traced the line of imams after EAl¯ı through H:asan,
denied the death of Muh:ammad ibn al-H:anaf¯ıyah, the
H:usayn, and the latter’s descendants.
Mahdi, in the belief that he was hiding and would return in
glory to rule the world. They taught raj Eah, the return of
The increasing prominence of the Husaynid imams
many of the dead at the time of the coming of the Mahdi
within the Sh¯ıEah was connected with a shift in the function
for retribution before the Resurrection, and bada¯ D, the possi-
of the imam. With the rise of legal and theological schools
bility of a change in the decisions of God.
espousing conflicting doctrines in the late Umayyad period,
many of the Sh¯ıEah sought the guidance of the imam as an
Abbasid revolution. A branch of the Kaysa¯n¯ıyah
authoritative, divinely inspired teacher rather than as a char-
known as the Ha¯shim¯ıyah continued the line of imams to
ismatic leader. The first to perform this new role was
Muh:ammad ibn al-H:anaf¯ıyah’s son Abu¯ Ha¯shim, who, in
Muh:ammad al-Ba¯qir (d. 735?), a grandson of H:usayn who
contrast to his father, took an active part in the leadership
was widely respected for his learning among both the Sh¯ıEah
and organization of the movement. After his death in about
and non-Sh¯ıEah. His teaching of religious law and QurDa¯n
717/8 the Ha¯shim¯ıyah split into several groups over the suc-
exegesis attracted a large number of the Kufan Sh¯ıEah. Keep-
cession. The majority recognized Muh:ammad ibn EAl¯ı, a de-
ing aloof from revolutionary activity, he laid the foundations
scendant of the Prophet’s uncle EAbba¯s, as the imam after
of Ima¯m¯ı Sh¯ıE¯ı law. A few years after his death his brother
Abu¯ Ha¯shim; they became historically important as the core
Zayd ibn EAl¯ı came to Kufa and was persuaded to lead an
of the revolutionary movement in Khorasan that overthrew
anti-Umayyad revolt. Although he was widely supported by
the Umayyad dynasty and established the Abbasid caliphate
the Kufan Sh¯ıEah, including some prominent former follow-
in 750. The Abbasids initially espoused the Sh¯ıE¯ı cause, es-
ers of his brother, the more radical followers of al-Ba¯qir re-
tablishing the reign of the family of the Prophet and de-
fused to back Zayd ibn EAl¯ı after he declined to condemn
manding revenge for EAl¯ı and his wronged descendants.
the first two caliphs unequivocally as unjust usurpers. They
Soon, however, they distanced themselves from their mostly
turned instead to al-Ba¯qir’s son JaEfar al-S:a¯diq, who, like his
extremist Sh¯ıE¯ı followers to seek broader support in the Mus-
father, strictly refused any involvement in armed rebellion.
lim community, while the Sh¯ıEah increasingly confined their
Zayd’s revolt ended quickly in failure, and he was killed in
backing to the descendants of EAl¯ı and Fa¯t:imah. After the
740. The movement backing him survived, however, and
collapse of a widely supported Sh¯ıE¯ı rebellion in favor of the
formed a Sh¯ıE¯ı sect known as the Zayd¯ıyah. They were mod-
EAlid Muh:ammad al-Nafs al-Zak¯ıyah, Caliph al-Mahd¯ı
erate both in defining the religious rank of their imams and
(775–785) pressed the Abbasid Sh¯ıEah to trace the line of di-
in condemning the rest of the Muslim community for its fail-
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8322
SHIISM: AN OVERVIEW
ure to do so, yet they were militant advocates of armed upris-
munity, his imamate did not depend on his actual reign or
ing against the illegitimate rulers. In contrast to the
an active attempt to gain it. Imam JaEfar did not aspire to
Zayd¯ıyah, the Ima¯m¯ıyah exalted the rank of the imams and
rule and forbade his followers from engaging in revolution-
broke radically with the Muslim community at large, accus-
ary activity on his behalf. He predicted that the imams would
ing it of apostasy for failing to accord the imams their proper
not regain their rightful position until the emergence of the
rank and rights. Politically, however, they remained quietist.
Qa¯Dim (lit. “riser,” i.e., the mahd¯ı) from among them to rule
They were called Ra¯fid:ah, “rejectors,” by the followers of
the world.
Zayd because of their refusal to support his revolt. The term
became a pejorative nickname among Sunn¯ı Muslims, who
The succession to JaEfar al-S:a¯diq was disputed and led
used it, however, to refer to the Ima¯m¯ıyah’s repudiation of
to a schism among the Ima¯m¯ıyah. His eldest son and desig-
the three caliphs preceding EAl¯ı. Those Sh¯ıE¯ı moderates of
nated successor, Isma¯E¯ıl, had died before him. A group of his
Kufa who shrank back from the Zayd¯ı commitment to revolt
followers considered the designation as irreversible, however,
were soon absorbed into Sunn¯ısm as EAl¯ı came to be accept-
and either denied Isma¯E¯ıl’s death or recognized Isma¯E¯ıl’s son
ed generally as the fourth of the “Rightly Guided”
Muh:ammad as the imam. They became the founders of the
(Ra¯shidu¯n) successors of Muh:ammad.
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah. In the absence of a new designation, the majori-
T
ty of JaEfar’s followers at first recognized his eldest surviving
HE IMA¯M¯IYAH AND TWELVER SH¯IEAH. The Ima¯m¯ıyah be-
came a significant religious community with a distinctive
son, EAbd Alla¯h al-Aft:ah:. When EAbd Alla¯h died a few
law, ritual, and religious doctrine under JaEfar al-S:a¯diq
months later without sons, they turned to his brother Mu¯sa¯
(d. 765), the foremost scholar and teacher among their
al-Ka¯z:im, the seventh imam of the Twelver Sh¯ıEah. Some of
imams. JaEfar elaborated the legal pronouncements of his fa-
them, however, continued to recognize EAbd Alla¯h as the
ther into a comprehensive doctrine; in recognition of his
rightful imam before Mu¯sa¯. They were known as the
role, Ima¯m¯ı law is sometimes called the JaEfar¯ı legal school.
Fat:h:¯ıyah and constituted a sizable sect in Kufa until the late
In theology, some of his statements upheld intermediate po-
fourth century AH (tenth century CE). Mu¯sa¯ was arrested later
sitions on controversial questions such as human free will
in his life by Caliph Ha¯ru¯n al-Rash¯ıd and died in prison in
versus predestination, and the nature of the QurDa¯n. These
Baghdad in 799. His death was denied by many of his fol-
were developed into systematic theological thought by cer-
lowers, who considered his position as seventh imam to be
tain contemporary Ima¯m¯ı scholars who took a prominent
of momentous significance and expected his return as the
part in the intercommunal theological debates of his time.
Mahdi. They did not recognize EAl¯ı al-Rid:a¯, the eighth
JaEfar enjoyed a high reputation as a teacher of esoteric and
imam of the Twelver Sh¯ıEah, although some of them consid-
mystical thought, though his actual role in this field is
ered him and his successors as lieutenants (khulafa¯ D) of the
obscure.
Mahdi until his return. They also formed a sizable sect
known as the Wa¯qifah and competed with the group that
The imamate. The constitutive element of the Ima¯m¯ı
was to become the Twelver Sh¯ıEah. In the Sus region of
community is its doctrine of the imamate, which was defi-
southwestern Morocco they gained a following among Ber-
nitely formulated in this age. It was based on the belief that
ber tribes that survived until the sixth century AH (twelfth
humanity is at all times in need of a divinely appointed and
century CE).
guided leader and authoritative teacher in all religious mat-
ters. Without such a leader, according to Imam JaEfar, the
The Abbasid caliph al-MaDmu¯n attempted to bring
world could never exist for a moment. In order to fulfill his
about a reconciliation between the EAlid and Abbasid
divine mission, this leader must be endowed with full immu-
branches of the family of the Prophet by appointing EAl¯ı
nity ( Eis:mah) from sin and error. Following the age of the
al-Rid:a¯ as his successor in 817, but this move ended in fail-
prophets, which came to a close with Muh:ammad, the
ure. EAl¯ı al-Rid:a¯ died two years later, and the caliph was
imams continue their prophetic mission in every respect ex-
widely accused of having poisoned him. The succession after
cept that they do not bring a new scripture. The imamate
al-Rid:a¯ down to the eleventh imam, H:asan al-EAskar¯ı, pro-
is thus raised to the rank of prophethood. Rejection, disobe-
duced only minor schisms, but the death of the latter in 874,
dience, or ignorance of any of the divinely invested imams
apparently without a son, left his followers in disarray. The
constitutes infidelity equal to rejection of the Prophet. The
main body, henceforth known as the Twelver Sh¯ıEah (the
great mass of the companions of Muh:ammad had thus apos-
Ithna¯ EAshar¯ıyah in Arabic), eventually came to affirm that
tatized from Islam when they accepted the caliphate of Abu¯
a son had been born to him before his death but had been
Bakr and ignored the Prophet’s divinely inspired designation
hidden. This son had become the twelfth imam and contin-
of EAl¯ı as his legatee (was:¯ı), and the majority of the Muslim
ued to live in concealment. Identified with the Qa¯Dim and
community continued to live in a state of apostasy. After
the Mahdi, he was expected to reappear in glory to rule the
EAl¯ı, H:asan, and H:usayn, the line of legitimate imams had
world and make the cause of the Sh¯ıEah triumphant. The
passed through H:usayn’s descendants to JaEfar al-S:a¯diq, the
time of his absence (ghaybah) falls into two parts. In the age
sixth imam. It would continue to be handed down by desig-
of the lesser ghaybah he was in regular contact with four suc-
nation from father to son until the end of time. Although
cessive agents (sg., wak¯ıl or saf¯ır) who represented him
the imam was the only legitimate ruler of the Muslim com-
among the community of his followers, communicating their
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SHIISM: AN OVERVIEW
8323
questions and requests to him and his answers and instruc-
are widespread, especially in Punjab, Delhi, and Baroda, as
tions to them. In 941, the fourth intermediary died without
well as in the Deccan, where the first Sh¯ıE¯ı missionaries ap-
appointing a successor, and the greater ghaybah began. Dur-
peared in the fifteenth century, and where the majority of
ing this ghaybah no one can claim to be in regular contact
the Qut:bsha¯h¯ıs of Golconda and the EAdil-sha¯h¯ıs of Bijapur
with the Hidden Imam. He continues to live unrecognized
were Sh¯ıE¯ı. In recent years, a considerable number of Paki-
on earth, however, and may occasionally identify himself to
stani families have also joined the Twelvers.
one of his followers or otherwise intervene in the fortunes
of his community.
EXTREMIST SECTS. On the fringe of the Ima¯m¯ıyah and the
Twelver Sh¯ıEah there arose numerous minor sects of varying
Intellectual currents. The absence of the imam
nature classed generically as ghula¯t (“extremists”) and fre-
strengthened the position of the scholars ( Eulama¯D) in the
quently excommunicated by the mainstream. Common
Sh¯ıE¯ı community as transmitters and guardians of the teach-
grounds for the charge of extremism were deification of the
ing of the imams. They now undertook to gather, examine,
imams and antinomianism.
and systematize this teaching. For the most part, the first
transmitters of the statements of the imams had been Kufans,
Ima¯m¯ı ghula¯t. The most prominent figure among the
while the compilation and sifting of the traditions into more
early Ima¯m¯ı ghula¯t in Kufa was Abu¯ al-Khat:t:a¯b al-Asad¯ı,
comprehensive collections was the work of the school of
who was excommunicated by imam JaEfar and killed together
Qom in northwestern Iran. Some Kufan Sh¯ıE¯ı families had
with seventy of his followers, the Khat:t:a¯b¯ıyah, about 755.
settled early in this town, and it became a bastion of Ima¯m¯ı
The Khat:t:a¯b¯ıyah recognized Abu¯ al-Khat:t:a¯b as a prophet
Shiism, adhering to the imamate of EAl¯ı al-Rid:a¯ and his de-
sent by JaEfar, whom they viewed as God. Al-Mufad:d:al ibn
scendants in the ninth century even though the Ima¯m¯ıyah
EUmar al-JuEf¯ı, who is sometimes described as the head of
had been eclipsed in Kufa by the predominance of the
an offshoot of the Khat:t:a¯b¯ıyah, but who became a trusted
Zayd¯ıyah, Wa¯qifah, and Fat:h:¯ıyah. The traditionist school
agent of Imam Mu¯sa¯ al-Ka¯z¯ım, appears to have played a
of Qom reached its peak in the works of Abu¯ JaEfar
major role in the transmission of gnostic teaching about the
al-Kulayn¯ı of Rayy (d. 941) and Ibn Ba¯bawayhi al-S:adu¯q of
preexistence and transmigration of souls and the cyclical his-
Qom (d. 991/2).
tory earlier associated with the Kaysa¯n¯ı EAbd Alla¯h ibn
al-H:a¯rith.
A rival school in Baghdad progressively adopted the ra-
tionalist theology of the MuEtazilah, who espoused human
The heresiographers speak of two complementary cur-
free will and an anti-anthropomorphist, abstract concept of
rents among the ghula¯t in the second half of the eighth centu-
God in sharp conflict with the predominant theology of
ry. The Mukhammisah (Pentadists) believed in a divine pen-
Sunn¯ı Islam. The Baghdad school rejected MuEtazil¯ı doc-
tad consisting of Muh:ammad, EAl¯ı, Fa¯t:imah, H:asan, and
trine, however, where it clashed with the basic Ima¯m¯ı beliefs
H:usayn. The five were united in meaning (ma Ena¯) but dis-
about the imamate; thus it repudiated the MuEtazil¯ı thesis
tinct in name (ism) and had manifested themselves through-
of the unconditional, eternal punishment of the unrepentant
out history in the form of prophets and imams. The
sinner in the hereafter, affirming the effectiveness of the in-
Mufawwid:ah (Delegationists) taught that the Eternal One,
tercession of the imams for sinners among their faithful fol-
whose name is unknowable, had delegated the creation of the
lowers. In fact, faith in the power of the imams’ intercessions
world to the divine pentad. At the beginning of the ghaybah,
was a vital motive for the visits to their shrines that have al-
the ghula¯t of this tradition coalesced into two rival sects, the
ways been a major aspect of popular Sh¯ıE¯ı piety. Twelver
Ish:a¯q¯ıyah and the Nus:ayr¯ıyah. The Ish:a¯q¯ıyah was founded
Sh¯ıE¯ı theologians also maintained, against the MuEtazil¯ı posi-
by the Basran Ish:a¯q al-Ah:mar (d. 899), who disputed the po-
tion, that the opponents of the imams occupied the status
sition of the second saf¯ır of the twelfth imam. The sect
of infidels and that the imamate was, like prophecy, a ratio-
spread from Iraq to Aleppo and the Syrian coast. In Syria it
nal necessity, not merely a revealed legal requirement. The
was wiped out by its Nus:ayr¯ı rivals in the thirteenth century
leading figures of the theological school of Baghdad were
and disappeared in Iraq about the same time.
Shaykh al-Muf¯ıd (d. 1022) and Sharif al-Murtad:a¯ EAlam
al-Huda¯ (d. 1044). Their student, Shaykh Abu¯ JaEfar al-T:u¯s¯ı
Nus:ayr¯ıyah and EAlaw¯ıyu¯n. The Nus:ayr¯ıyah took
(d. 1067), became the most important early systematizer of
their name from Muh:ammad ibn Nus:ayr al-Nam¯ır¯ı, a com-
Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı law; his work has remained fundamental for
panion of the ninth and tenth imams. They became a fully
all later developments.
constituted sect under his successors, especially al-H:usayn
ibn H:amda¯n al-Khas:¯ıb¯ı (d. 957 or 969), who carried the
The Twelver Sh¯ıEah today constitute the great majority
sect’s teaching to northern Syria and was buried in Aleppo.
of the Sh¯ıEah and are often referred to simply by the latter
It was extinguished in Iraq after the Mongol invasion but has
name. Most of the people of Iran and southern Iraq are
survived to the present in Syria, especially in Latakia and the
Twelvers. There are sizable Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı communities in
Jabal al-Ans:a¯r¯ıyah region to the east and in the regions of
Bahrein, in al-H:as:a¯ and Qat:if in eastern Saudi Arabia, in
Alexandretta and Cilicia (Adana and Tarsus). In modern
southern Lebanon, in Aleppo in northern Syria, and in parts
times the Nus:ayr¯ıyah are commonly referred to as EAlaw¯ıs
of Afghanistan. On the Indian subcontinent Twelver Sh¯ıEah
or Alawites.
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8324
SHIISM: AN OVERVIEW
The name EAlaw¯ı (Turk., Alevi) is frequently also ap-
establishment of a Qarmat:¯ı state in eastern Arabia that lasted
plied to other extremist Sh¯ıE¯ı communities in Anatolia. Sim-
from 899 until 1076.
ilar groups in Iran are often pejoratively called EAl¯ı-Ila¯h¯ı
(“EAl¯ı deifiers”). Such groups generally have their roots in the
The Fatimid branch was rent by a schism during the ca-
late Mongol age (fourteenth and fifteenth centuries) and rep-
liphate of al-H:a¯kim (996–1021), whose divinity was pro-
resent a mixture of popular extremist Shiism and Sufism.
claimed by a group of enthusiastic followers. The sect arising
Strong pro-EAlid sentiments on a popular level were already
from this deviation is known as the Druze. After the death
widespread among Türkmen tribes during the great Turkish
of the caliph al-Mustans:ir in 1094 the Persian Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı com-
expansion into Iran and western Asia in the Seljuk period.
munities recognized his eldest son, Niza¯r, who did not suc-
These sentiments were reinforced during the Mongol period
ceed to the caliphate, as their imam. Known as the
by the Sufism spread by some of the great religious orders
Niza¯r¯ıyah, they established their headquarters, and later the
that were themselves moving toward Sh¯ıE¯ı beliefs. In the fif-
seat of their imams, in the mountain stronghold of Alamu¯t
teenth century the Kizilbash Türkmen federation and reli-
in the Elburz mountains. In Syria, where they also occupied
gious order adopted such extremist Sh¯ıE¯ı doctrine under the
some mountain fortresses, they became known to the Cru-
leadership of the Safavids, who now claimed EAlid descent.
saders as h:ash¯ısh¯ıy¯ın (“hashish addicts”), a name that was
After the foundation of the Safavid state, however, the rulers
then deformed to “Assassins.” The main line of Niza¯r¯ı
furthered orthodox Twelver Shiism as the official religion
imams has continued down to the Aga Khans in modern
and gradually divested themselves of the religious veneration
times. A second line, which split off soon after the Mongol
and backing of the Kizilbash. Under the Ottomans, the
conquest of Alamu¯t in 1256, came to an end in 1796. The
Bekta¯shi dervish order, which became closely associated with
branch continuing to recognize the Fatimid caliphs was fur-
the Janissaries, embraced a similar mixture of S:u¯f¯ı and ex-
ther split after the death of al-Amir in 1130. The majority
tremist Sh¯ıE¯ı beliefs.
of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah in Yemen and India now recognized as
their imam al-T:ayyib, the caliph’s infant son, about whose
A major sect among the so-called EAl¯ı-Ila¯h¯ıs are the
fate nothing is known. In his absence the spiritual leadership
Ahl-i H:aqq (“people of the truth”), whose origins apparently
of these sectarians, known as T:ayyib¯ıyah, became vested in
go back to the fifteenth century and whose main centers are
their da¯ E¯ı mut:laq. As the line of these spiritual leaders be-
in the Kurdish regions of western Iran and eastern Iraq and
came divided in 1591, the T:ayyib¯ıyah split into two com-
in Azerbaijan. They represent a syncretism of popular S:u¯f¯ı
munities, the Da¯Du¯d¯ıyah and the Sulayma¯n¯ıyah. That part
rites, legends, and folklore superimposed on an extremist
of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı community adhering to the Fatimid caliphate
Sh¯ıE¯ı foundation. While EAl¯ı is recognized as one of the
until its fall disintegrated thereafter.
seven avatars of the divinity, he is completely overshadowed
by the figure of Sultan Seh:a¯k (Ish:a¯q).
THE ZAYD¯IYAH. Retaining the politically militant and reli-
giously moderate attitude predominant among the early
Shaykh¯ıyah. In modern times Shaykh Ah:mad
Kufan Sh¯ıEah, the Zayd¯ıyah developed a doctrine of the
al-AhsaD¯ı (d. 1826), the author of a Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı theosophi-
imamate distinctly at variance with Ima¯m¯ı beliefs. They nei-
cal doctrine, has been charged with extremist views and ex-
ther accepted a hereditary line of imams nor considered the
communicated by the mujtahids in Iran. He was specifically
imam as divinely protected from sin and error. Rather they
accused of denying the physical resurrection and the physical
held that any descendant of H:asan or H:usayn qualified by
nature of the ascension of the prophet Muh:ammad. He thus
religious learning could claim the imamate by armed rising
became the founder of the Shaykh¯ı sect, which, besides es-
against the illegitimate rulers and would then be entitled to
pousing his theosophical teaching, also opposes the authority
the allegiance and backing of the faithful. Thus there were
of the mujtahids, in accordance with the Akhba¯r¯ı position.
often long periods without legitimate Zayd¯ı imams. The list
The sect is scattered throughout Iran and Iraq, with its center
of recognized Zayd¯ı imams itself has never been entirely
in Kirman. Out of it also developed the Ba¯b¯ı and, indirectly,
fixed although there is general agreement on many of them.
the Baha¯D¯ı religions, but these fall outside the pale of Shiism.
In the absence of any claimant possessing the high qualifica-
THE ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH. An offshoot of the Ima¯m¯ıyah, the
tions of religious learning, the Zayd¯ıyah often supported
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah first became historically important after the mid-
EAlid rulers as mere da¯ E¯ıs (“summoners,” i.e., imams with re-
dle of the ninth century as a secret revolutionary movement
stricted competence). Although they, like the Ima¯m¯ıyah,
promising the impending advent of Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl,
generally affirmed that EAl¯ı, H:asan, and H:usayn had been
grandson of JaEfar al-S:a¯diq, as the Mahdi. The movement
invested as imams by Muh:ammad’s designation (nas:s:), they
soon split into two. One of its branches recognized the hid-
maintained that the designation had been obscure so that its
den leaders of the movement as imams descended from
meaning could be discovered only by investigation. Thus
Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl. With backing of this branch, the
they minimized the offense of the companions of the Proph-
leaders rose to rule as the Fatimid caliphate (909–1171). The
et and the Muslim community in ignoring that designation
other branch, commonly known as the Qara¯mit:ah, broke
and in backing the early caliphs. In theology, the Zayd¯ıyah
with the leadership and refused to recognize the imamate of
from the tenth century on mostly accepted MuEtazil¯ı
the Fatimid caliphs. Their most conspicuous success was the
doctrine.
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SHIISM: ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
8325
For more than a century after the revolt of Zayd, the
of the early Kufan historian Abu¯ Mikhnaf, in Julius Well-
Zayd¯ı movement remained based in Kufa near the center of
hausen’s Die religiös-politischen Oppositionsparteien im alten
Abbasid power, where various EAlid rebellions backed by it
Islam (Göttingen, 1901), translated by R. C. Ostle and S. M.
were quickly suppressed. In the second half of the ninth cen-
Walker as The Religio-Political Factions in Early Islam (Am-
tury, however, two Zayd¯ı reigns were founded in remote re-
sterdam, 1975). A recent study, taking into account later
gions protected by mountain ranges. In T:abarista¯n (modern
Sh¯ıE¯ı sources, is S. Husain M. Jafri’s Origins and Early Devel-
opment of Sh¯ı Ea Islam
(London, 1979).
Mazandara¯n) on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, the
Hasanid H:asan ibn Zayd rose to power in 864. This first
Twelver Shiism is treated in Dwight Donaldson’s The Shi Eite Reli-
gion (London, 1933) and, from a Sh¯ıE¯ı perspective, in
Zayd¯ı state lapsed in 900 but was restored in 914 by the Hu-
EAlla¯mah Sayyid Muh:ammad H:usayn T:abat:aba¯D¯ı’s ShiDite
saynid imam al-Na¯s:ir al-Ut:ru¯sh, who had converted to Islam
Islam, translated from the Persian by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
many of the natives of Daylam and G¯ıla¯n living west of
(Albany, 1975). T:abat:aba¯D¯ı has also gathered significant
T:abarista¯n. He was also the founder of a legal school doc-
Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı texts, sermons, and sayings of imams in A
trine to which his converts adhered, although the older
Shi Eite Anthology, translated with explanatory notes by Wil-
Zayd¯ı community in the region followed the legal doctrine
liam C. Chittick (Albany, N.Y., 1981). The papers of the
of the H:asanid imam al-Qa¯sim ibn Ibra¯h¯ım (d. 860). The
1968 Colloque de Strasbourg, published as Le Shïisme imâ-
two communities, known as the Nas:ir¯ıyah and the
mite (Paris, 1970), offer scholarly contributions on various
Qa¯sim¯ıyah, were often at odds, and, although eventually rec-
aspects of the history of Twelver Shiism. John Norman Hol-
ognizing each other’s doctrine as equally valid, for long peri-
lister’s The Shi Ea of India (London, 1953) deals with the
Twelvers, Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah, Bohoras, and Khojas on the Indian
ods supported different EAlid imams or da¯ E¯ıs. They survived
subcontinent. A well-informed survey of the role of Shiism
until the sixteenth century, when the Caspian Zayd¯ıyah con-
in Iran, especially in recent history, is provided by Yann
verted to Twelver Shiism under pressure from the Safavid
Richard’s Le Shi Eisme en Iran (Paris, 1980).
shah T:ahma¯sp.
On contemporary Sh¯ıE¯ı ghula¯t sects, much material has been gath-
In Yemen the imam Yah:ya¯ al-Ha¯d¯ı ila al-H:aqq, a
ered in Klaus Müller’s Kulturhistorische Studien zur Genese
grandson of al-Qa¯sim ibn Ibra¯h¯ım, established Zayd¯ı rule
pseudo-islamischer Sektengebilde in Vorderasien (Wiesbaden,
in 897. He introduced the legal and theological doctrine of
1967), whose conclusions about the genesis of these sects are,
his grandfather, which he elaborated and modified in his
however, open to question.
own writings. The unity of the Zayd¯ı community in Yemen
A sketch of the history of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah is given by W. Ivanow
was rent in the eleventh century by the rise of two heterodox
in Brief Survey of the Evolution of Isma Eilism (Leiden, 1952).
sects, the Mut:arrif¯ıyah and the H:usayn¯ıyah. The former was
The genesis of Isma¯E¯ıli gnostic doctrine has been reexamined
opposed to some aspects of the MuEtazil¯ı doctrine espoused
in H. Halm’s Kosmologie und Heilslehre der frühen Isma¯ E¯ıl¯ıya
(Wiesbaden, 1978).
by the Caspian Zayd¯ı imams and elaborated a distinctive
theory of nature that it attributed to al-Ha¯d¯ı and his sons.
Cornelis van Arendonk’s De Opkomst van het Zaidietische Ima-
The H:usayn¯ıyah denied the death of the imam al-H:usayn
maat in Yemen (Leiden, 1919), translated into French by
Jacques Ryckmans as Les débuts de l’imamat Zaidite au Yémen
al-Mahd¯ı in 1013 and expected his return as the Mahdi.
(Leiden, 1960), offers a history of the Zayd¯ıyah until the
Both sects disappeared by the fourteenth century. Relations
foundation of the Zayd¯ı state in Yemen. I have studied the
with the Caspian community were intermittently close for
development of Zayd¯ı doctrine up to the twelfth century in
some centuries, and much of its religious literature was trans-
Der Imam al-Qa¯sim ibn Ibra¯h¯ım und die Glaubenslehre der
ferred to Yemen in the twelfth century. Only exceptionally,
Zaiditen (Berlin, 1965).
however, was an imam ruling in either region able to extend
New Sources
his control to the other. The Zayd¯ı community in Yemen,
Dinault, David. The Shiites: Ritual and Popular Piety in a Muslim
living mostly in the northern highlands, has survived to the
Community. New York, 1992.
present, although the last imam, Muh:ammad al-Badr, was
Kohlberg, Etan. Belief and Law in Ima¯m; Sh¯ı’¯ısm. Aldershot,
overthrown by the revolution of 1962.
U.K., 1991.
S
Kohlberg, Etan, ed. Shi’ism. Aldershot, U.K., 2003.
EE ALSO Aga Khan; EAlaw¯ıyu¯n; Assassins; Druze; Ghaybah;
Imamate; EIs:mah; Qara¯mit:ah; Shaykh¯ıyah.
WILFERD MADELUNG (1987)
Revised Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Scholarly literature on Shiism is still limited and uneven. There
is no comprehensive survey of Shiism in its full range. In the
SHIISM: ISMA
¯ E¯IL¯IYAH
wider context of schisms in Islam, the development of the
A major branch of the Sh¯ıEah, the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah traces the line
various branches of Shiism is outlined by Henri Laoust in Les
schismes dans l’Islam
(Paris, 1965). There are brief chapters
of imams through Isma¯E¯ıl, son of Imam JaEfar al-S:a¯diq (d. AH
on Twelver Shiism, the Zayd¯ıyah, and Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah in Islam,
148/765 CE). Isma¯E¯ıl was initially designated by JaEfar as his
edited by C. F. Beckingham, volume 2 of Religion in the
successor but predeceased him. Some of JaEfar’s followers
Middle East, edited by Arthur J. Arberry (Cambridge, 1969).
who considered the designation irreversible either denied the
The origins and early history of the Sh¯ıEah and the Kha¯rij¯ıs in the
death of Isma¯E¯ıl or accepted Isma¯E¯ıl’s son Muh:ammad as the
Umayyad age was classically described, chiefly on the basis
rightful imam after JaEfar.
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8326
SHIISM: ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
THE PRE-FATIMID AGE. The communal and doctrinal histo-
(mash¯ı Dah) he created a light which he addressed with the
ry of the IsmaEil¯ıyah in this period poses major problems that
QurDanic creative imperative, kun (“Be!”), consisting of the
are still unresolved for lack of reliable sources. The Muslim
letters ka¯f and nu¯n. Through duplication, the first, preceding
heresiographers mostly speak of two Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı groups after the
(sa¯biq) principle, Ku¯n¯ı (“be,” fem.) proceeded from them
death of Imam JaEfar: The “pure Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah” held that
and in turn was ordered by God to create the second, follow-
Isma¯E¯ıl had not died and would return as the Qa¯Dim (mahd¯ı),
ing (ta¯l¯ı) principle, Qadar (“measure, decree”). Ku¯n¯ı repre-
while the Muba¯rak¯ıyah recognized Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl
sented the female principle and Qadar, the male; together
as their imam. According to the heresiographers, al-Muba¯rak
they were comprised of seven letters (the short vowels of
was the name of their chief, a freedman of Isma¯E¯ıl. It seems,
Qadar are not considered letters in Arabic), which were
however, that the name (meaning “the blessed”), was applied
called the seven higher letters (h:uru¯f Eulw¯ıyah) and were in-
to Isma¯E¯ıl by his followers, and thus the name Muba¯rak¯ıyah
terpreted as the archetypes of the seven messenger prophets
must at first have referred to them. After the death of JaEfar
and their scriptures. In the spiritual world, Ku¯n¯ı created
most of them evidently accepted Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl as
seven cherubs (karu¯b¯ıyah) and Qadar, on Kuni’s order,
their imam in the absence of Isma¯E¯ıl. Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı reports
twelve spiritual ranks (h:udu¯d ru¯h:a¯n¯ıyah). Another six ranks
attribute a major role among the early backers of Isma¯E¯ıl to
emanated from Ku¯n¯ı when she initially failed to recognize
the Khat:t:a¯b¯ıyah, the followers of the extremist Sh¯ıE¯ı heresi-
the existence of the creator above her. The fact that these six
arch Abu¯ al-Khat:t:a¯b (d. 755?). Whatever the reliability of
originated without her will through the power of the creator
such reports, later Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı teaching generally shows few
then moved her to recognize him with the testimony that
traces of Khat:t:a¯b¯ı doctrine and repudiates Abu¯ al-Khat:t:a¯b.
“There is no god but God,” and to deny her own divinity.
An eccentric work reflecting a Khat:t:a¯b¯ı tradition, the Umm
Three of these ranks were above her and three below; among
al-kita¯b (Mother of the book) transmitted by the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah
the latter was Ibl¯ıs, who refused Kun¯ı’s order to submit to
of Badakhsha¯n, is clearly a late adaptation of non-Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı
Qadar, the heavenly Adam, and thus became the chief devil.
material.
Ku¯n¯ı and Qadar also formed a pentad together with three
Nothing is known about the fate of these Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı splin-
spiritual forces, Jadd, Fath:, and Khaya¯l, which were often
ter sects arising in Kufa in Iraq on the death of Imam JaEfar,
identified with the archangels Jibra¯D¯ıl, M¯ıkha¯D¯ıl, and Isra¯f¯ıl
and it can be surmised that they were numerically insignifi-
and mediated between the spiritual world and the religious
cant. But about a hundred years later, after the middle of the
hierarchy in the physical world.
third century AH (ninth century CE), the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah reap-
The lower, physical world was created through the me-
peared in history, now as a well-organized, secret revolution-
diation of Ku¯n¯ı and Qadar, with the ranks of the religious
ary movement with an elaborate doctrinal system spread by
teaching hierarchy corresponding closely to the ranks of the
missionaries called da¯ E¯ıs (“summoners”) throughout much
higher, spiritual world. The history of revelation proceeded
of the Islamic world. The movement was centrally directed,
through seven prophetic eras or cycles, each inaugurated by
at first apparently from Ahwaz in southwestern Iran. Recog-
a speaker (na¯t:iq) prophet bringing a fresh divine message.
nizing Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl as its ima¯m, it held that he
The first six speaker-prophets, Adam, Noah, Abraham,
had disappeared and would return in the near future as the
Moses, Jesus, and Muh:ammad, were each succeeded by a leg-
Qa¯Dim to fill the world with justice.
atee (was:¯ı) or silent one (s:a¯mit) who revealed the esoteric
Early doctrines. The religious doctrine of this period,
meaning hidden in their messages. Each legatee was suc-
which is largely reconstructed from later Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı sources and
ceeded by seven imams, the last of whom would rise in rank
anti-Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı accounts, distinguished between the outer, exo-
to become the speaker of the next cycle and bring a new
teric (z:a¯hir) and the inner, esoteric (ba¯t¯ın) aspects of religion.
scripture and law abrogating the previous one. In the era of
Because of this belief in a ba¯t¯ın aspect, fundamental also to
Muh:ammad, EAl¯ı was the legatee and Muh:ammad ibn
most later Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı thought, the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah were often called
Isma¯E¯ıl the seventh imam. Upon his return Muh:ammad ibn
Ba¯t¯ın¯ıyah, a name that sometimes has a wider application,
Isma¯E¯ıl would become the seventh speaker prophet and abro-
however. The z:a¯hir aspect consists of the apparent, directly
gate the law of Islam. His divine message would not entail
accessible meaning of the scriptures brought by the prophets
a new law, however, but consist in the full revelation of the
and the religious laws contained in them; it differs in each
previously hidden esoteric truths. As the eschatological
scripture. The ba¯t¯ın consists of the esoteric, unchangeable
Qa¯Dim and mahd¯ı, he would rule the world and consummate
truths (h:aqa¯D¯ıq) hidden in all scriptures and laws behind the
it. During his absence, the teaching hierarchy was headed by
apparent sense and revealed by the method of esoteric inter-
twelve h:ujjahs residing in the twelve provinces (jaza¯Dir).
pretation called ta Dw¯ıl, which often relied on qabbalistic ma-
Below them were several ranks of da¯ E¯ıs. The number and
nipulation of the mystical significance of letters and their nu-
names of these ranks given in early Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı texts vary widely
merical equivalents. The esoteric truths embody a gnostic
and reflect speculative concerns rather than the actual organi-
cosmology and a cyclical, yet teleological history of revela-
zation of the hierarchy, about which little is known for either
tion.
the pre-Fatimid or Fatimid age. Before the advent of the
The supreme God is the Absolute One, who is beyond
Qa¯Dim, the teaching of the esoteric truths must be kept se-
cognizance. Through his intention (ira¯dah) and will
cret. The neophyte had to swear an oath of initiation vowing
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SHIISM: ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
8327
strict secrecy and to pay a fee. Initiation was clearly gradual,
essentially Islamic and Sh¯ıE¯ı adaptation of various wide-
but there is no evidence of a number of strictly defined
spread gnostic motives. Clearly without foundation are the
grades; the accounts of anti-Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı sources that name and
assertions of the anti-Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı polemicists and heresio-
describe seven or nine such grades leading to the final stage
graphers that the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah was derived from various dual-
of pure atheism and libertinism deserve no credit.
ist religions, such as Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Barde-
sanism, Mazdakism, and the Khurramd¯ın¯ıyah.
Emergence of the movement. The sudden appearance
of a widespread, centrally organized Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı movement with
The movement was rent by a schism about 899 after
an elaborate doctrine after the middle of the ninth century
EAbd Alla¯h (EUbayd Alla¯h), the future Fatimid caliph
suggests that its founder was active at that time. The Sunn¯ı
al-Mahd¯ı, succeeded to the leadership. Repudiating the be-
anti-Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı polemicists of the following century name as
lief in the imamate of Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl and his return
this founder one EAbd Alla¯h ibn Maymu¯n al-Qadda¯h:. They
as the mahd¯ı, al-Mahd¯ı claimed the imamate for himself. He
describe his father, Maymu¯n al-Qadda¯h:, as a Bardesanian
explained to the da¯ E¯ıs that his predecessors in the leadership
who became a follower of Abu¯ al-Khat:t:a¯b and founded an
had been legitimate imams but had concealed their rank and
extremist sect called the Maymu¯n¯ıyah. According to this ac-
identity out of caution. They were descendants of Imam
count, EAbd Alla¯h conspired to subvert Islam from the inside
JaEfar’s son EAbd Alla¯h, who had been the rightful successor
by pretending to be a Sh¯ıE¯ı working on behalf of
to the imamate rather than Isma¯E¯ıl; the names of Isma¯E¯ıl and
Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl. He founded the movement in the
his son Muh:ammad had merely been used to cover up their
latter’s name with its seven grades of initiation leading to
identity as the imams.
atheism and sent his da¯ E¯ıs abroad. At first he was active near
Ahwa¯z and later moved to Basra and to Sala¯m¯ıyah in Syria;
This apparently radical change of doctrine was not ac-
the later leaders of the movement and the Fatimid caliphs
cepted by some of the leading da¯ E¯ıs. In the region of Kufa,
were his descendants. This story is obviously anachronistic
H:amda¯n Qarmat: and EAbdan broke with al-Mahd¯ı and dis-
in placing EAbd Alla¯h’s activity over a century later than that
continued their missionary activity. Qarmat:’s followers were
of his father. Moreover, Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı sources mention
called the Qara¯mit:ah, and the name was often extended to
Maymu¯n al-Qadda¯h: and his son EAbd Alla¯h as faithful com-
other communities that broke with the Fatimid leadership,
panions of Imams Muh:ammad al-Ba¯qir (d. 735?) and JaEfar
and sometimes to the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah in general; it will be used
al-S:a¯diq respectively. They do not suggest that either of them
here for those Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah who did not recognize the Fatimid
was inclined to extremism. It is thus unlikely that EAbd Alla¯h
imamate. EAbda¯n was the first author of the movement’s
ibn Maymu¯n played any role in the original Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı sect and
books. He was murdered by a da¯ E¯ı initially loyal to
impossible that he is the founder of the ninth-century move-
al-Mahd¯ı, and H:amdan Qarmat: disappeared. On the west
ment. The Sunn¯ı polemicists’ story about EAbd Alla¯h ibn
coast of the Persian Gulf, the da¯ E¯ı Abu¯ SaEid al-Jannabi fol-
Maymu¯n is, however, based on Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı sources. At least
lowed the lead of Qarmat: and EAbdan, who had invested him
some early Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communities believed that the leaders of
with his mission. He had already seized a number of towns,
the movement including the first Fatimid caliph, al-Mahd¯ı,
including al-Qat:¯ıf and al-Ah:sa¯, and had thus laid the foun-
were not EAlids but descendants of Maymu¯n al-Qadda¯h:. The
dation of the Qarmat:¯ı state of Bahrein. Other communities
Fatimids tried to counter such beliefs by maintaining that
that repudiated al-Mahd¯ı’s claim to the imamate were in the
their EAlid ancestors had used names such as al-Mubarak,
region of Rayy in northwestern Iran, in Khorasan, and in
Maymu¯n, and SaE¯ıd in order to hide their identity. While
Transoxiana. Most prominent among the da¯ E¯ıs who re-
such a use of cover names is not implausible, it does not ex-
mained loyal to al-Mahd¯ı was Ibn H:awshab, known as
plain how Maymu¯n, allegedly the cover name of
Mans:u¯r al-Yaman, the senior missionary in the Yemen. He
Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl, could have become identified with
had brought the region of Jabal Maswar under his control,
Maymu¯n al-Qadda¯h:. It has, on the other hand, been suggest-
while his younger colleague and rival, EAl¯ı ibn al-Fad:l, was
ed that some descendants of EAbd Alla¯h ibn Maymu¯n may
active in the Bila¯d Ya¯fiE further southwest. The da¯ E¯ı Abu¯
E
have played a leading part in the ninth-century movement.
Abd Alla¯h al-Sh¯ıE¯ı, whom Mans:u¯r al-Yaman had sent to the
The matter evidently cannot be resolved at present. It is cer-
Kuta¯mah Berber tribe in the mountains of eastern Algeria,
tain, however, that the leaders of the movement, the ances-
and probably also the da¯ E¯ı al-Haytham, whom he had dis-
tors of the Fatimids, claimed neither descent from
patched to Sind, remained loyal to al-Mahd¯ı. Some of the
Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl nor the status of imams, even
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah in Khorasan also accepted his claim to the imam-
among their closest da¯ E¯ıs, but described themselves as
ate. Residing at this time in Sala¯m¯ıyah, al-Mahd¯ı then left
h:ujjahs of the absent imam Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl.
for Egypt together with his son, the later caliph al-Qa¯Dim, as
his safety was threatened because of the disaffection of the
The esoteric doctrine of the movement was of a distinct-
leading Syrian da¯ E¯ı. At first he intended to proclaim himself
ly gnostic nature. Many structural elements, themes, and
as the mahd¯ı in the Yemen. Increasing doubts about the loy-
concepts have parallels in various earlier gnostic systems, al-
alty of EAl¯ı ibn al-Fad:l, who later openly defected, seem to
though no specific sources or models can be discerned. Rath-
have influenced his decision to go to the Maghreb, where
er, the basic system gives the impression of an entirely fresh,
Abu¯ EAbd Alla¯h al-Sh¯ıE¯ı, having overthrown the Aghlabids
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SHIISM: ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
and seized Tunisia, proclaimed him caliph and mahd¯ı in
that they believed would bring the era of Islam to an end and
910.
usher in the seventh and final era. As the date approached,
THE FATIMID AGE (910–1171). With the establishment of
Abu¯ T:a¯hir carried out daring attacks ever farther into south-
the Fatimid countercaliphate, the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı challenge to
ern Iraq and finally threatened the Abbasid capital of Bagh-
Sunn¯ı Islam reached its peak and provoked a vehement po-
dad itself. In 930 he sacked Mecca during the pilgrimage sea-
litical and intellectual reaction. The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah came to be
son, slaughtered pilgrims and inhabitants, and carried off the
condemned by orthodox theologians as the archheresy of
Black Stone of the KaEbah as a sign for the end of the era
Islam. The Fatimid Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah was weakened by serious
of Islam. In 932 he proclaimed a young Persian from Isfahan
splits, first that of the Qara¯mit:ah and later those of the
as the expected mahd¯ı.
Druzes, the Niza¯r¯ıyah, and the T:ayyib¯ıyah.
Events now took a different course than had commonly
The Qara¯mit:ah. The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communities that repu-
been predicted by the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah for the coming of the
diated the claim of the Fatimid al-Mahd¯ı to the imamate
mahd¯ı. According to the erudite expert of the chronology of
were initially left without united leadership and in doctrinal
nations, al-B¯ıru¯n¯ı (d. 1050?), the date was chosen to coin-
disarray. Soon after the rise of the Fatimid caliphate they re-
cide with the passing of fifteen hundred years after Zoroaster,
covered some organizational and doctrinal unity on the basis
the end of the year 1242 of the era of Alexander, for which
of a reaffirmation of the belief in the imamate of
prophecies ascribed to Zoroaster and Ja¯ma¯sp had predicted
Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl and in his expected return as the
the restoration of the reign of the Magians. The Persian was
Qa¯Dim. This belief was also espoused by the Transoxianan
said to be a Magian and a descendant of the Persian kings.
da¯ E¯ı Muh:ammad ibn Ah-mad al-Nasaf¯ı in his Kita¯b
His hometown of Isfahan had long been associated by the
al-mah:s:u¯l (Book of the yield), which gained wide authority
astrologers with the rise of a Persian dynasty which would
among the Qarmat:¯ı Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah. The book itself is lost, but
conquer the Arab caliphate. The Persian is reported to have
numerous quotations from it and discussions in later works
ordered the worship of fire and the cursing of all the prophets
attest to its importance and make it possible to reconstruct
and to have licensed the most outrageous abominations.
its contents. Al-Nasaf¯ı introduced in it a Neoplatonic cos-
After the Persian put some Qarmat:¯ı leaders to death, Abu¯
mology that superseded and partly replaced the earlier cos-
T:a¯hir felt compelled to kill him and to avow that he had
molgy and became basic to much of Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı esoteric doc-
been duped by an impostor.
trine throughout the Fatimid age.
The significance of this episode must be judged with
In this cosmology Ku¯n¯ı and Qadar were replaced by the
caution. The Persian, anti-Arab aspect was evidently a spon-
Neoplatonic Universal Intellect and Soul. God, who is be-
taneous development among the leaders of the Qarmat:¯ı
yond any attribute and name and even beyond being and
community of Bahrein. It does not confirm the assertions of
non-being, has originated (abda Ea) the Intellect through his
the Sunn¯ı polemicists that the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı movement originated
divine order or volition (amr). The Intellect is described as
in an anti-Islamic and anti-Arab plot of Persian dualists, but
the first originated being (al-mubda E al-awwal) since the amr
it may have given rise to them. More deeply rooted in the
has become united with it in existence. The Universal Soul
movement were the antinomian sentiments radically ex-
emanated from the Intellect, and from the Soul in turn is-
pressed in the cursing of the prophets, the founders of the
sued the seven spheres of the heavens with their stars. These
religious laws. Antinomian tendencies were naturally inher-
spheres revolve with the Soul’s movement, producing the
ent in religious thought which looked for an esoteric spiritual
mixture of the four single natures—dryness, humidity, cold,
meaning concealed behind the exoteric surface of scripture
and warmth—to form the composites of earth, water, air,
and law. Though sometimes latent for a long time, they
and ether. Out of the mingling of the composites arise the
manifested themselves powerfully at various stages in the his-
plants with a vegetative soul, which in turn give rise to the
tory of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah.
animals endowed with a sensitive soul. Out of the animal
The ignominious course and outcome of the affair led
realm arises the human being with a rational soul that seeks
to massive defections of adherents and shocked the leading
to ascend through the spiritual hierarchy and to rejoin its ori-
da¯ E¯ıs. Abu¯ H:a¯tim al-Ra¯z¯ı’s Kita¯b al-is:la¯h: (Book of correc-
gin in the Intellect.
tion), in which he criticized and “corrected” various points
Proclamation of the mahd¯ı. The da¯ E¯ı of Rayy, Abu¯
of al-Nasaf¯ı’s Kita¯b al-mah:s:u¯l, appears to have been written
Hatim al-Ra¯z¯ı (d. 934), claimed superior authority among
in reaction to the events. Abu¯ H:a¯tim in particular objected
the Qarmat:¯ı da¯ E¯ıs as the lieutenant of the absent ima¯m. He
to the antinomian tendencies apparent in some of the teach-
succeeded in converting a number of powerful men in the
ing of al-Nasaf¯ı. Arguing that all esoteric truth inevitably re-
region, sent his da¯ E¯ıs throughout northwestern Iran, and
quires an exoteric revealed law, he affirmed against al-Nasaf¯ı
maintained a correspondance with Abu¯ T:a¯hir al-Janna¯b¯ı,
that both Adam, the first speaker prophet, and Jesus had
who had succeeded his father, Abu¯ SaE¯ıd, in the leadership
brought a religious law. While admitting that the seventh
of the Qarmat:¯ı state in Bahrein. The Qarmat:¯ı da¯ E¯ıs were
speaker prophet, Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl, would not bring
at this time predicting the advent of the mahd¯ı after the con-
a law but reveal the spiritual truths, he insisted that the era
junction of Jupiter and Saturn in the year 928, an occurrence
of Muh:ammad had not come to an end with the first pres-
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SHIISM: ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
8329
ence and disappearance of the seventh imam. There was in
anonymous authors to the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah. This encyclopedia of
each prophetic cycle an interval (fatrah) between the pres-
fifty-two treatises on all sciences of the ancients pervaded by
ence of the seventh imam and the advent of the speaker
an esoteric religious message was, according to two authors
prophet who would inaugurate the new era, during which
of the later tenth century, composed by a group of secretaries
time the seventh imam was represented by his lieutenants
and scholars in Basra about the middle of the century. Later
(khulafa Da¯).
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı tradition, however, claims that it was written by one
of the hidden ima¯ms and his da¯ E¯ıs a century earlier. The trea-
Abu¯ H:a¯tim’s ideas failed to rally the Qarmat:¯ı commu-
tises speak of the ima¯m as in hiding, though accessible, and
nities around his leadership as the lieutenant of the imam.
foresee his appearance. Some modern scholars have argued
In his Kita¯b al-nus:rah (Book of support), the younger da¯ E¯ı
that a part or most of the encyclopedia was composed in the
Abu¯ YaEqu¯b al-Sijista¯n¯ı consistently upheld al-Nasaf¯ı’s views
against Abu¯ H:a¯tim’s criticism and categorically rejected Abu¯
pre-Fatimid Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı community and that quotations and
Hatim’s thesis that esoteric truths could be attained only
references in the text that belong to the tenth century are
through the religious law. In Khorasan and Transoxiana in
later additions. Others consider it as essentially non-Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı
particular the authority of al-Nasaf¯ı’s Kita¯b al-mah:s:u¯l seems
though influenced by Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı thought; this judgment is usu-
to have remained paramount after the author’s death in 944.
ally based on a comparison with Fatimid Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı literature.
The da¯ E¯ıs in Iraq continued to recognize the authority of
It is evident that the authors, if they did live in the tenth cen-
EAbda¯n, in whose name they composed numerous treatises
tury, could not have been adherents of the Fatimid imamate.
tinged with popular philosophy. After repudiating their
Yet the thought and terminology of the treatises are perva-
pseudo-mahd¯ı, the Qara¯mit:ah of Bahrein again claimed to
sively Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı and must have originated in an Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı envi-
be acting on the orders of the hidden mahd¯ı. Abu¯ T:a¯hir soon
ronment. In the middle of the tenth century Basra was domi-
reached an agreement with the Abbasid government under
nated by the Qara¯mit:ah of Bahrein. It is not unlikely that
which he guaranteed the safety of the pilgrimage to Mecca
the authors undertook their project with the approval of the
in return for an annual tribute and a protection fee paid by
Qarmat:¯ı leaders, but nothing definite is known about their
the pilgrims. The Black Stone of the KaEbah was returned
relationship and the attitude of the later Qara¯mit:ah to the
to Mecca in 951 after payment of a high ransom.
encyclopedia.
Decline of the movement. In preparation for his con-
The Fatimid Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah. The first Fatimid caliph rose
quest of Egypt and the East, the fourth Fatimid caliph, al-
with the claim of being not only the imam but also the ex-
MuEizz (953–975) strove to win the dissident eastern
pected mahd¯ı. This claim inevitably raised questions con-
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communities for the Fatimid cause and to this end
cerning the acts and the eschatological role ascribed to the
made some ideological concessions to them (see below). His
mahd¯ı in apocalyptic traditions. Al-Mahd¯ı answered such
efforts were partly successful, and he gained the allegiance of
questions by maintaining that the prophecies concerning the
Abu¯ YaEqu¯b al-Sijista¯n¯ı, who in his later works fully backed
mahd¯ı would be gradually fulfilled by himself and by
the Fatimid imamate. Other da¯ E¯ıs, however, resisted his
the ima¯ms succeeding him. He gave his son and successor the
overtures. Most important, he failed to persuade the
caliphal title al-Qa¯Dim, another eschatological name that usu-
Qara¯mit:ah of Bahrein, who even allied themselves with the
ally had been considered to refer to the mahd¯ı. In one basic
Abbasid caliphate and fought the Fatimid conquerors in
respect he uncompromisingly countered the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı expec-
Syria and Egypt. Although they later concluded a truce with
tations for the advent of the mahd¯ı: While the pre-Fatimid
the Fatimids and at times officially recognized the Fatimid
teaching affirmed that the mahd¯ı as the seventh speaker
caliphate, they never accepted its religious authority. In the
prophet would abrogate the law of Islam and make the eso-
later tenth century they lost their military prowess and were
teric spiritual truths public, al-Mahd¯ı insisted on strict obser-
reduced to a local, self-contained power while the Qarmat:¯ı
vation of the religious law of Islam and severely punished
communities elsewhere either were absorbed into the Fati-
some da¯ E¯ıs who ignored it and published esoteric teaching.
mid Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah or disintegrated. The Qarmat:¯ı state in Bah-
Official Fatimid doctrine always emphasized the equal validi-
rein survived until 1077/8. Little is known about the specific
ty and necessity of the zahir and the ba¯t¯ın, of religious work
religious beliefs of the sectarians there. Muslim law and rites
( Eamal) in accordance with the law and esoteric knowledge
such as prayer and fasting were not practiced, and all
( Eilm).
mosques were closed. Much property was owned communal-
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı law. Under al-Mahd¯ı began the career of Qa¯d:i
ly, and some of the revenue from tributes and imposts on sea
al-NuEma¯n (d. 974), the founder of Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı law and author
trades was distributed among the members of the communi-
of its most authoritative compendium, the Kita¯b da E a¯Dim
ty. Such institutions were, however, not directly founded on
al-Isla¯m (Book of the buttresses of Islam). In the absence of
the religious teaching, which promised a rule of justice and
an Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı legal tradition, Qa¯d:i al-NuEma¯n relied primarily
fairness but did not develop a social program.
on the legal teaching of Ima¯ms Muh:ammad al-Ba¯qir and
The Brethren of Purity. Much discussed and still unre-
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq, transmitted by Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı traditionists,
solved is the question of the relationship of the Rasa¯ Dil
and secondarily on Zaydi traditions. As a former Ma¯lik¯ı ju-
Ikhwa¯n al- S:afa¯D (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity) and their
rist, he was evidently also influenced by Ma¯lik¯ı legal con-
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SHIISM: ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
cepts. In substance Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı law naturally agrees closely with
tions that al-MuEizz had incited gave rise to a new schismatic
Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı law, it prohibits, however, the temporary mar-
movement. Encouraged by al-H:a¯kim’s abnormal conduct,
riage (mut Eah) allowed in the latter and nullifies bequests to
some of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah came to speculate that he might be
a legal heir except when consent of the other legal heirs is
the expected Qa¯Dim. While the official teaching hierarchy
obtained. It gives the imam authority for determining the be-
strove to counter these speculations, an enthusiastic follower,
ginning of the month without regard to the sighting of the
H:asan al-Akhram, publicly proclaimed al-H:a¯kim’s divinity
new moon as required by all other Muslim legal schools.
in 1017. He told his Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı audience that their resurrection
Since the early Fatimid period the beginning of the months
(qiyamah) had occurred and that the era of their concealment
was generally established in practice on the basis of astro-
had come to an end. In spite of the favor shown him by the
nomical calculation and thus often fell one or two days earli-
caliph, H:asan was murdered a few months later. In 1019 the
er than for other Muslims; this discrepancy often caused in-
movement reemerged, now led by H:amzah ibn EAl¯ı, the true
tercommunal quarrels about the beginning and end of the
founder of its doctrine.
fasting month of Ramad:a¯n.
Its adherents were called duru¯z (Druze) after
Esoteric doctrines. The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı law codified by Qa¯d:i
al-Dar(a)z¯ı, an early rival of H:amzah who caught the eye of
al-NuEma¯n was adopted by the fourth Fatimid caliph, al-
the public. H:amzah claimed to be the imam, the Qa¯Dim of
MuEizz, as the official law of the Fatimid empire to be applied
the Age (qa¯ Dim al-zama¯n), and the embodiment of the Uni-
to all its Muslim subjects. Al-MuEizz also substantially re-
versal Intellect. He identified some of his assistants with the
formed the Fatimid esoteric doctrine with the clear aim of
Universal Soul and other ranks of the spiritual hierarchy of
making it more acceptable to the dissident Qarmat:¯ı commu-
the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah: Al-H:a¯kim and his ancestors back to the sec-
nities in order to gain their backing for the Fatimid imamate.
ond Fatimid caliph, al-Qa¯Dim, were held to be manifestations
Thus he reaffirmed the early belief that Muh:ammad ibn
of the transcendent godhead. H:amzah proclaimed the abro-
Isma¯E¯ıl as the seventh imam was the seventh speaker prophet
gation not only of the exoteric religious law but also of the
and the Qa¯Dim and ignored al-Mahd¯ı’s claim that EAbd Alla¯h
esoteric teaching of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah through the appearance
rather than Isma¯E¯ıl had been the legitimate imam after JaEfar
of God on earth in royal dignity. He defined his own mes-
al-S:a¯diq. In his view, the acts of the Qa¯Dim in the physical
sage as the pure doctrine of unity (tawh:¯ıd) that renewed the
world would, however, be carried out by his lieutenants
message of the Adam of Purity (A¯dam al-s:afa¯D), who had
(khulafa¯ D)—a term familiar to the Qara¯mit:ah, who also
opened the cycle of humanity. The six prophets of the fol-
spoke of the lieutenants of the Qa¯Dim who were to head the
lowing eras from Noah to Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl had each
hierarchy during his absence. For al-MuEizz, however, these
brought a blameworthy law ordering the worship of nonbe-
lieutenants were ima¯ms and descendants of Muh:ammad ibn
ing and the unity of the idol ( Eiba¯dat al- Eadam wa-tawh:¯ıd
Isma¯E¯ıl, who would not return to the physical world but
al-s:anam). H:amzah thus employed many Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı concepts
would head the spiritual hierarchy at the end of the world.
but transformed them so radically that the Druze religion is
The lieutenants of the Qa¯Dim formed a second heptad of
usually considered to be outside the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah. After the
imams in the sixth era, which the prophet Muh:ammad had
death of al-H:a¯kim the new sect was persecuted and quickly
been granted as a special privilege. Following the earlier Fati-
suppressed in Egypt. It has survived to the present, however,
mid caliphs and three hidden imams descended from
in the mountains of Syria and Lebanon.
Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl, al-MuEizz was the seventh ima¯m of
Leading figures. A prominent part in the initial fight of
this heptad. He seems to have envisaged an early end of the
the official Fatimid teaching hierarchy against the founders
physical world and is quoted to have affirmed that there
of the H:a¯kim cult was played by the da¯ E¯ı H:amid al-D¯ın
would not be another heptad of imams after him.
al-Kirma¯n¯ı. Active in Baghdad and Basra, he came to Cairo
Al-MuEizz also opened the door to the Neoplatonic cos-
about 1015, presumably invited to assist in the struggle
mology of al-Nasaf¯ı, which so far had been rejected by the
against the heretics. Recognizing that the heresy was essen-
Fatimid Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah. Abu¯ YaEqu¯b al-Sijista¯n¯ı, who was con-
tially rooted in the fervent hopes for the advent of the Qa¯Dim
verted to the Fatimid Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah, became their main repre-
with its antinomian implications raised by traditional
sentative of Neoplatonic thought. Many of his books and
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı teaching, al-Kirma¯n¯ı reacted sharply against them.
treatises are extant. The esoteric teaching, severely restricted
In a letter addressed to H:asan al-Akhram he scornfully repu-
under al-Mahd¯ı, was now organized in formal lecture ses-
diated the idea that the resurrection had occurred with the
sions (maja¯lis) held twice weekly. The lectures were prepared
appearance of al-H:a¯kim and that the era of the prophet
by the official chief da¯ E¯ı and submitted to the imam for ap-
Muh:ammad had come to an end. The resurrection would
proval. Attendance at the lectures was restricted to the initi-
not occur before the signs predicted by Muh:ammad had ap-
ates, who were required to pay religious dues. The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı
peared. The era of Muh:ammad and the validity of the law
communities remained a small minority throughout the Fat-
of Islam would continue under the reign of al-H:a¯kim’s suc-
imid reign.
cessors. Ignoring the traditional Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı theories about a
limited number of heptads of ima¯ms, al- Kirma¯n¯ı envisaged
The Druze. During the later reign of the sixth Fatimid
the triumphant rule of the hundredth imam in the era of
caliph, al-H:a¯kim (996–1021), the eschatological expecta-
Muh:ammad.
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SHIISM: ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
8331
In one of his larger works, the Kita¯b al-riya¯d: (Book of
two wisdoms), in which he analyzed agreement and disagree-
meadows), he critically reviewed the controversy between
ment between the views of the Muslim philosophers and the
Abu¯ H:a¯tim al-Ra¯z¯ı and Abu¯ YaEqu¯b al-Sijista¯n¯ı over
prophetic wisdom of Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı gnosis.
al-Nasaf¯ı’s Kita¯b al-mah:s:u¯l. Almost invariably he backed the
Another leading figure in the contemporary Fatimid
position of Abu¯ H:a¯tim but went even further in his affirma-
teaching hierarchy was al-MuDayyad f¯ı al-D¯ın of Shiraz, the
tion of the indispensibility of the law. The belief that the
son of an Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı da¯ E¯ı active at the Buyid court. Al-
Qa¯Dim would abrogate the law was faulty, for spiritual
MuDayyad succeeded his father and converted the Buyid emir
knowledge could never be based on anything but the pro-
Abu¯ Ka¯l¯ıja¯r and some of his Daylam¯ı troops to the
phetic laws and their rules for worship. Rather the Qa¯Dim
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah but was forced to leave because of pressure on
would restore the laws in their original form and abolish the
Abu¯ Ka¯l¯ıja¯r from the Abbasid court. He fled to Cairo where
teaching hierarchy, which would no longer be needed be-
he was appointed chief da¯ E¯ı in 1058. Although he was soon
cause knowledge would become actual and general while ig-
dismissed and exiled for a time, he regained wide influence
norance would be reduced to potentiality. Abu¯ YaEqu¯b, he
as a da¯ E¯ı before his death in 1077. His early career is de-
argued, was mistaken in asserting that after the Qa¯Dim a time
scribed in his autobiography. His poetry, gathered in a
of pure spiritual knowledge without work and law would
d¯ıwa¯n, is strictly doctrinal. The most massive of his numer-
begin like the great era before Adam. Rather, before Adam
ous works is an eight-volume collection of eight hundred of
pure ignorance had reigned among the creatures since they
his teaching sessions (maja¯lis). His doctrine was later consid-
did not know the hierarchy, and likewise, after the Qa¯Dim ig-
ered highly authoritative, especially among the T:ayyibi
norance would be gradually actualized again and knowledge
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah in the Yemen and India.
would become potential because of the abolition of the hier-
archy.
Later schisms. During the latter part of the caliphate of
al-Mustans:ir the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı movement in Iran was spurred to
Although al-Kirma¯n¯ı thus maintained, against Abu¯
revolutionary activity by the teaching and leadership of
YaEqu¯b, the absolute priority of the law over spiritual knowl-
H:asan-i S:a¯bba¯h:, who in 1090 seized the mountain strong-
edge, he also made a major contribution to the esoteric teach-
hold of Alamu¯t northwest of Qazvin and made it his head-
ing. In his most famous work, the Kita¯b ra¯h:at al- Eaql (Peace
quarters. He had earlier visited Cairo when Niza¯r,
of mind), he propounded a new cosmology evidently influ-
al-Mustans:ir’s eldest son, was the designated heir. After the
enced by the Muslim philosophers of al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı’s school. He
death of al-Mustans:ir, the powerful vizier al-Afd:al put the
replaced the pair of the Intellect and the Soul ruling the spiri-
youngest son, Ahmad, on the throne with the caliphal name
tual world by a hierarchy of ten Intellects. The place of the
al-MustaEl¯ı and captured and immured Niza¯r, who had re-
Soul thus was taken by the Second Intellect or First Emana-
sisted. H:asan-i S:a¯bba¯h:, however, continued to recognize
tion (al-munba Eith al-awwal), which proceeded from the
Niza¯r as the legitimate imam and claimed that Niza¯r had es-
higher relation of the First Intellect. From the lower relation
caped and broken with the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı leadership in Cairo. He
of the First Intellect proceeded the Third Intellect, or Second
gained general support among the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah in Iran and
Emanation, which is the first potential being, equated with
northern Syria and thus became the founder of the Niza¯r¯ı
matter and form and thus the basis of the physical world.
branch. Al-MustaEl¯ı was recognized by most of the
Seven further Intellects originated jointly from the First and
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah in Egypt, the Yemen, India, and by many in
Second Intellects. The tenth one is the Active Intellect
Syria and Palestine.
(al- Eaql al-fa E Eal), the demiurge governing the lower world.
The structure of the astral world and of the religious hierar-
A further split among the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah still backing the
chy was described by al-Kirma¯n¯ı as closely paralleling that
imamate of the Fatimid caliphs occurred after the assassina-
of the spiritual world. Al-Kirma¯n¯ı’s cosmology had little im-
tion of al-MustaEl¯ı’s son and successor, al-A¯mir, by a Niza¯r¯ı
pact on Fatimid doctrine, which mostly preferred the older
in 1130. Eight months earlier al-A¯mir’s newborn son,
cosmology of al-Nasaf¯ı and Abu¯ YaEqu¯b. It was later adopted
al-T:ayyib, had officially been proclaimed his prospective
by the T:ayyibi Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah in the Yemen.
heir, but a cousin of al-A¯mir, EAbd al-Maj¯ıd al-H:a¯fiz:, was
now put on the throne. First merely appointed regent, he was
A prominent da¯ E¯ı during the long caliphate of the Fati-
later proclaimed caliph and ima¯m. Some Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communi-
mid al-Mustans:ir (1036–1094) was Na¯s:ir-i Khusraw, well
ties, especially in the Yemen and India, repudiated his claim
known as a Persian poet and as the author of a travel narra-
and continued to recognize al-T:ayyib, about whose fate
tive. Because of his activity as a Fatimid da¯ E¯ı, he was forced
nothing is known, as the rightful successor of al-A¯mir. They
to leave Balkh and found refuge in a Badakhsha¯n mountain
were led by the Sulayhid queen al-Sayyidah residing in Dhu¯
village in the upper Oxus valley, where he wrote and taught
Jiblah in central Yemen. Most of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah in Egypt,
until his death about 1088/9. He became the patron saint
southern Syria, and southern Yemen, where they were led by
of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı community of Badakhsha¯n, which has pre-
the ZurayEid rulers of Aden, accepted the imamate of al-
served many of his Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı works. Some of these are Persian
H:a¯fiz: in spite of the irregularity of the succession of a cousin.
translations and adaptations of earlier books in Arabic; most
They were known as the H:a¯fiz:¯ıyah or Maj¯ıd¯ıyah. The Fati-
important is his Kita¯b ja¯mi E al-h:ikmatayn (Book joining the
mid caliphate was now in full decline and was overthrown
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SHIISM: ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
in 1171 by the Ayyubid S:a¯lah: al-D¯ın (Saladin), who restored
ble, however, is his refutation of the theological doctrine of
Sunnism as the official religion in Egypt. H:a¯fiz:¯ı communi-
the philosopher Ibn Sina¯ (Avicenna) from a concealed
ties survived chiefly in Upper Egypt and continued to recog-
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı point of view, entitled Kita¯b al-mus:a¯ra Eah (Book of
nize as their ima¯ms certain descendants of the last Fatimid
the wrestling match). Here he defended the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı thesis
caliph, al-EAdid, who were kept prisoners in Cairo. Under of-
that God, as the giver of being, is beyond being and nonbe-
ficial persecution the H:a¯fiz:¯ı communities gradually disinte-
ing, rejected Avicenna’s description of God as the involun-
grated; the last mention of them occurs in the late thirteenth
tary necessitating cause of the world, and suggested that the
century.
Active Intellect which brings the human intellect from po-
THE POST-FATIMID ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH. With the disintegration of
tentiality to actuality is the prophetic intellect rather than the
the H:a¯fiz:¯ı branch, only the Niza¯r¯ı and T:ayyib¯ı communi-
intellect of the lunar sphere as held by the followers of Avi-
ties, which had separated from the official Fatimid
cenna.
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah before the fall of the Fatimid dynasty, remained.
Qiya¯mah doctrine. After his death in 1124, H:asan-i
Both branches, though further divided by schisms, have sur-
S:a¯bba¯h: was succeeded as lord of Alamu¯t and chief of the
vived to the present.
Niza¯r¯ı community by his assistant Buzurgumm¯ıd. On
The Niza¯r¯ıyah. With the seizure of Alamu¯t, H:asan-i
Ramad:a¯n 17, 599 (August 8, 1164) the latter’s grandson,
S:a¯bba¯h: initiated a policy of armed revolt against the seljuk
known as H:asan Eala¯ Dhikrihi al-Sala¯m, solemnly pro-
sultanate. The Niza¯r¯ıyah captured and fortified numerous
claimed the resurrection (qiya¯mah) in the name of the absent
mountain castles in the Elburz range, towns in Quhista¯n in
imam and declared the law of Islam abrogated. He interpret-
northwestern Iran, and later also mountain strongholds such
ed the spiritual meaning of the resurrection as a manifesta-
as Qadmu¯s and Masya¯f in northern Syria. In the face of the
tion of the unveiled truth in the imam, which actualized par-
overwhelming military superiority of their opponents they
adise for the faithful capable of grasping it while condemning
relied on intimidation through the spectacular assassination
the opponents to the hell of spiritual nonexistence. Two
of prominent leaders by fida¯ D¯ıs, self-sacrificing devotees. Be-
years later H:asan was murdered by a brother-in-law who ob-
cause of their apparently irrational conduct they were com-
jected to the abolition of the Islamic law. His son
monly called h:ash¯ısh¯ıy¯ın, hashish addicts. Stories that the
Muh:ammad (1166–1210) further elaborated the qiya¯mah
fida¯ D¯ıs were in fact conditioned for their task by the use of
doctrine. While H:asan seems to have indicated that as the
hashish are legendary. Their designation as h:ash¯ısh¯ıy¯ın was
h:ujjah of the imam he was spiritually identical with him,
taken over by the Crusaders in Syria and entered European
Muh:ammad maintained that his father had been the imam
languages as “assassins.”
by physical descent; apparently he claimed that H:asan was
the son of a descendant of Niza¯r who had secretly found ref-
H:asan-i S:a¯bba¯h: also elaborated an apologetic mission-
uge in Alamu¯t.
ary doctrine that became known as the “new preaching”
(da Ewah jad¯ıdah) of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah. At its core was the the-
According to the qiya¯mah doctrine, the resurrection
sis of humanity’s permanent need for ta El¯ım, divinely in-
consisted in recognizing the divine truth in the present
spired and authoritative teaching, which was basic in much
imam, who was the manifestation of the order to create (amr)
of Sh¯ıE¯ı thought. H:asan-i S:a¯bba¯h: developed it in a series of
or word (kalimah) and, in his revelatory aspect the Qa¯Dim.
arguments establishing the inadequacy of human reason in
The ima¯m thus was raised in rank above the prophets. There
gaining knowledge of God and then went on to demonstrate
had been ima¯m-Qa¯Dims also in the earlier prophetic cycles:
that only the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı ima¯m was such a divinely guided teach-
Mechizedek (Malik al-Sala¯m), Dhu¯ al-Qarnayn, Khid:r,
er. The Niza¯r¯ıyah came to be commonly called the
MaEadd, and, in the era of Muh:ammad, EAl¯ı. They were rec-
TaEl¯ım¯ıyah after this doctrine, and Sunn¯ı opponents such
ognized by the prophets of their time as the manifestation
as al-Ghaza¯l¯ı concentrated their efforts on refuting it.
of the divine. In the qiya¯mah, the spiritual reality of the
H:asan-i S:a¯bba¯h: further stressed the autonomous teaching
ima¯m-Qa¯Dim manifests itself openly and directly to the faith-
authority of each imam in his time, independent of his pre-
ful. The teaching hierarchy intervening between them and
decessors, thus paving the way for the Niza¯r¯ı radicalization
the imam thus had faded away as unnecessary in accordance
of the doctrine of the imamate as compared with Fatimid
with the earlier predictions about the advent of the Qa¯Dim.
doctrine.
There remained only three categories of humanity: the oppo-
nents of the imam adhering to the law of Islam, his ordinary
Among the Sunn¯ıs apparently attracted by the “new
followers known as the “people of graduation” (ahl al-
preaching” was the heresiographer and AshEar¯ı theologian
tarattub), who had advanced beyond the law to the esoteric
al-Shahrasta¯n¯ı (d. 1143). Although he kept his relations with
(ba¯t¯ın) and thus had attained partial truth, and “the people
the Niza¯r¯ıyah secret, they were revealed by his student
of union” (ahl al-wah:dah), who see the imam plainly in his
al-SamEa¯ni. Among his extant writings are some
spirtual reality discarding outward appearances and have
crypto-Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı works including an incomplete QurDa¯n com-
therefore reached the realm of pure truth.
mentary in which he used Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı terminology and hinted
at his conversion by a “pious servant of God” who had taught
Muh:ammad’s son Jala¯l al-D¯ın H:asan (1210–1221) re-
him the esoteric principles of QurDanic exegesis. Most nota-
pudiated the qiya¯mah doctrine and proclaimed his adherence
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8333
to Sunn¯ı Islam. He publicly cursed his predecessors as infi-
siderable uncertainty about their names, number, and se-
dels, recognized the suzerainty of the Abbasid caliph, ordered
quence. Following a disputed succession their line soon
his subjects to follow the law in its Sunn¯ı form, and invited
divided into two branches, one continuing with
Sunn¯ı scholars for their instruction. Thus he became com-
Muh:ammad-sha¯h, the other with Qa¯sim-sha¯h. Of the
monly known as the New Muslim (naw-mus:u¯lma¯n). His fol-
Muh:ammad-sha¯h¯ı imams, Sha¯h T:a¯hir Dakan¯ı (d. 1549?)
lowers mostly obeyed his orders as those of the infallible
achieved fame as a religious scholar and leader. The populari-
imam. Under his son EAla¯D al-D¯ın Muh:ammad (1221–1255)
ty of his teaching aroused the suspicion of the Safavid shah
the application of the law was again relaxed, though it was
Isma¯E¯ıl, who exiled him to Kashan. Later he was forced to
not abolished.
leave Iran and eventually found refuge in Ahmadnagar in the
Deccan, where he became an adviser of the ruler Burha¯n
During, EAlaD al-D¯ın’s reign the philospher and astrono-
Niz:a¯m Sha¯h, whom he encouraged to proclaim Shiism as the
mer Nas:ir al-D¯ın T:u¯s¯ı (d. 1274), originally a Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı,
official religion. His writings consisted mainly of commen-
joined the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah and actively supported the Niza¯r¯ı
taries on Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı and philosophical treatises, although
cause, though he later turned away from them and wrote
he also maintained relations with his Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı followers. The
some theological works backing Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı belief. In a
last known ima¯m of the Muh:ammad-sha¯h¯ı line was Am¯ır
spiritual autobiography written for his Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı patrons he
Muh:ammad Baq¯ır, with whom his Syrian Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı followers
described his upbringing as a strict adherent of the law and
lost all contact after 1796. After a vain search for a descen-
his subsequent study of scholastic theology and philosophy.
dant of his, a section of the Syrian community changed alle-
While he found philosophy intellectually most satisfying, he
giance in 1887 to the Qa¯sim-sha¯h¯ı line represented by the
discovered that its principles were shaky when the discourse
Aga Khans. A smaller section, known as the JaEfar¯ıyah, is at
reached its ultimate goal, the knowledge of God and the ori-
present the only community that continues to adhere to the
gins and destiny of humanity, and recognized the need for
Muh:ammad-sha¯h¯ı line.
an infallible teacher to guide reason to its perfection. He then
chanced upon a copy of the sacred articles (fus:u¯l-i muqaddas)
Ima¯ms of the Qa¯sim-sha¯h¯ı branch are known to have
of Imam H:asan Eala¯ Dhikrihi al-Sala¯m and decided to join
lived in the later fifteenth and again in the seventeenth centu-
the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah. While some of T:u¯s¯ı’s works written in this
ry in the village of Anjuda¯n near Mah:alla¯t in Iran, where
period, such as his widely read Nasirean Ethics (akhla¯q-i
their tombs have been found. They were in this period, and
Na¯s:¯ıri), show traces of Niza¯r¯ı thought, he also composed
until the ninteenth century, commonly associated with the
some religious treatises specifically addressed to the
NiEmatulla¯h¯ı S:u¯f¯ı order. With the appointment of Imam
Niza¯r¯ıyah. The contemporary Niza¯r¯ı teaching is primarily
Abu¯ al-H:asan Sha¯h as governor of Kerman in 1756 they rose
known through them, particularly his Rawd:at al-tasl¯ım
to political prominence. His grandson H:asan EAl¯ı Sha¯h
(Meadow of submission) or Tas:awwura¯t (Representations).
Mah:alla¯t¯ı married a daughter of the Qajar king of Persia,
Fath: E Al¯ı Sha¯h, who gave him the title of Aga Khan, which
Return to concealment. The restoration of the law by
has since been borne hereditarily by his successors. H:asan
Jala¯l al-D¯ın H:asan was now interpreted as a return to a peri-
EAl¯ı Sha¯h moved to India in 1843 and after 1848 resided in
od of precautionary dissimulation (taq¯ıyah) and concealment
Bombay. Opposition to his authority in the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı Khoja
(satr) in which the truth is hidden in the ba¯t¯ın. The resurrec-
community led to court litigation ending in 1886 in the
tion proclaimed by H:asan Eala¯ Dhikrihi al-Sala¯m had come
judgment of Sir Joseph Arnould in his favor. It recognized
at about the middle of the millennium of the era of the
the Khojas as part of the wider Niza¯r¯ı Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı community.
prophet Muh:ammad and had set the pattern for the final res-
The fourth Aga Khan, Kar¯ım Kha¯n, succeeded his grandfa-
urrection at the end of it. In the era of Muh:ammad, the times
ther in 1957.
of concealment and of resurrection might alternate according
to the decision of each ima¯m, since every ima¯m was poten-
Religious literature. The wide dispersal of the Niza¯r¯ı
tially a Qa¯Dim. The contradictions in the conduct of the
communities, language barriers among them, and their often
imams were merely in appearance, since in their spiritual re-
tenuous relations with the concealed imams led to largely in-
ality they were identical and all acted in accordance with the
dependent organization and literary traditions. In Persia con-
requirements of their time. In the time of concealment the
ditions after the fall of Alamu¯t encouraged the imams and
state of union with the ima¯m was confined to his h:ujjah, who
their followers to adopt S:u¯f¯ı forms of religious life. S:u¯f¯ı ideas
was consubstantial with him. His other followers, the “peo-
and terminology had already influenced the qiya¯mah and late
ple of gradation,” were divided into the strong (aqwiya¯ D) and
Alamu¯t doctrine; now Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı ideas were often camouflaged
the weak (d:u Eafa¯D) according to their closeness to the truth.
in apparently S:u¯f¯ı poetry, the ima¯m being revered as the S:u¯f¯ı
saint. Doctrinal works, written again from the sixteenth cen-
Post-Alamu¯t developments. In 1256 EAla¯D al-D¯ın
tury on, essentially reflect the teaching of the late Alamu¯t age
Muh:ammad’s son and successor Khu¯rsha¯h surrendered
with its emphasis on the role of the h:ujjah of the imam as
Alamu¯t to the Mongol conquerors and was killed soon after-
the only gate to his spiritual essence and truth. Interest in
ward. The Niza¯r¯ı state was thus destroyed, and the Persian
the traditional Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı cosmology and cyclical prophetic his-
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communities were decimated by massacres. Thereaf-
tory waned as the religious literature of the Fatimid age was
ter the ima¯ms lived mostly in concealment, and there is con-
no longer available.
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SHIISM: ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
The community of Badakhsha¯n, which accepted the
be sung to specific melodies in worship. Most of them are
Niza¯r¯ı imamate probably before the fall of Alamu¯t, remained
attributed to the early pirs but cannot be dated accurately
attached to the writings, both genuine and spurious, of
and may have undergone substantial changes in the transmis-
Na¯s:ir-i Khusraw, although many Persian Niza¯r¯ı works of the
sion. They include hymns, religious and moral exhortation,
Alamu¯t and post-Alamu¯t age also found their way there. It
and legendary history of the pirs and their miracles, but con-
also transmitted and revered the Umm al-Kita¯b, the anony-
tain no creed or theology. Islamic and Hindu beliefs, espe-
mous Persian work sometimes erroneously described as
cially popular Tantric ones, are freely mixed. While idol wor-
proto-Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı. It reflects some of the gnostic thought of the
ship is rejected, Hindu mythology is accepted. EAl¯ı is
Kufan Sh¯ıE¯ı ghula¯t of the eighth century, but its final redac-
considered the tenth avatar (incarnation of the deity), and
tion may be as late as the twelfth century.
the imams are identical with him. The QurDa¯n is described
The literature of the Niza¯r¯ı community in Syria, written
as the last of the Vedas, which are recognized as sacred scrip-
in Arabic, developed independently of the Persian literature
tures whose true interpretation is known to the pirs. Faith
even in the Alamu¯t period. There is no evidence that Persian
in the true religion will free believers from further rebirths
works were translated into Arabic. Although the resurrection
and open paradise, which is described in Islamic terms, to
was proclaimed in Syria, apparently with some delay, the
them, while those failing to recognize the ima¯ms must go
qiya¯mah and post-qiya¯mah doctrine of the Persian Niza¯r¯ıyah
through another cycle of rebirths. The Arabic and Persian
with its exaltation of the imam as the manifestation of the
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı literature has been virtually unknown among the
divine word made practically no impact there. The Syrian
Khojas except for the Persian Pandiya¯t-i jawa¯nmard¯ı, a col-
community preserved a substantial portion of Fatimid and
lection of religious and moral exhortations of the late fif-
Qarmat:¯ı literature, and scholarly tradition continued to con-
teenth-century Niza¯r¯ı imam al-Mustans:ir which was adopt-
centrate on the traditional cosmolgy and cyclical prophetic
ed as a sacred book. Khojas live chiefly in lower Sind, Cutch,
history. In some religious texts of a more popular character,
Gujarat, Bombay, and in wide diaspora, particularly in East
Rash¯ıd al-D¯ın Sina¯n (d. 1193?) the leader of the Syrian
and South Africa, Arabia, Ceylon, and Burma.
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah, known to the crusaders as the “Old Man of the
Further Niza¯r¯ı communities are found in the moun-
Mountain,” is celebrated as a popular hero and assigned a
tains of Chitral, Gilgit, and Hunza in Pakistan, in parts of
cosmic rank usually reserved for the imam.
Afghanistan, and in the region of Yarkand and Kashgar in
The Indian subcontinent. The origins and early history
Chinese Turkistan. Organization, religious practices, and
of the Niza¯r¯ı community on the Indian subcontinent are
observance of shar¯ı Eah rules vary among the scattered com-
largely obscure. The Niza¯r¯ıyah there are often collectively re-
munities. The recent Aga Khans have stressed the rootedness
ferred to as Khojas, although there are other, smaller Niza¯r¯ı
of the Niza¯r¯ı Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah in Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam and its continued
groups such as the Shams¯ıyah and Momnas, while some
bonds with the world of Islam.
Sunn¯ı and Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı Khoja groups have split from the
The T:ayyib¯ıyah. After breaking with the Fatimid
main body of the Niza¯r¯ıyah. According to their legendary
teaching hierarchy, the T:ayyib¯ıyah in the Yemen recognized
history, the Niza¯r¯ı faith was first spread by pir Shams al-D¯ın,
the Sulayhid queen as the h:ujjah of the concealed ima¯m
whose father is said to have been sent as a da¯ E¯ı from Alamu¯t.
al-T:ayyib; with her backing they set up an independent
The community was ruled thereafter by pirs descended from
teaching hierarchy headed by a da¯ E¯ı mut:laq (“unrestricted
Shams al-D¯ın. Pir S:adr al-D¯ın, who can be dated with some
summoner”) whose spiritual authority since her death in
likelihood in the later fourteenth century, is credited with the
1138 has been supreme. The second da¯ E¯ı mut:laq, Ibra¯h¯ım
conversion of the Khojas from the Hindu caste of the Lo-
al-H:amid¯ı (1151–1162), became the real founder of the
hanas and to have laid the foundation of their communal or-
T:ayyib i esoteric doctrine, which he elaborated especially in
ganization, building their first jama¯ Eat-kha¯nahs (assembly
his Kita¯b kanz al-walad (Book of the child’s treasure). The
and prayer halls) and appointing their mukhis (community
position remained in his family until 1209, when it passed
leaders). The center of his activity was in Ucch in Sind. A
to EAl¯ı ibn Muh:ammad of the Banu¯ al-Wal¯ıd al-Anf family,
substantial section of the community seceded in the six-
which held it for more than three centuries with only two
teenth century under the pir Nar (Nu¯r) Muh:ammad Sha¯h,
interruptions. The political power of the Yemenite da¯ E¯ıs
who broke with the ima¯ms in Iran claiming that his father,
reached a peak during the long incumbency of Idris EIma¯d
Imam Sha¯h, had been the imam and that he had succeeded
al-D¯ın ibn al-H:asan, the nineteenth da¯ E¯ı mut:laq (1428–
him. This community, known as Imam-Sha¯h¯ıs or Sat-
1468). He is also the author of a seven-volume history of the
panthis, has further split on the issue of leadership and lives
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı imams, Kita¯b Euyu¯n al-akhba¯r (Book of choice sto-
chiefly in Gujarat and Khandesh. It has tended to revert to
ries) and of a two-volume history of the Yemenite da¯ E¯ıs,
Hinduism but shares much of its traditional religious litera-
Kita¯b nuzhat al-akhba¯r (Book of story and entertainment),
ture with the Niza¯r¯ı Khojas.
as well as works of esoteric doctrine and religious controver-
This literature, which is known as Sat Panth (True
sy. While the Yemenite da¯ E¯ıs had been able to act relatively
Path), consists of gina¯ns or gna¯ns, religious poems composed
freely with the backing or protection of various rulers during
in, or translated into, several Indian languages and meant to
the early centuries, they usually faced hostility from the
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8335
Zayd¯ı ima¯ms and in the sixteenth century suffered relentless
truth by a point of light; this is the believer’s spiritual soul,
persecution. In 1539 the twenty-third da¯ E¯ı mut:laq appoint-
which grows as the believer advances in knowledge. After
ed an Indian, Yu¯suf ibn Sulayma¯n, as his successor, evidently
physical death the light rises to join the soul of the holder
in recognition of the growing importance of the Indian
of the rank (h:add) above the believer in the hierarchy. Jointly
T:ayyi¯ı community. Yu¯suf came to reside in the Yemen, but
they continue to rise until the souls of all the faithful are
after his death in 1566 his successor, also Indian, transferred
gathered in the light temple (haykal nu¯ra¯n¯ı) in the shape of
the headquarters to Gujarat in India.
a human being which constitutes the form of the Qa¯Dim
(surah qa¯ Dim¯ıyah) of the cycle, which then rises to the hori-
Doctrines. The T:ayyib¯ıyah preserved a large portion of
zon of the Tenth Intellect. The souls of the unbelievers re-
the Fatimid religious literature and generally maintained the
main joined to their bodies, which are dissolved into inor-
traditions of Fatimid doctrine more closely than the
ganic matter and further transformed into descending orders
Niza¯r¯ıyah. Thus the T:ayyib¯ı da¯ E¯ıs always insisted on
of harmful creatures and substances. Depending on the grav-
the equal importance of the z:a¯hir and ba¯t¯ın aspects of reli-
ity of their sins they may eventually rise again through as-
gion, strict compliance with the religious law and esoteric
cending forms of life and as human beings may accept the
teaching. Qa¯d:i al-NuEma¯n’s Da Ea¯Dim al-Isla¯m has remained
summons to repentance or end up in torment lasting the du-
the authoritative codex of T:ayyib¯ı law and ritual to the pres-
ration of the megacycle.
ent. In the esoteric doctrine, however, there were some inno-
vations which gave the T:ayyib¯ı gnosis its distinctive charac-
Indian communities. The T:ayyib¯ıyah in India are com-
ter. The Rasa¯ Dil Ikhwa¯n al-S:afa¯Dwere accepted as the work of
monly known as the Bohoras. There are, however, also
one of the pre-Fatimid hidden imams and were frequently
Sunn¯ı and some Hindu Bohoras; they are mostly engaged
quoted and interpreted.
in agriculture, while the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı Bohoras are generally mer-
The cosmological system of al-Kirma¯n¯ı with its ten
chants. The origins of the T:ayyib i community in Gujarat
higher Intellects replaced that of al-Nasaf¯ı predominant in
go back to the time before the T:ayyib¯ı schism. According
the Fatimid age. Ibra¯h¯ım al-H:a¯mid¯ı changed its abstract ra-
to the traditional account an Arab da¯ E¯ı sent from the Yemen
tional nature by introducing a myth that Henry Corbin has
arrived in the region of Cambay with two Indian assistants
called the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı “drama in heaven.” According to it, the
in 1068. The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı community founded by him, though
Second and Third Intellects emanating from the First Intel-
led by local walis, always maintained close commercial as
lect became rivals for the second rank. When the Second In-
well as religious ties with the Yemen and was controlled by
tellect attained his rightful position by his superior effort, the
the Yemenite teaching hierarchy. It naturally followed the
Third Intellect failed to recognize his precedence; in punish-
Yemenite community at the time of the schism. From Cam-
ment for his haughty insubordination he fell from the third
bay the community spread to other cities, in particular Patan,
rank behind the remaining seven Intellects and, after repent-
Sidhpur, and Ahmadabad. In the first half of the fifteenth
ing, became stabilized as the Tenth Intellect and demiurge
century the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah were repeatedly exposed to persecu-
(mudabbir). The lower world was produced out of the spiri-
tion by the Sunn¯ı sultans of Gujarat, and after a contested
tual forms (s:uwar) that had also refused to recognize the su-
succession to the leadership of the Bohora community, a
perior rank of the Second Intellect, and out of the darkness
large section, known as the JaEfar¯ıyah, seceded and converted
generated by this sin. The Tenth Intellect, who is also called
to Sunn¯ısm.
the spiritual Adam, strives to regain his original rank by sum-
After its transfer from the Yemen in 1566, the residence
moning the fallen spiritual forms to repentance.
of the da¯ E¯ı mut:laq remained in India. The succession to the
The first representative of his summons (da Ewah) on
twenty-sixth da¯ E¯ı mut:laq, Da¯Du¯d ibn EAjabsha¯h (d. 1591),
earth was the first and universal Adam, the owner of the body
was disputed. In India Da¯Du¯d Burha¯n al-D¯ın ibn Qut:bsha¯h
of the world of origination (s:a¯h:ib al-juththah al-ibda E¯ıyah),
was recognized by the great majority as the twenty-seventh
or higher spiritual world. He is distinguished from the partial
da¯ E¯ı mut:laq. However, Da¯Du¯d ibn EAjabsha¯h’s deputy in the
Adam who opened the present age of concealment (satr), in
Yemen, Sulayma¯n ibn H:asan, a grandson of the first Indian
which the truth is hidden under the exterior of the prophetic
da¯ E¯ı mut:laq Yu¯suf ibn Sulayma¯n, also claimed to have been
messages and laws. After his passing the first Adam rose to
the designated successor and after a few years he came to
the horizon of the Tenth Intellect and took his place, while
India to press his case. Although he found little support, the
the Tenth Intellect rose in rank. Likewise after the passing
dispute was not resolved and resulted in the permanent split
of the Qa¯Dim of each prophetic cycle, that being rises and
of the Da¯Du¯d¯ı and Sulayma¯n¯ı factions recognizing separate
takes the place of the Tenth Intellect, who thus gradually
lines of da¯ E¯ıs.
reaches the Second Intellect.
The leadership of the Sulayman¯ıyah, whose Indian
Countless cycles of manifestation (kashf) and conceal-
community was small, reverted back to the Yemen with the
ment alternate in succession until the great resurrection
succession of the thirtieth da¯ E¯ı mut:laq, Ibrahim ibn
(qiya¯mat al-qiya¯ma¯t) that consummates the megacycle (al-
Muh:ammad ibn Fahd al-Makram¯ı, in 1677. Since then the
kawr al-a Ez:am) lasting 360,000 times 360,000 years. The
position of da¯ E¯ı mut:laq has remained in various branches of
soul of every believer is joined on the initiation to the esoteric
the Makrami family except for the time of the forty-sixth
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8336
SHIISM: ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
da¯ E¯ı, an Indian. The Makram¯ı da¯ E¯ıs usually resided in Badr
BIBLIOGRAPHY
in Najra¯n. With the backing of the tribe of the Banu¯ Ya¯m
The study of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah has been transformed since the
they ruled Najra¯n independently and at times extended their
1930s, when the existence of a secret and extensive Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı
sway over other parts of the Yemen and Arabia until the in-
religious literature became known, particularly through the
corporation of Najra¯n into Saudi Arabia in 1934. The peak
efforts of W. Ivanow. The results of Ivanow’s research were
of their power was in the time of the thirty-third da¯ E¯ı
published in his A Guide to Ismaili Literature (London
1933), revised and enlarged in Ismaili Literature: A Biblio-
mut:laq, Isma¯E¯ıl ibn Hibat Alla¯h (1747–1770), who defeated
graphical Survey (Tehran, 1963). These works are now super-
the Wahha¯b¯ıyah in Najd and invaded H:ad:ramawt. He is
seded by Ismail K. Poonawala’s Biobibliography of Isma¯ E¯ıl¯ı
also known as the author of an esoteric QurDa¯n commentary,
Literature (Malibu, Calif., 1977). A general survey of the
virtually the only religious work of a Sulayma¯n¯ı author pub-
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah is lacking; W. Ivanow’s Brief Survey of the Evolu-
lished so far. Since Najra¯n came under Saudi rule, the reli-
tion of Ismailism (Leiden, 1952) is inadequate.
gious activity of the da¯ E¯ıs and their followers has been severe-
Pre-Fatimid Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı doctrine and its sources are studied in Heinz
ly restricted. In the Yemen the Sulayma¯n¯ıyah are found
Halm’s Kosmologie und Heilslehre der frühen Isma¯ E¯ıl¯ıya
chiefly in the region of Manakha and the H:ara¯z mountains.
(Wiesbaden, 1978). The historical origins of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı
In India they live mainly in Baroda, Ahmadabad, and Hyder-
movement and the relationship of the Qara¯mit:ah and the
abad and are guided by a representative (mans:u¯b) of the da¯ E¯ı
Fatimids were first examined in M. J. de Goeje’s Mémoire sur
mut:laq residing in Baroda.
les Carmathes du Bahrai’n et les Fatimides, vol. 1 of Mémoires
de l’histoire et de géographie orientales,
2d ed. (Leiden, 1886),
The da¯ E¯ıs of the Da¯Du¯d¯ıyah, who constitute the great
which is still of interest for the history of the Qara¯mit:ah but
majority of the T:ayyib¯ıyah in India, have continued to reside
obsolete in its conclusions. A new approach to some of the
there. All of them have been Indians except the thirtieth da¯ E¯ı
problems was taken by Bernard Lewis in The Origins of
mut:laq, EAl¯ı Shams al-D¯ın (1621–1631), a descendant of the
Isma¯ E¯ıl¯ısm: A Study of the Historical Background of the Fati-
Yemenite da¯ E¯ı Idr¯ıs EIma¯d al-D¯ın. The community was gen-
mid Caliphate (1940; reprint, New York, 1975). His conclu-
erally allowed to develop freely although there was another
sions were criticized by W. Ivanow through a broader assem-
wave of persecution under the emperor Awrangz¯ıb (1635–
bly of Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı sources; most relevant among Ivanow’s
1707), who put the thirty-second da¯ E¯ı mut:laq, Qut:b al-D¯ın
numerous works are his Ismaili Tradition Concerning the Rise
of the Fatimids
(London, 1942), containing Arabic texts and
ibn Da¯Du¯d, to death in 1646 and imprisoned his successor.
some English translations; The Alleged Founder of Isma Eilism
The residence of the Da¯Du¯d¯ı da¯ E¯ı mut:laq is now in Bombay,
2d ed. (Bombay, 1957), and Studies in Early Persian Ismail-
where the largest concentration of Bohoras is found. Outside
ism, 2d ed. (Bombay, 1955). Penetrating articles on various
Gujarat, Da¯Du¯d¯ı Bohoras live in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, in
aspects of early Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah were thereafter published by S.
many of the big cities of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and
M. Stern, most of which have been republished together with
Burma, and the East Africa. In the Yemen the Da¯Du¯d¯ı com-
some previously unpublished papers in his posthumous
munity is concentrated in the Haraz mountains.
Studies in Early Isma Eilism (Jerusalem, 1983). See further
Wilferd Madelung’s “Fatimiden und Bah:rainqarmat:en,” Der
After the death of the twenty-eighth da¯ E¯ı mut:laq, Adam
Islam 34 (1958): 34–88, and “Das Imamat in der frühen is-
S:af¯ı al-D¯ın, in 1621, a small faction recognized his grandson
mailitischen Lehre,” Der Islam 37 (1961): 43–135.
EAl¯ı ibn Ibra¯h¯ım as his successor and seceded from the ma-
The basic study of the history and doctrine of the Niza¯r¯ıyah in
jority recognizing EAbd al-T:ayyib Zak¯ı al-D¯ın. The minority
the Alamu¯t period is Marshall G. S. Hodgson’s The Order
became known as EAlia Bohoras and have followed a separate
of Assassins (1955; reprints, New York, 1980). A more recent,
line of da¯ E¯ıs residing in Baroda. Holding that the era of the
briefer historical survey is offered by Bernard Lewis, The As-
prophet Muh:ammad had come to an end, a group of EAlias
sassins: A Radical Sect in Islam (London, 1968). The modern
seceded in 1204/1789. Because of their abstention from eat-
Niza¯r¯ı Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı followers of the Aga Khans is treated with a
ing meat they are called Nagoshias (not meat eaters). In 1761
historical background by Sami N. Makarem in The Doctrine
a distinguished Da¯Du¯d¯ı scholar, Hibat Alla¯h ibn Isma¯E¯ıl,
of the Ismailis (Beirut, 1972). Azim Nanji’s The Niza¯r¯ı
claimed that he was in contact with the hidden ima¯m, who
Isma¯ E¯ıl¯ı Tradition in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent (Del-
had appointed him his h:ujjah and thus made his rank superi-
mar, N.Y., 1978) deals with the history and the religious lit-
erature (ginans) of the Khojas. J. N. Hollister’s The Shi Ea of
or to that of da¯ E¯ı mut:laq. He and his followers, known as
India (London, 1953), chapters 13–26, deals with the histo-
Hibtias, were excommunicated and persecuted by the
ry, beliefs, and religious practices of the Bohora and Khoja
Da¯Du¯d¯ıyah. Only a few Hibtia families are left in Ujjain.
communities on the Indian subcontinent. A history of the
Since the turn of the century a Bohora reform movement has
Bohora community and of its modern reform movement by
been active. While recognizing the spiritual authority of the
a Bohora modernist is Asghar Ali Engineer’s The Bohras
da¯ E¯ı mut:laq it has sought through court action to restrict his
(New Delhi, 1980).
powers of excommunication and his absolute control over
The studies of Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı esoteric thought on a comparative basis by
community endowments and alms. All of these groups are
Henry Corbin deserve special mention; see for instance his
numerically insignificant.
“De la gnose antique à la gnose ismaélienne,” in Convegno
di scienze morali, storiche e filologiche, 27 Maggio–1 Giugno

SEE ALSO Aga Khan; Assassins; Druze; Gina¯n; Ikhwa¯n
1956 (Rome, 1957), and his Histoire de la philosophie is-
al-S:afa¯D; Na¯s:ir-i Khusraw; Qara¯mit:ah.
lamique, vol. 1 (Paris, 1964), pp. 110–151. The volume
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SHIISM: ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
8337
Isma Eili Contributions to Islamic Culture, edited by Seyyed
9. Muh:ammad Jawa¯d al-Taqi (d. AH 220/835 CE)
Hossein Nasr (Tehran, 1977), contains articles by various
scholars on aspects of Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı thought.
10. EAl¯ı al-Naq¯ı (d. AH 254/868 CE)
WILFERD MADELUNG (1987)
11. al-Hasan al-EAskari (d. AH 260/874 CE)
12. Muh:ammad al-Mahdi, al-QaDim al-Hujjah (entered
major occultation in AH 329/941 CE)
SHIISM: ITHNA
¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
The Sh¯ıE¯ı emphasis upon the imam is to be seen not only
The Twelver Sh¯ıEah, known also by their Arabic name, Ithna
E
in the central role accorded to esoteric hermeneutics (ta Dw¯ıl)
Ashariyah (and also Imaniyah), constitute the largest group
in relation to the power of wala¯yah possessed by the imam,
within Sh¯ı E¯ı Islam, and their moderate juridical and theo-
but also in the central function of the imam in daily religious
logical doctrine has always placed them at the center of the
life and his eschatological significance. Sh¯ıE¯ı Muslims must
entire Sh¯ı E¯ı spectrum, to the extent that they are often iden-
know their imams in order to be saved, and the imams, as
tified with Shiism as such.
well as the Prophet, of course, can and do intercede for be-
CENTRALITY OF THE IMAM. For all the Sh¯ıEah, the being of
lievers before God at the hour of judgment. The imam con-
the imam is necessary for the continuation of the world and
tinues to be a living presence in religious life, a link between
of human history; according to a famous Sh¯ıE¯ı h:ad¯ıth, “The
believer and God, the source of grace and the fountain of
earth shall never be destitute of the proof (h:ujjah) of God,”
knowledge. Endowed with a transhistorical reality, he is not
namely the imam. In the words of JaEfar al-S:a¯diq, the sixth
experienced simply as a figure belonging to religious history.
imam in the line of EAl¯ı ibn Ab¯ı T:a¯lib, the imams are God’s
witnesses on earth, his “signs” ( Eala¯ma¯t), and those who are
The Hidden Imam. The ever-present reality of the
“firm in knowledge” (al-ra¯sikhu¯n f¯ı Dl Eilm) according to the
imam is felt especially in the case of the twelfth imam or the
QurDanic dictum. They are the gates (abwa¯b) toward God
Mahdi who is, according to the Twelvers, in occultation
and his vicegerents (khulafa¯ D Alla¯h) on earth. They possess
(ghaybah). The imam went into minor occultation (al-
perfect knowledge not only of the QurDa¯n but of all revealed
ghaybah al-s:ughra¯) in 872, during which time he had direct
books in both their outward (z:a¯hir) and inward (ba¯t:in) as-
representatives (ba¯b) among his followers; beginning in 941
pects. They also possess knowledge of God’s supreme name
he went into the major occultation (al-ghaybah al-kubra¯),
(al-ism al-a Ez:am) as well as the “books” containing all esoter-
which has lasted until today and during which the institu-
ic knowledge, including the science of the symbolic meaning
tionalized channels to him are no longer accessible. The
of the letters of the Arabic alphabet (al-jafr). On the Night
major occultation is not simply a state of being hidden. Rath-
of Power (laylat al-qadr), commemorating when the QurDa¯n
er, it signifies the miraculous mode of life of the imam, who,
was first revealed, God revealed to them knowledge of all
while being alive and participating in the worldly experience,
events of the year to come. The imam is chosen by God and
also resides in the higher planes of existence. He is real the
the Prophet or by the previous imam through clear designa-
ruler of the word and the Lord of the Hour (0ah:ib al-zama¯n).
tion (nas:s: jal¯ı) and possesses “initiatory” power (wala¯yah/
He is the pole upon which religion stands (qa¯ Dim) and the
wila¯yah), while the Prophet possesses the powers of both
guarantee for the preservation and perpetuation of the tradi-
prophecy (nubu¯wah) and “initiation” (walaya¯h).
tion. He is also the guide to the spiritual world and appears
in person to those possessing the necessary spiritual qualifica-
The twelve imams. The various branches among the
tions to see him. Devout Twelvers pray continuously for a
Sh¯ıEah separated from each other on the question of the
vision of him, and sites where such visions have taken place
number of imams that they accepted; the Ithna¯ EAshar¯ıyah
have often become sanctuaries and sacred precincts to which
are so called because for them the twelfth imam is that last
the faithful make pilgrimage in the same way that they visit
in the chain that goes back to EAl¯ı and Fa¯t:imah. (For the gen-
the tombs of the other imams.
eral evolution of the different Sh¯ıE¯ı subdivisions, see the
overview article, above.)
The twelfth imam is also the Mahdi who will come out
of occultation at the time when oppression and inequity in
The twelve imams of the Ithna¯ EAshar¯ıyah are as fol-
the world reach their peak. He will destroy evil, establish the
lows:
rule of justice according to the divine law, and reveal the
1. EAl ibn Ab¯ı Ta¯lib (d. AH 40/661 CE)
inner unity of religions. He will prepare the second coming
2. al-H:asan ibn EAl¯ı (d. AH 49/669 CE)
of Christ with which the history of present-day humanity
will come to an end. All Twelvers pray for his coming, and
3. al-H:usayn ibn EAl¯ı (d. AH 60/680 CE)
as a result of this belief, there exists a strong messianic view
4. EAl¯ı ibn al-H:usayn, Zayn al-EAbid¯ın (d. AH 95/714 CE)
in Shiism, a current which has manifested itself in many po-
5. Muh:ammad al-Ba¯qir (d. AH 115/733 CE)
litical and nonpolitical forms over the centuries. While most
6. JaEfar al-S:a¯diq (d.
Sunn¯ıs also believe in the coming of the Mahdi, such a belief
AH 148/765 CE)
is not a necessity for Sunn¯ı Islam, while among the Twelvers
7. Mu¯sa al-Ka¯z:im (d. AH 183/799 CE)
the identity of the Mahdi is known, and the expectation of
8. EAl¯ı al-Rid:a¯ (d. AH 203/818 CE)
his coming colors the whole ethos of the religion and influ-
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8338
SHIISM: ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
ences all its manifestations from the theological to the
political movements that finally brought about the downfall
political.
of the Umayyads and made possible the coming of their po-
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. The historical development of
litical successors, the Abbasids. Yazid himself had been aware
Twelver Shiism can be envisaged both from the viewpoint
of the danger that Zaynab posed for the Umayads and exiled
of its involvement in sociopolitical events of history and from
her to Cairo where she buried the head of her brother in a
that of the development of Sh¯ıE¯ı thought. The two are cer-
site known to this day as RaDs al-H:usayn (the Head of
tainly interrelated but not identical. In either case, however,
H:usayn). The whole city of Cairo grew around this holy site.
the period during which the imams were alive and function-
From the purely religious point of view, the event at Karbala
ing as living leaders of the community provides the model
was all-important in providing the element of suffering and
which different forces and groups among the Twelvers have
“redemption” through participation in the tragedy of the
sought to emulate in one way or another in all later ages.
imams so characteristic of Sh¯ıE¯ı piety.
Twelver Shiism in Islamic History. The participation
Political quietism. Imam Zayn al-E A¯bidin, witness to
of the imams in Islamic history was certainly not uniform,
the indescribable tragedy that befell his father and other
nor was it based on a single pattern. The imams all acted on
members of his family, withdrew from active life to devote
the basis of the same principles but, in accordance with the
himself to the dissemination of inner knowledge as had his
circumstances and situations confronting them, sometimes
uncle H:asan, the second imam. The events of Karbala had
followed the path of quietism and other times that of
a special effect upon Imam Zayn al-EA¯bidin in that they
activism.
brought out an exceptional poetic eloquence in his words
and sayings; his S:ah:¯ıfah, a collection of prayers and litanies
Origins. Two events in the formative period, however,
in exquisite Arabic, is called the “psalm of the Family of the
stand out as crucial to the later history of the Twelvers and
Prophet.”
in fact all of Islam: the Battle of S:iff¯ın at the end of the ca-
liphate of EAl¯ı (661) and the uprising of Imam H:usayn
With the weakening of Umayyad power, the Sh¯ıE¯ı
against the Umayyad caliph Yaz¯ıd (680). The nearly five and
imams received a greater degree of freedom to dissemminate
a half years of EAl¯ı’s rule remain of course an ideal to which
their teachings; thus, the great majority of Sh¯ıE¯ı traditions
the Sh¯ıEah have referred over the centuries, for these years
come from the fifth, sixth, and seventh imams. The fifth
constitute the only period during which a Sh¯ıE¯ı imam actual-
imam, Muh:ammad al-Ba¯qir, was in fact called Ba¯qir
ly held political power. The Battle of S:iff¯ın, which marked
al-EUlu¯m, “garden of knowledge,” and his sayings are a major
the first open breech in the Muslim community (ummah),
source of both the law and the esoteric sciences, while the
was fought between EAl¯ı and MuEa¯wiyah, the governor of
sixth imam, JaEfar al-S:a¯diq, played such an important role in
Syria who had refused to pay allegiance to EAl¯ı as caliph on
the formulation of Sh¯ıE¯ı law that as a school of law it is
the pretext that the death of the third caliph, EUthma¯n, had
known as the JaEfar¯ı school. He influenced Sunn¯ı jurispru-
not been avenged. That EAl¯ı was murdered by the Kha¯rij¯ıs
dence as well, and the great Sunn¯ı jurist Abu¯ Han¯ıfah is said
after the battle, that MuEa¯wiyah survived to found the Umay-
to have studied with him. Imam JaEfar was not only a master
yad caliphate with its capital in Damascus, and that hence-
of the Islamic esoteric sciences and the author of the first ex-
forth the followers of EAl¯ı were persecuted all helped to con-
tant esoteric commentary upon the QurDa¯n, but also knowl-
solidate the Sh¯ıEah and cement them together as a distinct
edgeable in the natural and occult sciences. Many treatises
group within the Muslim community.
in these fields, especially in alchemy, are attributed to him.
Imam JaEfar trained a vast number of students and is the fa-
It was the death of EAl¯ı’s son, Imam H:usayn, that made
ther of formal Sh¯ıE¯ı religious education and of the Shar¯ı Eah,
this cleavage definite and final and helped to crystallize the
the Sh¯ıE¯ı school of law being known to this day as JaEfar¯ı.
distinctive ethos of Shiism. Imam H:usayn had refused to pay
In fact he must be considered as the founder of the first “cir-
allegiance to MuEa¯wiyah’s son Yaz¯ıd and, rather than suffer
cle of learning” (h:awzah-yi Eilm¯ıyah), which was to develop
humiliation, decided to move from Medina to Kufa, where
later into the well-known medieval universities.
he had been promised help to confront the mighty Umayyad
Imam Rid:a¯, the one imam who was close to the Abbasid
military power against overwhelming odds. Surrounded in
court, was especially important as a source of S:u¯f¯ı teachings
the desert of southern Iraq, he and his family—all the nearest
in both Sh¯ıE¯ı and Sunn¯ı Islam but also had a particularly
descendants of the Prophet—were killed after a valiant fight,
royal aspect to him. To this day he is referred to as the Shah
while the female members, along with Imam H:usayn’s son,
of Khorasan, and throughout history the Persian rulers have
the fourth imam, Zayn al-EA¯bidin, who was then ill, were
been custodians of the vast endowments which manage the
taken prisoner and brought to Damascus. The severed head
architectural complex of his mausoleum in Mashhad.
of H:usayn was sent to Yaz¯ıd in Damascus where H:usayn’s
sister, Zaynab, protested violently before the general public
After the death of Imam Rid:a¯, the Abbasids resumed a
and spread the news of the tragedy that had befallen the
close watch on the activities of his successors, who mostly re-
Prophet’s favorite grandson. The event shook the conscience
mained imprisoned or under heavy surveillance until the dis-
of the community at large, but it was especially effective in
appearance of the twelfth imam, Muh:ammad al-Mahd¯ı.
consolidating the Sh¯ıEah, and it resulted in many proto-Sh¯ıE¯ı
During his minor occulation he continued to discourse with
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SHIISM: ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
8339
the Sh¯ıE¯ı community through his “gates” (abwa¯b, sg., ba¯b),
Ea¯lim: “scholar”). While the central authority of the kings re-
four revered men who were highly respected by the commu-
mained strong, an equilibrium was maintained between the
nity, but with the death of the last ba¯b the major occultation
state and the Twelver establishment, and in fact, certain reli-
began and Twelver Shiism entered into a new phase.
gious offices, such as those of the s:adr (chief religious author-
ity) and ima¯m jum Eah (Friday prayer leader) were filled by
During the next six centuries Shiism remained a quietist
the monarch. However, as the power of the state began to
movement from the political point of view, but its influence
wane, the class of Sh¯ıE¯ı Eulama¯y, led by such figures as Mulla¯
and numbers continued to grow in Persia and India, and it
Muh:ammad Ba¯qir Majlis¯ı (d. 1700), sought to assert greater
waxed and waned in Syria. During the later tenth century,
power and authority as representatives of the Hidden Imam,
with most of Persia and Syria ruled by the Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı
to whom all real authority, political as well as religious, be-
Buyids and Egypt and North Africa controlled by the
longed. Still, when the Safavid state was destroyed as a result
Isma¯Eil¯ı Fatimids, Sunn¯ı Islam seemed to be fighting a de-
of the Afghan invasion in 1722, far from taking power into
fensive battle. It was only with the help of Sunn¯ı Turks, sup-
their hands and fighting for the preservation of a Sh¯ıE¯ı state,
ported by the weakened Abbasid caliphate, and with the de-
nearly all of the outstanding Twelver EulamaD chose the path
feat of the Fatimids by the Crusaders that the political power
of quietism, with many retiring to Najaf in Iraq and devoting
of Shiism began to wane.
themselves to purely religious concerns.
Although the Sh¯ıE¯ı Buyids were Persian, the Sunn¯ı
Renewed activism. For several decades from the rule of
Ghaznavids and Seljuks were Turks, and the Abbasids were
Nadir Sha¯h (r. 1736–1747) and Karim Kha¯n Zand (r. 1750–
Arabs, it is wrong to conclude simply that the Persians were
1779) to the establishment of the Qajars in 1779, Twelver
Sh¯ıE¯ı and the Arabs and Turks Sunn¯ı. The situation is much
Shiism remained politically quiet and somewhat peripheral.
more complex. While it is true that most of the great Twelver
It was only during the long reign of Fath: EAl¯ı Sha¯h in the
Sh¯ıE¯ı scholars have been Persian and that with the Safavids
beginning of the nineteenth century that the power of the
Persia became mostly Sh¯ıE¯ı, it is also a fact of Islamic history
Twelver Eulama¯D began to rise again. The king favored and
that during the tenth and eleventh centuries the intellectual
even encouraged religious courts and ceased to appoint judg-
defense of Sunn¯ı Islam also came from the Persian province
es as had been done in the Safavid period. The religious
of Khorasan with such figures as al-Juwayn¯ı and al-Ghazal¯ı.
scholars came to be favored directly while the privileged posi-
Moreover, while the Turks of Sunn¯ı persuasion helped to
tion of the descendants of the Prophet (the sa¯da¯t) so empha-
prevent the spread of Shiism in the eleventh century, five
sized by the Safavids weakened.
centuries later Sh¯ıE¯ı Turkish tribes brought Shah Isma¯E¯ıl to
power in Persia and helped make Twelver Shiism the state
This new period of ascendancy of Twelver political
religion of Safavid Persia.
power resulted in the participation of the Eulama¯D in many
major political events, culminating in the Tobacco Rebellion
In any case, with the destruction of both Seljuk and Ab-
of 1891–1892 and finally the Constitutional Revolution of
basid power by the Mongols, Shiism began to gain ground
1906, in which the role of the Eulama¯D was central. Despite
once again. The period following the Mongol invasions of
the direct participation of the Twelver establishment in po-
the thirteenth century marks a rapid spread of Twelver Shi-
litical power, however, at no time during the Qajar or, for
ism thanks to both the appearance of such outstanding Sh¯ıE¯ı
that matter, the Safavid, period does one see a widely accept-
statesmen and scholars as Nas:ir al-D¯ın T:u¯s¯ı and EAlla¯mah
ed Twelver doctrine of the illegitimacy of the government
H:ill¯ı and the spread of certain S:u¯f¯ı orders such as the
or the state. Occasionally one does see a figure such as Mulla¯
Nu¯rbakhsh¯ı, which prepared the ground for the consolida-
Ah:mad Nara¯qi, who in his EAwa¯Did al-ayya¯m (Benefits of the
tion of Safavid power in Persia through the spread of their
Times) argues for the strengthening of the juridical power
Twelver tendencies.
of the jurisprudent (faq¯ıh), a view that some scholars have
The Safavid state. With the advent of the Safavids in
interpreted as the historical antecedent of Ayatollah
the sixteenth century, Twelver Shiism identified itself for the
Khomeini’s thesis of the “rule of the jurisprudent” (vila¯yat-i
first time with a distinct political power, as the IsmaEiliyah
faq¯ıh). But even if such a doubtful interpretation is accepted,
had done centuries before with the establishment of the Fati-
such views remained rare and indeed anomalous. The almost
mid caliphate in Cairo and the Zaydiyah with their own
unanimously held position was that of perhaps the most cele-
imamate in Yemen. (On a lesser scale the same event was tak-
brated Twelver juridical scholar of the age, Shaykh Murtad:a¯
ing place in India with the establishment of small Twelver
Ans:a¯ri, who continued to the end of his life to remain piously
kingdoms in the South.) Paradoxically enough, the Twelvers,
opposed to all activity in the political order, even to the ad-
who were the most numerous among the Sh¯ıEah, were the
ministering of justice according to the shar¯ı Eah.
last to enter the political arena.
During the Constitutional Revolution the Twelver
Ruling with the help of Twelver Shiism, the Safavids in
Eulama¯D were leaders on both sides of the debate about a par-
turn helped it spread within Persia while supporting Sh¯ıE¯ı
liamentary system and constitutional monarchy. While those
communities outside their borders. An alliance was created
who opposed such a system rallied behind Shaykh Fad:l Alla¯h
between the Persian monarchy and the Twelver Eulama¯D (sg.,
Nu¯r¯ı, the leading Twelver Ea¯lim of the day, the pro-
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SHIISM: ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
Constitution forces, although often partly secularized and
but also upon the destiny of Shiism in those countries with
imbued with Western, liberal ideas, also rallied behind and
Sh¯ıE¯ı majorities (such as Iraq) or minorities. It will also bear
were supported by leading figures among the class of
upon the question of the preservation of unity or the possi-
Eulama¯D, such as Sayyid Muh:ammad T:aba¯t:aba¯D¯ı and Sayyid
bility of further segmentation within Shiism itself.
EAbd Alla¯h Bihbaha¯n¯ı. As a result of this participation, with
The development of Sh¯ıE¯ı thought. Although inter-
the final victory of the pro-Constitution forces the power of
twined with the development of Islamic thought in general,
the “liberal wing” of the Eulama¯D grew even more than be-
Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı thought possesses a distinct historical develop-
fore, and they remained, despite the modernization which
ment of its own. For the sake of convenience in this analysis
was to follow during the next seven decades, the most politi-
it is possible to divide that development into five periods.
cally powerful body of Eulama¯D in the whole of the Islamic
world.
First period: the era of the imams. The first period,
which is unique in that it contains at once the root and inner
Pahlavi rule. From the time of the Constitutional Revo-
content of all later Twelver thought, spans the life of the
lution through the Pahlavi period, the power of the Eulama¯D
Prophet and the imams to the occultation of the twelfth
decreased in relation to what had existed in the Qajar era but
imam. This seminal period of three centuries saw not only
nevertheless remained considerable. As the state became
the sayings of the Prophet and the imams (ah:a¯d¯ıth), which,
more powerful during the reign of Rid:a Sha¯h Pahlavi (1925–
along with the QurDa¯n, serve as the source for all Sh¯ıE¯ı
1941), juridical power was taken out of the hands of the
thought from law to theology and philosophy, collected and
Eulama¯D and bestowed on the government once again. Edu-
assembled, but also the earliest distinct schools of Sh¯ıE¯ı
cation was taken out of their hands as well, but the tradition-
thought became crystallized, especially around the fifth and
al educational institutions were allowed to survive and Qom
sixth imams. By the ninth century JaEfar¯ı law was already for-
was made a major center for Sh¯ıE¯ı studies. Sh¯ıE¯ı centers of
mulated, theological and theosophical thought received their
learning were in fact strengthened during the rule of
earliest formulations, and other intellectual and occult sci-
Muh:ammad Rid:a Sha¯h (1941–1979), who had a more le-
ences began to be cultivated within the Twelver worldview.
nient attitude toward the Eulama¯D than had his father.
Second period: ninth to eleventh centuries. This period,
During this period the erosion of the power of the
which coincides with the rise of the Buyids in Persia and
Eulama¯D did not, however, come so much from direct govern-
Iraq, produced the first group of important Twelver scholars
ment action (although such measures as land reform did af-
who codified the teachings of the imams and brought Sh¯ıE¯ı
fect the Eulama¯D adversely) as from the general process of
learning to its first golden age. Especially noteworthy is
modernization. But because the government did not oppose
Muh:ammad al-Kulayn¯ı (d. 941), the author of Kita¯b al-ka¯f¯ı
religious activity in any way, religious reaction to seculariza-
(The sufficient book), perhaps the most influential of the
tion and modernization also thrived. It manifested itself first
four canonical collections of Sh¯ıE¯ı h:ad¯ıth. Al-Kulayn¯ı, born
and foremost in a veritable revival of Sh¯ıE¯ı learning and reli-
and educated near Qom, taught in Baghdad, where he lies
gious thought and finally by sociopolitical action seeking to
buried. The Kita¯b al-ka¯f¯ı consists of three major parts: the
oppose the process of modernization. In this domain not all
us:u¯l, dealing with theology, prophetology, theodicy, and
the voices of Twelver Shiism were by any means in accord
similar subjects; the furu¯ E, dealing with jurisprudence; and
nor were all the voices of dissent of a religious character. The
the miscellaneous articles at the end.
majority of Twelver authorities continued to preach the tra-
Al-Kulayn¯ı was followed successively by the other two
ditional doctrine of abstention from direct involvement in
major Sh¯ıE¯ı scholars of tradition, Ibn Ba¯bu¯yah (or Ibn
politics, while those who spearheaded political opposition in
Ba¯bawayhal, known also as S:adu¯q, d. 991/2) and
the beginning were often forces of the secular left, although
Muh:ammad al-Tu¯s¯ı (d. 1067/8), who was also the founder
they used images, symbols, and slogans of a Sh¯ıE¯ı coloring.
of the Twelver university at Najaf, which survives to this day
In the end, however, the minority Sh¯ıE¯ı voice that preached
as the most important and ancient Sh¯ıE¯ı center of learning.
direct political control and rule of society won the day, de-
Another eminent Twelver scholar of the period was Sayyid
stroying its secular partners and silencing at least for now and
Shar¯ıf al-Rad:¯ı (d. 1016), who assembled the sayings of EAl¯ı
at least within Iran those Twelver voices which preached the
in the Nahj al-bala¯ghah (The path of eloquence), which
traditional political doctrine of quietism and withdrawal
many Western scholars, in contrast to traditional and con-
from worldly activity.
temporary Twelver views, believe to have been written by
Islamic Revolution. Twelver Shiism thus entered anoth-
Sayyid Shar¯ıf al-Rad:¯ı himself.
er new phase of its history with the Revolution of 1978–
A student of Ibn Ba¯bu¯yah and Sayyid Shar¯ıf, Shaykh
1979 in Iran. While the nature, direction, and outcome of
al-Muf¯ıd, marks the beginning of rational Twelver theology.
that history cannot as yet be judged or evaluated from a reli-
Although the Nawbakhti family had begun employing cer-
gious point of view (whatever one might be able to say of its
tain MuEtazili theses in ninth-century Twelver thought, it re-
immediate political, economic, and social consequences), the
mained for Shaykh Muh:ammad al-Muf¯ıd (d. 1022) to inau-
one fact that is certain is that this event will have a deep effect
gurate the full employment of rational arguments in religious
not only upon the future role of Twelver Shiism within Iran
debates.
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Third period: eleventh to thirteenth centuries. The third
The gnostic teachings of the Andalusian S:u¯f¯ı Muh:yi al-
period of Twelver thought stretches from the fall of the Buy-
D¯ın ibn EArab¯ı (d. 1240), who was himself a Sunn¯ı, also
ids and the temporary eclipse of Shiism to the Mongol inva-
began to penetrate Twelver circles and to become integrated
sion. By and large the Seljuk opposition to Shiism had the
with Sh¯ıE¯ı gnosis ( Eirfa¯n-i Sh¯ı E¯ı) during this period. Such
direct effect of diminishing the intense Twelver intellectual
Twelver gnostics as Sayyid H:aydar A¯mul¯ı (fourteenth centu-
activity of the two previous centuries. Nonetheless, there
ry), author of Ja¯mi E al-asra¯r (Sum of secrets), one of the sum-
were some notable figures in this period, including Abu¯ JaEfar
mas of Sh¯ıE¯ı gnosis, and Ibn Ab¯ı Jumhu¯r al-Ah:saDi, author
al-T:u¯s¯ı (d. 1068), the author of the famous Kita¯b al-istibs:a¯r
of Kita¯b al-mujl¯ı (The book of that which makes manifest)
(Book of examination) and Tahdhib al-ah:ka¯m (Purification
(d. after 1496), were disciples of both the school of Ibn
of principles), and Abu¯ EAl¯ı T:abars¯ı (d. 1153/4), well known
EArab¯ı and the gnosis that issued from the teachings of the
for his QurDa¯n commentary, Majma E al-baya¯n (Compendi-
Twelver imams. Other figures of Twelver Sufism during this
um of discourse).
period include Ibn T:a¯Du¯s (fifteenth century), Sayyid
Fourth period: thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. The
Muh:ammad Nu¯rbakhsh (d. 1464), and Muh:sin Ka¯shif¯ı
Mongol invasion, despite its ravaging effects, also marked the
(d. 1500/1 or 1504/5), all of whom were of considerable im-
beginning of a new phase of widespread Islamic intellectual
portance for the subsequent conversion of Persia to Twelver
activity. This fourth period of Twelver thought begins with
Shiism. In this process the Kubraw¯ıyah order played an im-
the towering figure of Nas:¯ır al-D¯ın T:u¯s¯ı (d. 1274), who not
portant role, but more significant still was that of the
only revived Avicennian philosophy in the matrix of Twelver
S:afav¯ıyah. This S:u¯f¯ı order, founded by Safi al-D¯ın Ardib¯ıl¯ı,
thought but also wrote the Kita¯b al-tajr¯ıd (The book of ca-
which was to become specifically Sh¯ıE¯ı, was to inaugurate a
tharsis), which is considered as the first systematic work of
new phase in the history of Shiism with the conquest of Per-
Twelver theology and which is without doubt the most wide-
sia by Shah Isma¯E¯ıl S:afav¯ı in 1499.
ly read work on the subject. Nas:¯ır al-D¯ın was also responsi-
Fifth period: sixteenth to twentieth centuries. The fifth
ble for the revival of Twelver learning, the consequences of
and final phase of the history of Twelver thought begins with
which stretched over the centuries into the Safavid and even
the Safavid declaration of Twelver Shiism as the state religion
later periods. His contemporary Najm al-D¯ın Muh:aqqiq
of Persia and lasts to this day. The state support of Shiism
al-H:ill¯ı (d. 1277) was an expert on the principles of Twelver
naturally caused a major revival of Twelver thought in nearly
jurisprudence (us:u¯l), for which he wrote the authoritative
every field. Jurisprudence and theology began to thrive with
work, Kita¯b al-ma Ea¯rij (Book of scales), while also develop-
such scholars as EAl¯ı ibn H:usayn Karak¯ı, who was already
ing the science of the application of these principles (furu¯ E)
well known before the advent of the Safavids. Other jurispru-
in his equally famous Shara¯ EiD al-isla¯m (Laws of Islam).
dents and theologians were brought by the rulers to Isfahan
T:u¯s¯ı’s successor and student, Jama¯l al- D¯ın EAlla¯mah
and other major Persian cities from Jabal EA¯mil, Bahrayn,
al- H:ill¯ı (d. 1325), was one of the most prolific and many-
and H:illah in Iraq.
faceted intellectual figures of Twelver Shiism, at once a theo-
Among the most colorful of these figures was Shaykh
logian, jurisprudent, philosopher, and political thinker. He
Baha¯D al-D¯ın EA¯mil¯ı, the religious leader (shaykh al-isla¯m) of
also acted directly upon the political scene by being instru-
Isfahan, who was at once jurisprudent, theologian, S:u¯f¯ı,
mental in the conversion of the Il-khanid ruler Öljeitu to
mathematician, architect, and poet. He helped popularize
Twelver Shiism and participated in religious polemics by an-
Twelver jurisprudence by writing the Ja¯mi E-i Eabba¯si (The
swering Sunn¯ı criticisms against Shiism and attacking
EAbba¯s¯ı summa) on jurisprudence in Persian while compos-
Sunn¯ısm himself. His polemical Minha¯j al-kira¯mah (Ways
ing several S:u¯f¯ı poems in simple Persian that could be under-
of munificence) was in turn refuted by Ibn Taym¯ıyah. Al-
stood by people in the streets and bazaars. His friend and
H:ill¯ı is also especially known in the annals of Twelver
contemporary, M¯ır Da¯ma¯d (d. 1630) was the founder of the
thought for his Kashf al-mura¯d (Discovery of the desired
new school of Islamic philosophy that has come to be known
end), a commentary upon T:u¯s¯ı’s Tajr¯ıd and the first of a
as the “School of Isfahan”; he wrote numerous works in Ara-
long list of commentaries and glosses written upon this work
bic and Persian, of which the Qabasa¯t (Sparks of fire) is per-
over the next seven centuries.
haps the most important. His student S:adr al-D¯ın Sh¯ıra¯z¯ı
This period is also marked by the continuation of Islam-
(Mulla¯ S:adra¯, 1640) is certainly the greatest of the later Is-
ic philosophy in a specifically Twelver climate in the hands
lamic philosophers; he wielded immense influence not only
of such figures as S:aDin al- D¯ın ibn Turkah Is:-faha¯n¯ı
upon Persia but also in India, where his monumental Al-asfa¯r
(d. 1427), the Dashtak¯ı family, and Jala¯l al-D¯ın Dawa¯n¯ı
al-arba Eah (Four journeys), which summarizes his theosoph-
(d. 1502/3), the theologian and philosopher who began as
ical teachings, was translated into Urdu only during the nine-
a Sunn¯ı Muslim but was later converted to Shiism. Most of
teenth and twentieth centuries. Although his most famous
these philosophers were at once followers of the Peripatetic
immediate students, Mulla¯ Muh:sin Fayd: Ka¯sha¯n¯ı (d. 1680)
school of Ibn S¯ına¯ as revived by T:u¯s¯ı and Qutb al-D¯ın
and EAbd al-Razza¯q Lah¯ıj¯ı (d. 1661/2), turned mostly to the
Sh¯ıraz¯ı (d. 1310/11 or 1316/7) and the Illuminationist or
religious sciences, kala¯m, and Sufism, the “transcendent the-
Ishra¯q¯ı school of Suhraward¯ı (d. 1191).
osophy” (al-h:ikmah al-muta Ea¯liyah) of Mulla¯ S:adra¯ began to
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SHIISM: ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
gather followers from near and far and soon became the cen-
Twelver Shiism possesses the same sacred law (shar¯ı Eah)
tral intellectual school of Twelver Shiism.
as Sunn¯ı Islam, with small differences in the ritual aspects
which are practically no greater than differences between the
Toward the end of the Safavid period the onset of an
four Sunn¯ı schools themselves. Injunctions concerning
antiphilosophical and anti-S:u¯f¯ı trend caused Sufism to go
transactions are also similar in most instances, the most im-
underground and partially eclipsed the school of Mulla¯
portant exceptions being the Sh¯ıE¯ı acceptance of temporary
S:adra¯. This was the age of Muh:ammad Ba¯qir Majlis¯ı, the au-
marriage (mut Eah), certain aspects of the laws of inheritance,
thor of the monumental Twelver encyclopedia Bih:ar
and also a religious tax (khums) in addition to the general re-
al-anwa¯r (Seas of light) and many other juridical and theo-
ligious tax (zaka¯h) accepted by Sunn¯ıs. Altogether, despite
logical works. This period was also witness to treatises on
many polemics with Sunn¯ısm, over the ages, Shiism repre-
popular piety.
sents an essential aspect of Islamic orthodoxy and has its
After an interim period of uncertainty and chaos
roots in the QurDanic revelation and the soul of the Prophet
marked by the Afghan invasion, the conquest of Persia by
as does Sunn¯ısm.
Na¯dir Sha¯h, and the rule of Kar¯ım Kha¯n Zand, the establish-
The doctrines of the Twelvers are summarized in the
ment of the Qajars in 1779 marked once again a revival of
“principles of religion” (us:u¯l al-d¯ın) as stated in the sayings
Twelver thought. The nineteenth century was witness not
of the imams. These principles include tawh:¯ıd (attesting to
only to the major jurisprudents and theologians already men-
God’s unity); Eadl (accepting that God is just by nature);
tioned, but also to several notable philosophers such as Mulla¯
nubu¯wwah (prophecy or accepting the prophetic function of
EAl¯ı Nu¯r¯ı (d. 1831), Mulla¯EAl¯ı Zunu¯z¯ı (d. 1889), A¯qa¯
all the prophets beginning with Adam and ending with the
Muh:ammad Rid:a¯ QumshaD¯ı (d. 1888), and the most famous
prophet of Islam); ima¯mah (accepting the twelve imams from
of the Qajar philosophers, H:a¯jj¯ı Mulla¯ Ha¯d¯ı Sabziwa¯r¯ı
EAl¯ı to the Mahd¯ı); and ma Ea¯d (accepting the immortality
(d. 1871), whose Sharh: al-manz:u¯mah (Commentary on the
of the soul, the responsibility of human beings for their ac-
bean) remains a favorite philosophical text to this date. These
tions, divine judgment and the paradisal, purgatorial, or in-
men revived the teachings of Mulla¯ S:adra¯ as well as those of
fernal states that humans experience in accordance with the
Ibn EArab¯ı in its Twelver form. Their disciples were in turn
fruits of their actions and divine mercy).
the direct teachers of the outstanding Twelver philosophers
of the late Qajar and Pahlavi periods such as Sayyid Abu¯
The Twelvers understand these principles, as well as the
al-H:asan Raf¯ıE¯ı Qazwin¯ı, Sayyid Muh:ammad Ka¯z:im EAs:s:ar,
whole QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıth, according to not only their out-
and EAlla¯mah Sayyid Muh:ammad H:usayn Taba¯t:aba¯Di, all of
ward meaning but also their inner sense and reality. Thus
whom died in the second half of the twentieth century. This
ta Dw¯ıl, this process of going from the outward to the inward,
period marks in fact a most active and fecund era during
is emphasized in every aspect of Twelver Shiism, whether it
which the Twelver intellectual tradition encountered the
be the QurDanic sciences or the interpretation of religious
challenges of the modern West for the first time, traditional
rites. Through the Twelver understanding of the meaning of
Twelver thought was revived, and Islamic modernism began
the imam and the power of wala¯yah/wila¯yah, there exists an
to penetrate into certain strands of Twelver Shiism. The last
esoteric character even within the exoteric aspects of the reli-
few decades have been marked by as strong interest and re-
gion. It might in fact be said that whereas in Sunn¯ı Islam
newal of this tradition.
the exoteric and the esoteric are clearly separated (and the lat-
ter identified with Sufism), among the Twelvers, in addition
TWELVER SH¯IE¯I DOCTRINES IN RELATION TO SUNNISM.
to the presence of Sufism in its Sh¯ıE¯ı form, esoterism flows
Twelver Shiism shares with Sunn¯ı Islam the acceptance of
into the exoteric domain and bestows a mystical aspect on
the unity of God, the text of the QurDa¯n, and the prophetic
the whole manifestation of Shiism, including popular piety.
function of the Prophet, including the finality of his pro-
Jurisprudence. Twelver Shiism, like Sunn¯ı Islam, em-
phetic function and belief in eschatological events described
phasizes the importance of the divine law (shar¯ı Eah) and the
in the QurDa¯n and the h:ad¯ıth. It differs from Sunn¯ısm in its
necessity of following its injunctions, most of which are in
emphases upon the quality of justice ( Eadl) as innate and in-
fact like those of Sunn¯ı Islam. Twelver jurisprudence, or
trinsic to the divine nature and upon the significance of the
fiqh, although related to the Sunn¯ı schools of fiqh in accept-
imam with all the consequences this doctrine entails as far
ing the QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıth as the two basic sources of law,
as esoteric knowledge, the role of Eaql or intellect, and atti-
also differs from them in certain important ways. Most of
tude toward intellectual sciences are concerned. Also in con-
the four Sunn¯ı schools of law accept with different degrees
trast to Sunn¯ısm, for which h:ad¯ıth means the sayings of the
of emphasis the use of ijma¯ E (consensus of the community)
Prophet, Shiism also includes in its h:ad¯ıth collections the
and qiya¯s (analogy) as sources for drawing legal injunctions
sayings of the imams, although it does distinguish clearly be-
where the QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıth and sunnah do not provide di-
tween prophetic traditions (al-h:ad¯ıth al-nabaw¯ı) and the tra-
rect guidance.
ditions of the imams (al-h:ad¯ıth al-walaw¯ı). As far as the pro-
phetic traditions are concerned, the lines of transmission are
Divine injunction. For the Twelvers, however, every
usually different for Sunn¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı Muslims, but the con-
event that occurs in the world comes as a result of divine in-
tent of most of the sayings are the same.
junction (h:ukm), which includes for them the sayings and
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SHIISM: ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
8343
actions of the imams. Basing themselves on the famous say-
for more than a century until 1962, the year of the death of
ing of the Prophet (the h:ad¯ıth al-thaqalayn) according to
Ayatollah Buru¯jird¯ı, who was the last mujtahid to be univer-
which the Prophet mentioned to his companions that after
sally accepted as the supreme head of the Twelver hierarchy
his death he would leave Muslims the QurDa¯n and his family,
and who was imitated by all Twelvers.
the Twelvers base their fiqh completely on the QurDa¯n in-
The importance of ijtiha¯d as used currently by Twelvers
junctions issued by the Prophet and the imams and consider
has not, however, been always the same for all segments of
both ijma¯ E and qiya¯s to be inadmissible for juridical decision-
the community. During the Safavid period there existed a
making. For them there are but two sources for juridical in-
fierce struggle between the Akhba¯r¯ıyah, who relied solely
junctions: the QurDa¯n and the h:ad¯ıth and sunnah understood
upon the sayings (akhba¯r) of the Prophet and the imams as
in their Sh¯ıE¯ı sense. H:ad¯ıth, in fact, is also seen by the
incorporated in the four canonical collections of Sh¯ıE¯ı
Twelvers as being nothing but commentaries upon
h:ad¯ıth, and the Us:u¯l¯ıyah, who relied upon the use of reason
the QurDa¯n and the extension of QurDanic teachings by the
in the understanding of the principles (us:u¯l) of jurisprudence
Prophet and the imams so that the QurDa¯n becomes ulti-
and their application on the basis of the QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıth.
mately the sole source of the shar¯ı Eah.
The founder of the Akhba¯r¯ı school was Muh:ammad Am¯ın
Juridical authority belongs exclusively to the Prophet
Astra¯ba¯d¯ı (d. 1623/4), who, in his al-Fawa¯ Did al-madan¯ıyah
and the imams, and ultimately to God. According to the
(Civil Benefits), attacked the mujtahids strongly and accused
Furu¯ E al-ka¯f¯ı of al-Kulayn¯ı, this authority was transferred by
them of destroying Islam. During the early Qajar period,
Imam JaEfar al-S:a¯diq to the jurisprudents (fuqaha¯D), who, in
when the Russians were fighting against Persia, an Akhba¯r¯ı
the absence of the imams, receive their authority from the
religious leader named M¯ırza¯ Muh:ammad Akhba¯r¯ı of Bah-
Hidden Imam, or the Mahd¯ı. Judges, in fact, should be cho-
rein promised the ruler Fath: EAl¯ı Sha¯h the head of the Rus-
sen by the imam and according to Twelver belief, one should
sian general if he were to ban the Us:u¯l¯ıyah. When M¯ırza¯
not accept judges chosen by political authorities unless it is
Muh:ammad kept his promise and brought the head, Fath:
E
necessary and under conditions that necessitate taq¯ıyah “dis-
Al¯ı Sha¯h, fearing his power, exiled him to Iraq. Henceforth
simulation.”
Akhba¯r¯ı influence, which had been paramount in the Zand
period, began to wane, and soon they were totally eclipsed
Ijtiha¯d. The Twelver concept of ijtiha¯d (use of legal rea-
as a result of the works of the Us:u¯l¯ı Muh:ammad Ba¯qir
soning) implies, therefore, not drawing conclusions from
Wah:¯ıd Bihbaha¯n¯ı (d. 1792). The nineteenth century be-
and on the basis of the QurDa¯n, h:ad¯ıth, ijma¯ E, and qiya¯s, but
came, as a result, the golden period for the science of princi-
seeking answers to problems facing the community or the in-
ples of jurisprudence, us:u¯l al-fiqh, and the period when the
dividual from the QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıth (including the sayings
mujtahids rose to power.
of the imams) alone, and relying completely on the emula-
The Akhba¯r¯ı-Us:u¯l¯ı debate that has characterized much
tion of the Prophet and the imams and their understanding
of Twelver thought during the past few centuries resembles
of the teachings of the QurDa¯n. In this sense the range of
in many ways the earlier MuEtazil¯ı-AshEar¯ı debate in Sunn¯ı
ijtiha¯d among the Twelvers is more limited than among the
Islam, but of course in the context of elements and factors
Sunn¯ıs, but from the point of view of the actual practice of
that are typical of Twelver Shiism. The Us:u¯l¯ıyah emphasize
ijtiha¯d, it can be said that it occupies a more central and liv-
the competence of reason in interpreting the QurDa¯n and
ing role in Twelver Shiism. In Sunn¯ı Islam the gates of
h:ad¯ıth and the necessity of ijtiha¯d. They do not accept un-
ijtiha¯d are said to have been closed since the establishment
critically the four canonical codices of Sh¯ıE¯ı h:ad¯ıth and rely
of the widely accepted schools of law a thousand years ago,
heavily upon the ever-renewed and living interpretation of
whereas for the Twelvers, the gate of ijtiha¯d has always re-
these sources of law to the extent of forbidding the imitation
mained open. In fact, a Twelver is supposed to imitate and
of a decreased mujtahid. The Akhba¯r¯ıyah oppose the
follow a living mujtahid, the person who has the qualifica-
Us:u¯l¯ıyah on all these counts, criticizing them especially on
tions to practice ijtiha¯d. Each person who reaches the degree
the role they allot to reason in the interpretation of the in-
of ijtiha¯d must derive the injunctions of the law afresh from
junctions of the divine law.
the traditional sources, and the mujtahids have always exer-
cised greater power and influence in Twelver Shiism than
Philosophy and theosophy. The Twelver attitude to-
mult¯ıs in Sunn¯ı Islam, especially since the late Safavid
ward the so-called intellectual sciences (al- Eulu¯m al- Eaql¯ıyah)
period.
was from the beginning more positive than that of the school
of theology (kala¯m) that came to dominate Sunn¯ı Islam from
Another unique feature of Twelver jurisprudence is the
the fourth century AH (tenth century CE). This more open
institution of the “source of imitation” or marja Ei taql¯ıd. In
attitude can be found in some of the sayings of the sixth and
the middle of the nineteenth century, as the power of the
eighth imams, not to speak of the metaphysical discourses
mujtahids grew, there came into being the office of the su-
of EAl¯ı contained in the Nahj al-bala¯ghah. As a result,
preme mujtahid whom all Twelvers were to imitate. This
philosophy or theosophy (al-h:ikmah al-ila¯h¯ıyah) also consti-
transformation was brought about by Shaykh Murtad:a
tutes an important aspect of Twelver religious thought and
Ans:a¯r¯ı (d. 1864), who formulated the doctrine in his Fara¯Did:
is far from being only Greek philosophy in Arabic or Persian
al-us:u¯l (Precious Pearls of Uu¯l). The institution continued
dress.
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SHIISM: ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
Philosophy. While many of the early Islamic philoso-
Political and social thought. During most of its histo-
phers, such as al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı and Ibn S¯ına¯ (Avicenna), were either
ry Twelver Shiism has followed the example of Imam H:asan
Twelvers or had Twelver tendencies, from the Mongol inva-
and most other Imams in remaining aloof from the everyday
sion and the advent of Nas:¯ır al-D¯ın T:u¯s¯ı onward, Islamic
world and its political entanglements, shunning even the
philosophy took refuge for the most part in the Sh¯ıE¯ı world
ministering of justice and turning temporal defeat into spiri-
(although it also had a long life among some Sunn¯ıs), and
tual victory by placing before itself a political ideal identified
some of the greatest of the later Islamic philosophers follow-
with the rule of the Hidden Imam and the parousia he will
ing T:u¯s¯ı, such as Ibn Turkah Is:faha¯ni, M¯ır Da¯ma¯d, and
bring about. The imams themselves shied away from direct
Mulla¯ S:a¯dra, were also Twelver thinkers.
political activity even when the opportunity arose, as in the
Later Islamic philosophy following Suhrawardi and
case of Imam JaEfar al-S:a¯diq who was offered the caliphate
T:u¯s¯ı also drew directly from specifically Twelver sources, es-
by Abu¯ Muslim, or else they were prevented from doing so,
pecially the Nahj al-bala¯ghah and the Us:u¯l al-ka¯f¯ı of
as in the case of Imam Rid:a¯ who was poisoned after being
al-Kulayn¯ı. One cannot study a work such as the Asfa¯r of
chosen successor of the Abbasid caliph al-MaDmu¯n.
Mulla¯ S:a¯dra without becoming aware of the central signifi-
Relation to power. Nonetheless, the case of Imam
cance of the teachings of the QurDa¯n as interpreted by the
H:usayn, who arose against the Umayyad caliph Yaz¯ıd, pres-
Prophet and the imams and the Sh¯ıE¯ı h:ad¯ıth corpus in the
ents the other strand in Shiism, which is that of political pro-
development of later Islamic philosophy. Some of the most
test against iniquity and injustice. After the occultation of the
significant pages of Sh¯ıE¯ı theological and religious thought
twelfth imam, practically all the major Twelver jurists and
as ordinarily understood are to be found in such late works.
scholars reiterated the political theory according to which the
Religious sciences and theology (kala¯m). From the be-
Sunn¯ı caliphate was illegitimate, the real ruler of the world
ginning Shiism emphasized the importance of religious
was the Hidden Imam, and in his absence the ruler or sultan
knowledge. While cut off from worldly power, the early
who was just and who supported or at least permitted the
Sh¯ıEah, including of course the imams, devoted most of their
practice of Shiism should be conditionally supported, al-
energy to the dissemination of religious knowledge as trans-
though there were also occasional Sh¯ıE¯ı revolts against estab-
mitted by the Prophet through the chain of the imams. This
lished authority. With the Safavids’ establishment of a Sh¯ıE¯ı
knowledge included QurDa¯nic commentary, h:ad¯ıth, and law
Twelver kingdom of Persia, or on a smaller scale with the es-
as well as the esoteric sciences. Gradually there developed a
tablishment of Twelver states in Bijapur and other states in
sizable body of specifically Twelver religious works in nearly
the Deccan in India, this agreement between the Sh¯ıE¯ı au-
every field. After the Nahj al-bala¯ghah and the S:ah:¯ıfah
thorities and the state in a sense became formalized and
al-sa¯jjad¯ıyah (Scroll of Sajja¯d) of Imam Zayn al-EAbid¯ın, the
served as the basis of a pact between religion and the state
most important specifically Sh¯ıE¯ı religious works are the four
upon which the sociopolitical order functioned. In Qajar
codices of the sayings of the Prophet and the imams assem-
Persia this theory was on one or two occasions repudiated in
bled in the tenth and eleventh centuries: the Kita¯b al-kaf¯ı of
favor of the theory of direct rule of the jurisprudents as in
al-Kulayn¯ı, Mana¯ yah:d:uruhu al-faq¯ıh (Everyone his own ju-
the case of Mulla¯ Ah:mad Nara¯q¯ı (d. 1828/9) as he has been
rist) of Ibn Ba¯bu¯yah, and Kita¯b al-tahdh¯ıb (The book of re-
interpreted by certain later figures, while others such as Say-
finement) and Kita¯b al-istibs:a¯r (The book of scrutinization)
yid Muh:ammad Ba¯qir Shaft¯ı (d. 1844) took the administra-
of Muh:ammad al- T:u¯s¯ı. Henceforth all Twelver religious
tion of justice into their hands. But it was not until the decla-
thought from the philosophical and theological to the juridi-
ration of the rule of the jurisprudent (vila¯yat-i faq¯ıh) by
cal and political drew from these four canonical collections
Ayatollah Khomeini that the classical Sh¯ıE¯ı theory was reject-
or al-kutub al-arba Eah.
ed in Iran in the name of the direct rule of the jurisprudent
Kala¯m, as the discipline dealing with the rational de-
and the latter view was put into practice. This view has, how-
fense of the tenets of the faith, developed much later in
ever, been contested by many Sh¯ıE¯ı authorities even within
Twelver Shiism than it did in either Sunn¯ı Islam or IsmaE¯ıl¯ı
Iran as can be seen in Mahd ¯ı Ha¯Eir¯ı Yazd¯ı’s Hikmat wa
Shiism. The Twelvers began to develop kala¯m in a systematic
h:uku¯mat.
sense with Nasir al-Din T:u¯s¯ı, whose Kita¯b al-tajr¯ıd is the
Socioeconomic issues. As far as social thought is con-
first and most important Twelver kala¯m work, commented
cerned, Twelver ideas are not very different from those of the
upon by generations of theologians starting with the author’s
Sunn¯ıs, with the emphasis upon the family as the most im-
own celebrated student EAlla¯mah al-H:ill¯ı. Sh¯ıE¯ı kala¯m was
portant social unit. Twelver Shiism permits temporary mar-
rejuvenated during the Safavid period when such figures as
E
riage (mut Eah), which, although definitely practiced at the
Abd al-Razza¯q La¯h¯ıj¯ı wrote major works devoted to this dis-
time of the Prophet, was banned in Sunn¯ı Islam under the
cipline. During this period, however, the philosophers
caliphate of EUmar. It also emphasizes inheritance for the fe-
(h:ukama¯-yi ila¯h¯ı in Persian) strongly opposed the whole dis-
male members of the family and the children rather than
cipline of kala¯m and claimed that the “science of God” or
brothers and sisters more than do Sunn¯ı schools of law.
theology in its universal sense was the subject of their disci-
pline rather than the science of the mutakallimu¯n, those who
As far as the economic order is concerned, although the
followed the field of study known technically as kala¯m.
craft guilds and orders of chivalry have existed throughout
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SHIISM: ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
8345
the Islamic world, because these orders traced their origin to
hierarchy and play a very important role in Sh¯ıE¯ı religious
EAl¯ı, they were easily integrated into the Twelver religious
life. The most important of these holy places are Najaf,
world and its piety and possessed a more open and organic
where EAl¯ı is buried (although Maza¯r-i Shar¯ıf in Afghanistan
link with the formal, exoteric aspects of the religion than was
is claimed by some to be his tomb); Karbala¯D, where Imam
the case among the Sunn¯ıs. In fact, even in the Sunn¯ı world
H:usayn and his family are interred; Ka¯z:imayn, the tombs of
the religious ambience of the orders of guilds (as:na¯f) and
the fifth and ninth imams; Mashhad, the mausoleum of
those of chivalry (futu¯wa¯t) have resembled that of Shiism,
Imam EAl¯ı al-Rid:a¯; and Samarra¯D, where the tenth and elev-
since these organizations have been linked to the S:u¯f¯ı orders,
enth imams are buried and where the twelfth imam went
most of which trace their chains of transmission (silsilahs)
into occultation.
back to EAl¯ı. (Even in Shiism, however, where these organi-
Some of these major sites, such as Mashhad, feature dis-
zations have been linked to the formal and exoteric dimen-
tinguished monuments of Islamic art; others, including
sion of the religion, there have been important S:u¯f¯ı orders
Najaf and Qom, have become important university centers
such as the Kha¯ksa¯r that have linked the guilds and the chi-
over the centuries, and pilgrimages there have also involved
valric associations to the general religious framework.)
the dissemination of religious knowledge through both oral
Religious practices. The Twelvers share with the
transmission and written works.
Sunn¯ıs the belief in the performance of the obligatory rites
In addition to the major sites, other important Sh¯ıE¯ı pil-
of canonical prayer (s:ala¯h or nama¯z), fasting (s:awm), and pil-
grimage centers include the tomb of Sayyidah Zaynab, the
grimage (h:a¯jj), although in each case there are small differ-
sister of Imam H:usayn, outside of Damascus (she is also hon-
ences with the four schools of Sunn¯ı law. In the case of the
ored with a maqa¯m, or “station,” in Cairo, which many con-
prayers, for example, the postures, numbers, and times are
sider to be her tomb), and that of Hazrat-i MaEs:u¯mah, the
the same, but the Twelvers add two formulas to the call to
¨
sister of the eighth imam, in Qom. A unique pilgrimage site
prayers (adha¯n) and usually group together the noon and af-
sacred to both Sh¯ıE¯ı and Sunn¯ı Muslims is the RaDs
ternoon prayers, as well as the evening and night prayers,
al-H:usayn in Cairo, where the head of Imam H:usayn lies
rather than waiting for an hour or two between them. Again,
buried; the mausoleum remains to this day the spiritual pole
the fast is usually begun a few minutes earlier and terminated
of the city of Cairo.
a few minutes later than in Sunn¯ı practice, and there are like-
wise minor differences in the h:a¯jj ceremonies, the most im-
Popular practices. Among the many popular Sh¯ıE¯ı ob-
portant of which is an extra circumambulation of the KaEbah
servances, the commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam
performed by the Sh¯ıEah.
H:usayn at Karbala¯D on the tenth day of the month of
Muh:arram marks the peak of the religious calendar in terms
Special rites. What is more distinctive of Twelver reli-
of emotional intensity and commitment. Outside of the an-
gious practices, however, is the performance of certain rites
nual pilgrimage to Mecca, there is no more impressive reli-
in addition to the obligatory ones. In the case of prayer, the
gious ceremony in the Islamic world than the vast EA¯shu¯ra¯D
Twelvers invoke many long litanies and chant many prayers
processions in Persia and the Indian subcontinent. From the
derived totally from the sayings of the imams, a practice that
fifteenth century on, there developed the practice of
occurs in the Sunn¯ı world only in the climate of Sufism.
rawzah-khva¯n¯ı, the chanting of the story of Karbala¯D, and
Among the most famous of these prayers are the Du EaD (Sup-
¨
soon after, the ta Eziyah, or passion play in which the same
plication) of Kumayl and the Du Ea¯D of S:abah: by EAl¯ı, the
tragedy is acted out. There are many other Sh¯ıE¯ı observances,
Scroll of Sajja¯d by Imam Zayn al-E A¯bid¯ın, and the Jawshan-i
ranging from such religiously commendable acts as sacrific-
kab¯ır (Great Armor), attributed to the Prophet and usually
ing animals to ward off evil, paying a sum of money
recited during the nights of Ramad:a¯n. There are also numer-
(s:adaqah) to the poor for the same reason, or serving a reli-
ous other prayers by the imams that are recorded in
gious meal (sufrah), the remains of which are given to the
al-Ku-layn¯ı’s Us:u¯l al-ka¯f¯ı and Majlis¯ı’s Bih:a¯r al-anwa¯r and
poor, to different forms of magic and popularized occult sci-
form part of Twelver devotional life; these range from the
ences that are given a religious garb and have become part
most contemplative and metaphysical statements on the doc-
of popular religious tradition despite official religious oppo-
trine of the divine nature to intimate yearnings of the soul
sition to them.
for the love of God. Twentieth-century compilations such
as the Mafa¯t¯ıh: al-jina¯n (Keys of paradise) of EAbba¯s Qumm¯ı
SEE ALSO EAl¯ı Ibn Ab¯ı T:a¯lib; EA¯shu¯ra¯D; Domestic Obser-
assemble prayers that, woven around the cardinal rites of ca-
vances, article on Muslim Practices; Falsafah; Folk Religion,
nonical prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage, punctuate the whole
article on Folk Islam; Ghaybah; H:ad¯ıth; H:usayn ibn EAl¯ı;
calendar of the life of the Twelver community.
Imamate; Ishra¯q¯ıyah; Ijtiha¯d; Islamic Law; JaEfar al-S:a¯diq;
Kala¯m; Ra¯wzah-Khva¯n¯ı; Taq¯ıyah; TaEziyah; Wala¯yah; Wor-
Pilgrimages. The tombs of all the imams are considered
¨
ship and Devotional Life, article on Muslim Worship.
extensions of the supreme centers of Mecca and Medina, and
thus, pilgrimage to these sites, not to speak of the authentic
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ima¯m-za¯dahs, or tombs of the imams’ descendants, are
Algar, Hamid. Religion and the State in Iran, 1785–1906. Berke-
strongly encouraged by the jurists and the official religious
ley, 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

8346
SHIMEON BAR YOH:DAI
Arjomand, Said Amir. The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam.
Le shî Eisme imâmite. Colloque de Strasbourg. Paris, 1970.
Chicago, 1984.
Strothmann, Rudolf. Die Zwölfer Sch¯ı Ea. Leipzig, 1926.
As:–Saduq, ash-Shaykh. A Shi Eite Creed. Translated by Asif A. A.
T:abat:aba¯D¯ı, EAlla˜mah Sayyid Muh:ammad H:usayn. Shi Eite Islam.
Fyzee. Tehran, 1982.
Edited and translated by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Albany, N.Y.,
Bausani, Alessandro. Persia religiosa da Zaratustra a Bahâ DuDllah.
1975.
Milan, 1959.
S
Bayat, Mangol. Mysticism and Dissent. Syracuse, 1982.
EYYED HOSSEIN NASR (1987 AND 2005)
Chittick, William C., trans. and ed. A Shi Eite Anthology. Albany,
N.Y., 1981.
Corbin, Henry. En Islam iranien. 4 vols. Paris, 1971–1972.
SHIMEON BAR YOH:DAI (second century CE) was a
Corbin, Henry. History of Islamic Philosophy. Translated by L. and
Palestinian tanna, rabbinic leader, mystic, and ascetic.
Ph. Sherrarot. New York and London, 1993.
ShimEon was one of the two most prominent students of
E
Corbin, Henry, with S. H. Nasr and Osman Yahia. Histoire de la
AqivaD ben Yosef (the other was MeDir); he was the student
philosophie islamique, vol. 1. Paris, 1964.
who provoked the deposition of GamliDel from the position
of nasi D of Israel (cf. B.T., Ber. 28a). ShimEon was one of the
Donaldson, D. M. The Shi Eite Religion. London, 1933.
five rabbis ordained by Yehudah ben BavaD during the Hadri-
Enayat, Hamid. Modern Islamic Political Thought. London, 1982.
anic persecutions that followed the Bar Kokhba Revolt. After
Gobineau, Joseph Arthur (Comte de). Les religions et philosophies
the Sanhedrin was reestablished in the Galilean city of Usha,
dans l’Asie centrale. 2d ed. 1863. Reprint, Paris, 1957.
ShimEon taught in nearby Tiberias and Meron. According
H:ill¯ı, Ibn al-Mut:ahhar al-. Al-Ba¯b al-Ha¯d¯ı EAshar. Translated by
to several legends, he was responsible for locating many lost
William M. Miller. London, 1928.
tombs and removing these sources of ritual uncleanness from
Hollister, John Norman. The Shi Ea of India. London, 1953.
Tiberias, thereby restoring its prominence in the region.
Jafri, S. Husain M. Origins and Early Development of Shi Ea Islam.
ShimEon is the subject of many rabbinic legends. The
London, 1979.
best known of these recounts how he and his son hid in a
Kazemi Moussavi, Ahmad. Religious Authority in Shi Eite Islam.
cave after he was sentenced to death by the Romans; accord-
Kuala Lumpur, 1996.
ing to some versions, when he emerged from the cave after
Keddie, Nikki R., ed. Religion and Politics in Iran: Shi Eism from
twelve years and saw people who were engaged in farming
Quietism to Revolution. New Haven, 1983.
rather than in the study of Torah, he set their fields afire by
Mazzaoui, Michel M. The Origins of the Safawids: S´i Eism, S´u¯fism,
only a glance in their direction (B.T., Shab. 33b). As a pun-
and the Gula¯t. Wiesbaden, 1972.
ishment ShimEon and his son were sent back to the cave by
McDermott, Martin J. The Theology of al-Shaikh al-Muf¯ıd. Beirut,
God for another year. ShimEon demonstrated magical powers
1978.
in other stories as well: He filled a valley with gold coins
Modaressi, Taba¯taba¯D¯ı. An Introduction to S´hi Ei Law. London,
(J.T., Ber. 9.2, 13d) and exorcised a demon from the daugh-
1984.
ter of the Roman emperor (B.T., Me Eil. 17b).
Momen, Moojan. An Introduction to Shi Ei Islam: The History and
ShimEon is one of the most frequently mentioned au-
Doctrine of Twelver Shi Eism. New Haven, Conn., and Lon-
thorities in the Mishnah, where he is referred to without pat-
don, 1985.
ronymic; his rulings cover most of the major topics taken up
Mufîd, Shaykh al-. Kita¯b al-irsha¯d. Translated by I. K. A. How-
in rabbinic sources. One of the more famous sayings attribut-
ard. London, 1981.
ed to him declares that if the Jews properly observed two
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. “Ithna¯ Eashariyya.” In The Encyclopaedia of
consecutive Sabbaths, they would be redeemed immediately
Islam, new ed. Leiden, 1960–.
(B.T., Shab. 118b). There is no systematic critical study of
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Ideals and Realities of Islam. 2d ed. London,
his traditions. Jacob Epstein believes that the corpus of his
1975.
traditions was one of the primary documents used in the re-
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Hamid Dabashi, and Seyyed Vali Reza
daction of the Mishnah.
Nasr, eds. Expectation Millenium—Shi Eism in History. Alba-
The Talmud considers ShimEon to be the paradigm of
ny, N.Y., 1989.
the scholar who is totally immersed in the study of the
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Hamid Dabashi, and Seyyed Vali Reza
Torah. A rabbi of his caliber was not required to interrupt
Nasr, eds. Shi Eism—Doctrine, Thought and Spirituality. Alba-
his study even for the important daily recitation of the She-
ny, N.Y., 1988.
maE (J.T., Ber. 1.2, 3b). Concerning the study of Torah, he
Richard, Yann. Le Shi Eisme en Iran. Paris, 1980.
said: “If I had been at Mount Sinai at the time the Torah
Rizvi, Saiyad Athar Abbas. Socio-Intellectual History of the Isna¯
was given to Israel, I would have asked God to endow man
EAshar¯ı Sh¯ı E¯ıs in India. 2 vols. Canberra, 1986.
with two mouths, one to talk of the Torah and one to attend
Sachedina, Abdelaziz Abdulhussein. Islamic Messianism: The Idea
to his other needs. . . . But the world can barely withstand
of Mahdi in Twelver Shi Eism. Albany, N.Y., 1981.
the slander of [persons with] one [mouth]. It would be all
Savory, Roger. Iran under the Safavids. Cambridge, 1980.
the worse if [each individual] had two” (J.T., Ber. 1.2, 3b).
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SHIMEON BEN LAQISH
8347
ShimEon himself believed that he was the holiest person ever
Natan was the head of the Jewish community in Babylonia,
to have lived: If one individual were to merit entering heav-
son of an official in the Parthian government, and that he
en, he said, it would be ShimEon (J.T., Ber. 9.2, 13d).
had come to Palestine to advance the influence of the Parthi-
ans in preparation for their struggle against Roman authori-
ShimEon is assigned authorship of several Midrashic
ty. ShimEon’s sympathy to Roman interests, Neusner says,
compilations: the Sifrei on Numbers and Deuteronomy (B.T.,
may have made him the primary target of a conspiracy by
San. 86a) and the Mekhilta D de-Rabbi Shim Eon bar YohDai,
Natan. It is equally plausible, however, that the events were
a midrash on the Book of Exodus. Several short apocalyptic
part of a struggle within the Palestinian community as
mystical compilations are also linked with his name. Medi-
ShimEon tried to restore authority to the office of nasiD after
eval mystics credited him with the authorship of the Zohar,
some of its powers were usurped by the scholars.
one of the most important texts of the Qabbalah (an attribu-
tion still considered valid by many contemporary mystics de-
Many legal rulings in ShimEon’s name appear through-
spite evidence to the contrary).
out the major rabbinic compilations, and his views are al-
most always decisive: The Talmud declares that the law fol-
The holiday of Lag ba-EOmer, on the eighteenth of
lows ShimEon ben GamliDel in all but three instances (B. T.,
Iyyar, is thought to be the anniversary of his death; it is cele-
Ket. 77a). His statement that not all who wish to recite God’s
brated at his traditional place of burial in Meron.
name in the prayers may do so (Ber. 4.8) is an example of
S
his restrictive views regarding the use of divine names for li-
EE ALSO Tannaim; Zohar.
turgical purposes. ShimEon sometimes cites precedents for re-
ligious prescriptions and rulings; for example, he refers to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
several customs for fellowship meals in Jerusalem (Tosefta,
Jacob N. Epstein’s Mavo D le-sifrut ha-tannaDim (Jerusalem, 1957)
Ber. 4.9). He also serves as a transmitter of teachings by his
discusses the place of ShimEon’s traditions in the develop-
ment of the Mishnah. In Rabbi Shim Eon ben Yoh: Dai (in He-
contemporaries Yehudah, MeDir, and Yose.
brew; Jerusalem, 1966) Israel Konovitz collects all the refer-
S
ences to ShimEon in rabbinic literature.
EE ALSO Tannaim.
New Sources
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chernick, Michael L. “‘Turn It and Turn It Again’: Culture and
No full critical analysis of the corpus of ShimEon’s tradition has
Talmud Interpretation.” Exemplaria 12 (2000): 63–103.
been undertaken. In Volume 3 of Tannaitic Symposia (in He-
Rosenfeld, Ben-Zion R. “Simeon b. Yohai—Wonder Worker and
brew; Jerusalem, 1969), pp. 159–228, Israel Konovitz col-
Magician Scholar, ‘saddiq’ and ‘hasid.’” REJ 158 (1999):
lects all the references to ShimEon in rabbinic literature.
349–384.
Jacob Neusner’s A History of the Jews in Babylonia, vol. 1
(Leiden, 1969), pp. 79–85, proposes a historical approach to
TZVEE ZAHAVY (1987)
the analysis of one major tradition.
Revised Bibliography
New Sources
Schwartz, Seth. “Gamaliel in Aphrodite’s Bath: Palestinian Juda-
ism and Urban Culture in the Third and Fourth Centuries.”
SHIMEON BEN GAMLIDEL II (second century CE)
In The Talmud Yerushalmi and Graeco-Roman Culture, vol.
was a Palestinian tanna. He held the hereditary office of
1, edited by Peter Schäfer, pp. 203–217. Tübingen, 1998.
nasi D, or president, of the Sanhedrin. It is said that he studied
TZVEE ZAHAVY (1987)
Greek and that he supported a policy of peace with Rome.
Revised Bibliography
According to a Talmudic source, two of his rabbinic
colleagues—MeDir, the h:akham of the Sanhedrin, and Natan,
its av beit din—sought to oust ShimEon from his position as
SHIMEON BEN LAQISH was a third-century amora,
nasi D during a power struggle within the ranks of rabbinic
generally known in the Jerusalem Talmud by his full name
leadership. In the Talmudic account, the two masters be-
and in the Babylonian Talmud by the acronymic form ReSH
came angry when ShimEon decreed that the students in the
(Rabbi ShimEon) Laqish. Although ShimEon may have had
academy at Usha should not stand in their honor when they
some early training in rabbinic learning (see J.T., Kil. 9.4,
entered. MeDir and Natan then conspired to test ShimEon on
32b), he eventually became a circus gladiator, perhaps out
an obscure tractate of the law in order to bring him to dis-
of financial distress (see J.T., Git. 4.9, 46a–b; Ter. 8.5, 45d).
grace. ShimEon was coached by one of his supporters, passed
Later, a chance encounter with Yoh:anan (bar Nappah:aD) led
the test, and banished MeDir and Natan from the academy.
him to marry that sage’s sister and enter the world of the rab-
Nonetheless, they continued to send the scholars advice
binate. He settled in Tiberias, the site of Yoh:anan’s academy,
about problems in the interpretation of the law and they
and there became his colleague and close companion. The
were eventually readmitted (B.T., Hor. 13b).
Talmud refers to them as the “two great[est] men of the
On the basis of a reference in this story to a ceremonial
world,” that is, of their time (J.T., Ber. 8.6, 12c; and see
sash worn by Natan, Jacob Neusner (1969) suggests that
B.T., Ket. 54b).
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SHINGONSHU
¯
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As a scholar ShimEon was noted for the encyclopedic
Mantraya¯na (vehicle of mantras). Shingon is an esoteric tra-
breadth of his learning, his faithful loyalty to received tradi-
dition, meaning that its practices are only to be transmitted
tion, and his dialectical acuity (J.T., Git. 3.1, 44d; B.T., San.
by a qualified teacher (Jpn., ajari; Skt., a¯ca¯rya) to a student
24a). In his teaching he emphasized the importance of regu-
who has undergone the appropriate initiations. When speak-
lar study of Torah (J.T., Ber. 9.5, 14d) and was reputed to
ing of the Shingon tradition, it refers primarily to a lineage
review each day’s lesson forty times in advance of presenting
of ritual practice.
it before his teacher (B.T., Ta Ean. 8a). ShimEon defended the
honor and privileges of the learned elite against patriarchal
Other key terms that amplify the character of the Shin-
pressures for a more monarchial structure in rabbinic leader-
gon tradition include tantra, which originates as a biblio-
ship (J.T., San. 2.1, 19d–20a; Gn. Rab. 78.12). While he
graphic category but which is now used as a synonym for the
condemned the Romans as more cruel than all previous op-
esoteric tradition within Buddhism, and Vajraya¯na, which
pressors combined (Lv. Rab. 13.5), he also praised them for
means the thunderbolt vehicle, referring to the speed of at-
enforcing justice in the land (Gn. Rab. 9.13; to be sure, he
taining full awakening. In some systems of classification,
also spoke in defense of flattery, B.T., Sot. 41b). He was
Mantranaya and Pa¯ramita¯naya (path of perfections) are
noted for his custom of avoiding anyone whose personal
paired as two parts of Maha¯ya¯na, while other systems consid-
honesty was subject to question and, perhaps as a result of
er Vajraya¯na to be a third vehicle superceding H¯ınaya¯na and
his earlier career, he was noted for his personal bravery.
Maha¯ya¯na. Mikkyo¯ is also often used in association with
Shingon and means esoteric teachings. While Shingon is pre-
Some of ShimEon’s aggadic opinions are interesting for
dominantly esoteric in character, an esoteric element is also
their counter-traditional stand. For example, he is said to
found in the Tendai tradition. This latter is often referred
have claimed that the Jews borrowed the names of the angels
to as Tendai mikkyo¯ (usually abbreviated as Taimitsu), and
from the Babylonians during their enforced stay in that land
is contrasted with To¯ji mikkyo¯ (usually abbreviated as
and that the events described in the Book of Job never took
To¯mitsu), named for one of the earliest Shingon temples,
place (J.T., Sot. 5.6, 20d).
To¯ji (Eastern Temple) in Kyoto.
ShimEon is said to have died of grief after his dear friend
Yoh:anan made mocking reference to his martial skill during
INDIAN ORIGINS. The Tantric tradition of Buddhism origi-
a halakhic argument (B.T., B.M. 84a). Yoh:anan himself, it
nated in medieval India following the demise of the Gupta
is said, thereupon wasted away of remorse.
empire, around 550 CE. While there are a variety of theories
about the origins of esoteric Buddhism and its relations to
SEE ALSO Amoraim; Yoh:anan bar Nappah:aD.
other Indian religious traditions, it seems clear that there was
no one particular origin. Rather, a wide variety of reinter-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
preted practices and doctrinal developments went into the
Aaron Hyman’s Toledot tanna Dim ve-amoraDim (1910; reprint, Je-
making of what only later took on an identity as a move-
rusalem, 1964) is an uncritical compendium of traditional
ment, school, or tradition.
lore concerning ShimEon. It is almost useless as a tool for
modern, critical biography, but it remains valuable as an en-
The two main texts for the Shingon tradition are the
cyclopedic gathering of information. Avraham Wasserman’s
Maha¯vairocana Su¯tra (Jpn., Dainichikyo¯, T.D. no. 848) and
“Resh Laqish bein ha-list:im,” Tarbiz 49 (1980): 197–198,
the Sarvatatha¯gata-Tattvasamgraha Su¯tra (T.D. no. 865, a
deals with one aspect of ShimEon’s career.
portion of the Vajra´sekhara Su¯tra, Jpn., Kongochogyo¯, by
New Sources
which name it is commonly known in contemporary Shin-
Brettler, Marc Zvi. “Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish at the Gladiator’s
gon), and are thought to have been composed in Northwest
Banquet: Rabbinic Observations on the Roman Arena.”
India early in the eighth century. Others have suggested,
HTR 83 (1990): 93–98.
however, that the Sarvatatha¯gata-Tattvasamgraha was com-
R
posed in Southern India in the late seventh century, while
OBERT GOLDENBERG (1987)
Revised Bibliography
the Maha¯vairocana was composed in Western India in the
middle of the seventh century.
CHINESE TRANSMISSION. While Tantric texts and practices
SHINGONSHU
¯ . The Japanese esoteric Buddhist tradi-
were known in China from as early as the third century CE,
tion of Shingon takes its name from the Chinese term zheny-
the Shingon lineage itself traces its origins to the rise in the
an, which literally means “true word” and is the Chinese
Tang dynasty (618–907) of an esoteric Buddhist school.
translation of the Sanskrit term mantra, meaning spoken
This school is taken to have originated in the work of three
phrases taken to have extraordinary powers. The practice of
figures: S´ubha¯karasim:ha (637–735), Vajrabodhi (671–741)
reciting mantras is taken as characteristic of this tradition and
and Amoghavajra (705–774). Also important was
points to the continuity of the tradition’s practices from its
S´ubha¯karasim:ha’s disciple Yixing (683–727), who not only
Indic origins through to its modern Japanese instantiation.
assisted S´ubha¯karasim:ha in the translation of the
The centrality of mantra recitation is evidenced by two early
Maha¯vairocana Su¯tra, but also wrote an important commen-
names for the tradition, Mantranaya (path of mantras), and
tary on it.
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SHINGONSHU
¯
8349
There are three Chinese translations of the
College (Jpn., daigaku) that served to recruit and train court
Sarvatatha¯gata-Tattvasam:graha Su¯tra. Vajrabodhi’s (T.D.
officials. Within the next few years, however, he showed in-
no. 866), Amoghavajra’s (T.D. no. 865), and Shihu’s (T.D.
creasing interest in Buddhism, and at some point left the
882). Of these, it is Amoghavajra’s that is most widely used
college.
in the Shingon tradition. This version, completed circa 754,
He is known to have engaged in various ascetic practices
is based on a text that Amoghavajra brought back to China
during this period. For example, on Mt. Kinbu he practiced
from Sri Lanka or South India, where he travelled and stud-
the Koku¯zo¯ Gumonji ho¯, a ritual dedicated to Koku¯zo¯ bosat-
ied in 744–746 CE.
su (Skt., A¯ka¯´sagarbha bodhisattva), intended to improve the
Although these two texts—the Maha¯vairocana and
practitioner’s memory. This practice involves reciting the
Sarvatatha¯gata-Tattvasam:graha—are considered to be foun-
mantra of A¯ka¯´sagarbha one million times over a period of
dational for Shingon, other texts are also important. The
one hundred days. This indicates an early contact with eso-
Adhyardha´satika¯prajña¯pa¯ramita¯ Su¯tra (Jpn., Rishukyo¯,
teric Buddhism, as the Gumonji ho¯ practice is based on the
Prajña¯pa¯ramita¯ Su¯tra in One Hundred Fifty Verses) is part of
Kokuzo¯gumonjinoho¯ (T.D. no. 1145) translated by
the Tantric Prajña¯pa¯ramita¯ literature, and is frequently recit-
S´ubha¯karasim:ha. It appears that this work was brought to
ed as part of daily services in Shingon temples. The version
Japan by Do¯ji (d. 744 CE) of the Nara temple Daianji, and
used is the Chinese translation by Amoghavajra (T.D. no.
that Ku¯kai received transmission of the practice from Gonzo¯
243), another of the texts he acquired during his travels in
(758–827), a leading cleric of the times.
Sri Lanka and South India. The other important works are
Although it is unclear who recommended him, Ku¯kai
the Yugikyo¯ (T.D. no. 867, reconstructed Sanskrit title:
was chosen as a state-sponsored student to accompany the
Vajra´sekhara vima¯na sarvayogayogi Su¯tra, translator indeter-
envoy Fujiwara Kadonomaro to China in the years 804 to
minate), and the Sussidhikara-Su¯tra (T.D. no. 893, Jpn.,
805. After some difficulties, Ku¯kai eventually reached the
Soshitsuji kyo¯), translated by S´ubha¯karasim:ha in 726 CE.
Green Dragon Monastery (Qing-long si) in the Chinese cap-
TRADITIONAL LINEAGE OF PATRIARCHS. The Shingon tradi-
ital of Chang’an. He reports having been initiated into the
tion traces its teachings back to the Buddha Maha¯vairocana
dual lineage of ritual practice by his master Huiguo (746–
(Jpn., Dainichi), who is considered to be the Dharmaka¯ya
805, Jpn., Keika). Ku¯kai portrays this very dramatically, ex-
Buddha. In Maha¯ya¯na thought there developed a theory of
plaining that Huiguo was only clinging to life in order to
three Buddha bodies. These are the nirma¯n:aka¯ya (form, or
transmit the teachings to a worthy disciple. Shortly after
manifestation body), sam:bhogaka¯ya (reward, or celestial
Ku¯kai’s initiation, Huiguo encourages Ku¯kai to return to
body), and dharmaka¯ya (dharma, or actual body). In con-
Japan, and then dies.
trast with most of the Buddhist tradition, Shingon holds that
By 806 Ku¯kai had returned to Kyushu, the southern is-
the Dharmaka¯ya actively teaches.
land of Japan, but he had to wait an additional three years
According to an early lineage of patriarchs given by
until he was given permission to proceed to the capital,
Ku¯kai, Maha¯vairocana transmitted the teachings to Vajrasat-
Heian (today’s Kyoto), by the new emperor, Saga. He was
tva, who was then succeeded by Na¯ga¯rjuna, Na¯gabodhi, Vaj-
directed to reside at Takaosanji, a temple in the suburbs of
rabodhi, Amoghavajra, Huiguo, and finally by Ku¯kai him-
the capital. This would be the center of his activities until
self. There are, however, several variations in the lineages
823, when he was given authority over To¯ji, one of the two
recorded by different masters. These variations result from
temples built to flank the entrance to the city. In 816 he was
differing interpretations of who had received which of the
granted permission to establish a training center specifically
main two ritual transmissions, the Vajradha¯tu and
for Shingon Mikkyo¯ on Ko¯yasan (High, Wild Mountain),
Garbhako´sadha¯tu. For example, the lineage recorded by
where he eventually retired due to illness in 831. Still active
Shu¯kaku (1150–1202) only has seven patriarchs. He re-
in the promotion of Shingon within the court, he received
moves Vajrabodhi, asserting instead that Amoghavajra had
permission to establish the Shingon chapel (Jpn., Shingon-
received transmission directly from Na¯gabodhi when
in) on the grounds of the palace, providing a base for Shin-
Amoghavajra travelled to India. Other lineage records also
gon to play a part in services for the court, such as the Bud-
add and delete various figures, including Samantahadra,
dha Relics Offering. Early in 835 he died while residing on
Mañju´sr¯ı, Vajrapa¯n:i, Dharmagupta, S´ubha¯karasim:ha (637–
Ko¯yasan. Tradition has it, however, that he did not die, but
735), and Xuanchao.
rather passed into an unbroken meditation (Skt., sama¯dhi).
KU¯KAI, THE FOUNDER. Ku¯kai (774–835, posthumously ti-
In contemporary Shingon the difference between the
tled Ko¯bo¯ Daishi, commonly referred to in honorific form
Tantric texts and practices already extant in Japan during the
as O Daishi sama) is considered to be the founder of Japanese
Nara period (known as Nara Mikkyo¯) and the dual system
Shingon. He was born on the island of Shikoku, into an aris-
introduced by Ku¯kai is taken for granted. The tradition itself
tocratic family, the Saeki, a branch of the O
¯ tomo clan. At
describes Nara Mikkyo¯ as incomplete, unsystematic, and im-
fifteen, in 788, he went to the capital, Nara, where he began
pure, categorizing it as zo¯mitsu (mixed or heterogenous es-
to study the Confucian classics under the guidance of a ma-
otericism). Ku¯kai’s form is said to be mature, systematic, and
ternal uncle. Three years later, he entered the Confucian
pure, and it is categorized as junmitsu (pure esotericism).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SHINGONSHU
¯
8350
The zo¯mitsu/junmitsu distinction, however, appears to be
gave great emphasis to the buddha realm of Maha¯vairocana
relatively late, dating perhaps only from the late seventeenth
Buddha, the Pure Land of Esoteric Grandeur (Jpn., Mitsu-
or early eighteenth century. Like all such scholastic categories
gon Jo¯do), described in the Maha¯ya¯na Su¯tra of Mystic Gran-
it simultaneously serves both organizing and polemic ends.
deur (Skt., Ghanavyu¯ha Su¯tra; Jpn., Daijo¯ mitsugongyo¯; T.D.
nos. 681, 682). Maha¯vairocana’s Pure Land of Esoteric
RELATION BETWEEN KU¯KAI AND SAICHO¯. The other major
Grandeur became identified not only with Amida’s Pure
figure of Heian Japan is Ku¯kai’s elder contemporary Saicho¯
Land of Bliss, but also with Vairocana Buddha’s Lotus
(767–822). Saicho¯ also travelled to China in the same am-
Womb World (Jpn., Kezo¯kai, also Garland World, Jpn.,
bassadorial entourage as Ku¯kai. Saicho’s main interest was
Kegon sekai), described in the Garland Su¯tra (Skt.,
Tiantai (Jpn., Tendai), but after his studies on Mt. Tiantai,
Avatam:saka Su¯tra, Jpn., Kegon gyo¯, T.D. nos. 278, 279, 293).
he did receive initiation into an esoteric Buddhist lineage.
This was shortly before his return to Japan, however, so he
Kakukai (Nansho¯bo¯, 1142–1223) was the thirty-
did not have any opportunity to pursue this further. Follow-
seventh superintendent of Kongo¯buji, the main temple of
ing Saicho¯’s return to Japan, in 806 he was directed by Em-
the Chuin ryu¯ on Mt. Ko¯ya. Like Kakuban, Kakukai also re-
peror Kanmu, Saga’s predecessor, to establish the Tendai tra-
sponded to the rising popularity of Amida, arguing that the
dition at Enryakuji on Mt. Hiei, still the main center of
Pure Land was to be realized in this world rather than after
Japanese Tendai today. The imperial edict establishing the
death. This extended the idea of becoming awakened in this
Saicho¯’s new school specified the two dimensions of training.
incarnation formulated by Ku¯kai. This immanentist inter-
One portion of the curriculum was centered on the Mo-ho
pretation is seen in the identification of Mt. Ko¯ya with the
chih-kuan, the foundational Tendai work by the Tiantai pa-
Pure Land of Bliss. Today, the last train station before enter-
triarch Chih-i (538–597), and is known as shikango¯ (from
ing the mountain is called Gokurakubashi—Bridge to the
the Japanese pronunciation of chih-kuan as shikan). The sec-
Land of Bliss.
ond portion of the curriculum was to be esoteric in character,
In medieval Japan, self-identified Shinto¯ lineages began
focusing on the Maha¯vairocana Su¯tra. This track was known
to develop. The Watarai clan, which served the Ise shrine,
as shanago¯ (shana being an abbreviated form of Birushana,
assimilated many esoteric elements into its interpretation of
the Japanese pronunciation of Vairocana).
the Shinto¯ tradition. Drawing Shingon’s dual man:d:ala (Jpn.,
Initially relations between Saicho¯ and Ku¯kai went
ryo¯bu mandara), this became known as Ryo¯bu Shinto¯. Simi-
smoothly. While Saicho¯ worked to establish a Mikkyo¯ ele-
larly, Yuiitsu Shinto¯ (“one and only Shinto¯,” also Yoshida
ment within his Lotus Su¯tra based Tendai, he needed
Shinto¯ after its founder Yoshida Kanetomo, 1435–1511)
Ku¯kai’s assistance, having himself only received the most ru-
drew on Shingon symbolism, ideology, and practice. The lat-
dimentary introduction to esoteric Buddhism while in
ter includes a Yuiitsu Shinto¯ goma (votive fire) clearly mod-
China. Saicho¯ regularly borrowed texts from Ku¯kai, until fi-
eled on the Shingon goma. A late medieval Japanese develop-
nally in 816 a breach occurred between the two. The schism
ment within Shingon was another reform movement known
resulted from a fundamental difference in the way the two
as Shingon ritsu, which emphasized adherence to the rules
understood the place of mikkyo¯. Saicho¯ wanted to integrate
of the order (Skt., vinaya, Jpn., ritsu). This sect was estab-
Mikkyo¯ into his Tendai Lotus school. Saicho¯ saw Tendai as
lished by Eizon (Shiembo¯, 1201–1290), and was centered at
foundational to, and therefore encompassing of all forms of,
the Saidaiji temple in Nara.
East Asian Buddhism, including Shingon. Ku¯kai, on the
KEY DOCTRINES. Shingon teaches that one can achieve com-
other hand, understood Shingon to embody the highest,
plete, full awakening in the present through esoteric practice.
most effective teachings of Buddhism, and therefore to su-
Sokushin jo¯butsu (being awakened in this body) is a key doc-
percede all other forms, including Tendai.
trine of Shingon. Although later interpretations in light of
the idea of inherent awakening (Jpn., hongaku) have tended
SHINGON DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD.
to conflate the two ideas, the Shingon doctrine predated the
Kakuban (Ko¯gyo¯ Daishi, 1095–1144) played a key role in
idea of inherent awakening in Japan.
the medieval development of Shingonshu¯, being involved
both in a revivalist movement, known as “shingi
The path to awakening in Shingon is based on the idea
shingonshu¯,” and in articulating Shingon conceptions with
that the practitioner is already identical with the Buddha.
Amidist ones. Devotion to the Buddha Amida (Skt.,
Ritual practice in which the practitioner actively identifies
Amita¯bha) became increasingly popular during the medieval
with the Buddha, experiencing the world as a buddha, actu-
period of Japanese Buddhist history. While Amida played an
alizes the inherent bodhicitta. An exposition of this is found
important role in the Tantric Buddhism transmitted from
in the Ihon Sokushin jo¯butsu-gi attributed to Ku¯kai, which
India through China to Japan, this new popularity stimu-
presents three perspectives on the nature of the relation be-
lated Shingon practitioners to draw on those resources, giv-
tween the practitioner and the Buddha. In principle (ri) a
ing greater prominence to Amida and his Pure Land of Bliss
person is already identical with the Buddha. This is called
(Skt., Sukha¯vat¯ı; Jpn., Gokuraku Jo¯do), described in the
rigu jo¯butsu. Although already inherently awakened, because
Larger Sukha¯vat¯ıvyuha Su¯tra (Skt Sukha¯vat¯ıvyu¯ha Su¯tra;
of obscurations (Skt., kle´sa, Jpn., bonno¯), it is necessary to
Jpn., Daimuryo¯ju kyo¯, T.D. nos. 360–364). Kakuban also
engage in practice to actualize one’s awakening. This is called
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SHINGONSHU
¯
8351
kaji jo¯butsu. Buddhahood is actualized in a two-fold pattern
There are three preliminaries to the training sequence
of revealing (Jpn., ken) and acquiring (Jpn., doku), called
to become a Shingon priest. These are Susokukan (breath
kendoku jo¯butsu. Thus, the idea of already being inherently
counting meditation), Gachirin kan (visualization of the full
awakened as understood in Shingon does not preclude the
moon), and Ajikan (visualization of the syllable A in the Sid-
necessity for practice, as some antinomian interpretations of
dham script). In contemporary Shingon, Ajikan has become
the inherent awakening doctrine developed in medieval
an independent practice in itself. It takes the form of a short
Japan would suggest.
ritual (Skt., sa¯dhana), structured like other Shingon rituals.
The symbolism of the syllable A is rooted in Indian theories
The role of ritual practice is to realise the three-fold
of language. As the first letter of the Sanskrit syllabery, it is
identity of the practitioner and the buddha. This identity is
creative. At least implicitly present within each syllable of the
between the three mysteries (Skt., triguhya, Jpn., sanmitsu),
syllabery, it is omnipresent. And, as the negative prefix, it is
referring to the body (Skt., ka¯ya-guhya), speech (Skt.,
destructive.
va¯g-guhya) and mind (Skt., mano-guhya) of the Buddha, and
the three actions (Skt., trikarma) of ritual practice, the bodily
The training sequence (Jpn., shido¯ kegyo¯, “training in
(Skt., ka¯ya-karma), oral (Skt., va¯k-karma) and mental (Skt.,
four parts”) involves performance of four different rituals
manah:-karma) of the practitioner. The formation of hand
over a hundred day period. It begins with a relatively simple
gestures (Skr. mudra¯) manifests the unity of the practitioner’s
ritual called the Juhachido¯, or Eighteen Paths. Originally this
body with that of the Buddha. The recitation of dha¯ran:¯ı and
involved the recitation of eighteen mantras with their accom-
mantra manifests the unity of the practitioner’s speech with
panying mudra¯s, though the contemporary form is more
that of the Buddha. And, the visualizations prescribed in rit-
complicated, involving more mantras and mudra¯s. This prac-
ual texts constitute the unity of the practitioner’s mind with
tice establishes a karmic connection between the practitioner
that of the Buddha.
and the five central buddhas of the Karma Assembly of the
Vajradha¯tu man:d:ala: Maha¯vairocana (Jpn., Dainichi, cen-
Two strains of ritual practice were introduced to China
ter), Aks:obhya (Jpn., Ashuku, East), Ratnasambhava (Jpn.,
by S´ubha¯karasim:ha and Vajrabodhi, the Garbhako´sadha¯tu
Ho¯sho¯, South), Amita¯yus (Jpn., Amida, West), and
based on the Maha¯vairocana and the Vajradha¯tu based on
Amoghasiddhi (Jpn., Fuku¯jo¯ju, North).
the Sarvatatha¯gata-Tattvasam:graha, respectively. The Shin-
gon tradition considers these two to have been unified by
The second ritual is the Kongo¯kai, which continues to
Ku¯kai’s teacher, Huiguo. Each of the two su¯tras describes a
develop the relation to the Vajradha¯tu man:d:ala, expanding
set of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other deities, organized in
now beyond the five central buddhas to include an additional
various assemblies and portrayed in man:d:ala. The Diamond
thirty-two deities. Each of the four buddhas who form
World man:d:ala (Skt., Vajradha¯tu man:d:ala; Jpn., Kongo¯kai
Maha¯vairocana’s retinue have their own retinue of four at-
mandara) represents the assemblies described in the
tendant bodhisattvas, known collectively as the Sixteen Great
Sarvatatha¯gata-Tattvasam:graha, while the Womb World
Bodhisattvas. There are then an additional four groups of
man:d:ala (Skt., Garbhako´sadha¯tu man:d:ala, Jpn., Taizo¯kai
four: the Four Pa¯ramita¯s, the Four Inner Goddesses of Offer-
mandara) represents those of the Maha¯vairocana (specifically
ing, the Four Outer Goddesses of Offering, and the Four
the second chapter). Thus the two strains of ritual practice
Gatekeepers.
relate to the different assemblies described in the two su¯tras,
The Taizo¯kai is the third ritual in the training sequence,
and portrayed in the two man:d:alas.
and it is focused on the eleven assemblies of the
SHINGON PRACTICES: KO¯MYO¯ SHINGON, AJIKAN, AND THE
Garbhako´sadha¯tu man:d:ala. These eleven are the Mind of All
TRAINING IN FOUR PARTS. Ko¯myo¯ Shingon, or Clear Light
Buddhas (or Universal Knowledge, Jpn., henchi), All Bodhi-
Mantra, is one of the most common contemporary practices,
sattvas (or Mantra Holders, Jpn., jimyo¯), Avalokite´svara
being promoted for lay practitioners and found not only
(Jpn., Kannon), Vajrapan:i (Jpn., Kongo¯shu), Acalana¯tha
among Shingon adherents but also among adherents of other
(Jpn., Fudo¯), Mañju´sr¯ı (Jpn., Monjushiri), Sarva-
Japanese Buddhist traditions as well. Recitation of the man-
n¯ıvaran:a-vis:kambhin (Jpn., Jokaisho¯), Ks:itigarbha (Jpn.,
tra was promoted particularly by Myo¯e Ko¯ben (1173–1232)
Jizo¯), A¯ka¯´sagarbha (Jpn., Koku¯zo¯), S´a¯kyamuni (Jpn., Shaka-
at the beginning of the thirteenth century, perhaps in re-
muni), and the External Vajras (Jpn., Gekongo¯bu). Indica-
sponse to other simplified practices, such as nembutsu recita-
tive of the Indian roots of Shingon is the Taizo¯kai’s evoca-
tion. The mantra is “on abogya beiroshano¯ makabotara mani
tion of one group of the Exterior Vajras, the Worldly Deities.
handoma jimbara harabaritaya un” (Skt., om: amogha vairo-
These are twelve deities known from the Vedic and Brah-
cana maha¯mudra¯ man:i padma jva¯la pravarttaya hu¯m:, “Praise
manic traditions, ten of whom have directional associations:
be to the flawless, all-pervasive illumination of the great
¯
I´sa¯na (or Mahe´svara; Jpn., Ishanaten, or Daijizaiten, North-
mudra¯, turn over to me the wish-fulfilling jewel, lotus, and
east), Indra (Jpn., Indara, also Taishakuten, East), A¯ditya (or
radiant light”). Traditionally, it was believed that recitation
Su¯rya; Jpn., Nitten), Brahma¯ (Jpn., Bonten, Zenith), Agni
of this mantra over pure sand would empower it, so that it
(Jpn., Katen, Southeast), Yama (Jpn., Emma, South),
spread over an ill person or corpse, and that person would
Ra¯ks:asa (or Nirr:ti; Jpn., Rasetsu, or Niritei, Southwest),
be healed or reborn in Amita¯bha’s Pure Land.
Varun:a (Jpn., Suiten, West) Pr:thivi (Jpn., Jiten, Nadir),
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SHINGONSHU
¯
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Candra (Jpn., Gatten), Va¯yu (Jpn., Fu¯, Northwest) and
Garbhako´sadha¯tu, while consciousness is identified with the
Vai´sravan:a (Jpn., Bishamon, also Tamon, North).
Vajradha¯tu, and the unity of knower and known is identified
with the Dharmaka¯ya Buddha, Maha¯vairocana.
The fourth and final ritual is the Fudo¯ Myo¯o¯ Sokusai
Goma, or Fire Offering to Acalana¯tha Vidya¯ra¯ja for Pacifica-
RELATION WITH SHUGENDO¯ AND THE NEW RELIGIONS.
tion. Although largely structured like the Kongo¯kai ritual,
The indigenous tradition of Shugendo¯ (also, Yamabushi) in-
the goma integrates deities from both man:d:alas in its perfor-
volves the practice of austerities in the mountains of Japan.
mance. Within the standard format of the ritual, the goma
Ku¯kai is thought to have associated with groups of mountain
adds five sets of fire offerings. These are to Agni (Jpn.,
ascetics, as exemplified by his practice of the Ko¯ku¯zo Gu-
Katen); the Lord of the Assembly (i.e., Prajña¯ Bodhisattva);
monji ho at Mount Kinbu, one of the main centers of
the Chief Deity (Jpn., honzon—i.e., Acalana¯tha Vidya¯ra¯ja;
Shugendo¯. It is also thought that he was already familiar with
Jpn., Fudo¯ Myo¯o¯); the thirty-seven deities of the Karma As-
Mount Ko¯ya from his period before travelling to China, and
sembly of the Vajradha¯tu man:d:ala (discussed above); and,
it was on the basis of this prior familiarity that he chose it
finally, the Twelve Worldly Deities, the Seven Astral Lights
for his training center.
(sun, moon, and five visible planets), and the Twenty-Eight
Shugendo¯, with its open syncretism of Buddhist (partic-
Lunar Mansions (the twenty-eight days of a complete lunar
ularly Tantric) and Shinto¯ elements, was abolished by the
cycle).
Meiji government in 1872 as part of the government’s efforts
KO¯YASAN. The most prominent contemporary center of
to purify Shinto¯. Because of the existing connection between
Shingon in Japan is Mount Ko¯ya (Jpn., Ko¯yasan), located
Tantric Buddhism and Shugendo¯, Shugendo¯ sects chose to
in a valley between eight mountain peaks, representing an
affiliate themselves with either Shingon or Tendai. With the
eight-petalled lotus flower expressing the compassionate na-
return of religious freedom under the postwar constitution,
ture of the Garbhako´sadha¯tu. Originally established as a
the institutional affiliations between Shugendo¯ sects and ei-
training center, it also serves today as the administrative cen-
ther Shingon or Tendai have lapsed. This has been accompa-
ter for the most prominent Shingon lineage, the Chu¯in ryu¯.
nied by a decline in the use of Buddhist interpretations for
The main temple of the lineage is called Kongo¯buji.
Shugendo¯ practices. In contemporary Japan, Shugendo¯ prac-
On Mount Ko¯ya there are two complexes that today at-
titioners often conduct large, outdoor fire rituals (Jpn., saito¯
tract the most attention. The first of these is known as the
goma). The saito¯ goma is a Shugendo¯ adaptation of the Tan-
Garan, which serves as the main ritual center for the Chuin
tric fire ritual (Skt., homa; Jpn., goma). Evidencing perhaps
ryu¯ sect. The Garan includes the Kondo¯, or Golden Hall;
a return to traditional syncretic practices, saito¯ goma con-
the Western and Eastern (or Great) Pagodas; shrines to the
ducted by Shugendo¯ practitioners are performed today not
kami of the mountain; and various other halls and temples.
only at specifically Shugendo¯ sites, but also at Shinto¯ shrines
The interior decoration of the two pagodas represents the in-
and Buddhist temples.
terpenetration of the Vajradha¯tu and Garbhako´sadha¯tu. The
In contemporary times various of the “new religions,”
Eastern Pagoda, for example, has Maha¯vairocana of the
such as Agonshu¯, Shinnyoen, and Gedatsukai, have based
Garbhako´sadha¯tu in the center, surrounded by the four bud-
their teachings or practice on various aspects of Shingon.
dhas that form his retinue in the Vajradha¯tu.
Agonshu¯, for example, on the one hand claims to be a return
Okunoin is a cemetery where the remains of Ku¯kai are
to the original teachings of the Buddha S´a¯kyamuni as found
entombed. According to legend, when the posthumous title
in the agamas (Jpn., agon), but draws heavily on esoteric
of Ko¯bo¯ Daishi was awarded, an entourage from the court
Buddhist symbolism and practice, particularly as mediated
came to the mountain to read the Imperial proclamation at
by the Shugendo¯ tradition. Agonshu¯ conducts goma perfor-
the tomb. The tomb was opened at that time and it was dis-
mances on the first day of each month (Jpn., tsuitachi goma)
covered that Ku¯kai’s hair and nails had continued to grow.
at its center in Tokyo. Agonshu¯ also draws on Shugendo¯
It was declared that he had not died, but rather had entered
symbolism, for example, sponsoring large-scale saito¯ goma in
into a state of perpetual meditation. The ashes of many of
celebration of the Hoshi Matsuri (Star Festival) in February
Japan’s most important historical figures have been en-
of each year.
tombed along the pathways leading to the tomb of Ku¯kai.
SHINGON IN THE WEST. Like other forms of Japanese Bud-
The form of the majority of these tombs is the five-element
dhism, Shingon was brought to the West by Japanese nation-
stupa (Jpn., gorinhoto). The five elements are earth (repre-
als in search of work during the late nineteenth and early
sented by a cube inscribed with the Siddham script syllable
twentieth centuries. In 1909 Reverend Shutai Aoyama came
A), water (a sphere with the syllable VA), fire (a four-sided
to San Francisco intending to provide religious services to the
pyramid with the syllable RA), wind (a demilune with the
immigrant Japanese community. Due to illness and lack of
syllable HA), and space (represented by a man:i-jewel with
funds, his mission did not actually start until 1912, when a
the syllable KHA). These five elements constitute the world
temporary temple was established in Los Angeles. In the Ha-
of the known, the objective. A sixth element, consciousness,
waiian islands, lay practitioners began as early as 1902 to es-
represents the knower, the subjective, which has the known
tablish informal temples, particularly devoted to miraculous
as its object. The five elements are identified with the
cures attributed to the power of Ku¯kai. These came under
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SHINGONSHU
¯
8353
the scrutiny of Shingon officials in Japan, who then dis-
Morrell, Robert E. “Shingon’s Kakukai on the Immanence of the
patched Reverend Eikaku Seki to establish an official branch
Pure Land,” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 11. nos. 2–3
of Kongo¯buji in Honolulu. In 1940 a new, permanent tem-
(1984): 195–220.
ple was completed to house the mission in Los Angeles, but
Orzech, Charles D. “Seeing Chen-yen Buddhism: Traditional
within a year war broke out between Japan and the United
Scholarship and the Vajraya¯na in China.” History of Religions
States. As leaders of the Japanese community, ministers were
29, no. 2 (1989): 87–114.
among the first to be arrested and imprisoned for the dura-
Orzech, Charles D. Politics and Transcendent Wisdom: The Scrip-
tion of the war. The new temple building came to be used
ture for Humane Kings in the Creation of Chinese Buddhism.
as a storehouse for the belongings of the Japanese families in-
University Park, Pa., 1998.
terned in the relocation camps scattered throughout the
Payne, Richard. The Tantric Ritual of Japan: Feeding the Gods, The
western United States. After the end of the war, the temple
Shingon Fire Ritual. S´ata-Pit:aka Series, vol. 365. Delhi,
community was able to reestablish itself, with the temple
1991.
building serving as housing for returning families. The Shin-
Payne, Richard. “The Shingon Ajikan: Diagrammatic Analysis of
gon Mission of Hawai’i in Honolulu held its centennial cele-
Ritual Syntax.” Religion (1999).
bration in 2002, and the Ko¯yasan Buddhist Temple in Los
Payne, Richard. “Romantic Mimesis and the Invisibility of Shin-
Angeles celebrates its centennial in 2012.
gon Buddhism: The Japanese Vajraya¯na Tradition in the
United States.” In Buddhist Missionaries in the Era of Global-
SEE ALSO Buddhism, article on Buddhism in Japan; Bud-
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dhism, Schools of, article on Japanese Buddhism;
Rambelli, Fabio. “True Words, Silence, and the Adamantine
Maha¯vairocana; Nirva¯n:a.
Dance: On Japanese Mikkyo¯ and the Formation of the Shin-
gon Discourse.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 21, no.
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Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 22, nos. 1–2 (1995):
in the Development of Agonshu¯.” Japanese Journal of Reli-
103–137.
gious Studies 15, no. 4 (1988): 235–261.
Abé, Ryu¯ichi. The Weaving of Mantra: Ku¯kai and the Construction
of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse. New York, 1999.
Sanford, James. “Wind, Waters, Stupas, Mandalas: Fetal Buddha-
hood in Shingon.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 24,
Astley-Kristensen, Ian, tr. The Rishukyo¯: The Sino-Japanese Tantric
no. 1–2 (1997): 1–38.
Prajña¯pa¯ramita in 150 Verses (Amoghavajra’s Version). Budd-
hica Britannica, series continua, III. Tring, U.K., 1991.
Scheid, Bernhard. Der Eine und Einzige Weg der Götter: Yoshida
Kanetomo und die Erfindung des Shinto. Vienna, 2001.
Berger, Patricia. “Preserving the Nation: The Political Uses of
Tantric Art in China.” In Latter Days of the Law: Images of
Sharf, Robert H. “Visualization and Mandala in Shingon Bud-
Chinese Buddhism, 850–1850, edited by Marsha Weidner.
dhism.” In Living Images: Japanese Buddhist Icons in Context,
Lawrence, Kans., 1994.
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Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History
ford, Calif., 2001.
of the Tantric Movement. New York, 2002.
Sharf, Robert H. “On Esoteric Buddhism in China.” Appendix
Gardiner, David Lion. “Ku¯kai and the beginnings of Shingon
1 in Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of
Buddhism in Japan.” Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford Universi-
the Treasure Store Treatise. Kuroda Institute Studies in East
ty, 1995.
Asian Buddhism, no. 14. Honolulu, 2002.
Giebel, Rolf W., trans. Two Esoteric Sutras: The Adamantine Pin-
Snodgrass, Adrian. The Matrix and Diamond World Mandalas in
nacle Sutra, The Susiddhikara Sutra. Berkeley, Calif., 2001.
Shingon Buddhism. 2 vols. S´ata-Pit:aka Series, nos. 354, 355.
Gieble, Rolf W., and Dale A. Todaro, trans. Shingon Texts. Berke-
New Delhi, 1988.
ley, Calif., 2004.
Strickmann, Michel. Mantras et mandarins: Le bouddhisme tan-
Hakeda, Yoshito S. Ku¯kai: Major Works. New York, 1972.
trique en Chine. Paris, 1996.
Hitoshi, Miyake. Shugendo¯: Essays on the Structure of Japanese Folk
Strickmann, Michel. “Homa in East Asia.” In Agni: The Vedic Rit-
Religion. H. Byron Earhart, ed. Ann Arbor, Mich., 2001.
ual of the Fire Altar, vol. II, edited by Frits Staal. Berkeley,
Hodge, Stephen. The Maha¯-Vairocana-Abhisam:bodhi Tantra,
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With Buddhaguhya’s Commentary. London and New York,
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Klimburg-Salter, Deborah E. The Silk Route and The Diamond
Vanden Broucke, Pol. “On the Title and the Translator of the
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SHINKO
¯ -SHU¯KYO¯
8354
van der Veere, Henny. A Study in the Thought of Ko¯gyo¯ Daishi
plague the community after he died. However, in Shinran’s
Kakuban, with a Translation of his Gorin kuji myo¯ himit-
last years, Zenran, his eldest son, created conflict and misun-
sushaku. Leiden, 2000.
derstanding among the disciples by claiming to have received
RICHARD K. PAYNE (2005)
a special teaching and authority from Shinran. After Shinran
dispelled these misunderstandings by disowning his son,
peace returned to the community. Shinran expressed some
of his deepest insights in his final letters and writings. Among
SHINKO
¯ -SHU¯KYO¯ SEE NEW RELIGIOUS
these are his assertion that believers are “equal to the Tatha-
MOVEMENTS, ARTICLE ON NEW RELIGIOUS
gata” and his expression of faith in the absolute “other
MOVEMENTS IN JAPAN
power” (tariki) of Amida (Skt., Amitabha) Buddha. In 1262
Shinran died peacefully at the home of a brother.
Shinran’s spiritual disillusionment with monastic disci-
SHINRAN (1173–1262) was the founder of the Jo¯do
pline and his experience of faith in Amida Buddha’s Primal
Shinshu, or True Pure Land school, of Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism.
Vows (hongan) under the guidance of Ho¯nen became the
Born in Japan during a period of social turmoil and religious
basis and inspiration for the development of the Jo¯do
change, Shinran became a Tendai monk at age nine and fol-
Shinshu¯ as a major and distinctive expression of Pure Land
lowed that discipline on Mount Hiei. At age twenty-nine,
teaching in Japanese history. Influenced by hongaku
moved by a deep spiritual disquiet, he meditated for one
(“primordial enlightenment”) thought in Tendai philoso-
hundred days in the Rokkakudo¯ Temple in Kyoto, where he
phy, as well as by contemporary Chinese Pure Land scholar-
had a vision that led him to become a disciple of the Pure
ship, Shinran expanded the vision of the meaning of Amida
Land teacher Ho¯nen in 1201. He later received Ho¯nen’s per-
Buddha’s compassion stressed in the Pure Land tradition.
mission to copy his central work, the Senchaku hongan nem-
Shinran maintains that there are two stages in the salva-
butsu shu¯ (Treatise on the Nembutsu of the select primal
tion process established by the virtue of Amida Buddha.
vow), and to make a portrait of the master. Because of strong
These are o¯so¯, “going to the Pure Land,” and genso¯, “return-
criticism voiced by the monks of Mount Hiei and Ko¯fukuji
ing.” O
¯ so¯ refers to the elements of religious experience that
in Nara and the indiscretions of certain of his disciples,
lead to rebirth in the Pure Land. Genso¯ indicates the altruistic
Ho¯nen and his leading disciples were exiled. Shinran went
end of salvation whereby we become part of the salvation
to Echigo (now Niigata prefecture) in 1207 under the crimi-
process guiding all beings to enlightenment. Shinran ana-
nal name of Fujii Yoshizane.
lyzes the first stage, that of going to the Pure Land, into four
During the next period of approximately seven years of
dimensions, discussed in the four sections of the
exile and residence at Kokubu in Echigo, Shinran married
Kyo¯gyo¯shinsho¯. These are Teaching, Practice, Faith, and En-
Eshin-ni and fathered six children. Shinran is particularly
lightenment.
noted for establishing marriage among the clergy and aban-
The section on teaching refers to the Daimuryo¯jukyo¯
doning monastic precepts as a religiously justified act. He
(Larger Pure Land Su¯tra), which narrates the story of how,
was inspired by a dream vision of the bodhisattva Kannon
ten kalpas ago, the bodhisattva Ho¯zo¯ (Dharma¯kara) complet-
(Skt., Avalokite´svara, Bodhisattva of Compassion), who
ed five kalpas of religious training and became Amida Bud-
promised to take the form of a woman to be his helpmate
dha in the Western Pure Land through the fulfillment of his
in his mission to spread Pure Land teachings to the masses.
forty-eight Primal Vows.
Pardoned in 1211, Shinran left Echigo in 1213 bound
The section on practice establishes that the recitation of
for the Kanto¯. There he gradually created a sizable communi-
Amida’s name (the Nembutsu, from Chin., nianfo) is the
ty by establishing small do¯jo¯ (meeting places) in followers’
way provided by the eighteenth vow for the salvation of all
homes throughout the region. Upon his return to Kyoto in
beings. Shinran maintained that the Nembutsu is the great
1235 or 1236, Shinran engaged in correspondence with his
practice praised by all Buddhas, for the name itself is the em-
disciples, answering questions on doctrine and giving advice
bodiment of Amida’s virtue.
about various issues raised by the nascent community.
Among his literary efforts, he completed and revised the
The section on faith reveals Shinran’s most distinctive
Kyo¯gyo¯shinsho¯, wrote various commentarial texts such as the
understanding of Pure Land teaching. Here he shows that
Yuishinsho¯-mon Di and IchinentannenmonDi, and composed
faith is the true and real mind of Amida Buddha expressed
collections of wasan (hymns) expressing basic themes of his
in human consciousness. Against the background of the Ma-
teaching or praising the texts and masters of the Pure Land
hayana tradition, he asserts that faith itself is the realization
tradition. For the most part, Shinran wrote in the language
of Buddha nature (shinbussho¯).
of the common people.
In developing this interpretation, Shinran went beyond
Variant interpretations of Shinran’s teachings inevitably
the limited conception of Amida portrayed in the su¯tra myth
led to conflicts among his followers. These issues were a per-
narrative. He understood Amida as the sole reality of the cos-
sistent theme of Shinran’s later letters, and continued to
mos, joining Pure Land teachings to the concept of Primor-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SHINRAN
8355
dial Enlightenment (Jpn., hongaku) of the Tendai philoso-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
phy. Amida Buddha was no longer merely one Buddha
Akamatsu Toshihide. Shinran. Tokyo, 1969. A detailed survey of
among others, limited in time to his Enlightenment ten kal-
Shinran’s life.
pas ago. Rather, he is the eternal Buddha (Jo¯do wasan no.
Akamatsu Toshihide and Kasahara Kazuo, eds. Shinshushi gaisetsu.
55). According to the Jinenho¯nisho¯, Amida, as the ultimate,
Kyoto, 1963. A collection of essays on Kamakura Buddhism,
formless body of Dharma (Skt., dharmaka¯ya), takes form in
the life of Shinran, and the development of Shinshu institu-
order to manifest his essential nature, which is beyond all
tions.
comprehension and definition. Amida Buddha is the symbol
Bloom, Alfred. Shinran’s Gospel of Pure Grace. Tucson, Ariz.,
for eternal life and light, the compassion and wisdom that
1965. A systematic study of Shinran’s teaching.
makes salvation possible for every human being, no matter
Bloom, Alfred. The Life of Shinran Shonin: The Journey to Self-
how evil and corrupt. The power of his vow is manifest in
Acceptance. Leiden, 1968. A critical examination of issues of
human history through the name, formulaically expressed in
Shinran’s biography.
the words “Namu Amida Butsu” (“Hail to Amida Buddha”),
Futaba Kenko. Shinran no kenkyu. Kyoto, 1962. An analysis of so-
which serve as the external cause of salvation.
cial and religious issues related to the life of Shinran.
The Light (ko¯myo¯) is the inner condition of salvation ex-
Ienaga Saburo. Shinran Shonin gyojitsu. Kyoto, 1948. A chrono-
perienced as undoubting faith in the name and vow and the
logical outline of Shinran’s life and activities with important
simultaneous exclamation of the Nembutsu. Faith is not a
textual references.
human act but ultimately the bestowal of Amida’s true and
Ingram, Paul O. The Dharma of Faith: An Introduction to Classical
real mind within the human consciousness as the immediate
Pure Land Buddhism. Washington, D. C., 1977. A study of
awareness both of one’s own spiritual incapacity and of the
Shinran’s teaching set in the context of Buddhist tradition;
unfailing embrace of Amida’s compassion. In that moment,
includes a study of Rennyo.
the assurance of salvation is attained as a deep inner move-
Kasahara Kazuo. Shinran to togoku nomin. Tokyo, 1957. A study
ment of total reliance on the vow. It is for this reason that
of Shinran’s life in the context of the social development of
Shinran emphasized the “power of the other” (tariki), that
the Kanto area.
is, the salvific power of Amida, rather than one’s own effort
The Kyo Gyo Shin Sho. Translated by Hisao Inagaka et al.
(jiriki), as essential to salvation. The awareness received in
Abridged ed. Kyoto, 1966. A translation of Shinran’s com-
that moment indicates that the disciple has attained the level
ments in the Kyogyoshinsho.
of the truly assured (sho¯jo¯ju¯). All the causes, and therefore
Matsunaga, Daigan, and Alicia Matsunaga. Foundation of Japanese
also the fruit, of salvation have been perfected. The believer’s
Buddhism, vol. 2. Los Angeles, 1976. A detailed historical
spiritual status in the life is “equal to the Tathaga¯ta,” al-
survey of major Buddhist schools of the Kamakura period.
though his actual enlightenment awaits him in the future as
Matsuno Junko. Shinran. Tokyo, 1959. A detailed study of Shin-
the causal basis for this final attainment has been established
ran’s life.
through his presently experienced faith in Amida’s vow.
Shigefuji, Shinei. Nembutsu in Shinran and His Teachers: A Com-
According to Shinran, the recitation of the Nembutsu
parison. Toronto, 1980. A detailed examination of Shinran’s
is not performed as a means to gain rebirth in the Pure Land
teachings in relation to the Pure Land tradition.
through one’s own merit. Rather, it is a spontaneous outflow
Shinshu Seiten: Jodo Shin Buddhist Teaching. San Francisco, 1978.
of gratitude for the assurance of salvation received. The sec-
An anthology of translations from Shinran and Rennyo with
tion designated Enlightenment teaches that the final destiny
supplementary explanatory materials, assembled by Buddhist
of beings is birth in the Pure Land, which is identified with
Churches of America.
nirva¯n:a. It is also to become a Buddha and, after the manner
Suzuki, D. T. Collected Writings on Shin Buddhism. Edited by the
of the bodhisattva, to return to this defiled realm to save all
Eastern Buddhist Society. Kyoto, 1973. Essays on Mahayana
beings.
and Pure Land Buddhism.
The community initiated through Shinran’s efforts and
Suzuki, D. T., trans. The Kyogyoshinsho by Gutoku Shaku Shinran.
teaching eventually differentiated into several branches.
Edited by the Eastern Buddhist Society. Kyoto, 1973.
Among them, the most significant have been the Takada
Ueda Yoshifumi, ed. and trans. The Letters of Shinran: A Transla-
Senju¯ji and the Honganji, which latter would later divide
tion of Mattosho. Kyoto, 1978. A translation of Shinran’s
into East and West branches. At first a relatively minor
major letters, with explanatory introduction.
movement within Japanese Buddhism, Jo¯do Shinshu¯ was
New Sources
transformed into a powerful religious and social institution
Chilson, Clark. “Born-Again Buddhists: Twentieth-Century Initi-
through the eloquence, simplicity, and determination of the
ation Rites of Secretive Shinshu Societies in Central Japan.”
eighth patriarch, Rennyo (1415–1499). Despite internal di-
Studies in Central and East Asian Religions 11 (1999): 18–36.
visions, it has remained a major popular religious force in
Dobbins, James C. Jodo Shinsu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan.
Japan.
Bloomington, 1989.
SEE ALSO Amita¯bha; Ho¯nen; Jo¯do Shinshu¯; Mappo¯; Nian-
Smith, Joel R. “Human Insufficiency in Shinran and Kierke-
fo; Pure and Impure Lands; Rennyo.
gaard.” Asian Philosophy 6 (July 1996): 117–128.
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¯
8356
Ueda, Yoshifumi, and Dennis Hiroto. Shinran: An Introduction
is essentially the same nationwide system of shrines, priests,
to His Thought. Kyoto, 1989.
and kami-rituals that was dissociated from Buddhism in the
mid-nineteenth century and for the first eighty years of its
ALFRED BLOOM (1987)
Revised Bibliography
existence regarded as nonreligious. The study of Shinto¯ as re-
ligion therefore raises many interesting questions.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE STUDY OF SHINTO¯. The
study of Shinto¯ underwent radical changes in the late twenti-
SHINTO
¯ . Shinto¯ is a Japanese term often translated as
eth century as modern critical methods were brought to bear
“the way of the gods.” Broadly, it refers to the worship of
on a subject that had been neglected for many years. Until
the multifarious Japanese kami (gods). In modern Japan, it
the 1980s, serious modern scholarship on Shinto¯ hardly ex-
signifies forms of ritual practice and belief focusing on
isted inside or outside Japan. In the minds of most academ-
Shinto¯ shrines (jinja, literally “kami-places”) which are insti-
ics, the term Shinto¯ evoked a discredited system of state-
tutionally separate from Buddhist temples. However, the
sponsored emperor worship, heavily implicated in the ultra-
worship of kami in Japan is not restricted to Shinto¯, and
nationalism that had culminated in Japan’s defeat in 1945.
those who worship the kami at Shinto¯ shrines are nearly all
Japanese scholars with impressive but possibly compromis-
Buddhists and/or members of Japanese new religions. A nar-
ing expertise in prewar Shinto¯ studies were out of favour, and
row definition of Shinto¯ might restrict it to only those ele-
few postwar scholars were interested in studying customs and
ments in Japanese religious history that have explicitly identi-
traditions relating to kami performed mainly by the older
fied themselves by the term Shinto¯, while broad definitions
generation at decaying local shrines. Within Japan, the study
of the term sometimes see Shinto¯ as coterminous with the
of Shinto¯ as a system of religious meaning was largely the
entirety of Japanese culture, past and present.
preserve of conservative scholar-priests connected with
The meaning of the term Shinto¯ has undergone many
shrines and seminaries whose view of Shinto¯ had changed lit-
changes in the course of Japan’s history. The most radical
tle since 1945, and in some cases since the nineteenth centu-
took place as recently as the mid-nineteenth century, when
ry. While some major shrines prospered as the Japanese
Japan resumed full contact with the outside world after two
economy expanded, no intellectually respectable Shinto¯
and a half centuries of seclusion. Immediately after taking of-
worldview emerged in the decades following World War II
fice in 1868, the modernizing Meiji government issued de-
that could compete for international scholarly attention with
crees dissociating kami from buddhas. Up to this time, kami-
the new-found appeal of Zen and other forms of Japanese
worship throughout Japan had largely taken place at shrine-
Buddhism or the shifting fortunes of the dynamic, self-
temple complexes run by Buddhist clergy. Buddhas, kami,
promoting new religions.
and other well-known divinities were understood to form
In the 1980s, however, new questions about Shinto¯ and
part of a common pantheon also revered by numerous
new understandings of Shinto¯ began to emerge among both
Shu¯gendo¯ (mountain ascetic) practitioners and other special-
Japanese and non-Japanese academics. The critical study of
ized religious groups and movements. In the years following
Shinto¯ rapidly developed as a field of vibrant international
1868, a nationwide system of shrines, priests, and doctrines
scholarship, and the question of Shinto¯ became highly signif-
relating only to non-Buddhist divinities (mainly these were
icant, indeed central, within the study of Japanese religions.
kami stripped of their Buddhist titles) was developed with
Because new understandings of Shinto¯ developed so quickly,
government support. At the apex of this system was the
books and articles published at different times present widely
shrine of Amaterasu the sun goddess, deity of the shrine of
varying views of Shinto¯. Readers who consult different works
Ise and divine ancestress of the imperial line now back in
may be confused about whom and what to believe on the
power following the collapse of the shogunate. Until the end
topic. Before embarking on the study of Shinto¯ in more de-
of World War II, this new, dissociated form of Shinto¯ was
tail, it is thus necessary to understand what the main views
regarded under Japanese law as “nonreligious.” The divinity
of Shinto¯ are and why the study of Shinto¯ is now such a con-
of the emperor and the unique status and mission of the land
tested, problematic, and interesting area of enquiry.
of Japan since the Age of the Gods were not religious ideas
preached by shrine priests but historical facts transmitted by
TWO VIEWS OF SHINTO¯. Broadly speaking, there are two ex-
schoolteachers. Generations of Japanese children were taught
treme views of what Shinto¯ is, as well as an emerging middle
that Shinto¯ represented an ancient, unchanging tradition; an
ground within which increasingly sophisticated debates are
idea also promulgated quite successfully outside Japan, where
taking place. At one extreme is a view of Shinto¯ that holds
modern Shinto¯ is often believed to be a survival of Japan’s
that it is Japan’s ancient and enduring indigenous religion.
“primal” religion. Since 1946, under postwar laws guarantee-
This view dominated understandings of Shinto¯ inside and
ing personal religious freedom and the separation of religion
outside Japan throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth
and state, this understanding of Shinto¯ is no longer spon-
centuries. It was succinctly stated, for example, in the open-
sored by the government nor taught in schools, and Shinto¯
ing sentence of the scholar-priest Hirai Naofusa’s 1987 arti-
teachings and practices are now regarded in law as “reli-
cle on Shinto¯ in the first edition of the Encyclopedia of Reli-
gious.” Nevertheless, what is usually meant by Shinto¯ today
gion. “Shinto¯,” wrote Hirai, “is the name given to the
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¯
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traditional religion of Japan, a religion that has existed con-
Kuroda preferred to reserve the term Shinto¯ for those rela-
tinuously from before the founding of the Japanese nation
tively rare occasions from the late Heian period onward
until the present.” This view, which might best be described
when the term was actually used. Instead, he referred to pre-
as neo-traditionalist, celebrates Shinto¯ both as a religion and
Meiji Japanese kami beliefs and practices as elements in what
as something quintessentially Japanese, implicitly contrast-
he called the kenmitsu taisei, or exoteric-esoteric system, a
ing an ancient, native Shinto¯ spiritual heritage with later
complex and variegated worldview founded on prevailing es-
“foreign” religions and ideologies such as Buddhism or West-
oteric Buddhist patterns of belief and ritual practice that in-
ern thought. This presentation of Shinto¯ as a kind of Japa-
corporated kami alongside other Buddhist divinities. Kuro-
nese natural phenomenon is consistent with the prewar un-
da’s claim that “ancient Shinto¯” was entirely a Meiji period
derstanding of Shinto¯ as a unique and enduring attribute of
invention, if correct, has profound implications for the mod-
the Japanese “race,” and hence the Japanese nation-state. It
ern study of Shinto¯. Above all, it means that kami-worship,
also fit well with popular postwar nihonjin-ron, or “theory
at least before 1868, can only properly be understood within
of Japaneseness,” literature, which claimed a unique charac-
the context of Japanese Buddhism; Shinto¯ would thus be-
ter and identity for the Japanese as opposed to other human
come a nonsubject.
beings. This understanding of Shinto¯ is essentialist and ahi-
EMERGING ISSUES. Following Kuroda’s radical challenge, the
storical. Historical transformations in kami-worship are read
study of Shinto¯ gained a new lease of life as scholars debated
as temporary departures from a pure Shinto¯ core, while to
the key question of whether Shinto¯ has existed uninterrupt-
account for the plethora of contradictory beliefs and prac-
edly throughout Japanese history or, conversely, emerged as
tices related to kami, types or subdivisions of Shinto¯ are pro-
an independent religion only in modern times. Some critics
posed, such as Imperial Household Shinto¯, Shrine Shinto¯,
of the Shinto¯ establishment took the opportunity to dismiss
Sect Shinto¯, or Folk Shinto¯, although Shinto¯ means some-
today’s Shinto¯ as “merely” a nineteenth-century invented
thing different in each case. Because the national morality
tradition. This was not a new charge; the Victorian Ja-
doctrines of pre-1945 Shinto¯ were jettisoned at the end of
panologist Basil Hall Chamberlain, who witnessed the pro-
the war, neo-traditionalists have tended to present Shinto¯
cess at first hand, described it in an essay titled “The Inven-
ideas as matters mysteriously beyond the realm of doctrine.
tion of a New Religion” (reprinted in Japanese Things,
Thus the Shinto¯ scholar Ono So¯kyo¯ declared of the notion
Tokyo, 1971). Others have pointed out that all successful
of kami in Shinto¯: The Kami Way (1960), “it is impossible
traditions require periodic reinvention, and Shinto¯ may be
to make explicit and clear that which fundamentally by its
no exception. Even if Shinto¯ as it is known today was invent-
very nature is vague” (p. 8). Above all, the neo-traditionalist
ed at the time of the Meiji restoration in 1868, all scholars
construction of Shinto¯ as a separate, self-contained religious
agree that there have been systems of shrines dedicated to
tradition comprehensively marginalizes the role of Bud-
kami in Japan throughout recorded history and perhaps be-
dhism, which was officially introduced from Korea in the
fore, so an ancient, continuous tradition of kami-worship,
sixth century and in one way or another has dominated Japa-
whether it be called Shinto¯ or not, must surely be acknowl-
nese religious life, including kami-worship, ever since.
edged in any analysis of Shinto¯ past and present. Moreover,
the Japanese imperial line is undeniably ancient, continuous,
At the other extreme is the radical view of Shinto¯ associ-
and bound up with kami beliefs. Thus, the debate has shifted
ated with the Japanese historian Kuroda Toshio, who in his
from a simple either/or issue (either Shinto¯ is a modern in-
1981 article “Shinto¯ in the History of Japanese Religion”
vention or it is an ancient enduring tradition) to detailed en-
threw down a major and controversial challenge to the pre-
quiries into such topics as the past and present use of the
vailing neo-traditionalist understanding of Shinto¯. Kuroda
term Shinto¯; ways of discerning and discussing continuity
declared that the idea of an ancient, enduring, indigenous
and change in kami worship within an overarching Buddhist
tradition of Shinto¯ was “no more than a ghost image pro-
context; the relations between the imperial institution, kami,
duced by a word linking together unrelated phenomena”
and shrines over long periods of time; and the role of Shinto¯
(Mullins et al., p. 27). Kuroda’s argument, stated simply but
within contemporary Japanese religion and society.
based on detailed research into early and medieval Bud-
dhism, was that throughout most of Japan’s history the
As a result of Kuroda’s work, the term Shinto¯ is now
shrines, shrine rituals, priests, concepts of kami, and other
used with great caution by scholars, especially when dealing
key elements of what are now called Shinto¯ were really Bud-
with premodern eras. Studies of Japanese religion now con-
dhist through and through. The idea of an ancient Shinto¯
sciously seek to avoid making false distinctions between
tradition, native to Japan and separate from Buddhism,
Shinto¯ and Buddhism as if these have always represented sep-
Kuroda argued, is nothing but a modern invention, a sup-
arate spheres of life. Even in contemporary Japan, where
porting pillar of nineteenth-century nationalism meant to
Shinto¯ shrines and Buddhist temples have been institutional-
sustain the ideology of emperor worship. The notion of
ly separate since 1868 and it might seem to make sense to
Shinto¯ as an ancient, unchanging tradition was designed by
speak of Shinto¯ and Buddhism as different religions, most
Meiji bureaucrats to persuade Japanese people to comply
people who visit shrines to the kami also visit Buddhist tem-
with the will of their divine emperor in pursuit of rapid in-
ples, and often for similar purposes, namely to seek “practical
dustrialization at home and imperial expansion abroad.
benefits” (genze riyaku, kubosa) such as easy childbirth, safe
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¯
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travel, true love, or success in examinations. Many, though
of the Yamato court was at Mount Miwa in central Japan,
not all, of the successful new religions of Japan also incorpo-
where O
¯ mononushi, the protective deity of the Yamato, was
rate both Shinto¯ and Buddhist themes into their rituals and
worshipped as “the spirit of the land.” Around the fifth cen-
beliefs. Shinto¯ and Buddhist discourses, therefore, continue
tury, Chinese-style notions of an all-embracing imperial rule
to be integrated in various ways within the lived experience
meant that the competing clans progressively converged
of Japanese people. Kuroda’s dismissal of an imagined past
under a central authority, adopting common myths of ori-
in which a distinctive, indigenous Shinto¯ tradition persisted
gin. Huge burial tombs constructed for the Yamato rulers at
separately from Buddhism has thus highlighted continuities,
this time attested to their military and political dominance.
as well as discontinuities, between pre- and post-Meiji Japa-
Royal funeral and succession rites were developed that in-
nese religion.
volved pacification of the deceased king’s spirit through a
SHINTO¯ IN JAPANESE HISTORY. Since Shinto¯ has meant dif-
recitation of his genealogy and accomplishments. Members
ferent things at different times, it makes sense to approach
of immigrant clans with expertise in writing were in charge
the study of Shinto¯ historically, so that themes which emerge
of these rituals. They developed methods of recording names
can be treated within their historical context rather than as
and other Japanese terms using Chinese characters phoneti-
features of a timeless Shinto¯. The major systems of belief and
cally. The two earliest such writings, the Kojiki (Record of
practices relating to kami and shrines can then be considered
ancient matters, 712 CE) and Nihonshoki (Chronicle of
without prejudging the issue of whether in a particular time
Japan, 720 CE) affirm the divine ancestry of the Yamato line
and place these are best described as Shinto¯. For convenience,
and provide detailed accounts of “the age of the gods,” in-
Japanese history will be divided into five periods, approxi-
cluding the creation of the world and the descent of certain
mately as follows:
kami to the land. Sub-narratives chronicling the subordina-
tion of descendants of “earthly kami” appear to symbolize the
• Early Japan (prehistory–ninth century CE).
conquest of previously independent clans. The founding
• Medieval Japan (tenth–sixteenth centuries).
myths (engi) of great seafaring shrines such as the Sumiyoshi
Taisha (in modern Osaka) are also retold, locating estab-
• Edo period (1600–1868).
lished sites of ritual power within the Yamato story.
• Meiji restoration to World War II (1868–1945).
Through such narratives, influenced heavily by Chinese
• Contemporary Japan (1945–present).
themes and first written down almost two centuries after
Early Japan. Neo-traditionalists assert that there was an
Buddhism came to Japan, the Yamato claimed the sun deity
unnamed, indigenous religion in Japan focusing on the wor-
Amaterasu as their ancestor, enshrining this important kami
ship of kami, and that this tradition was obliged to name it-
at Ise in the direction of the sunrise and dedicating a succes-
self Shinto¯ in order to distinguish itself from the Buddhism
sion of imperial princesses to officiate at the Ise shrines.
later introduced from China and Korea. In practice, it is very
While the cult of Amaterasu became increasingly important
difficult to disentangle different strands of ritual and belief
to the preservation of the emperor’s mystique, the removal
and to identify one element as indigenous and another as im-
of Amaterasu’s shrine from the Yamato court and the delega-
ported. Archaeological evidence suggests that in prehistoric
tion of worship at Ise to female members of the imperial fam-
Japan (before 400 CE), spiritual powers related to water sup-
ily at this time suggest that female ritualists who, like Queen
plies, agriculture, seafaring, and other precarious undertak-
Pimiko, had previously played an important ritual-political
ings were worshipped at various sites. The introduction of
role at the center, were now to be marginalized.
rice culture from the mainland encouraged hierarchical
Court offerings and the registering of shrines. Under Ya-
forms of community, whose leaders’ authority was reinforced
mato rule, regular offerings of “divine treasures” made to the
by rituals for the kami. Chinese accounts provide the earliest
court symbolized the fealty of subordinate clans. Archaeolog-
written information on Japan, reporting among other things
ical findings show that certain ancient ritual sites of strategic
that spiritual forces could be deployed by powerful women.
importance to Yamato rule attracted thousands of offerings
The Weizhi, a Chinese text from the late third century CE,
from the Yamato court over many centuries. An example is
famously describes a Queen Pimiko who maintained her rule
Oki no shima, a small island off the coast of northwest Kyu-
by what the Chinese called “magic and sorcery.” Fifth-
shu dedicated to the deity Munakata, a kami revered by local
century Chinese histories tell of five Japanese kings who, like
clans with important links to the continent. The implication
their Korean counterparts, sent tributes to China and re-
is that the Yamato made ritual offerings to raise the status
ceived mirrors, ceremonial swords, and other gifts from the
of selected shrines in order to secure relations with important
Chinese emperor in return. Such prized items evidently came
subordinate clans. Such exchanges, and subsequent systems
to be used widely for ritual purposes.
of registering and ranking important shrines by the central
The “kings” known to the Chinese were probably the
authority served to reinforce the Chinese-style notion of the
rulers of the Yamato clan, which by the late fourth century
Japanese emperor as absolute lord of “all under heaven.”
had already achieved political dominance over other power-
Under the Ritsuryo¯ system of Chinese law, introduced in the
ful clans in eastern, central, and western Japan. The main site
seventh century, the notion of Japan as a single realm con-
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SHINTO
¯
8359
trolled by the emperor was reinforced by the propagation of
for recognition as branches of the major clans already estab-
Buddhism from the center and the appropriation of local
lished at court. Applications for shrines to be registered and
kami cults by the central government. Imperial rites such as
ranked ever higher on the basis of the power or miracles of
the mysterious daijo¯sai ritual of imperial succession involved
their kami proliferated. By the tenth century the Engishiki
offerings from representative shrines, while seasonal court
(Procedures of the Engi era) recorded nearly three thousand
rituals following the agricultural cycle, such as the niiname
officially recognized shrines throughout Japan, far too many
(ritual of new rice), and official norito prayers to the kami
for the Ministry of Kami Affairs (Jingikan) to cope with. In
were replicated in major shrines throughout Japan.
practice, a few hundred “national official shrines” in the cen-
tral provinces and some shrines of particularly powerful dei-
The management of these ritual activities was the prov-
ties throughout the country remained under the aegis of the
ince of several lineages of court ritualists, including the influ-
ministry, while the majority of local shrines developed in
ential Nakatomi clan, who in 669 divided into two branches.
their own ways, increasingly under the influence of Bud-
One branch retained the Nakatomi name and responsibility
dhism. The ambitious project of regulating shrines and tem-
for ritual affairs, while the members of the Fujiwara branch
ples according to the Ritsuryo¯ system did not achieve its goal,
rose to an unparalleled position as the controlling political
but more than a thousand years later, in 1868, it was to pro-
family of Japan in their roles as ministers, advisers, regents,
vide a reference point for the “restoration” of supposedly
and heirs to the imperial line. Like other leading clans based
Shinto¯ institutions such as the Jingikan.
in the capital, the Fujiwara now sought to affirm a continu-
ing inherited right to political power by developing a cult of
Early references to the term Shinto¯. Most early refer-
their own clan deity (ujigami), a powerful ancestral kami to
ences to the kami connected with the Yamato court and the
be worshipped exclusively by their own clan. Since the
imperial line allude to them as jingi, a high-status term for
Fujiwara had no such deity, the thunderbolt kami,
the heavenly deities drawn from Chinese Confucian vocabu-
Takemikazuchi, originally enshrined at Kashima in the east,
lary. Thus laws relating to kami, called jingi-ryo, were admin-
was ritually “invited” to the court capital, along with the di-
istered by the Jingikan. However the Nihonshoki also con-
vine ancestor kami of the Nakatomi. From the eighth centu-
tains the earliest rare occurrences of the word Shinto¯. At the
ry these deities occupied the Kasuga shrine, which thus be-
time, this term was pronounced “jindo¯” (equivalent to the
came the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara clan, part of the
term shen-dao in Chinese, meaning “spirits”). The Nihon-
Kofukuji-Kasuga temple-shrine complex around which the
shoki records that Emperor Yomei “had faith in the buddhad-
Nara capital developed. Subsequently, the Fujiwara’s clan
harma and ‘revered’ jindo¯” while Emperor Kotoku “revered
rites at Kasuga became part of the official ritual calendar,
the buddhadharma but ‘scorned’ jindo¯” (he is said to have cut
thus blurring the distinction between public, Ritsuryo¯-style
down the trees at a shrine). Interpretations of these brief ref-
state ritual at recognized shrines and “private” observances
erences to Shinto¯ vary; some scholars find in them evidence
at important independent shrines.
that Shinto¯ was recognized at this early stage as a religion sep-
arate from Buddhism; others have proposed the meaning
While court histories and chronicles provide a wealth
“Daoism.” Because these references relate to the two emper-
of data about the view from the center, there is scant infor-
ors’ contribution to the establishment of Buddhism in Japan,
mation from this period about nonregulated cults and prac-
jindo¯ most probably just means “spirits” and refers to indi-
tices pursued at provincial shrines and no evidence that these
vidual, potentially troublesome, local kami who could be
shrines shared a common theology or ritual practice that
pacified by Buddhist rites (a usage of the term shen-dao well-
could be called Shinto¯. Local records (fudoki) indicate that
attested in Chinese Buddhist sources) rather than to a system
rites were performed by local clan chiefs doubling as ritual
of religious thought and practice regarded as an alternative
specialists—to propitiate angry kami, for example. These
to Buddhism.
rites were normally held in yashiro, open places of assembly,
rather than in shrine buildings. The growing influence of
Medieval Japan. The medieval period witnessed a vari-
Buddhist and Daoist ideas gave shape to some local rites,
ety of developments in systems of kami-worship, stimulated
while the increase in offerings to and from the court and reg-
by social and political changes and the spread of Buddhism
istered shrines required more permanent shrine buildings to
and other Chinese religious influences. It is often said that
provide storage. The court policy of making grants of
an “amalgamation of kami and buddhas” (shinbutsu shu¯go¯)
money, land, and official rank to local communities through
took place in the medieval period or earlier. The phrase shin-
officially registered shrines encouraged the creation of such
butsu shu¯go¯ is regularly encountered in modern writing; it is
shrines in virtually every community. Most major shrines de-
the antonym of shinbutsu bunri or “dissociation of kami and
veloped from the eighth century as jingu¯ji, or shrine-temples.
buddhas.” This dissociation did occur (though it was not at
These were sites of veneration of buddhas and kami which
the time called shinbutsu bunri) and can be dated to a specific
acquired considerable economic and political power as well
point in time, 1868. However, there is no comparable mo-
as religious significance. The Ritsuryo¯ understanding of
ment in early Japan where kami and buddhas came together
power as something distributed from the center and trans-
fully formed; rather, the various notions of kami encountered
mitted by heredity fostered claims by leading provincial clans
in Japanese history were developed through interaction with
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SHINTO
¯
8360
continental modes of thought, including Buddhism, itself
kami as the focus of worship became a matter of style rather
susceptible to a degree of adaptation in the new context. As
than substance; a situation which still prevails today.
we have seen, early representations of the imperial kami as
The twenty-two shrines. Attempts under the Ritsuryo¯
jingi owed something to Chinese ideas, while the notion of
system to establish central control of local shrines through
jindo¯ construed kami as spirits within a Chinese-style Bud-
registration, award of ranks, reciprocal offerings, and unifica-
dhist worldview. An example of amalgamation is the god
tion of rites had come to an end by the eleventh century.
Hachiman, in some respects the greatest divinity in Japan.
Only a small elite group known as “the twenty-two shrines,”
Hachiman was already strongly identified with the propaga-
with close ties to the emperor and the Fujiwara, now received
tion of Buddhism before he rose to prominence at court in
court offerings and shrine visits from members of the court.
the early eighth century, having been ceremonially transport-
These great shrines, more accurately shrine-temple complex-
ed from western Japan to Nara to endorse the building of
es, came to possess significant economic and political power.
the Great Eastern Temple (the Todaiji). Until 1868 this di-
Through donation of lands they developed extensive, tax-
vinity was normally referred to as Great Bodhisattva Hachi-
free estates able to support a full-time clergy. The priests de-
man; after the dissociation of 1868 he became, and still is
veloped intricate and often secret rationales and rituals de-
now, Great Kami Hachiman.
signed to conserve and reinforce the close associations be-
tween the shrine-temple complex, its various deities, and the
Buddhism has a long history of assimilating local spirits
ruling elite. Such associations involved systems of equiva-
into its own cosmology and soteriology. Already in China
lences, identifying local divinities with named buddhas and
there existed well-developed theories of “temporary appear-
bodhisattvas. This precious knowledge, which coupled the
ance” (in Japanese: keshin) and “original source–trace mani-
fortunes of the ruler to the well-being of the cultic site, was
festation” (honji-suijaku; the idea that local divinities ema-
recorded in documents which came to acquire the status of
nate from the original Buddha). These theories accounted for
sacred texts, comparable to Buddhist esoteric manuals.
the various outward forms manifested by cosmic, ultimately
formless, buddhas and bodhisattvas to accomplish the libera-
The secret teachings of the shrine-temple complexes in-
tion of all beings from this world of illusion. By the medieval
corporated yin and yang theory, Confucianism, and other el-
period a richly articulated international Buddhist worldview,
ements derived from continental thought, and they provided
fifteen hundred years in the making and transmitted through
a point of departure for new “Shinto¯” theories about the sa-
esoteric lineages of monastic masters and disciples, predomi-
cred sites and their divinities. This in turn fostered popular
nated in Japan. The key question was how a particular shrine
devotion to the shrine-temples in the form of worship, pil-
or kami was to be incorporated within a religious discourse
grimage, and donations. Pilgrimage became increasingly
that was overwhelmingly Buddhist. There was no single an-
popular as a religious practice among the court aristocracy
swer to this question, and we find shrine and temple priests
of the late Heian period. In the Kamakura period (1185–
offered a wide range of explanations, from the view that
1333), the practice spread to lower orders of society, with a
kami, like other sentient beings, need to receive Buddhist
consequent increase in both the numbers of pilgrims and
teaching in order to attain salvation (these were referred to
their economic importance to the shrine-temple complexes.
as “real” kami or jisshin, literally “they are merely what they
The teachings available to devotees underlined the impor-
seem”), through the notion favored particularly at court that
tance of visiting the shrines, which came to be understood
the kami are the special guardians of Buddhism (and there-
as reservoirs of spiritual purity, endowed with the power to
fore of Japan as a Buddhist kingdom), to declarations by the
enlighten. The teachings also identified the combinatory di-
new Shinto¯ medieval cults that the kami are not only fully
vinities at each shrine. At Ise, for example, the sun goddess
enlightened but, in a reversal of the Buddhist formula, are
Tensho¯daijin (Amaterasu) was the Buddha Vairochana (Jap.,
really the foundational entities underlying the temporary
Rushana, Dainichi-nyorai) or according to another source
forms of the buddhas and bodhisattvas worshipped in India,
the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Jap., Kannon bosatsu).
China, and Japan. Some kami were also identified as angry
These divinities, endowed with magical and healing powers,
spirits (goryo¯) of notable historical figures who had been un-
offered advantages to all who came within their ambit in
fairly disgraced or died in tragic circumstances. They ex-
quest of miracles, religious merit, or enlightenment.
pressed their anguish through curses (tatari) which took the
Late medieval developments. Most shrines throughout
form of epidemics, and cults were developed for their pacifi-
the country were obliged to seek new supporters from near
cation; once appeased they could evolve into benign and
or far, and the steady decline of the court meant that by the
powerful kami. Even jisshin, or “real” kami, could actually
fifteenth century even the twenty-two shrines were receiving
be buddhas who had temporarily “dimmed their light and
negligible imperial support, though their reputation as top
mingled with the dust” (wako¯ do¯jin), the more effectively to
shrines persisted. Provincial governors, meanwhile, founded
teach the buddhadharma in human or animal forms. In gen-
civic shrines in local capitals to host public rituals for the lan-
eral, the status of miscellaneous kami rose within the Bud-
downing elite, featuring military, theatrical, and agricultural
dhist hierarchical cosmos during the early and medieval peri-
rites and displays. In a context of political instability, military
ods to the point where identifying either a buddha or a major
clans originally formed by warring landowners rose to power,
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eventually eclipsing the resources and ritual status of the
beings at least equal to buddhas, and they redefined pilgrim-
court and promulgating their own forms of religiosity. The
age and other shrine rituals as techniques of individual purifi-
Minamoto military clan, which provided Japan’s first shogun
cation and enlightenment.
in 1192, adopted as their ancestral and tutelary deity Hachi-
Ryo¯bu (Dual) Shinto¯ developed as an aspect of Shingon
man, the bodhisattva-kami long associated with both military
Buddhist thought, both to account for the existence of two
conquest and Buddhist merit.
shrines at Ise (one dedicated to Amaterasu, the other to the
The new combinatory cults, based at shrine-temple
food deity Toyouke) and to explain the place of these impor-
complexes but propagating their teachings to a wider audi-
tant imperial kami within esoteric Buddhist cosmology and
ence, therefore viewed both kami and Buddhist divinities as
ritual practice. Buddhism had been taboo within the Ise
enlightened beings. They offered specific means of salvation
shrine ever since a notorious bid in 768 by the priest Do¯kyo¯
to individuals, in the manner of esoteric Buddhist lineages.
to succeed his protégée, the nun-empress Sho¯toku, as emper-
The combinatory cults drew in different proportions on
or. Had he been successful, Do¯kyo¯’s accession to the throne
Buddhist, Daoist, Confucian, and kami beliefs, and during
would have destroyed the principle of heredity on which not
the Kamakura period came to dominate the medieval reli-
only the imperial succession but also the power and status
gious landscape. Although some of these combinatory cults
of the Fujiwara and other major clans at court relied. Once
may be described as Shinto¯ and others as Buddhist, this is
Do¯kyo¯ had been thwarted, thanks to an oracle from the bo-
not a particularly helpful way of understanding their nature
dhisattva-kami Hachiman at Usa, which rejected Do¯kyo¯’s
and role in the medieval context. From the perspective of a
claim to the throne, Ise was reconstituted as an inviolable
modern Shinto¯ist, movements such as Watarai Shinto¯ or
symbol of the hereditary imperial line, out of bounds to Bud-
Yoshida Shinto¯ might be construed as the first tentative
dhist priests, Buddhist raiment, and even Buddhist vocabu-
shoots of a later revival of “pure” Shinto¯, but in the context
lary. Nevertheless, Buddhism thrived at Ise, and it was priest-
of their time they were creative religious movements that,
monks associated with the Ise estates who produced the me-
like the “new Buddhisms” of the Kamakura period, drew in-
dieval texts underpinning Ryo¯bu Shinto¯. Dual, in the
spiration from images, rituals, and doctrine selected from a
context of Ryo¯bu Shinto¯, refers to the two man:d:alas of Shin-
variety of sources. Their founders and systematizers added
gon esoteric Buddhism and their correspondence to the two
new elements and interpretations, sometimes presenting
Ise shrines. Texts such as the Nakatomi Harae Kunge (Exege-
these as ancient truths, to provide a meaningful and authori-
sis of the Nakatomi Purification Formula) produced by Ise
tative path to salvation for contemporary worshipers faced
monks explained that the taboo on signs of Buddhism within
with a range of religious possibilities.
the precincts of the shrine resulted from a pact made in the
Age of the Gods between Amaterasu and the demon king,
The leadership of these combinatory cults was exclusive-
who feared that Japan, once created, would become a Bud-
ly male, as was the perspective of their writings. Where a
dhist country. Amaterasu cleverly offered to ban Buddhism
public religious role relied on heredity this was patrilineal,
at her shrine if the demon king promised not to destroy the
with adoption of a suitable male heir where necessary. Reli-
land. Thus the Ise taboo existed to guarantee, not to oppose,
gious institutions and movements in medieval Japan, wheth-
the spread of Buddhism in Japan.
er interpreting native, Chinese, or Buddhist strands of
On the basis of such theories and other “secret” texts,
thought, shared and thereby reinforced a long-established
which later became known as the Five Books of Shinto¯
view of women as lesser beings, subject to various “hin-
(Shinto¯ gobusho), priests of the Watarai lineage in charge of
drances” such as blood pollution and turbulent emotions
the Ise Outer Shrine argued, on the basis of Chinese yin-yang
that rendered them unfit for any responsible public role
theory, quotations from the Nihonshoki, and other sources,
within a religious hierarchy, or indeed any other field of gov-
that the shrine of Toyouke was equal, and in fact superior,
ernance. Although women were encouraged to participate in
to that of Amaterasu, deity of the Inner Shrine. These de-
the expanding popular cults as ordinary pilgrims, suppli-
bates, which on occasion generated bitter lawsuits between
cants, or worshipers, and some of the new Buddhist move-
the two shrines, had more than scholastic implications; the
ments such as Pure Land and Nichiren asserted their theoret-
success of the Watarai pilgrimage trade depended on pil-
ical spiritual equality, the contributions that women
grims’ confidence that to visit the Outer Shrine of Toyouke
undoubtedly made to the development of the medieval com-
was to visit the real Ise shrine. Although the Watarai declined
binatory cults remain largely invisible to history.
in influence after supporting the losing Southern side in the
Ryo¯bu, Watarai, and Sanno¯ Shinto¯. Among the most
contest of the Northern and Southern courts (1336–1392),
successful cults developed by the twenty-two shrines were
Ise Shinto¯ theories were subsequently taken up by the Araki-
Ryo¯bu Shinto¯ and Watarai Shinto¯, both focusing on the Ise
da family of Inner Shrine priests and by various Buddhist
shrines; and Sanno¯ Shinto¯, based at Mount Hiei. As imperial
sects, while elements of these Ise Shinto¯ teachings, such as
support declined, popular ritual activities based on these
the notion of a God of Great Origin, were also disseminated
teachings provided significant economic support for the
through Yoshida Shinto¯.
major complexes. The success of these cultic centers formed
While Ise Shinto¯ was closely though not exclusively de-
the popular and enduring conception of kami as enlightened
rived from Shingon Buddhist theories, Sanno¯ Shinto¯ (Shinto¯
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SHINTO
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of the Mountain King) was a complex tradition of cosmolo-
the religious entrepreneur Yoshida Kanetomo, a priest at the
gy, ritual, and art flowing from the great Tendai temple-
Yoshida shrine originally founded by the Fujiwara as the
shrine complex on Mount Hiei outside Kyoto, originally
Heian branch of their tutelary Kasuga shrine. Kanetomo os-
founded in the ninth century by Saicho¯. Worship of seven
tensibly rejected Buddhism in favor of his Yui-itsu Shinto¯,
indigenous and invited deities, including the combinatory
though the new teachings that he promulgated about the
deity Hie Sanno¯, formed the focus of the Sanno¯ cult, whose
kami of the Yoshida shrine struck a chord with his audience
intricate theoretical basis was developed by specialist monas-
precisely because they offered an attractive synthesis of the
tic chroniclers (kike) drawing on a great variety of Buddhist
prevailing forms of religious knowledge, arranging Buddhist,
and other sources. The wealth of equivalences, correspon-
Confucian, and Daoist or yin-yang ideas according to princi-
dences, and cross-references in the theoretical systems under-
ples of Chinese numerology. Kanetomo secured the endorse-
pinning the cultic complexes meant significant overlap and
ment of the emperor for his interpretation of Shinto¯, even
integration between the different systems; so, for example,
for the bold claim that all the major divinities of Japan, in-
Sanno¯ was also Amaterasu, deity of Ise, and an emanation
cluding the deities of Ise, had migrated to the Yoshida shrine,
(gongen) of the Buddha Shakyamuni.
so that a pilgrimage or offering to the Yoshida shrine was
now the only effective way to benefit from the power and
Japan as a land of the gods (shinkoku). The period from
blessings of these deities. Although the rise of Yoshida Shinto¯
the eleventh to thirteenth centuries saw a post-Ritsuryo¯
inevitably provoked opposition from other cultic sites, Kane-
structure emerge in which Japan was conceived not as a re-
tomo’s version of Shinto¯ was outstandingly successful. It
flection of the ideal Chinese state but as a separate Buddhist
grew to the status of a nationwide cult, spreading elements
land, and indeed as a center for the spread of Buddhism. The
of Ryo¯bu and Watarai Shinto¯ along with Kanetomo’s ideas.
imperial line secured its future by defending Buddhism and
Yoshida Shinto¯ used for its own propagation an image
the power of Buddhism protected the country. Esoteric Bud-
known as “the oracles of the three shrines” (sanja takusen).
dhism reached the peak of its ritual influence at court, while
This took the form of a scroll inscribed with the names of
the “new Buddhisms” of the Kamakura period, emphasizing
the top three shrines in Japan (Ise, Kasuga, and Iwashimizu
the perils of mappo¯ (the degenerate age of the dharma) and
Hachiman; these three were seen as representing all shrines)
the corresponding need for “easy” methods of liberation,
and three brief oracular statements affirming the virtues of
vied to offer techniques of salvation designed by the buddhas
honesty, purity, and compassion. These three shrines also
for the special time and circumstances of Japan. Nichiren
represented, according to Fujiwara tradition, a covenant
(1222–1282), for example, argued that the kami who pro-
made in the Age of the Gods between the Fujiwara (Kasuga),
tected Buddhism (and hence the country) had abandoned
the shogunate (Hachiman), and the imperial house (Ise) to
Japan because of neglect of the Lotus Su¯tra. The popular no-
cooperate in the rule of Japan. Copies of the scroll formed
tion of Japan as a shinkoku, or land of the kami, at this time
a kind of virtual shrine at which the deities of the Yoshida
relied on the honji-suijaku understanding of kami as emana-
shrine could be revered. By such means, followers of Yoshida
tions, traces, or local appearances of the cosmic buddhas and
Shinto¯ were encouraged to identify all shrines as signifiers of
bodhisattvas, or as guardians of the dharma. The existence of
the parent Yoshida shrine in Kyoto.
these pro-Buddhist divinities throughout the country pro-
vided conclusive evidence that Japan, as a shinkoku, or divine
Edo Period (1600–1868). Following many decades of
land, was, along with India and China, one of the three great
civil war and the sudden appearance, and almost as sudden
centers of the Buddhist world. This notion reinforced the le-
disappearance after a century, of Catholic Westerners, the
gitimacy of the emperor as protector of Buddhism and vali-
Edo period saw the growth of cities and the rise of a prosper-
dated the activities of numerous cults performing religious
ous merchant class, the government’s incorporation of all
rituals and maintaining sacred sites. Subsequently, following
Buddhist sects, regardless of religious differences, into a sin-
the abortive Mongol invasions of the late thirteenth century,
gle nationwide system of local temple registration, and the
the notion of shinkoku began to change, implying Japan’s su-
favoring of neo-Confucianism as a political philosophy for
periority to her neighbors, a tendency later encouraged in the
the military elite. A massive expansion of popular pilgrimage
Edo period by the rise of National Learning. By the Meiji
to cultic sites founded on local religious associations, or ko¯,
period, under the influence of nationalist thought and the
was accompanied by the spread of syncretic religious move-
dissociation of kami and buddhas, the Buddhist significance
ments involving kami worship. This period witnessed several
of shinkoku was entirely lost, so that to the modern ear the
developments that turned out to be crucial to the formation
phrase can mean nothing more profound than “the kami are
of modern Shinto¯. These included the establishment of a via-
on our side.”
ble national system of shrine ranking and registration under
the Yoshida and Shirakawa houses; the increasing conceptu-
Yoshida Shinto¯. Following the catastrophic O
¯ nin War
alization of Shinto¯ as an anti-Buddhist, or at least non-
of 1467–1477 and the final collapse of the system of imperial
Buddhist, native tradition; the association of Shinto¯ with
support for the twenty-two shrines, a new religious move-
Confucian ethical thought; and the rise of the most impor-
ment known, among other names, as Yui-itsu Shinto¯ (the
tant intellectual tradition behind modern Shinto¯, that of
one and only Shinto¯) emerged in Kyoto. Its founder was
Kokugaku, or National Learning.
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Neo-Confucianism. The military leaders who emerged
clares: “To receive divine beneficence (sui), give priority to
to unite Japan during the sixteenth century following the
prayer; to obtain divine protection (ka), make uprightness
Warring States period were unable to claim ancestral legiti-
your basis.” In Ansai’s Confucian reading of the Shinto¯ scrip-
macy as the rulers of Japan, and they therefore adopted the
tures, kami were again identified with the principle (ri) that
neo-Confucian notion of tendo¯ (the way of heaven) to legiti-
unites heaven and man. Kami inheres in the human heart or
mise their violent appropriation of power. In addition, the
mind (kokoro) and should be united and venerated there
first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu, was enshrined after his death
through sincerity and prayer. Elaborating on Confucian no-
in the magnificent purpose-built mausoleum of Nikko¯,
tions of respect and self-denial, Ansai interpreted the Nihon-
where he was venerated according to Sanno¯ Shinto¯ rites as
shoki and Kojiki narratives as documenting eternal relations
a daigongen, or great emanation of the Buddha. Successive
between imperial line, lord, and vassal. The intellectual and
Tokugawa shoguns made official pilgrimages to the Nikko¯
esoteric aspects of Suika Shinto¯ came to influence the imperi-
shrine, symbolically affirming that the enshrined spirit of
al court, to the extent that some ancient court rites were re-
their ancestor Ieyasu was equivalent in status to the imperial
vived in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
deity of Ise, and a Buddhist divinity.
Ansai’s ideas were subsequently developed in different ways
by his numerous disciples and their schools. The idea that
Under the Tokugawa bakufu (government) the influ-
Confucian ethics and Shinto¯ rites are natural bedfellows con-
ence of Confucian ideas expanded—in particular the neo-
tinued into the modern period in the post-Meiji emperor
Confucianism of Zhu Xi (1130–1200), and to a lesser extent
system (exemplified, for example, in the 1890 Imperial Re-
that of Wang Yangming (1472–1529). Neo-Confucianism
script on Education) and in prewar teachings on national
encouraged “the investigation of things”; an activity which
morality.
could take the form of rational enquiry or Zen-like methods
of contemplation. Confucianism encouraged the study of the
Shrines and temples in the Edo period. In order to con-
ancient past, the days of Confucius, as the template for an
trol the shrines, the Tokugawa bakufu restricted the land
ideal society. Originally this meant China’s past, but among
holdings of the twenty-two shrine complexes and placed
Japanese scholars interest shifted towards that which was spe-
them under the control of local daimyo¯ (feudal lords). In
cifically Japanese: the Age of the Gods as documented in na-
1665 they granted to the Yoshida family and to certain court
tive Japanese literature. Neo-Confucianism in China already
families, notably the Shirakawa, the power to grant licenses
had an anti-Buddhist character, and this too was transferred
(ranks) to shrine priests. The intention was to give the Yoshi-
to Japan. The combination of anti-Buddhist sentiment and
da, as servants of the bakufu, an effective monopoly over li-
interest in ancient Japanese texts led some thinkers in the
censing. Although disputes continued well into the Edo peri-
Tokugawa period to distinguish Buddhism as a separate cate-
od between the Yoshida and Shirakawa over the boundaries
gory from Japan’s indigenous tradition, which some identi-
of their respective influence, the system provided the govern-
fied as Shinto¯.
ment for the first time with meaningful central control over
the activities of virtually all shrines and their priests in Japan.
Attempts to separate out a form of Shinto¯ that would
Meanwhile, as one of the measures designed to expel Chris-
be independent of Buddhism required a radical rethinking
tianity, Buddhist temples throughout Japan had been orga-
of key Shinto¯ concepts in non-Buddhist terms. Here again,
nized into parishes where local families, including those of
Confucianism provided an alternative philosophical legiti-
shrine priests, were required to register and to conduct their
mation, in this case for Shinto¯ notions such as kami. A num-
family’s funeral rites. As the economy grew during the Edo
ber of influential theorists of the early Edo period sought an
period, the family system that required the eldest son to per-
intellectual rapprochement between Confucianism and
form ancestral rituals spread to all levels of society and led
Shinto¯. Hayashi Razan (1583–1657) was an independent
to an increasing need for the services of Buddhist temples.
scholar and advisor to the bakufu who developed a theory of
Many Buddhist temples prospered, but their position as ad-
kami as ri (principle). He undertook extensive studies of
ministrative agencies of the bakufu and their monopoly over
major shrines and their cults with the aim of showing that
funeral rites became a cause for resentment, not least among
they were, or should have been, distinct from Buddhism. Ya-
the rising class of professional shrine priests licensed by the
maga Soko¯ (1622–1685) argued that the ethical ideals exem-
Yoshida and Shirakawa, some of whom wished to conduct
plified in ancient Shinto¯ predated Chinese ethics, and there-
funerals of their own. These factors contributed to anti-
fore Japan, not China, should be regarded as the Middle
Buddhist feeling, which in some cases took the form of a
Kingdom, an idea later taken up by proponents of National
pro-Shinto¯ movement. As early as 1666, for example, the
Learning. Yoshikawa Koretari (1616–1694) modernized
government of the Mito domain closed more than a thou-
Yoshida Shinto¯ teachings by linking them to neo-
sand Buddhist temples, ordered all Buddhist objects to be re-
Confucianism, focusing on the virtue of self-denial (tsut-
moved from shrines, and ordered a shrine to be built for each
sushimi) to be achieved by purification (harae). Yamazaki
village. Overall, however, throughout the Edo period the
Ansai (1616–1682) developed an extremely influential sys-
popular view remained that Shinto¯ and Buddhist institu-
tem which he called Suika Shinto¯, based on a reference to
tions, rites, and practices complemented rather than compet-
an oracle in a thirteenth-century Ise Shinto¯ text which de-
ed with each other.
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8364
Increasingly, shrines and temples in prosperous urban
grimage itself might be conceived as embodying acts of reli-
areas competed to attract visitors with festivals, entertain-
gious merit-making, purification, expiation, petition, inter-
ments, food, and cultural activities, while popular preachers
cession, or healing.
connected with the Yoshida school, such as the renowned
Masuho Zanko¯ (1655–1742), drew large crowds with down-
Prominent among mountain-worship ko¯ were those fo-
to-earth sermons on Shinto¯ topics. Many festivals developed
cusing on Mount Fuji. Mountains in Japan represent “other-
into their modern forms during the Edo period. The annual
ness” for agricultural communities and have often been the
calendar was standardized by the Edo bakufu, the gosekku
site of encounters with buddhas, kami, and other spiritual
(five seasonal days) were declared national holidays, and fes-
beings. Agricultural rites commonly celebrated the descent
tivals were celebrated on these numerologically significant
of kami to the rice fields and their return to the mountains.
days. For example, the third day of the third month was
Shu¯gendo¯ religious specialists conducted elaborate combina-
jo¯shi—rites of purification in which impurity was transferred
tory rituals in which participation in the ascent of the moun-
to dolls, which were then cast into the water (the origin of
tain represented a spiritual birth, death, purification, and en-
today’s hina matsuri, or doll’s festival)—while on the seventh
lightenment. Edo-period mountain cults became eclectic and
day of the seventh month the tanabata star festival was cele-
adapted to the interests of the common people. Fuji-ko¯, reli-
brated. From their origins as communal agricultural rites for
gious associations focusing on Mount Fuji, were inaugurated
the kami, annual festivals increasingly became spectacles in
in the early seventeenth century by Hasegawa Takematsu, or
urban areas, drawing large crowds to view the rituals and pro-
Kakugyo¯, whose spiritual powers derived from ascetic prac-
cessions rather than to participate directly in them.
tices performed at the mountain. Around eight hundred Fuji
sects developed, attracting worshippers mainly from Edo and
Religious confraternities. Many local or more wide-
the surrounding area. To follow just one thread: in 1688
spread religious confraternities (ko¯) developed in this period,
after an ascent of Mount Fuji inspired by Kakugyo’s teach-
some independently of any religious establishment and most
ings, Ito Jikigyo¯ (1671–1733) revealed himself to be an ema-
often with the goal of pooling funds to enable representative
nation of the Bodhisattva Miroku (Maitreya, the coming
members to travel on pilgrimage to great shrines or sacred
Buddha). Jikigyo¯’s Miroku-ha (Maitreyism) teachings em-
mountains. Some of these groups evolved into the Sect
phasizing faith in Mount Fuji attracted a wide following.
Shinto¯ organizations of the Meiji period. The focus of devo-
They were subsequently reinterpreted, first by Kotani Sanshi
tion might be pilgrimage (to Ise, the Shikoku circuit, or a
Rokugyo¯ (d. 1841) who taught that the whole world was
host of other venues), or religious practices relating to partic-
under the care of the kami “mother and father of all” (moto
ular divinities such as Inari, Konjin, or Jizo¯. Pilgrimage, a
no chichi-haha) who resided on Mount Fuji, and again after
predominantly urban phenomenon in the Edo period, of-
the Meiji restoration by Shibata Hamamori (1809–1890),
fered one of the few legitimate grounds for travel under the
who erased Buddhist elements, emphasized emperor wor-
Tokugawa regime and provided an essential source of in-
ship, and is now regarded as the founder of the modern
come for major religious institutions. Encouraging and en-
Jikkyo¯-kyo¯. The movement was recognized as a Shinto¯ sect
abling groups and individuals to undertake pilgrimage be-
and named Shinto¯ Jikkyo¯-kyo¯ in 1882. Shibata’s son attend-
came a preoccupation of all the important cultic sites. This
ed the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The
was particularly true of the Ise complex, which hosted a cons-
teachings today emphasize cheerfulness and sincerity; thou-
tant round of regular pilgrimages organized by the shrine’s
sands of members dressed in white ascend Mount Fuji in Au-
countrywide network of enterprising oshi (pilgrim-masters).
gust shouting “rokkon sho¯jo¯” (“purification of the six sense-
A popular jingle ran, “You should visit Ise at least once in
organs”) originally a phrase found in the Lotus Su¯tra, though
your life,” while another, mindful of the many worldly dis-
the group maintains a strong Shinto¯ identity. The ascent of
tractions available to wide-eyed pilgrims, advised “When you
sacred mountains was normally denied to women before the
go to Ise, don’t forget to visit the shrine!” Remarkably, sever-
Meiji restoration.
al apparently spontaneous mass nationwide pilgrimages to
Ise, some involving millions of people, occurred at intervals
National Learning (Kokugaku). From the early eigh-
of about seventy years throughout the Edo period. Reflecting
teenth century, as economic growth, increasing literacy, and
the changing meaning of the shrine and the requirements of
the spread of printed literature extended opportunities for
the pilgrimage trade, the oracles of the three shrines (sanja
scholarly study among the lower levels of society, Confucian
takusen) scroll, which in the late medieval period had signi-
interpretations of Shinto¯ began to be overtaken by rationalist
fied the enshrinement of the top three deities at the Yoshida
and philological studies of native literature. Rather than seek-
shrine in Kyoto, now displayed personified images of the
ing arcane correspondences between Shinto¯ and Chinese sys-
gods as combinatory divinities. With Amaterasu at its center
tems of thought, scholars interested in Japanese ancient cus-
(in male Buddhist garb; the gender of Amaterasu became
toms began to approach the study of Japanese literature in
fixed only after the Meiji period) the scroll came to be re-
a critical and empirical manner, examining in painstaking
garded primarily as a souvenir of pilgrimage to Ise. Accord-
detail different recensions of texts and the forms of writing
ing to the beliefs and values of the particular ko¯ involved, and
used in different periods of Japanese history. These research-
the nature of the shrines and temples visited en route, the pil-
es led, among other things, to the debunking of much of the
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¯
8365
literature produced by medieval Shinto¯. Yoshimi Yoshikazu,
intellectual rigor of Norinaga. Drawing on the notion of an
for example, compared the Watarai’s Shinto¯ gobusho (the Five
original “Japanese way” superior to the continental philoso-
Books of Shinto¯) with texts of the Nara period to prove that
phies, Atsutane developed the theory that Shinto¯ was a uni-
the Watarai “ancient” texts were in fact the product of medi-
versal religion that lay at the root of all religious truth, wher-
eval minds. Similar devastating critiques were aimed at the
ever found. This enabled Atsutane to incorporate popular
Yoshida and Suika Shinto¯ sacred books.
Buddhist ideas such as karma, ancestor worship, geomancy,
and the spirit world into his teaching on the grounds that
These methodological advances underpinned the devel-
these were elements of original Shinto¯ that had also found
opment of what came to be known as Kokugaku (National
their way into lesser, foreign religions. His approach was ac-
Learning or Japanese Studies). Initially this was an academic
tually not very different from that of the medieval Shinto¯
discipline that sought to uncover the forms of Japanese cul-
ture that existed before any influence from outside, in partic-
theorists who sought correspondences between the Age of
ular before the introduction of Buddhism and Chinese
the Gods, Buddhism, and yin and yang. Perhaps because of
thought. Favorite topics were early Japanese collections of
this, and the fact that he had acquired a large following in
poetry such as the Man’yo¯shu¯ and Kokinshu¯ and the narra-
several areas of Japan, Atsutane was commissioned first by
tives relating to kami in the Nihonshoki and Kojiki. Kada
the Yoshida and then by the Shirakawa to teach Shinto¯ to
Azumamaro (1669–1736) was perhaps the first writer to
shrine priests. Atsutane’s adopted son Kanetane successfully
offer a nonliteral account of the Age of the Gods in the Ni-
expanded the movement after his father’s death and in the
honshoki, arguing that the myths depicted an ethical ideal to
1850s, as Japan reopened to the West, the Hirata school’s
which humans should aspire. His disciple Kamo no Mabuchi
pro-Japanese and antiforeign views attracted new followers
(1697–1769) took a similar approach to the Man’yo¯shu¯,
from all classes, including influential samurai concerned
identifying desirable “Japanese” qualities of masculine vigor
about Japan’s fragile international position. To secure the
and spontaneity which, he argued, were later obscured by the
“Japanese way” in the face of the foreign threat, the Hirata
introduction of undesirable “feminine” literary and aesthetic
faction envisaged a restored Shinto¯ in which the Yoshida and
values imported from the continent.
Shirakawa would play a prominent role.
In the late eighteenth century, National Learning devel-
The influential restoration ideologue O
¯ kuni Takamasa
oped from an academic discipline into a significant socioreli-
(1792–1871) held Atsutane in high esteem and used some
gious movement made up of scholars with large followings
of Atsutane’s ideas on comparative religion in his own at-
whose goal became the “restoration” (fukko) of Shinto¯. The
tempts to accommodate Christianity, speculating that
major figure in this movement and a towering figure in Japa-
Adam, Eve, and Cain were kami sent from Japan to open up
nese intellectual history was Motoori Norinaga (1730–
the Western world, while the Virgin who bore Jesus may
1801). Inspired by Kamo no Mabuchi to turn his attention
have been the kami Hiruko. However, despite the Hirata
to ancient Japanese literature in search of the original Japa-
school’s passion for the restoration of Shinto¯ and Okuni’s re-
nese “way,” Norinaga’s remarkable critical scholarship and
gard for Atsutane’s theories, it was not the Hirata vision of
relentless schedule of lecture tours gained him hundreds of
Shinto¯ that was “restored” when the emperor came to power
dedicated disciples and nationwide recognition. His major
in 1868. Instead, a refurbished system of imperial ritual was
commentary on the Kojiki remains an authoritative work. In
introduced, controlled from the court. Devised by O
¯ kuni
terms of literary theory, Norinaga argued that the truth of
and colleagues from the Tsuwano fief, it offered no role to
things was set out in the ancient texts; though obscure it
the Yoshida and Shirakawa families, nor to any other schools
could be grasped by the sincere Japanese heart. He elevated
of Edo-period Shinto¯. In one major respect, however, it ful-
unmediated feeling and the “movement of the heart” over
filled a major aim of the Hirata school by instituting a form
Confucian and Buddhist scholastic moralizing and identified
of Shinto¯ that was regarded as both unique to the Japanese
these suprarational qualities as unique to the Japanese way,
race and separate from Buddhism.
thus providing his contemporaries with a new nativist lens
Meiji restoration to World War II. The Meiji restora-
through which to view the classics of Japanese literature. In
tion of 1868 led to profound changes in every aspect of Japa-
the narratives of the Age of the Gods he found both a literal
nese life, and the transformation of Shinto¯ has to be under-
account and an ideal of ethical behavior manifested in the
stood in this context. The new Meiji government’s broad
inviolable imperial line.
aim was to create as rapidly as possible a modern state out
Hirata Atsutane and restoration Shinto¯. Norinaga’s ap-
of what had been a feudal society. While the ultimate goal
proach was thoroughly Japanocentric, and it is this aspect of
of modernization—a rich, powerful, industrialized empire at
his thought that became most prominent in the teachings of
least equal to those of the European powers—was hardly in
Hirata Atsutane (1776–1843). Atsutane was inspired by
dispute, there was less consensus over the means of achieving
Norinaga’s writings and later came to be regarded as Norina-
the goal and, in particular, the price to be paid for it in terms
ga’s successor in Kokugaku, though the two never actually
of loss of meaning and cultural identity. Debates on these
met. Atsutane’s approach was more religious than literary,
topics occupied some of the best minds of the early Meiji pe-
and as a scholar he proved eclectic and populist, without the
riod. The first objective of the new Meiji government was
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to make a break from Tokugawa traditions and to mobilize
would become the focus of a new system of shrine registra-
an unprepared populace to pull in one new direction rather
tion (ujiko shirabe) intended to supplant the Tokugawa Bud-
than many. Like other emerging European nations, the Japa-
dhist temple registration system. Both the notion of shrines
nese regime sought to build public confidence and cohesion
as the private property of priests and the principle of heredity
by wrapping radical new ventures in symbols of the past. In
for shrine priests were abolished, so that the livelihood of
the case of Japan, the process perhaps went further than in
priests hung in the balance. Shrines were first asked to per-
any other modern nation and was, arguably, more successful.
form funerals, widely regarded as defiling and formerly the
preserve of Buddhism, then following the so-called pantheon
In the realm of religion, developments in the first few
dispute of 1875 they were forbidden from doing so. These
years of the Meiji period were propelled principally by ideol-
rapid developments left many shrine priests in a state of dis-
ogy, but also by bureaucratic, political, and economic con-
array, justifiably fearful for their own careers, unsure of the
siderations. With hindsight, a process of trial and error is evi-
nature and status of their shrines, and unclear too about the
dent. In regard to local shrines, one of the first acts of the
appropriate teachings they should give and rituals they
new government, heavily influenced by National Learning
should perform.
ideologues, was to restore the Jingikan (Ministry of Kami Af-
fairs) and assign to it, instead of to the Yoshida and
Meanwhile, initiatives were afoot in Tokyo to spread a
Shirakawa houses, responsibility for all shrines. In an edict
National Teaching suitable for the new era. This new unified
of 1871 the shrines were designated as sites for state ritual,
teaching was intended to underpin the concept of shrines as
abandoning completely any association with the Edo-period
sites reserved exclusively for imperial state rites and not, as
schools and theories of Shinto¯ that the authorities regarded
had been the case in the Edo period, ritual centers offering
as unsuited to the new age. As early as March and April 1868,
a multiplicity of Buddhist and Shinto¯ teachings. Underpin-
shinbutsu hanzen (clarification of kami and buddhas) decrees
ning the promulgation of the National Teaching was a logic
were issued requesting accounts of the identity of kami wor-
that equated the National Teaching with Shinto¯, and Shinto¯
shipped at shrines, temples, and festivals nationwide. Priests
with the uniquely Japanese “way of humanity” exemplified
serving kami within Buddhist temples (many such priests
in the narratives of the Age of the Gods, preserved eternally
combined Buddhist and Shinto¯ clerical roles) had to choose
in the traditions of the imperial house and manifest in codes
either to become dedicated shrine priests or remain Bud-
of government. Shinto¯, according to this way of thinking,
dhists; they could not be both. This ruling was particularly
was explicitly distinguished from mere “religions” (such as
damaging to Shu¯gendo¯ ritualists who occupied the middle
Christianity, Buddhism, Edo forms of Shinto¯, and sectarian
ground, even before Shu¯gendo¯ was banned altogether in
teachings) which rested on the theories of fallible human
1873. The Buddhist names and identities of kami were no
founders. The new national creed, referred to as the Great
longer to be used, which meant that legions of kami required
Teaching (taikyo¯) formed the substance of the Great Promul-
new or amended names. Kami shrines could no longer con-
gation Campaign (taikyo¯ senpu undo¯) launched in 1869. Ini-
tain Buddhist symbols, so statues, paintings, inscriptions, sa-
tially the Jingikan sought to employ exemplary individuals
cred texts, vestments, and other ritual items all had to be re-
as senkyo¯shi, Shinto¯ missionaries, to spread the “three great
teachings” (sanjo¯ no kyo¯soku) to the people at large. Senkyo¯shi
moved. This was in many cases a destructive process, marked
of the right calibre, however, proved extremely hard to find,
by hooliganism toward both shrines and Buddhist temples
and in 1872 the failing project was transferred to the new
under the slogan “Haibutsu kishaku!” (“Expel the Buddha;
(and short-lived) Ministry of Religion, which recruited and
destroy Shakyamuni!”). Many priceless shrine treasures were
trained, though it did not itself finance, a new army of “na-
destroyed or discarded. The process also entailed the closure
tional evangelists” (kyo¯do¯shoku) drawn from many different
of Buddhist temples; between 1868 and 1874, perhaps thirty
walks of life to propagate the national creed. These evange-
thousand temples disappeared, and more than fifty thousand
lists included Buddhist and Shinto¯ priests, actors, comedi-
Buddhist clerics were returned to lay life.
ans, storytellers, and clergy of new religious movements such
Meiji Shinto¯ and the Great Teaching. The intention of
as Konko¯kyo¯ and Kurozumikyo¯. The Great Teaching com-
these initial reforms was not to destroy Buddhism but to re-
prised a threefold instruction to the people:
define Shinto¯ from the center as a state cult, and the conse-
1. Revere the deities and love your country.
quences of this radical bureaucratic process for local shrines
and for those who remained their priests in the early years
2. Make clear the principles of heaven and the way of man.
of Meiji were almost as severe as for Buddhists. During
3. Reverence the emperor and abide by the will of the
1869–1870, bitter disputes among Shinto¯ factions in the
court.
new Jingikan over the proper rituals to be conducted at
shrines paralyzed decisions about the instructions to be is-
Inevitably, the various kyo¯do¯shoku gave their own slant to the
sued to shrine priests. Meanwhile, government bureaucrats
Great Teaching. Experienced Buddhist teachers took the op-
issued orders for the wholesale rationalization (the merging
portunity to integrate the ideas and practices of their own
and closing) of thousands of lesser shrines, in order to leave
sects, while clergy of semiofficial religious movements wel-
only one shrine for each administrative area. This shrine
comed the opportunity to become kyo¯do¯shoku, in part to
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shield their group from possible persecution. Shrine priests,
great promulgation campaign. In order to evade persecution
though restricted in that role to the performance of approved
under the shogunate, Konko¯ Daijin (1814–1883), the
state rituals, could earn extra revenue by conducting funerals
founder of Konko¯kyo¯, obtained a shrine licence in 1864
and other religious functions in the role of national evange-
from the Shirakawa, but after the Meiji restoration in 1873
list; such work also financed their evangelism. The three
he renounced any association with Shinto¯, refusing to take
great teachings were of course capable of different interpreta-
any part in the great promulgation campaign. Fearing for the
tions. Official commentaries on the teachings issued to the
future of the organization, his close disciple and successor,
kyo¯do¯shoku encouraged activities such as payment of taxes,
Sato¯ Norio, studied the National Learning and became a na-
the development of a “rich country, strong army,” the im-
tional evangelist, along with more than a hundred other
portation of Western science and culture, and compulsory
Konko¯kyo¯ ministers. He developed a creed for Konko¯kyo¯
education.
that presented the movement as a form of national Shinto¯.
By the 1880’s Sato¯ had became an avid proponent of the
Shrine Shinto¯ and Sect Shinto¯. The difficulties of
three great teachings and the “spirit of the national polity”
spreading the National Teaching using unpaid intermedi-
(kokutai seishin). Tenrikyo¯’s redoubtable female founder,
aries and problems with persistent doctrinal disputes among
Nakayama Miki (1798–1887), also courted persecution and
shrine factions convinced the Meiji government that the dis-
imprisonment by rejecting national Shinto¯, and recognition
semination of national doctrines should not be entrusted to
of Tenrikyo¯ as a Shinto¯ sect was granted only in 1906 under
shrine priests, who held many different views on the mean-
the leadership of her grandson. Tenrikyo¯ formally rejected
ings and purposes of their shrines. Shrine priests were there-
its Shinto¯ identity in the 1970s and remains uneasy about
fore prevented from evangelizing and increasingly confined
this apparent compromise with the Shinto¯ establishment.
their activities to state-approved ritual matters, while also
The emperor system. With Shrine Shinto¯ broadly distin-
maintaining the cults of local tutelary deities on behalf of
guished from religion, Meiji bureaucrats turned their atten-
their parishioners. A new calendar of rites was introduced
tion to the promulgation of Shinto¯ imperial mythology as
early in the Meiji period that emphasized rituals for emperors
historical fact. The Meiji Constitution of 1889 resulted from
in the “unbroken lineage” and for the first time synchronized
seventeen years of secret debates and drafts over such issues
the annual ritual cycle of shrines throughout the country
as the relations between religion and state and freedom of re-
with that of the imperial household, thus ascribing to the
ligion, with full awareness of European models. The consti-
emperor the role of priest of the nation. Increasingly, Shrine
tution affirmed the “sacred and inviolable” person of the em-
Shinto¯ came to be seen as nonreligious, in the elevated sense
peror and made a key distinction between private religious
of being supra-religious or nondenominational. Some Shinto¯
belief and public activity. Article 28 stated that “Japanese
priests had created independent religious fraternities sup-
subjects shall, within limits not prejudicial to peace and
portive of the National Teaching while acting as national
order, and not antagonistic to their duties as subjects, enjoy
evangelists, and from the late 1870s these groups were
freedom of religious belief.” After 1889 it therefore became
awarded the new status of Shinto¯ sect, a category falling
unconstitutional to withdraw from emperor-centered Shinto¯
somewhere between Shinto¯ and religion that recognized
rites, since these were civic duties rather than religious ritual.
both their popular religious appeal and their affinities with
The constitution was swiftly followed in 1890 by the Imperi-
the national cult. The Shinto¯ sects also included revelatory
al Rescript on Education (Kyo¯iku chokugo), which became,
new religions such as Kurozumikyo¯ and pre-Meiji confrater-
in effect, a sacred text, enshrined in schools alongside a pic-
nities such as Shinto¯ Jikkyo¯-kyo¯. Up until 1945, the number
ture of the emperor and reverently recited. It set out the basic
of Shinto¯ sects was restricted to thirteen, with additional
tenets of the emperor system as well as the Confucian five
groups such as O
¯ moto classed for administrative reasons as
relationships, exhorting loyalty and filial piety to the emper-
sub-sects.
or as the divine descendant of the imperial kami Amaterasu.
By the first half of the nineteenth century, several new
As an expression of National Teaching, the issuing of the re-
independent religious movements had emerged, each
script to schools signaled that schoolteachers would hence-
founded by a charismatic shamanic figure spontaneously
forth be responsible for conveying the doctrinal aspects of the
possessed by a deity that revealed itself to be the parent or
state cult, while shrine priests contributed the shrine-based
universal kami: God. These movements, which have been
ritual dimension; after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–
termed “vitalistic,” included Tenrikyo¯, Konko¯kyo¯, and
1905 rites were introduced in schools too. The binding rela-
Kurozumikyo¯. None of these movements initially saw itself
tionship established at this point between, on the one hand,
as a Shinto¯ movement, but each was eventually recognized
the ideology of the emperor system transmitted through
by the Meiji authorities as a Shinto¯ sect. The survival of these
schools and other organs of the state such as local govern-
large and widespread religious movements indicates that they
ment and the armed forces and, on the other hand, the em-
were able to adapt successfully to prevailing sociopolitical cir-
peror-worshipping rites performed at Shinto¯ shrines, formed
cumstances, including the radical changes of the Meiji resto-
the heart of the prewar “national faith” of Japan.
ration. Kurozumikyo¯ adapted relatively easily to the Nation-
Between 1906 and 1929 the number of shrines
al Teaching, and Kurozumikyo¯ clergy took a full part in the
throughout Japan was once again radically reduced by a gen-
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erally unpopular program of shrine mergers (jinja gappei) de-
ligious freedom guaranteed. Shrine Shinto¯ therefore entered
signed to streamline shrine parishes and match the remaining
the postwar period as a voluntaristic religion (strictly speak-
major shrines with local administrative areas. The policy re-
ing Shinto¯ is a multitude of such religions, since under the
sulted in the destruction of more than eighty thousand
Religious Juridical Persons Law of 1951 each Shinto¯ shrine
shrines, about half the national total. Many were small un-
is registered as a separate religious body). Under the new con-
recognized shrines but some were venerable shikinai-sha
stitution, Shinto¯’s formal relationship with the state could
(shrines registered in the Engishiki).
be no closer than that enjoyed by Christianity, Buddhism,
the Shinto¯ sects, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or indeed any other
The question of State Shinto¯. In 1945, the nexus of
of the hundreds of religious organizations, new and old, na-
state, shrine, and emperor-worship relationships built up
tive and foreign, to be found in contemporary Japan. The
over nearly eighty years by various means was referred to by
repositioning of Shinto¯ as one religion among many pres-
the postwar Occupation authorities as State Shinto¯. This ne-
ented a serious challenge to the shrines and their priests and
ologism (in Japanese kokka shinto¯) first appeared in the Di-
put the very survival of Shrine Shinto¯ in question.
rective for the Disestablishment of State Shinto¯ issued by the
Supreme Commander of Allied Powers (SCAP) in Decem-
Change and continuity. The changes wrought to Shrine
ber of 1945, and it subsequently shaped debates about
Shinto¯ by the Occupation administration were significant
whether Shinto¯ should be seen as the main architect or an
but limited in scope. A review of the continuities and discon-
innocent casualty of prewar imperialistic nationalism. State
tinuities between prewar and postwar Shinto¯ shows that the
Shinto¯ was defined in the 1945 directive as “that branch of
concept of Shinto¯ established in the Meiji period survived
Shinto¯ (kokka shinto¯ or jinja shinto¯) which by official acts of
more or less intact. The emperor remained monarch, though
the Japanese government has been differentiated from the re-
belief in his divine ancestry was now unnecessary. Very little
ligion of Sect Shinto¯ (shu¯ha shinto¯ or kyo¯ha shinto¯) and has
destruction of Shinto¯ resources occurred. The Shinto¯ Direc-
been classified a non-religious cult commonly known as State
tive removed war memorials, which had attracted ultrana-
Shinto¯, National Shinto¯, or Shrine Shinto¯.” SCAP staff
tionalist sentiments, but these were not Shinto¯ shrines as
found the precise referent of the term “State Shinto¯” difficult
such. Devotional images of the emperor, copies of the Impe-
to pin down. The focus on Shinto¯ diverted attention some-
rial Rescript on Education, and ultranationalist ethics text-
what from the fact that by this time the ideology and values
books such as Cardinal Principles of the National Entity
of the emperor system were embraced by virtually all reli-
(kokutai no hongi) were removed from schools, but shrines
gious groups: Buddhist, Christian, and sectarian. Devotion
built since the Meiji restoration of 1868 to promote the em-
to the emperor was by no means an exclusively Shinto¯ phe-
peror system were untouched. The single most important el-
nomenon; it was, after all, instilled into every Japanese child
ement of Meiji Shinto¯, the 1868 dissociation of kami and
in school. The term “State Shinto¯” subsequently came to be
buddhas, went unchallenged as far as Shinto¯ shrines, Bud-
interpreted in a number of very different and incompatible
dhist temples, and their respective priests were concerned,
ways. As a concept, it captures a historical moment rather
though new syncretic religions were now free to develop. In
than providing a useful analytical category. Debates continue
place of central government, the independent jinja honcho¯
about the extent to which Shinto¯, more than other religions,
(literally “Shrines HQ” though the official name in English
was implicated in the discredited emperor cult and “national
is “The Association of Shinto Shrines”) was established to ad-
ethics” teaching which demanded subjugation to the kokutai
minister the nationwide network of shrines under “the spiri-
(body of the state). Clearly, much depends on the definition
tual leadership of the Ise shrine.” Though some major shrines
of Shinto¯.
opted for independence, and others may yet follow, the jinja
honcho¯
oversees virtually all shrines in Japan, managing
Shinto¯ in contemporary Japan. The Occupation au-
shrine ranks and priestly qualifications and providing mod-
thorities certainly did not believe that state-sponsored teach-
ern-day equivalents of Meiji court messengers and imperial
ings and rites relating to a divine emperor and the age of the
offerings to shrines.
gods could be nonreligious. They felt the need to distinguish
what was religious from what was not so that a clear line
A residual notion of the Meiji shrine parishes remains,
could be drawn between religion and state in the new consti-
reflected in the expectation that shrines should receive finan-
tution. It was because Shinto¯ was religious, not because it
cial support from local residents. Shinto¯ priests still over-
was Shinto¯, that it had to be separated from the state. From
whelmingly carry out rites rather than preach doctrine, and
the SCAP perspective, separation of religion and state was
very few of the tens of thousands of shrines destroyed by
axiomatic. The relationship between religion and state is, of
shrine merger have been restored, so the current shrine (and
course, a cultural variable and there are as many ways in
temple) landscape of Japan remains characteristic of the
which the two are related in the modern world as there are
Meiji period rather than previous eras. The Yasukuni shrine
states and religions. However, the fact is that in 1945 an
to the war dead, chief of the provincial gokoku (nation-
eighty-year relationship between Shrine Shinto¯ and the Japa-
protecting) shrines, stands as a powerful symbol of Meiji val-
nese state apparatus ended overnight. Under the 1947 con-
ues. It is controversial in Japan and among Japan’s neighbors
stitution, religion and state were separated and individual re-
since it, more than any other Shinto¯ institution, appears to
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challenge the boundary constructed in 1945 between reli-
for a significant proportion of religious activity, with the
gion and state. The imperial family’s rites remain exclusively
largest groups counting their adherents in hundreds of thou-
Shinto¯ in style, with no reversion to former Buddhist prac-
sands. However, the many different groups involved have
tices. Finally, and despite the postwar legal status of Shinto¯
their own histories and disparate aims. They seldom if ever
as religion, the Meiji idea of Shinto¯ as nonreligious still pre-
act in concert, and do not regard themselves as parts of a
vails, at least to the extent that Shinto¯ practices are widely
greater Shinto¯ whole. On the contrary, members of new reli-
regarded as custom or tradition rather than religion. As a
gious movements are often encouraged to think of their own
consequence, legal battles have been fought over the propri-
group as possessing the special truth of Shinto¯. Beliefs and
ety of participation by government officials in Shinto¯ rituals
practices of the Shinto¯-style new religions vary considerably.
such as the blessing of new buildings. For most Japanese, sea-
To take just a few examples: Tensho¯ ko¯tai jingu¯ kyo¯ (literally
sonal shrine visits, rituals, and festivals relating to particular
“the religion of the imperial shrine of Amaterasu,” known
shrines and kami are seen as part of a broad spectrum of
also as the dancing religion) connects with Shinto¯ mainly
“given” customary practices.
through its name. The movement was founded in 1945 by
a remarkable woman, Kitamura Sayo (1900–1967). She en-
Shinto¯ has changed in some ways since 1945. After a
dured marriage as the sixth bride of a man who, on the orders
difficult postwar period of austerity, increased spending
of his stingy mother, divorced each wife after using her as
power resulting from the Japanese “economic miracle” from
cheap labor for a season. Kitamura experienced possession
the 1970s onward helped restore the fortunes of many
(kami-gakari) by a spirit snake who then revealed itself as the
shrines. Shrines with a nationwide reputation continue to at-
god Tensho¯ ko¯tai jingu¯ and commissioned Kitamura to save
tract substantial numbers of pilgrims and tourists, particular-
the world. Dressed as a man, performing the “dance of no-
ly at the New Year, when some 80 percent of the population
self” in streets, parks, and railway stations, and denouncing
makes a shrine visit. Many major shrines have survived and
Japan’s rulers as “maggots and traitors,” Kitamura traveled
some have prospered by effectively marketing the benefits of
widely in Japan and overseas, attracting many devoted fol-
their kami (traffic safety, examination success, business suc-
lowers. Known to her disciples as O
¯ gami-sama, or great god-
cess, safety at work, and many others) or the beauty and tran-
dess, she taught that passions and attachment were the cause
quillity of their surroundings. Most shrines have their own
of suffering and was credited with numerous miracles and
annual ritual calendar with special purification ceremonies
healings.
and festivals at key points in the year. Family rituals such as
“seven-five-three” (shichi-go-san) when children of three,
Sekai kyu¯sei-kyo¯ (“religion for the salvation of the
five, and seven visit the shrine with their parents, have in-
world,” known also as M.O.A.) was founded by Okada
creased in popularity with the rise of modern family units.
Mokichi (1882–1955), a member of the prewar O
¯ moto
Travel companies and shrines have cooperated to attract par-
Great Origin sect, following a revelation by the Bodhisattva
ticipants to new or revived pilgrimage routes. While the con-
Kannon. In 1928 Okada set up the Great Japan Association
stitution prevents public funds from being spent on religious
for the Worship of Bodhisattva Kannon, which practised
events, local authorities in many areas have been keen to sup-
healing and communion with spirits. Forced by the govern-
port colorful festivals that attract visitors and benefit the local
ment to focus on the healing aspect, the movement was re-
economy. Consequently, many festivals have come to be seen
named Japan Association for Healing through Purification.
as cultural rather than religious events. While rural depopu-
After the war the revived movement split and Okada formed
lation led to the decline of many agricultural traditions in the
the group now called Sekai kyu¯sei-kyo¯. His followers see
postwar period, some have been revived as a result of city
Okada as a living kami (ikigami) and combine Shinto¯-style
dwellers returning to rural areas. However, Shrine Shinto¯
rites and symbolism with a reverence for fine art, both West-
lacks a strong sense of identity and purpose in modern Japan,
ern and Japanese. Members are wary of modern medicinal
and there are real concerns within the Shinto¯ establishment
drugs and promote an organic diet and “light-healing”
that, as communities become increasingly fragmented and
(jo¯rei), in which healing rays are transmitted from the palm
lifestyles more individualistic, many shrines will fade away.
of the hand towards the patient. Several major evangelical
Some observers have suggested that Shrine Shinto¯ will con-
Shinto¯-style healing movements that use similar methods
tinue to decline until it can offer women real opportunities
trace their origin to (and regard themselves as the real heirs
to achieve leadership within the priesthood and in other im-
of) Okada’s teaching, the best-known being Su¯kyo Mahikari,
portant roles currently occupied only by men. This repre-
founded in 1978. Many other smaller groups embracing
sents a considerable challenge since Shinto¯ is, among other
Shinto¯ symbolism have been founded by men and women
things, a powerful symbol of conservatism in a society where
offering healing, prophecy, revelation, or psychic powers and
seniority in many occupational fields is still a male preserve.
adopting a Shinto¯ or Shinto¯-Buddhist idiom. Worldmate
(originally known as Cosmomate) is a New Age Shinto¯
Shinto¯ new religions. While some shrines may be strug-
movement whose success has been founded on the best-
gling, an area of growth throughout most of the postwar pe-
selling publications of its energetic creator, the business guru
riod has been that of new religions with a Shinto¯ identity.
Fukami Toshu¯. Worldmate teaches that a proper relation-
Shinto¯-related new religious movements in Japan account
ship with the right kami is the key to worldly success.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SHINTO
¯
8370
Through his International Shinto¯ Foundation however,
Chamberlain, Basil Hall. Japanese Things: Being Notes on Various
Fukami has also provided significant philanthropic support
Subjects Connected with Japan. Rutland,Vt. and Tokyo, 1971
for academic research in the field of Japanese religions, in-
(reprint of the 1905 edition).
cluding the critical study of Shinto¯ in all its forms.
Grapard, Allan. The Protocol of the Gods: A Study of the Kasuga Cult
C
in Japanese History. Berkeley, 1992.
ONCLUDING REMARKS. It is relatively easy to ask questions
about Shinto, less easy to summarize it. By adopting a wider
Hardacre, Helen. Shinto¯ and the State, 1868–1988. Princeton,
definition of Shinto¯, as kami belief, for example, the scope
N.J., 1989. Addresses the changes in Shinto¯ at the Meiji res-
toration.
of discussion could be extended to include a multitude of
Japanese folk traditions and miscellaneous practices relating
Havens, Norman, and Inoue Nobutaka, eds. Encyclopedia of
to kami. Alternatively, one could adopt an aesthetic approach
Shinto¯, vol. 1. Tokyo, 2001.
and explore Shinto¯ readings of Japanese literature in the
Inoue Nobutaka, ed. Shinshu¯kyo¯ Kyo¯dan jinbutsu jiten. Tokyo,
manner of the pioneers of National Learning. An ethno-
1996.
graphic approach would illumine the infinitely varied details
Inoue Nobutaka, Ito¯ Satoshi, Endo¯ Jun, and Mori Mizue. Shinto¯:
of festivals and shrine rituals in many places and eras. Here,
A Short History. Edited by Inoue Nobutaka; translated and
Shinto¯ has been considered in terms of systems of kami wor-
adapted by Mark Teeuwen and John Breen. London, 2003.
A succinct and comprehensive critical introduction to the
ship over time. Shinto¯ has been construed in many different
history of Shinto¯.
ways in the course of Japan’s history, and this process will
Ito¯ Satoshi, Endo Jun, Matsuo Kooichi, and Mori Mizue. Nihon-
no doubt continue. In the late twentieth century, new direc-
shi sho¯hyakka: Shinto¯. Tokyo, 2002.
tions in Shinto¯ theology emerged, some adopting a robust
response to the charge that Meiji Shinto¯ is an invention and
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (Nanzan University, Japan).
The major English-language journal for the study of Japanese
asserting that yes, Shinto¯ is a modern religion, it regards both
religions. An index of articles, many available online, is avail-
the emperor and the land of Japan as sacred, and this is its
able from http://www.ic.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/
strength. Others have argued for an environmentalist reading
publications/publications.htm. Themed issues of JJRS par-
of Shinto¯ as a forest tradition or a nature religion. Yet others
ticularly relevant to Shinto¯, each issue bringing together arti-
have drawn comparisons with Western Neopaganism.
cles by leading scholars, include Tracing Shinto¯ in the History
The approach adopted in this survey to the study of
of Kami Worship (2002, vol. 29, nos. 3–4); Local Religion in
Shinto¯ has been historical, since it is the changing, historical-
Tokugawa History (2001, vol. 28, nos. 3–4); Pilgrimage in
Japan
(1997, vol. 24, nos. 3–4); The Legacy of Kuroda Toshio
ly conditioned aspect of Shinto¯ that is most often and most
(1996, vol. 23, nos. 3–4); The New Age in Japan (1995, vol.
obviously neglected in textbook presentations of Shinto¯ as
22, nos. 3–4); and The Emperor System and Religion in Japan
an ageless, unchanging, primal tradition. It has also been well
(1990, vol. 17, nos. 2–3).
argued, however, that while Shinto¯ may not be “primal” in
Kokugakuin Daigaku Nihon Bunka Kenkyu¯jo, ed. Shinto¯ jiten.
the ordinary sense, it should nevertheless be seen an “adjust-
Tokyo, 1994.
ed” primal religion; that is, the deliberately rough archaism
Kuroda Toshio. Jisha Seiryoku. Tokyo, 1980. See also Kuroda’s ar-
of contemporary Shinto¯ rituals reflects choices made by so-
ticle “Shinto¯ in the History of Japanese Religion,” published
phisticated religious actors who are well aware of their histor-
in the Journal of Japanese Studies 7, no. 1 (1981): 1–21 and
ical positioning and of alternative ways of being religious.
reprinted in Mullins et al., Religion and Society in Modern
This approach perhaps best captures the worshiper’s point
Japan (see below).
of view, which should never be forgotten.
Miyachi Masato. Tenno¯sei no seijishiteki kenkyu¯. Tokyo, 1981.
S
Mullins, Mark R., Shimazono Susumu, and Paul L. Swanson, eds.
EE ALSO Amaterasu O
¯ mikami; Buddhism, article on Bud-
dhism in Japan; Kami; Priesthood, article on Shinto¯ Priest-
Religion and Society in Modern Japan: Selected Readings.
hood.
Berkeley, 1993. This anthology includes Kuroda’s “Shinto¯
in the History of Japanese Religion,” articles on Shu¯gendo¯,
Yasukuni Jinja, and other aspects of contemporary religion,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
and documents including the 1890 Imperial Rescript on Ed-
Ashkenazi, Michael. Matsuri. Honolulu, 1993.
ucation, the 1945 Shinto¯ Directive, and extracts from the
Blacker, Carmen. The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Prac-
1889 and 1947 constitutions.
tices in Japan. London, 1992. A classic work on shamanism
Nelson, John. A Year in the Life of a Shinto¯ Shrine. Seattle, 1996.
in Buddhist, Shinto¯, and folk contexts.
Ono So¯kyo¯. Shinto: The Kami Way. Rutland, Vt., and Tokyo,
Bocking, Brian. A Popular Dictionary of Shinto¯. Richmond, U.K.,
1962.
1995.
Reader, Ian. Religion in Contemporary Japan. London, 1991.
Bocking, Brian. The Oracles of the Three Shrines: Windows on Japa-
nese Religion. Richmond, U.K., 2001.
Sakamoto Koremaru. Kokka shinto¯ keisei katei no kenkyu¯. Tokyo,
1994.
Breen, John, and Mark Teeuwen, eds. Shinto¯ in History: Ways of
the Kami. A substantial edited collection of recent Japanese
Sato¯ Hiroo. Kami, hotoke, o¯ken no chu¯sei. Tokyo, 1998.
and Western scholarship on Shinto¯, with extensive bibliogra-
Smyers, Karen A. The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Mean-
phy; articles range from Daoism in early Japan to twentieth-
ings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship. Honolulu,
century Shinto¯ studies.
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

SHONA RELIGION
8371
Teeuwen, Mark. Watarai Shinto¯: An Intellectual History of the
As leader in the district closest to the anti-Hasidic
Outer Shrine in Ise. Leiden, the Netherlands, 1996.
stronghold of Lithuania, ShneDur Zalman undeservedly bore
Teeuwen, Mark, and Fabio Rambelli. Buddhas and Kami in Japan:
the brunt of the sharp anti-Hasidic polemics of the 1780s
Honji Suijaku as a Combinatory Paradigm. London, 2002.
and 1790s. A moderate who certainly believed in Torah
Yasumaru Yoshio. Kamigami no meiji ishin. Tokyo, 1979.
study, respect for sages, and other matters that concerned the
Yasumaru Yoshio, and Miyachi Masato, eds. Nihon kindai shiso¯
mitnaggedim (“opponents” of Hasidism), his efforts at peace-
taikei 5: shu¯kyo¯ to kokka. Tokyo, 1988.
making between the warring camps ended in failure. In 1798
Yoshie, Akio. Shinbutsu shu¯go¯. Tokyo, 1996.
he was arrested and imprisoned in Saint Petersburg, after
leaders of the mitnaggedim, including the rabbi of Pinsk, ac-
BRIAN BOCKING (2005)
cused him of disloyalty to the tsar and of leading a dissenting
sect. He was released on the nineteenth of the Jewish month
of Kislev in that year, a day still celebrated by Habad
SHIPS SEE BOATS
H:asidim as a festival. Imprisoned again in 1801, it seems
likely that his notoriety in the eyes of the Russian authorities
increased his popularity as a leader among the H:asidim.
SH¯IRA¯Z¯I, MUH:AMMAD S:ADRA¯ SEE MULLA¯
S:ADRA¯
After settling in Lyady in 1801, ShneDur Zalman was es-
tablished as a major figure in the Hasidic world. His distinc-
tive personal style, combining rigorous intellectuality and a
SHIVAISM
detached, self-negating mysticism, cast its stamp on the reli-
SEE S´AIVISM
gious life of his disciples and made Habad a unique subcul-
ture within Hasidism. He devoted himself fully to the educa-
tion of these disciples, and Lyady became the major center
SHNEDUR ZALMAN OF LYADY (1745–1813)
of study in the Hasidic world.
was the founder of the Habad school of Hasidism. Born into
a prominent Jewish family in Liozno, Belorussia, ShneDur
ShneDur Zalman left two disciples who continued to de-
Zalman had an extensive rabbinic education before he be-
velop a mystical theology along the lines of his thought.
came associated with the Hasidic movement. At the age of
These were his son Dov Ber of Lubavitch (1773–1827), who
twenty he joined the circle of students around Dov Ber of
became the leader of the Habad community upon his father’s
Mezhirich (Miedzyrzecz, Poland) and was immediately rec-
death, and Aharon Horwitz of Starosielce (1766–1828), a
D
ognized as a person of unusual intellectual abilities. Dov Ber
profound scholar whose previously little known work has re-
encouraged him to continue with his legal studies as well as
cently been the object of much scholarly interest.
to cultivate his developing mastery of the Zohar and the Luri-
SEE ALSO Hasidism, article on Habad Hasidism.
anic mystical writings. Legend has it that he was the teacher
of Dov Ber’s son, Avraham “the Angel” (1739/40–1777), in
BIBLIOGRAPHY
exoteric matters while the latter initiated him into the secrets
A biography of the traditional hagiographic type in English is that
of Qabbalah. ShneDur Zalman’s profound legal knowledge is
by Nissan Mindel, Rabbi Schneur Zalman (New York, 1969),
reflected in the Shulhan Darukh shel ha-Rav (1814), an updat-
based largely on Hayyim Meir Heilman’s Bet Rabbi (1900;
ing of the code of Jewish law.
reprint, Jerusalem, 1965). Greater historical awareness is
As the major theoretician of the Hasidic movement,
shown in Mordecai Teitelbaum’s Ha-rav mi-Liadi u-mifleget
ShneDur Zalman is author of a number of works that are clas-
H:aBaD (1910; reprint, Jerusalem, 1970).
sics of the movement’s thought. His popular Liqqut:ei
New Sources
Amarim (Tanya D), published anonymously in 1797, is the
Foxbrunner, Roman A. Habad: The Hasidism of R. Shneur Zalman
most important systematic theological treatise that Hasidism
of Lyady. Tuscaloosa, Ala., 1992.
produced. His collected homilies (Torah Or, 1836; Liqqut:ei
Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman. Wrapped in a Holy Flame: Teachings
Torah, 1848) detail the system first laid out in that work,
and Tales of the Hasidic Masters. Edited by Nataniel M.
deftly reinterpreting the entire prior corpus of qabbalistic
Miles-Yepez. San Francisco, 2003.
writings.
Steinsaltz, Adin. Opening the Tanya: Discovering the Moral and
ShneDur Zalman was also an important political figure
Mystical Teachings of a Classic Work of Kabbalah. Edited by
Meir Hanegbi. Translated by Yaacov Tauber. San Francisco,
in the spreading Hasidic “empire.” After the emigration of
2003.
Menahem Mendel of Vitebsk, the leading Hasidic figure in
Belorussia, to the Holy Land in 1777, ShneDur Zalman be-
ARTHUR GREEN (1987)
came, de facto, the leader of Hasidism in that area. This au-
Revised Bibliography
thority was formally recognized in 1788 when he was ap-
pointed leader of kolel Reisin, the institution responsible for
that district’s support of the Hasidic efforts in the Land of
SHONA RELIGION. Bantu-speaking peoples first
Israel.
moved into the central area between the Limpopo and Zam-
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8372
SHONA RELIGION
bezi rivers (what is now Zimbabwe) some two millennia ago.
as a medium and from time to time is possessed by the spirit.
Over the centuries, small polities formed and combined into
In the state of possession, the medium goes into a kind of
a number of complex states, which in turn divided in the face
trance during which he or she is supposed to lose conscious-
of internal and external pressures. The term Shona is relative-
ness, and the spirit is believed to speak and act through the
ly new and is applied to the indigenous inhabitants of this
medium. Mediums of the more important spirits are the
region, excluding only the small ethnic groups at the north-
major religious specialists in traditional Shona society.
ern and southern peripheries and the nineteenth-century
Divination is most frequently performed by a possessed
Nguni invaders from the south, namely, the Ndebele, who
medium, although certain mechanical means, especially the
now occupy southwest Zimbabwe, and the Shangane in the
use of various types of dice, are also used. Most ritual activity
southeast. The Shona peoples are often classified according
takes place in response to illness or other misfortunes, and
to four main dialect groups: the Zezuru in the center, the
mediums who have been through similar sufferings them-
Korekore to the north, the Manyika to the east, and the Ka-
selves are often best able to help others to cope with their
ranga to the south. The Shona are the dominant ethnic
problems. Misfortune is usually explained in terms of the in-
group in contemporary Zimbabwe, comprising about eight
fluence of spirits, although occasionally it may also be ex-
million people, or four-fifths of the population of the
plained in terms of the evil machinations of a witch.
country.
At the time of colonization at the end of the nineteenth
Shona maintain that certain persons, aided by evil spir-
century, the Shona comprised a large number of indepen-
its, have perverted values and delight in their esoteric powers
dent petty chiefdoms. They lived in scattered villages based
to do harm. This belief is likely to come into practice only
on patrilineages. They subsisted primarily on agriculture and
when there are severe social tensions, and accusations of
kept some livestock—especially cattle, which had signifi-
witchcraft may be used to justify rifts in a formerly close-knit
cance in marriage payments and for religious purposes.
community.
There was considerable internal trade in such goods as agri-
The ancestral cult. When illness or other misfortune
cultural products, ironwork, and tobacco; the earlier external
is sufficiently worrying for a diviner to be consulted, the
trade in gold and ivory had fallen to a mere trickle by this
most common result of divination is that the trouble is attri-
stage. Now, a century later, even rural Shona benefit from
buted to the spirit of a deceased ancestor who wishes to be
the technology and consumer comforts bought from the pro-
honored. The deceased head of a family is believed to be re-
ceeds of wage labor and cash cropping. At least a quarter of
sponsible for the well-being of all his descendants. A de-
the Shona population now claim affiliation to some Chris-
ceased mother or maternal grandmother may also be consid-
tian denomination, and Christian beliefs have infiltrated the
ered influential, especially in matters concerning the fertility
thinking of professing traditionalists. Traditional beliefs and
of girls. It is said that not even a witch can attack a member
practices are, however, still dominant, even among many
of a family without the cooperation of aggrieved ancestral
professed Christians.
spirits.
TRADITIONAL RELIGION. Shona religion traditionally fo-
When a man dies, his spirit is believed to wander around
cused on relations with spirits of the dead. These include
restlessly until it is settled in the family homestead by a ritual
spirits of strangers, spirits of deceased ancestors, spirits of the
normally performed a year or more after death. After this,
land, and spirits of ancient heroes. Most Shona also acknowl-
his spirit is frequently invoked in the homestead, particularly
edge a high god (known by a variety of names) who is too
when any important event takes place within the family. He
remote to be concerned with the affairs of humans; he was,
may have a bull dedicated to him from the family herd of
however, accessible through the cult in southern Shona
cattle, which may be sacrificed in his honor should divina-
country and is becoming more widely accessible through the
tion reveal this to be his wish. At any ritual in his honor, de-
influence of Christianity.
scendants must gather together with their spouses to reaffirm
Superficially, the Shona believe in a clear hierarchy of
their unity as a group and the necessity of cooperation be-
spirits, with the high god at the top, followed by spirits of
tween them. The same is true for a female ancestor. The spir-
heroes, of the land, of ancestors, and finally of strangers. In-
its of family ancestors are seen as spirit elders who continue
deed, to many Shona, the spiritual world appears fixed in a
to control and to care for the family groups for which they
permanent and ancient hierarchy. In practice, however, the
were responsible during their lives. Many such ancestral spir-
relative status of different spirits often varies with locality and
its are believed to preside over important family gatherings
changes over time. The relative importance of different spir-
through a possessed medium, who is a member of the family.
its often depends on the activities of their mediums.
As the extended kinship system weakens, especially in urban
areas, the ancestral cult becomes a more private affair, pro-
Spirits of all levels may be associated with mediums or
viding a means of explaining and coping with personal mis-
hosts. When a man or woman is about to become a medium,
fortune.
the first sign is usually sickness, often accompanied by men-
tal disturbances, which a diviner interprets as a call by a spirit
Spirits of the land. Ancestors of chiefly lineages are re-
for the sick person to become its host. The patient is initiated
sponsible for all the people living in their territorial domains.
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SHONA RELIGION
8373
The domain for which any chiefly spirit is responsible may
mediums of such spirits are consulted by clients from a num-
be the chiefdom as a whole or a section of the chiefdom par-
ber of neighboring chiefdoms on private problems and on
ticularly associated with the spirit. Such a spirit is, in most
public issues such as drought and chiefly inheritance. Some
of Shona country, called mhondoro (“lion”) and frequently
of these spirits, such as Chaminuka and Nehanda, have be-
will have a medium who has high status in the community
come national figures on account of the activities of their me-
as a whole.
diums in successive wars against the Ndebele and against
white settlers.
Where there is a history of invasion of one people by
another, a differentiation of function has often developed be-
The most widespread regional cult is that of the high
tween the cult of the chiefly spirits, which is concerned with
god, Mwari, which is centered on a number of shrines in
political power, and the cult of the defeated autochthonous
southern Shona country. In the past, this was the dominant
spirits, which concerns rainfall and the fertility of the land.
religious cult among most Karanga and Kalanga peoples, and
In such cases, the autochthonous spirit might be considered
it received some attention from the invading Ndebele. The
equal to, or even more powerful than, the chiefly lion spirits.
main shrines in the Matopo Hills are maintained by a heredi-
tary priesthood. There, sacrifices for rain are offered and a
Rituals are held in honor of territorial spirits to request
voice from a cave utters oracles for those who wish to consult
good rains before a harvest and to give thanks after the har-
Mwari. Selected young boys and girls dedicated to Mwari
vest. Such rituals principally involve the brewing of millet
live for a time at the center to help maintain the shrine and
beer, to which all families in the spirit’s domain should con-
dance at rituals; often they become important spirit mediums
tribute, and singing and dancing over a couple of days in
when they return home on reaching maturity, thus maintain-
honor of the spirit, often at a tree shrine in the veld. At the
ing close contacts between the cult center and outlying tradi-
directions of the possessed medium, rites may also be held
tional cults. Mwari was accepted as the Shona name for God
to avert threats to crops through drought or pests. Certain
by early Christian missionaries, and through Christian influ-
days are considered holy to the spirit guardians of the land,
ence it has now been accepted far beyond the sphere of influ-
and on these days no traditional work may be done in the
ence of the traditional cult centers.
fields.
Peripheral cults. Throughout Shona country, certain
Mediums of territorial spirits preside at all rituals in
spirits are believed to be the concern of their hosts only.
honor of their spirits. They may also preside at the trial of
These are usually conceived as spirits of aliens, or occasional-
someone accused of a crime against the spirit, such as incest
ly of animals, who died away from home and so wander
or working on a holy day. In many parts of Shona country,
about, unsettled and restless, until they find a human host
the possessed mediums of chiefly spirits are responsible for
they can possess. Such a spirit may confer special powers on
electing a new chief, who is to be their representative in the
the host, particularly those of divining and healing, as well
government of the country. Chief and mediums are subse-
as such skills as hunting or playing music. Often, however,
quently expected to consult with one another and to cooper-
alien spirits are said only to want to dance, and they possess
ate on important issues. Since the territorial spirits are re-
their hosts only at dances held in honor of such spirits, when
sponsible for all people in their land, a possessed medium
a number of hosts of similar spirits are likely to be present
may be consulted over the private difficulties of residents and
and to become possessed simultaneously. These séances, usu-
may acquire a reputation for divining and healing beyond
ally held in response to illness in one of the hosts, allow per-
the territorial limits of the domain.
sons who are undergoing some kind of strain to find relief
A medium’s reputation depends on the ability to con-
in the attention they receive and in the dramatic dancing
vince people at séances and to acquire a large clientele. In
they perform.
practice, if the medium is to acquire and maintain a position
CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE SHONA. Christian missionaries,
of influence, the medium’s oracular pronouncements,
active in Shona country for nearly a hundred years, have
whether in private divination or concerning the election of
strongly influenced contemporary Shona religion. Initially,
a chief, must accord with public opinion. In many situations,
conversion to Christianity was largely associated with the ac-
therefore, mediums serve to crystalize and to voice public
quisition of wealth, mainly through education and conse-
opinion. More generally, spirit mediums represent great fig-
quent employment but also through access to improved agri-
ures of the Shona past and have frequently become symbols
cultural techniques. For many, Christianity was a symbol of
of rejection of white dominance.
the new ways of life that colonization introduced and, in par-
ticular, of the comforts that the new technology made possi-
Regional cults. Certain spirits spread their influence
ble; for others it became a symbol of white oppression.
beyond the territorial domain of any political authority.
Such spirits may be associated with powerful political figures
Different mission churches were located in different
of the past, symbolizing conglomerations of chiefdoms that
rural areas; branches of these churches in the cities were able
for a period may have been subject to a single ruling dynasty.
to provide places where migrants could meet others from
Or they may be conceived as spirits of ancient heroes who
their home areas. They also established accessible means of
lived before the establishment of any present dynasties. The
communication with the rural areas. With its emphasis on
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

8374
SHOTOKU TAISHI
the high god rather than on local cults, Christianity was bet-
(London, 1964) is a good account of Shona diviner-healers
ter adapted than traditional religion to cope with the new sit-
and their practices; and his The African Witch (Edinburgh,
uation of high mobility and intermingling of people from
1967) provides the best available description of Shona witch-
different regions, especially in the urban centers.
craft beliefs and practices. On the introduction of Christiani-
ty into Shona society, Marshall W. Murphree’s Christianity
Christianity does not, however, incorporate mecha-
and the Shona (London, 1969) gives a concise analysis of the
nisms for coping with tension at the family and local level,
interrelationships of different religious groups (including tra-
and as presented by missionaries it retains an impersonal ap-
ditionalists) in a Shona community. M. L. Daneel provides
proach to illness. Consequently, professed Christians still fre-
a thorough coverage of the most important independent
quently revert to ancestral and local cults when faced with
churches in Old and New in Southern Shona Independent
persistent illness and other personal problems, particularly
Churches, 2 vols. (The Hague, 1971–1974).
when these reflect social tensions.
M. F. C. BOURDILLON (1987)
Since the early 1930s, many Shona have joined the new
independent churches, which have adopted forms of Chris-
tianity but are free from foreign control. These pay more at-
SHOTOKU TAISHI (574–622), or Prince Shotoku,
tention to traditional cosmologies, and particularly to the be-
was a member of the Japanese imperial family during the
lief in afflicting spirits and in witchcraft as causes of
sixth and seventh centuries CE. He was responsible for
misfortune, but like the mission churches they provide a
Japan’s first constitution as well as the spread of Buddhism
means of overcoming the boundaries of family and local
in Japan. He is also known as Umayado no Miko, Toyo-
cults. These churches tend to attract many disparate peoples,
tomimi, and Kamitsu Miya. The name Umayado is derived
although most of their followers are relatively uneducated.
from the legend that Shotoku was born to Princess Anahobe
Faith healing, a central activity in most of them, is a major
no Hashihito when she was walking in front of the door of
means for attracting converts. Afflicting spirits are exorcised,
a stable (umayado). According to Kume Kunitake, this leg-
rather than being accommodated as in traditional religion or
end might have been influenced by the story of Jesus’ birth,
simply dismissed as in the mission churches.
which had been brought to China by Nestorian Christians
Although in ritual and belief independent churches are
during the Tang dynasty (618–907). The name Toyo-
much closer to traditional religion than are the mission
tomimi, or “wise ears,” refers to the fact that Shotoku was
churches, the antagonism between them and traditional cults
considered to be so learned that he could listen to ten law-
is much greater than in the case of mission churches because
suits simultaneously and decide them without error. The
their adherents are drawn largely from a common body of
name Kamitsu Miya is derived from the location of his pal-
people. For those outside positions of leadership, however,
ace. The name Shotoku (saintly virtue) was given to him
there is an easy intermingling of religious systems. Individu-
after his death to honor him for his contribution to the pros-
als may move in and out of the various religious groups de-
perity of Buddhism in Japan.
pending on the circumstances of the moment, and most
YOUNG SHOTOKU AND HIS ERA. Shotoku was born in 574
Shona see nothing wrong in such religious mobility. For
(572 or 573 according to some scholars) as the second son
most Shona, the various forms of Christianity together with
of Prince Tachibana no Toyohi, who ascended the throne
the various traditional cults all provide a pool of religious re-
as Emperor Yomei in 585. Yomei, whose short reign ended
sponses from which an individual can choose, depending on
when he died of natural causes in 587, is also known as the
his or her needs of the moment.
first Japanese emperor to declare his faith in Buddhism,
which had been officially introduced into Japan from Korea
BIBLIOGRAPHY
in 538—or 552, according to the Nihonshoki (Chronicle of
The most comprehensive ethnography of the Shona, which gives
Japan), which was compiled in 720. The emperor’s official
special emphasis to religion, is my own Shona Peoples, 2d ed.
acceptance of Buddhism caused a division among the imperi-
(Gweru, 1982). This book contains a full bibliography. Mi-
al courtiers, so that the Mononobe family, which was op-
chael Gelfand has written a number of works on the religion
posed to the new religion, and the Soga family, which sup-
of different Shona groups, which, despite flaws in research
methodology and presentation, provide useful material: The
ported Buddhism, fought over the succession after Yomei’s
best of these are Shona Ritual (Cape Town, 1959), which de-
death. Young Shotoku, whose grandmothers both came
scribes the religion of the central Shona (Zezuru), and Afri-
from the Soga family, followed their loyalty to Buddhism.
can Crucible (Cape Town, 1968), which looks at the chang-
According to one legend, he carved a statue of Shitenno, or
ing situation. Peter Fry’s Spirits of Protest (Cambridge, 1976)
the four heavenly kings regarded as protectors of Buddhism,
provides insights into the political and social roles of Zezuru
to pray for victory. After the Soga family defeated the
spirit mediums. Hubert Bucher’s Spirits and Power (Cape
Mononobe family in 587, Shotoku constructed the
Town, 1980) analyzes Shona cosmology from secondary
Shitenno¯ji temple in Osaka, which later became the first offi-
sources. On issues closely related to religion, G. L.
cial Buddhist temple in Japan.
Chavunduka’s Traditional Healers and the Shona Patient
(Gwelo, 1978) includes information on the relationship be-
Emperor Sushun, who ascended the throne in 587,
tween Shona religion and illness; Gelfand’s Witchdoctor
plotted to murder Soga no Umako, the head of the Soga fam-
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8375
ily, which had become tyrannical after their defeat of the
SHOTOKU’S ATTITUDE TOWARD RELIGION. With the pene-
Mononobe clan; however, Umako succeeded in assassinating
tration of Sino-Korean civilization and Buddhism into Japan
Sushun. It was under these unstable conditions that Empress
from the fifth century onward, the country was destined to
Suiko, the first female ruler of Japan, ascended the throne
undergo a series of social, political, and cultural changes. In
in 593. Suiko, who was the sister of Emperor Yomei, desig-
addition to the cosmological theories of the Yin-Yang school,
nated Shotoku as her regent shortly after she became em-
two universal principles—Dao and dharma—were intro-
press, and she delegated secular authority to him.
duced by Confucianism and Buddhism, respectively. These
SHOTOKU AS REGENT. Shotoku governed as prince regent on
principles stood in tension with the indigenous Japanese reli-
behalf of Empress Suiko from 593 until his death in 621 or
gious worldview, which was later called Shinto¯. The first seri-
622. His administration was conspicuous for instituting
ous attempt to deal with this tension was made by Shotoku,
many of the policies that became foundational for the Japa-
attempting to affirm Shinto, Confucianism, and Buddhism
nese state and culture. In 604 Shotoku instituted the kan’i
simultaneously by holding them in balance, as it were, in the
junikai, literally “twelve grades of cap rank,” which was the
Seventeen-Article Constitution.
first system of courtly ranks in Japan. The kan’i junikai desig-
Regardless of Shotoku’s devotion to Buddhism and his
nated twelve grades of courtiers, each with a distinctive col-
advocacy of Confucian virtues, however, the Nihonshoki in-
ored cap. The ranks were named after the six Confucian vir-
dicates that he was dedicated above all to unifying the Japa-
tues, each of which was subdivided to make twelve ranks in
nese nation by upholding the divine prerogatives of the
all. Instead of the former ranking system, which had been
throne through appropriation of the teachings of Buddhism
based on hereditary clan membership, Shotoku’s system was
and Confucianism. On the other hand, he was eager to con-
intended to reward talented individuals and promote loyalty
tinue the tradition of his imperial ancestors who had venerat-
to the court.
ed the kami. In short, what Shotoku envisaged was the estab-
In the following year, Shotoku promulgated the Seven-
lishment of a multireligious policy that harmonized Shinto¯,
teen-Article Constitution, which was really a set of moral
Confucian tradition, and Buddhism. This synthesis was to
precepts and service regulations for public servants rather
serve as the bulwark of a strongly centralized nation ruled by
than a constitution in the modern sense of the term. The
the imperial family.
contents of the constitution were based primarily on Confu-
Shotoku himself, however, was a Buddhist. In the early
cian and Buddhist thought. For example, the high praise of
days of Japanese Buddhism, some powerful clan leaders
harmony, solidarity, and cooperation in Article 1 reflects
looked for salvation in this world from the newly-introduced
Confucian influence, while the respect for the Three Trea-
foreign religion, as well as protection for their country. In
sures—Buddha, Buddha’s teaching, and the Buddhist com-
contrast to this line of thought, Shotoku accepted the inter-
munity—expressed in Article 2 honors the new faith that
nal and spiritual dimensions of Buddhism. According to the
Shotoku wished to encourage. Although some scholars doubt
Nihonshoki, he lectured to Empress Suiko on the Shomangyo,
that the document was actually composed by Shotoku, this
or S´r¯ıma¯la¯ Su¯tra, and the Hokekyo, or Saddharmapun:d:ar¯ıka
first constitution has had a significant influence on later Jap-
Su¯tra, in 606. He also wrote commentaries or gisho on three
anese legal codes.
sutras: the Shomangyo gisho, the Yuimagyo (theVimalak¯ırti
Shotoku had three aides from three rival kingdoms in
Nirde´sa Su¯tra) gisho and the Hokekyo gisho, all of which are
what is now Korea: Eji came from Koguryo˘, Kakuka is
estimated to be the oldest written documents in Japan.
thought to have come from Paekche, and Hata no Kawakat-
Scholars disagree, however, about whether they were written
su came from a family from Silla. Although the three king-
by Shotoku himself, and if so, to what extent they originated
doms fought among themselves during Shotoku’s lifetime,
with Shotoku.
the three advisers cooperated in supporting the prince regent,
POPULAR VENERATION OF SHOTOKU. According to Tamura
who was eager to introduce the political systems, art, and re-
Encho, more than a hundred biographies were written about
ligions of the Asian mainland into Japan. Shotoku also sent
Shotoku by the end of the Tokugawa era (1600–1868), most
ambassadors, scholar-monks, and students in the years 600,
of which were based on, or at least influenced by, the Sho-
607, 608, and 614 to the rulers of the Sui dynasty, which
toku-taishi-denryaku, or Denryaku, which was supposedly
had unified China in 589. One of the main purposes of these
written in the early tenth century. This text became increas-
diplomatic embassies was to collect writing materials, com-
ingly popular among the Japanese people as the founders of
mentaries, and other reference works to bring back to Japan.
Japanese Buddhist sects, particularly Shinran (1173–1262),
In 601 Shotoku began the construction of a new palace
venerated Shotoku as the founder of Japanese Buddhism.
in Ikaruga, which lies halfway between Asuka (the residence
The Denryaku is full of legendary or mythological episodes,
of Suiko as well as the stronghold of Umako) and Naniwa
one of which introduces Princess Anahobe’s strange dream
(Osaka), where an international port was located. In 605
of a golden monk (who introduces himself as kuse no bosatsu
Shotoku moved into Ikaruga no miya (the palace at Ikaruga).
[bodhisattva of salvation]), which caused her to become
There he built a famous Buddhist temple, the Ho¯ryu¯ji, to
pregnant. Shotoku came to be regarded as an incarnation of
pray for the repose of his father’s soul.
Kannon, the god or goddess of mercy (Avalokite´svara in San-
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8376
SHRINES
skrit) on the basis of this story. During the two centuries be-
within the material world for the religious association that
tween the Nihonshoki and the Denryaku, Shotoku was trans-
believers experience when they come into the presence of
formed in the popular imagination from a hero to a savior.
these receptacles. Many shrines are unambiguously religious,
What is significant is that Shotoku was not only a his-
linking events, persons, and places central to religious tradi-
torically important person but also a paradigmatic figure.
tions. Mecca (Saudi Arabia), Jerusalem (Israel), Canterbury
That is to say, Shotoku was stereotyped, and as such, his per-
(United Kingdom), Nara (Japan), and Varanasi (or Benares,
sonality and career were interpreted by later tradition as em-
India) are sites that immediately come to mind as centers of
bodiments of attributes and qualities that later Japanese Bud-
religious density, hosting many places of sacred value to vari-
dhists admired. Once Shotoku was idealized in this way, he
ous religious communities. Other shrines may be more open-
was further glorified in pious legends and popular literature.
ended, not tied to particular religious traditions but linked
The various attributes of buddhas and bodhisattvas as well
strongly to a particular regional or national identity. In the
as the virtues of King A´soka and the ideal Buddhist layman
United States, for example, sites such as Niagara Falls or the
Yuima (Vimalak¯ırti) were incorporated into the sacred tradi-
Vietnam Veterans Memorial draw pilgrim-tourists out of
tions about Shotoku. It is not surprising, therefore, that very
motivations and meanings that may be closely tied to reli-
shortly after his death Shotoku became the object of the Ta-
gious ones.
ishi (Prince) cult, which was in effect similar to the venera-
SHRINES AND SACRED PERSONS. Shrines are often associated
tion of Sakyamuni (Prince Siddha¯rtha) and Maitreya (Prince
with the physical remains of persons understood to have
Ajita).
been exemplary in spiritual attainment. The bones and teeth
S
of the body of the Buddha that remained after his cremation
EE ALSO Buddhism, article on Buddhism in Japan; Japa-
nese Religions, overview article.
have become objects of great veneration because they enable
the devotee to link the meaning of the Buddha’s message
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(dharma) with the trace of his physical presence in the world.
Gamaike Seishi, ed. Taishi Shinko. Tokyo, 1999.
In medieval Europe, fragments of wood believed to have
Hayashi Mikiya. Taishi Shinko no Kenkyu. Tokyo, 1980.
been part of the cross on which Jesus was crucified took on
Iida Mizuho. Shotoku Taishi Den no Kenkyu. Tokyo, 2000.
a similar status of veneration. In South Asia the graves (dar-
Miyamoto Youtaro. Seiden no Kozo ni Kansuru Shukyogaku teki
gahs) of Muslim saints serve as centers of access to spiritual
Kenkyu. Okayama, Japan, 2003.
presence for Muslims and non-Muslims because they are un-
Oyama Seiichi, ed. Shotoku Taishi no Shinjitsu. Tokyo, 2003.
derstood to be magnets for transformative power from which
Sakamoto Taro. Shotoku Taishi. Tokyo, 1985.
the devotee may draw for various life-enhancing purposes
such as health, wealth, and success in the ordinary world.
Sakamoto Taro, et al., eds. Shotoku Taishi Zenshu. 4 vols. Kyoto,
Japan, 1988.
Across much of the landscape of Europe, Christian shrines
from the medieval and early modern periods located within
Tamura Encho. Shotoku Taishi. Tokyo, 1964.
or near churches contain the graves of saints and martyrs,
Tanaka Tsuguhito. Shotoku Taishi Shinko no Seiritsu. Tokyo,
persons who exemplified the highest achievement of religious
1983.
values.
Yoshimura Takehiko. Shotoku Taishi. Tokyo, 2002.
MIYAMOTO YOUTARO (2005)
In Durham Cathedral in the north of England, the body
of Saint Cuthbert (635?–687), a preacher, healer, and leader,
lies behind the altar. When the cathedral was completed in
SHRINES are places or containers of religious presence.
1104 and Saint Cuthbert’s body was exhumed, it was report-
One of the distinctive features of religion is that its objects
ed that the body had not decomposed. Hence, the deceased
do not “exist” in the ordinary sense of the word. Deity, spirit,
but intact body, located in close proximity to the altar, rein-
soul, afterlife, and other familiar categories of religion lie out-
forces the Christian belief in the resurrection of the exempla-
side the realms of everyday objects in time and space. How-
ry leader of the church, whose body remains suspended be-
ever, human beings across multiple cultures experience the
tween a natural deceased state and a transformed resurrected
presence of these religious realities at particular times and
state. The cathedral, and the shrine to Saint Cuthbert within
places and in relation to material objects. Much of the work
it, marks a place for Christians where the religious configura-
of shrines is to provide habitations for sacred presences with-
tion of reality overtakes ordinary experience. A visit to the
in the everyday world. As places having a particular shape
site reinforces the pilgrims’ hopes and confidence in their re-
and materiality, shrines give particular density to complex
ligious commitments.
sets of religious associations, memories, moods, expectations,
A secular version of a shrine and sacred persons may be
and communities. Shrines may be seen as sites of condensa-
seen in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington,
tion of more dispersed religious realities, places where mean-
D.C. Located on the Mall (the open corridor that extends
ings take on specific, tangible, and tactile presence.
from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial) the Vietnam Vet-
The English word shrine is derived from the Latin scrini-
erans Memorial is a simple, black marble, V-shaped wall that
um, meaning a box or receptacle. The shrine is the receptacle
gradually extends down from ground level to a depth of six
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SHRINES
8377
feet. Visitors file past the wall, descending to grave depth and
the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik in 691. The site marks
then ascending back to ground level as they see the names
the place where the Prophet Muh:ammad ascended into
of the 58,000 American men and women who died in the
heaven. For Muslims, visiting and praying at the shrine con-
Vietnam War. The polished black marble serves as a mirror
nects them to the person of the Prophet. A bit farther away
to those who gaze at the wall reading the names even as they
is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which marks the site
see their own reflections. The Vietnam Memorial carries no
of Jesus’ burial and resurrection. Pilgrims often walk the
explicitly religious symbolism. Instead, its minimalist aes-
streets through Jerusalem that are said to be the route Jesus
thetic creates an open space for grief and awe into which visi-
walked on his way to his crucifixion, the Via Dolorosa, and
tors may bring their own religious understandings. While the
end their journey at this church. Such a journey enables the
shrine is not located on the site of the events commemorated,
pilgrims to take the story of Jesus into a temporal and spatial
it is located on the site of the nation’s center, symbolized by
intensity by being in the places where these events that have
the markers of its progenitors: George Washington, Abra-
become formational for Christian religious identity oc-
ham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. In this way the particu-
curred.
lar meanings of the Vietnam War’s history reside surrounded
Shrines may also mark places where one religious history
by the associations of national identity and the collective
displaces another. In the town of Chimayó in northern New
sense of the “soul” of America.
Mexico, there is a small church, El Sanctuario de Chimayó,
SHRINES AS THRESHOLDS BETWEEN NATURE AND CUL-
which has become an important pilgrimage center for Span-
TURE. In some religious traditions, shrines may be located
ish-speaking Americans and Native Americans. The founda-
at important intersections of nature and culture. In the north
tional story is that in the early nineteenth century a Spanish
of India, for example, shrines at Yamunotri and Gangotri
peasant, Bernardo Abeyta, came across a healing site used by
mark the places where the two sacred rivers, the Yamuna and
the local Tewa Indians. The site consisted of a hole within
the Ganga (Ganges) emerge from the Himalayan glacier and
a rock surface that was filled with dirt. As he passed by, a
begin their descent to the sea. These temples house the im-
white light that came out of the hole blinded Abeyta. Then
ages of the goddesses and link them to the rivers that are their
there appeared a crucifix of Christ that resembled one that
embodied forms in the world. Hence, pilgrims make the ar-
was venerated in Guatemala. Abeyta took the crucifix to the
duous journey to the sources of these rivers in order to fulfill
nearest church, but miraculously the cross returned to the
vows of devotion and to be in the presence of the goddesses
site where Abeyta had found it. Subsequently, Abeyta and
at their most primordial moments of appearance in the ordi-
a group of Catholic laymen established a shrine there. Over
nary world. At the temples, Hindu priests provide a variety
the following two centuries, El Sanctuario has become an im-
of ritual services and record the visits of pilgrims in temple
portant pilgrimage and healing center. During Holy Week,
archives.
the week preceding Easter, thousands of pilgrims walk the
road to Chimayó, many fulfilling vows for having been
In the United States, some extraordinary geological sites
healed. In a room next to the sanctuary there is a display of
have taken on a religious or quasi-religious significance for
prosthetic devices, photographs, letters, and works of art
visitors. Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone
presented by grateful devotees. The hole that contains the sa-
and Yosemite National Parks offer sites that fit into an Amer-
cred healing dirt, El Posito, remains an important part of the
ican sensibility about nature that endows it with religious
pilgrims’ journey, for pilgrims gather a handful of the dirt
meaning. The National Park Service, an administrative unit
to carry back home. The site combines Catholic traditions
of the federal government, maintains access to these natural
of saint veneration and pilgrimage with a Native American
sites. While no specific religious meaning within a particular
emphasis on healing power that comes from the earth itself.
tradition is referred to, the pamphlets and brochures pub-
A site of a very different sort that has taken on character-
lished for visitors evoke the language of awe and reverence
istics of a shrine is the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, in Po-
that resembles more traditional religion.
land. During World War II the Nazi regime set up many
SHRINES AS MARKERS OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE.
sites for mass extermination of Jews and others by applying
Events occur in particular places, and events that later take
the modern technology of gas chambers and crematoria.
on meaning for religious communities become important
Many Jews and others have made visits to Auschwitz, the
sites for shrines. For Jews the remaining wall of the Temple
most notorious of the camps, to come face-to-face with the
in Jerusalem, destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, remains a
place of horror that took so many lives. Many groups of Jew-
sacred place of pilgrimage. To stand at the wall, facing the
ish young adults make pilgrimage visits to Auschwitz and
temple, for prayer and meditation brings additional intensity
other sites of Jewish life in eastern Europe that were de-
for Jews as they remember the sacred history and the hope
stroyed during the Holocaust and complete their journey in
for the coming of the Messiah. Visitors write prayers on small
Israel. In this way the groups move together through the his-
pieces of paper, roll them up, and place them in the cracks
torical nightmare of the recent past and enter into the place
between the stones. It is said that all prayers placed there will
of present and future hope for the Jewish people as a commu-
be answered. Close by is the Muslim shrine called “The
nity bound together by religiously shaped memory and antic-
Dome of the Rock,” an octagonal structure built by
ipation.
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SHUGENDO
¯
8378
SHRINES AS CENTERS OF SERVICE AND COMMERCE. Because
N.C., 1989). For Jewish tradition, there is Sidra Ezrahi,
shrines anchor the worlds of religious belief and material lo-
Booking Passage: Exile and Homecoming in the Modern Jewish
cation, they frequently double as centers that provide various
Imagination (Berkeley, Calif., 2000). For natural objects as
services and commodities. Shrines associated with sacred
shrines, see Patrick V. McGreevy, Imagining Niagara: The
substances may offer medical and therapeutic as well as spiri-
Meaning and Making of Niagara Falls (Amherst, Mass.,
1994). A detailed consideration of theories of shrines can be
tual services. In the southwest of France, a healing center
found in Jonathan Z. Smith, To Take Place: Toward Theory
grew up around the site of a natural spring where a young
in Ritual (Chicago, 1987). For useful collections of essays on
woman had visions of the Virgin Mary in 1858. The shrine
shrines in popular culture, see Ian Reader, ed., Pilgrimage in
at Lourdes has become a major center in which religious and
Popular Culture. (Houndmills, U.K., 1993). An excellent
medical services are provided for pilgrims.
treatment of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. as
Indeed, stalls and shops surround many shrines, with
a pilgrimage site, see Raymond Michalowski and Jill Du-
bisch Run for the Wall: Remembering Vietnam on a Motorcycle
vendors offering ritual supplies, food, and memorabilia that
Pilgrimage (New Brunswick, N.J., 2001).
enable the visitor to perform important ceremonial obliga-
tions and take away mementos of the experience. In India,
PAUL B. COURTRIGHT (1987 AND 2005)
family descendants of a saint whose shrine has become a cen-
ter of pilgrimage are frequently the heirs to the income from
donations and sales of commodities at the site. In this way
SHUGENDO
¯ is a distinctive Japanese tradition combin-
the shrine provides for both the religious and material benefit
ing both indigenous and imported traditions, particularly
of the descendants.
Buddhism, and featuring the mastery of magical and ritual
S
techniques to be practiced in and around sacred mountains.
HRINES AS DESTINATIONS. An important function shrines
serve is to provide points of destination to groups of pilgrims
The name Shugendo¯ means literally “the way [do¯] of master-
who join together on the road and forge temporary bonds
ing [shu] extraordinary religious power [gen]”; the connec-
of solidarity under the umbrella of shared beliefs and atti-
tion with sacred mountains is not included in the term but
tudes. The shrine may be located at the end of the road, or
is implicit. Practitioners were called shugenja, “persons [ja]
a network of shrines may serve as nodal points along the way,
who master extraordinary religious power,” but the more
but often the migration of the pilgrims is as important, or
common name by which they have been known is yama-
more so, than the shrine itself. Pilgrims may walk for several
bushi, “those who sleep [or lie down, bushi] in the mountains
days to reach a shrine, only to stay just a few hours. The jour-
[yama]”—in other words, those who make mountains their
ney may be more important than the destination, yet with-
home. Shugendo¯ arose in part out of the ancient Japanese
out the destination and what lies waiting for the pilgrims’ ar-
tradition of sacred mountains, but also features some Taoist
rival the journey would have no compelling rationale.
influence, and especially ritual, divinities, symbolism, and
doctrine from Buddhism.
The examples discussed here suggest some of the ways
Although Shugendo¯ groups trace their origin to the late
in which shrines occupy the location between the worlds of
seventh- and early eighth-century tradition of En no Ozunu,
religious belief and understanding and the material, spatial,
the institutional organization of Shugendo¯ did not take place
and economic aspects of life. As places grounded solidly in
until about the eleventh century. Eventually more than a
the natural and constructed world of material objects, the
hundred mountains were headquarters for a number of main
shrine also grounds the more elusive and other-worldly di-
traditions and many local variations of Shugendo¯, which was
mensions of religion, the dimensions that lie beyond, in the
never unified on a national basis by a single teaching or a sin-
realms of belief, longing, and wonder.
gle authority. Shugendo¯ is the general term referring to all as-
SEE ALSO Center of the World; Jerusalem, overview article;
pects of this way—the mountain headquarters, the ecclesias-
Pilgrimage; Relics.
tical organization, the teachings and practices, and the
overall ethos of gaining magico-religious power through spe-
B
cial training in sacred mountains.
IBLIOGRAPHY
Martin Robinson, Sacred Places, Pilgrim Paths: An Anthology of Pil-
This pervasive movement, which spread rapidly
grimage (London, 1997) provides a general overview of
throughout all areas of Japan except the island of Hokkaido
shrines and pilgrimages. Studies of shrines are often located
(which was developed later), was one of the main channels
within the frameworks of presentations of particular reli-
for disseminating religious teachings (such as elements of
gions. For India, see Surindrer Bhardwaj, Hindu Places of Pil-
Buddhism) to the common people. It flourished until shortly
grimage in India: A Study in Cultural Geography (Berkeley,
after the feudal period, when in 1872 the government abol-
Calif., 1973), and Roy Burmah, The Hindu-Muslim Syncretic
ished Shugendo¯ (partly in the attempt to “purify” Shinto¯ and
Shrines and Communities. (New Delhi, 2002). For Christian
shrines, Linda Lehrhaupt, Pilgrimage in Modern Ireland
separate Buddhism from Shinto¯). With complete religious
(New York, 1990); National Conference of Catholic Bish-
freedom in 1945 after World War II, some Shugendo¯ groups
ops, Catholic Shrines and Places of Pilgrimage in the United
have been able to reorganize, but they do not compare in size
States (Washington, D.C., 1992); and Sidney Nolan, Chris-
or vigor to the flourishing movement that existed from the
tian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe (Chapel Hill,
eleventh through the nineteenth century.
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¯
8379
FORMATION. The two main formative elements for
about by the imported traditions is that it shifted interest in
Shugendo¯ are the prehistoric Japanese heritage of sacred
sacred mountains from the foothills to the peak. The primary
mountains, and imported traditions (from Korea and China)
influence for this change seems to have been Buddhism,
of religious realization. Although these two sets of elements
whose practitioners viewed sacred mountains as ideal loca-
eventually became almost imperceptibly intertwined, it is
tions for practicing Buddhist austerities and mastering ritual
important to distinguish them in order to understand the
and magical techniques. Taoist notions were added to the
emergence of Shugendo¯.
mystique of Japan’s sacred mountains, so that they came to
Sacred mountains—including particular beliefs and
be viewed as the dwelling place of “mountain wizards” (xian
practices associated with them—have been so important in
in Chinese, sen or sennin in Japanese).
Japanese religious history that scholars have used the terms
The legendary figure En no Ozunu is viewed by
sangaku shinko¯ (mountain beliefs or cult) and sangaku shukyo¯
Shugendo¯ followers as having established the precedent of
(mountain religion) to refer to this nationwide but unorga-
practicing Buddhist austerities, overlaid with a Taoist mys-
nized, highly localized phenomenon. Prehistoric practices
tique, in Japanese mountains. He is first mentioned in the
surrounding sacred mountains were shaped by the character
Shoku nihongi record of 699, when he was banished on the
of the kami associated with a site and the type of worship
charge of misusing his magical powers to control people.
accorded that spirit.
This simple notice connects his practice of magic with a sa-
The claim has been made that in prehistoric times, be-
cred mountain, Katsuragi. The ninth-century account of the
fore rice agriculture was introduced to Japan, there was a
Nihon ryo¯iki contains the full-blown tradition of En no
“pure hunting culture” and that the “original” mountain
Ozunu used by Shugendo¯ leaders to glorify their legendary
kami was a hunting divinity worshiped on the summit of the
founder: here he is treated as a miraculous figure who exem-
mountain. The significance of this theory is that, if substanti-
plified the ideals of Buddhist asceticism and Taoistic mysti-
ated, it would point to a hunting culture and a mountain
cism, in the context of sacred mountains. Following these
kami related to hunting as the first Japanese precedent of reli-
ideals, En no Ozunu withdrew into a mountain cave and
gious practices on the mountain peak. However, there is in-
practiced the Buddhist magical formula of the Peacock King
sufficient evidence to support the claim, and because prehis-
(Kujaku-o¯), thereby gaining magical powers such as the abili-
toric conditions are so poorly documented, it is unlikely that
ty to fly through the air. After competition with a jealous
such evidence will be found.
kami, he became a Daoist wizard and ascended to Heaven.
The earliest form of religious practices at Japanese sa-
In this account he is called En no Ubasoku (ubasoku is the
cred mountains for which there is archaeological evidence is
Japanese rendering of the Sanskrit term upa¯saka, “unor-
related to the ptotohistorical period just before and after the
dained Buddhist practitioner”); in Shugendo¯ he is honored
common era, and closely associated with agriculture. These
as En no Gyo¯ja, in other words, En the Ascetic. Legends de-
archaeological finds occur at the foot of mountains (rather
veloped proclaiming that En no Gyo¯ja had opened up the
than at the peak), often in conjunction with large boulders.
mountains of Yoshino, O
¯ mine, and Kumano, some of the
Some of the finds are the stone representations of jewels, mir-
earliest institutional centers of Shugendo¯.
rors, and swords—the so-called imperial regalia, important
There is no substantial record of the life and activities
to the imperial family and in Shinto¯. The ritual bowls and
of En no Ozunu, but his tradition of gaining special religious
mortars also found there have led some scholars to conclude
powers by practicing Buddhist and Daoist techniques of reli-
that the boulders (often venerated even today as the tempo-
gious realization within the precincts of sacred mountains
rary dwelling place of kami) were the altars on which offer-
became the precedent for a host of practitioners on many sa-
ings were made. The mortars and ritual bowls may well have
cred mountains. Especially during the Heian period (794–
been for brewing and offering a special “overnight” sake (rice
1185), unorganized wandering ascetics developed such prac-
wine) that is mentioned in the Kojiki and Nihongi, early
tices. There were various names for these practitioners: uba-
chronicles of Japan. The protohistorical evidence for sacred
soku (Skt., upa¯saka) drew heavily on Buddhism; hijiri (“wise
mountains shows that kami were believed to dwell within the
man, holy man”) and onmyo¯ji (“master of yin and yang,” for-
mountains and that they were worshiped at the foot of
tuneteller) utilized especially the techniques derived from
mountains, probably in connection with fertility (offering of
Onmyo¯do¯ (“the way of yin and yang”); genja (“person of ex-
rice wine in connection with the rice harvest, a venerable tra-
traordinary religious power”) used various techniques. These
dition still honored in Shinto¯).
practitioners conducted austerities and pilgrimages within
The second set of formative elements for Shugendo¯ was
sacred mountains while practicing specific techniques (such
the host of beliefs, symbolism, and ritual imported to Japan
as reciting Buddhist sutras and magical formulas) to gain spe-
from the Asian continent. Especially Buddhist—but also
cial religious powers; some of them used this power to pro-
some Taoist—notions and techniques of religious realization
vide rituals of blessing and healing to laypeople. Gradually
interacted with the indigenous Japanese phenomenon of sa-
some sacred mountains became centers for organizing these
cred mountains to create the peculiar blend of traditions that
practitioners into institutional groups. One of the foremost
coalesced into Shugendo¯. One of the major changes brought
was Kumano, which from about the eleventh century had 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

SHUGENDO
¯
8380
come popular as a pilgrimage site for the imperial family and,
weighing one’s karman, or past (here, evil) conduct, was
increasingly, for the nobility and other people as well.
acted out in some Shugendo¯ traditions by lowering a yama-
bushi
over a precipice with a rope, in which position he was
Shugendo¯ was a major channel for unifying and contin-
required to confess all his sins. This is typical of the
uing such diverse practices. Prominent sacred mountains be-
Shugendo¯ emphasis on asceticism in concrete and experien-
came Shugendo¯ centers that attracted large numbers of prac-
tial terms. Perhaps the outstanding ritual performance of
titioners and molded their beliefs and practices into
Shugendo¯ is the fire rite called Saitogo¯ma, which may derive
distinctive blends of doctrine and action. While revering En
in part from indigenous Japanese fire rites. (The word goma
no Gyo¯ja as the founder of Shugendo¯ and generally accept-
is related linguistically to the Indian terms soma or homa.)
ing all the diverse elements within this tradition, local centers
The immediate precedent of Saitogo¯ma is the heritage of fire
revered a specific person who founded practice at that moun-
rituals in Esoteric Buddhism, but the Shugendo¯ rite, an out-
tain (usually called the one who “opened the mountain”) and
door night ceremony performed as the culmination of a peri-
developed a particular pattern of holy sites, symbolism, doc-
od of religious realization, combines the notion of attain-
trine, and ritual.
ment of Buddhahood with the general sense of gaining
DYNAMICS AND SIGNIFICANCE. By about the thirteenth cen-
power from ritual association with sacred mountains.
tury, Shugendo¯ had become a highly organized tradition
with many well-established local variations. Although each
By participating in successive mountain retreats (often
center emphasized its own particular blend of teachings and
called “peaks”), a Shugendo¯ initiate acquired the ability to
practices, some features were common to most groups. Dis-
minister to laypeople, and the veteran yamabushi increased
tinctive forms of dress and ritual tools were arranged in sets
in rank in the local organization. Each center had its own
of twelve or sixteen items: several characteristic items by
complex rules of training and sets of ranks. As Shugendo¯ be-
which Shugendo¯ practitioners were recognized are the small
came more highly institutionalized, especially from about the
black cap (of Buddhist origin), the seashell or conch, the
thirteenth century, the older tradition of wandering, unorga-
priest’s staff, and a portable altar. The set of twelve or sixteen
nized practitioners gave way to the establishment of a central
items had its own symbolism, as did each aspect and mea-
headquarters that trained and controlled individual yama-
surement of a particular item. For example, the portable
bushi. These yamabushi lost their status as individual wander-
altar, which contained a few Buddhist scriptures, tools, and
ing ascetics, and although they continued to be viewed as
maybe a small statue (such as Fudo¯) for worship while the
possessing the mystique and power of sacred mountains, they
practitioner was on pilgrimage in the mountains, symbolized
spent more of their time in an itinerant ministry, dispensing
the cosmos from which the initiate was reborn as a result of
charms and blessings from the sacred mountain to common
his mountain practice.
people. There emerged complex networks of parish relation-
ships between Shugendo¯ headquarters and many families in
Such complex symbolism could also occur on a grander
the surrounding area, with itinerant yamabushi both carrying
scale. For example, worship at Kumano featured a pattern
blessings from the mountain to the people and also guiding
of three sacred mountains viewed as three interrelated cosmic
individual believers on pilgrimages to the mountain. As ya-
worlds (mandara, from Skt. man:d:ala): one mountain repre-
mabushi leaders called sendatsu guided their parishioners on
sented the Womb World Mandala (taizo¯kai), a second
the pilgrimage, walking from outlying areas to the sacred
mountain represented the Diamond World Mandala
mountain, they stayed each night at specially designated
(kongo¯kai), and the third represented the higher union of
lodging houses.
these opposites in a Womb and Diamond World Mandala.
At times the competition between rival Shugendo¯
In doctrinal terms, the three man:d:alas express the teaching
groups erupted into violence and disputes that had to be set-
of Esoteric Buddhism of a higher reality; in practical terms,
tled by secular authorities. In their role as itinerant ministers,
the man:d:alas and Japanese sacred mountains became perma-
sometimes accompanied by wives who assisted in rites of pos-
nently interrelated, so that the pilgrim who visited these sa-
session and exorcism, yamabushi were very influential in
cred mountains and followed prescribed rules of purity and
spreading religious traditions to the populace; they taught
training was sure to realize the attainment of Buddhahood.
practical versions of Esoteric Buddhism, and disseminated
Similar patterns of three sacred mountains, with local varia-
the Ko¯shin cult (derived in part from Daoist tradition). As
tions, are found at other Shugendo¯ headquarters throughout
they mingled with the people, yamabushi came to be associat-
Japan.
ed with the long-nosed mountain goblin called tengu; they
The most conspicuous religious performances within
were also suspected of abusing their right of free travel by act-
Shugendo¯ are the ascetic procedures followed by pilgrims
ing as military spies. By Tokugawa times (1600–1867), peo-
during periodic retreats on sacred mountains, tracing a Bud-
ple viewed yamabushi more as popular exorcisers than as
dhist pattern of ten stages from hell and beastly existence to
mountain ascetics, and yamabushi frequently appeared in
heaven and the enlightened status of Buddhahood. The for-
plays as pseudoreligious or comical characters. In short,
mal pattern of ten stages is common to Buddhism generally,
the institutionalization of the yamabushi career led to their
but Shugendo¯ centers gave dramatic turns to such doctrinal
popularization at the expense of their ascetic and religious
teachings. For example, the first stage of hell, which meant
character.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SHUGS LDAN (SHUGDEN)
8381
The proscription of Shugendo¯ by the Meiji government
New Sources
in 1872 was due primarily to the desire of the new rulers to
Hitoshi, Miyake. Shugendo: Essays on the Structure of Japanese Folk
“restore” Shinto¯ to a pure state, free from foreign—that is,
Religion. Edited by H. Byron Earhart. Ann Arbor, 2001.
Buddhist—influence, in order to support the notion of the
H. BYRON EARHART (1987)
emperor as head of the nation and its indigenous religion
Revised Bibliography
(Shinto¯). Shugendo¯, being a patent amalgam of Shinto¯ and
Buddhism, was an obvious obstacle to such a program. The
moral and financial corruption that had plagued Shugendo¯
SHUGS LDAN (SHUGDEN). In modern times, Ti-
since the late Tokugawa period was another possible reason
betan Buddhism, and the Dge lugs (Geluk) school in partic-
for the proscription, which resulted in the splitting of
ular, has been agitated by an intense dispute concerning a
Shugendo¯ centers into independent Buddhist and Shinto¯ el-
controversial deity, Rdo rje shugs ldan (Dorje Shugden).
ements. With the enactment of freedom of religion in 1945,
Some of the questions raised by this dispute are common to
however, some Shugendo¯ traditions surviving in Buddhism
many Buddhist traditions, where the integration of local dei-
and Shinto¯ were revived and new Shugendo¯ organizations
ties within a normative Buddhist framework is often delicate.
appeared.
This dispute also raises more particular questions concerning
Shugendo¯ is significant as a good example of the emer-
competing conceptions of the Dge lugs tradition.
gence of Japanese religion from the interaction of indigenous
Buddhists understand themselves to be bound by taking
and imported traditions. Most of the elements that make up
refuge in the Buddha, dharma, and sam:gha. As such they are
Shugendo¯ are found throughout Japanese religious history,
not supposed to worship other deities. But this restriction
even to the present day: indeed, several founders of Japanese
creates difficulties—particularly, but not only, for those in-
new religions have been connected with Shugendo¯, or have
volved in the world. What are they to do with the deities who
displayed similar patterns of religious behavior, such as re-
have, they believe, a large influence on their welfare, health,
treat on sacred mountains for the practice of austerities and
and prosperity? The standard answer has been that Buddhists
the attainment of sacred power.
may propitiate these lesser mundane deities (asking them re-
SEE ALSO En no Gyo¯ja; Onmyo¯do¯.
spectfully for help) but may not entrust them with their
long-term spiritual welfare, an attitude they can adopt only
BIBLIOGRAPHY
toward supramundane beings, buddhas, bodhisattvas, or ar-
The original research on Shugendo¯ is found in Japanese publica-
hats. This normative line, however, is often blurred in prac-
tions, which include many compilations of original docu-
tice, where respectful propitiation shades into worship. As a
ments, as well as detailed studies of particular Shugendo¯ or-
result some of the most popular mundane deities have tend-
ganizations. Three major studies especially valuable for their
ed to rise toward the supramundane status, at times leading
synthetic interpretation are Wakamori Taro¯’s Shugendo¯shi
to protracted conflicts.
kenkyu¯ (Tokyo, 1943); Hori Ichiro¯’s Wagakuni minkan
shinko¯shi no kenkyu¯,
2 vols. (Tokyo, 1953); and Miyake Hi-
Tibetan Buddhism has had to deal extensively with such
toshi’s Shugendo¯ girei no kenkyu¯ (Tokyo, 1971). Miyake has
problems. One of the ways various deities (often but not al-
also written a shorter, convenient overview in Shugendo¯: Ya-
ways the indigenous non-Buddhist gods and goddesses) have
mabushi no rekishi to shiso¯ (Tokyo, 1978). Representative of
been integrated in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon is through
the resurgence of interest in Shugendo¯ and the publication
the notion of dharma protector, a deity who has taken an
of many specialized studies is the series “Sangaku shu¯kyo¯shi
oath to protect the Buddhist teachings. This type of deity,
kenkyu¯ so¯sho” (Tokyo, 1975–).
already known in India, has often been used in Tibet to inte-
Western-language publications on Shugendo¯ are still relatively
grate local deities into the Buddhist pantheon. Based on the
few. The first modern work on Shugendo¯ is Gaston Re-
model of Padmasamabhava’s activities, many of the local
nondeau’s Le Shugendo¯: Histoire, doctrine et rites des anacho-
gods are understood to be bound by an oath to protect the
rètes dits Yamabushi (Paris, 1965), which emphasizes histori-
dharma and are propitiated as such. But this activity has also
cal documents and treats Shugendo¯ mainly in terms of
tended to elevate the status of these gods, leading to contro-
doctrinal developments out of Tendai and Shingon. Hart-
mut O. Rotermund has written two major works on
versies. This scenario is quite clear in the case of Shugs ldan.
Shugendo¯. His earlier work, Die Yamabushi: Aspekte ihres
Shugs ldan’s Dge lugs followers claim that their tradi-
Glaubens, Lebens und ihrer sozialen Funktion im japanischen
tion goes back to a rather obscure and bloody episode of Ti-
Mittelalter (Hamburg, 1968), traces Shugendo¯ as viewed in
betan history, the violent death of Grags pa rgyal mtshan
Japanese literature. His later work, Pèlerinage aux neuf som-
(Drakba Gyeltsen; 1618–1655), an important Dge lugs lama
mets: Carnet de route d’un religieux itinérant dans le Japon du
rival of the fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682). Because of his
dix-neuvième siècle (Paris, 1983), is a detailed study of the
travels and experiences of one yamabushi through his writ-
premature death, Grags pa rgyal mtshan is said to have trans-
ings. In A Religious Study of the Mount Haguro Sect of
formed into a wrathful spirit bent on the protection of the
Shugendo¯: An Example of Japanese Mountain Religion (Tokyo,
doctrinal purity of the Dge lugs tradition. He is also said to
1970) I have utilized my fieldwork with a contemporary
have been particularly irked at the Dge lugs lamas, such as
Shugendo¯ group to interpret its religious worldview.
the fifth Dalai Lama, who studied and practiced the teach-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

8382
SHUN
ings of other traditions. It is even suggested that the deaths
The Dalai Lama institution is not just political. It also
of several of these less orthodox lamas can be attributed to
rests on an elaborate ritual system that is not limited to Dge
this spirit.
lugs practices but includes the deities of other schools, partic-
As often occurs, however, historical realities are some-
ularly those associated with the early Tibetan Empire.
what different. It was only during the early part of the twen-
Hence, this ritual system has close ties with the Rnying ma
tieth century that the systematic connection between Shugs
(Nyingma), the Buddhist school most closely associated with
ldan and Grags pa rgyal mtshan appears to have been clearly
the early Empire. This link is particularly visible in the role
established. This seems to have been due to Pabongka
played in this ritual system by Padmasambhava and by Dorje
(1878–1941), a charismatic teacher who spearheaded a reviv-
drakden (Nechung), a Tibetan god who is said to protect the
al movement within the Dge lugs tradition, a movement in
Dalai Lama and his government. The propitiation of Shugs
part motivated by the success of the nonsectarian revival
ldan threatened this eclectic system. By presenting Shugs
among the other schools. The connection with Grags pa
ldan as an exclusive deity in charge of visiting retribution
rgyal mtshan seems to have been a way for Pabongka to justi-
upon those Dge lugs pa who have adopted practices from
fy the adoption of Shugs ldan, originally a non-Dge lugs
other traditions, the cult of Shugs ldan undermines the ritual
deity, as the main protector of his movement. In this way
system underlying the Dalai Lama institution as conceived
Pabongka created a new understanding of the Dge lugs tradi-
by the present incumbent (the fourteenth Dalai Lama).
tion focused on three elements: Vajrayogini as the main
Shugs ldan’s followers would protest that their practice
meditational deity, Shugs ldan as the protector, and Pabong-
is primarily not directed at anyone in particular but stems
ka as the gu¯ru. Pabongka’s vision was also strongly exclus-
from their religious commitments, particularly their devo-
ivist. Not only was the Dge lugs tradition considered su-
tion to their teachers Pabongka and Trijang. Nevertheless,
preme, its followers were warned of dire consequences in case
the threatening tone of this tradition and its divisiveness are
they had any interest in other traditions. Shugs ldan would
hard to ignore.
take care of them, as illustrated by the story of several eclectic
Dge lugs lamas who died prematurely at Shugs ldan’s hands.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Shugs ldan appears to have originally been a local deity
Dreyfus, Georges. “The Shuk-den Affair: Origins of a Controver-
associated with a small pond in Dol, an area near the junc-
sy.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
tion of the Zangbo and Yarlung Valleys. This deity seems to
21, no. 2 (1998): 227–270.
have been adopted first by the Sagya tradition, where he was
Mumford, Stan. Himalayan Dialogue. Madison, Wis., 1989.
considered a minor and yet powerful protector who could
Nebesky-Wojkowitz, René de. Oracles and Demons of Tibet. The
be dangerous. He appeared in the Dge lugs tradition as early
Hague, 1956.
as the first half of the eighteenth century, when he was propi-
GEORGES DREYFUS (2005)
tiated by several important lamas, but they do not seem to
have made any connection with Grags pa rgyal mtshan.
Moreover, there was no claim for Shugs ldan to be anything
but a minor worldly protector used for his power to help in
SHUN SEE YAO AND SHUN
matters of wealth, disease, and protection from spirits. This
changed with Pabongka, who made him into one of the main
protectors of the tradition. Pabongka’s disciple Trijang
SHUNNING SEE EXCOMMUNICATION;
(1901–1983), the fourteenth Dalai Lama’s charismatic
EXPULSION
teacher, stressed this practice among his disciples and pushed
the glorification of Shugs ldan even further, insisting that
this deity is ultimately a fully enlightened buddha who mere-
ly appears as a mundane deity.
SIBERIAN RELIGIONS SEE ARCTIC
RELIGIONS; PREHISTORIC RELIGIONS, ARTICLE
The novelty of this deity and his exclusive character
ON THE EURASIAN STEPPES AND INNER ASIA;
could not but irritate some Dge lugs teachers, particularly the
SHAMANISM, ARTICLE ON SIBERIAN AND INNER
Dalai Lamas, who have often presented their rule as inclusive
ASIAN SHAMANISM; SOUTHERN SIBERIAN
of other schools. There was already some tension between
RELIGIONS
Pabongka and the thirteenth Dalai Lama, but the conflict
came to the fore only in the 1970s, when the fourteenth
Dalai Lama started to make pronouncements against this
deity and the accompanying practice. The Dalai Lama seems
SIBYLLINE ORACLES. In Greek tradition (accepted
to have been particularly irritated by a small book about
by the Romans not later than the fourth century BCE and by
Shugs ldan published by Dzemay, a learned Dge lugs lama.
the Jews not later than the second) a sibyl is an old woman
But the main source of opposition seems to have been the
who utters ecstatic predictions of woe. The etymology of the
Dalai Lama’s perception that the Shugs ldan practice under-
name is unknown. In Greece the earliest mention of the term
mined the ritual basis legitimizing his rule.
is found in the writings of the philosopher Heraclitus about
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SIBYLLINE ORACLES
8383
500 BCE, though the figure of the sibyl and perhaps some
women: the Pythia, the sibyl, and other heroines whose char-
kind of oracles attributed to her were probably known from
acteristics are assimilated to the two first. The Pythia (and
the eighth century BCE on. In the following years the tradi-
generally speaking all the priests and priestesses of Apol-
tion of sibylline oracles became well established (and was car-
lonean sanctuaries), as a mortal, is supposed to utter divine
icatured by Aristophanes in late-fifth-century BCE Athens).
messages and be a mere voice of the god, responding to ques-
tions concerning the future. The sibyl (who sometimes intro-
The sibyls were thought to wander through the world
duces herself as half divine, half mortal) has a universal and
and to attain an extraordinary age—as much as a thousand
omnitemporal knowledge, historical as well as eschatological,
years. But Delphi, Samos, Erythrae in Ionia, Marpessus in
though she speaks as urged by divine pressure and even vio-
Troas, and Cumae and Tibur in Italy each had its own resi-
lence. Paradoxically, despite the frequent allusion to a verbal
dent sibyl. Other individual sibyls were known respectively
message, these prophecies are always transmitted as written
as Persian, Chaldean, Phrygian, and Egyptian, and there
poetical texts. As for the mantic heroines, they share some
were less-famous sibyls elsewhere. According to the Christian
traits with the two former but are often amplified or even
apologist Lactantius, the Roman Varro (first century BCE)
overdone.
gives a list of the ten aforementioned sibyls, which became
the canon in the Middle Ages, enlarged to twelve in the Re-
There is no precise description of the way the sibylline
naissance. The first mention of the Hebrew Sibyl in classical
inspiration was conceived. The discussions in Plutarch’s
sources is in Pausanias (10.12.9) in the second century CE,
Pythian dialogues concerning the inspiration of the Delphic
but such a figure was associated with oracles long before
prophetess are only partially appropriate for the sibylline pre-
then. Like other sibyls, she had a personal name, which Pau-
dictions because of the different kind of prophetic perfor-
sanias gives as Sabba (a variant is Sambethe). She is referred
mance. The most interesting coincidence would be the defi-
to in extant oracles as a pagan daughter-in-law of Noah.
nition of the sibyl’s role as an instrument (Greek, organon)
of Apollo and later of the God of Jews and Christians. As
Places in which sibyls were supposed to deliver their ora-
noted above, in some ancient descriptions the sibyl is assimi-
cles, such as the cave in Cumae, were revered and visited by
lated to some mythical figures, Daphne, Manto, Cassandra,
pilgrims. Few people, however, claimed to have seen a living
who are linked to Apollo and who suffered the violence of
sibyl. In Petronius’s Satyricon (chap. 48), Trimalchio does,
the god for having refused his sexual pursuits. In all theses
but he is not meant to be believed. In reality people were pri-
cases the punishment is a transformation that implies either
marily acquainted with collections of ancient (or allegedly
aphasia or the incredibility of the prophecies or, conversely,
ancient) oracles that were attributed to individual sibyls and
the transformation into a mere voice after her physical ex-
that seemed to be relevant or could be applied to given situa-
tinction. In the collection of Sibylline Oracles the sibyl com-
tions. In fact the origin of the Greek figure of the sibyl is
plains of being incessantly urged by God to utter prophecies.
more literary than real, based on the influence of the oriental
Later, in the most genuinely Christian tradition, she is assim-
tradition of ecstatic prophecy intermingled with the old epic
ilated to the biblical prophets, and the theme of divine vio-
characters of inspired women, such as Cassandra (a kind of
lence disappears.
prototype of the sibyls).
HISTORY OF THE ORACULAR TEXTS. The Romans claimed
The oracles were written in Greek hexameters, and their
to have received a partial collection of the prophecies of the
content was often protected by acrostics. Latin sibylline ora-
Cumaean Sibyl under one of the two Tarquinian kings in
cles appear only late (for instance, in Procopius, concerning
the sixth century BCE. What is certain is that a collection of
the Goths of the sixth century CE). The oracles of the Cu-
such books (the so-called Libri sibyllini) existed in Rome and
maean Sibyl were supposed to have been originally inscribed
was preserved in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus during the
on palm leaves.
Republic. These books were entrusted to a special priestly
THE NATURE OF SIBYLLINE INSPIRATION. In Greece and
commission, composed first of two, then of ten, then of fif-
Rome inspired (or natural) prophecy was considered the at-
teen members, who could consult them only when ordered
tribute of women, whereas technical and induced divination
to do so by the senate in times of recognized emergency.
was a man’s territory. Of course both were considered of di-
When the temple of Jupiter burned in 83 BCE, the Sibylline
vine origin (either from the god Apollo or the God of Jews
Books were destroyed and were ultimately replaced by a new
or Christians), but the division is an interesting testimony
collection. Augustus transferred these oracles to the newly
of the assessment of gender roles.
built temple of Apollo on the Palatine and ordered a severe
pruning of the texts.
Not all inspired women were reducible to a unique type,
but sometimes the differences were blurred. So the first testi-
Rome seems to have been unique in making the sibyl-
mony of the performance of the sibyl (Heraclitus) describes
line oracles a monopoly of the state. However, though the
her in a clear state of possession and domination by the god,
text of these Libri is not known exactly, the references given
uttering prophecies “with maddened mouth” in a rough and
by the sources indicate that they were mostly prescriptions
not embellished way (as opposed to elaborated inspired poet-
regarding cultic practices and expiations in time of crisis and
ry). However, one must differentiate three types of inspired
not properly prophecies of the kind known from other texts.
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8384
SIBYLLINE ORACLES
Only the oldest examples cited by the historians contain a
clude books numbered from nine to fourteen, but books
formulation similar to the ordinary sibylline prophecies.
nine and ten contain material already included in the first
Most probably then the legend of the arrival of these books
eight books, whereas books eleven to fourteen add new mate-
in Rome in the time of the Tarquinian kings, despite its
rial. In modern editions, beginning with that by Charles Al-
(seemingly) late and fictitious nature, points to an influence
exandre (1841–1856), the two series are conflated, and
in origin of the Greek tradition (via the contacts with the
therefore books nine and ten are not present. Books three,
Greek settlers) but modified and amplified by important
four, and five were already known in some form to Clement
Etruscan ritual elements and finally mixed with their own
of Alexandria; books six, seven, and eight were known to
Roman religious traditions and institutions.
Lactantius in about 300 CE. Some Christian fragments of sib-
ylline oracles are to be found outside the present collection
Elsewhere sibylline books seem to have circulated open-
in quotations by ancient writers.
ly. Being authoritative everywhere, the sibylline texts were of
course controversial and often suspected to be forgeries. Un-
CONTENT OF THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. As is evident from
fortunately only scattered examples of pagan sibylline oracles
Vergil’s reference to the “final age” in his fourth Eclogue, the
exist. The most famous are perhaps those preserved by Phle-
division of world history into periods was a feature of pagan
gon of Tralles (early second century
sibylline prophecies. This is confirmed by a pagan literary
CE). One seems to be-
long to 125
test, Lycophron’s Alexandra (third or second century BCE),
BCE, another perhaps to Sulla’s time, and a third
certainly refers to the celebration of the Secular Games under
which is influenced by pagan sibylline texts. The authors of
Augustus, though it may incorporate older texts. Roman tra-
the Jewish and Christian Sibylline Books developed the uni-
dition attributes, perhaps correctly, to sibylline oracles the
versal aspect that distinguished them. The influence of the
initiative for building the first temple to Ceres, Liber, and
Book of Daniel is unmistakable. Like the Book of Daniel, the
Libera in Rome, for introducing the cult of Asklepios from
sibylline authors embraced the theory of the four monar-
Epidaurus, for the human sacrifices of 226
chies. They combined with it the division of history into ten
BCE, for the con-
sultation of Apollo at Delphi in 216
“generations.” The note of hostility toward Rome (and to-
BCE, and for the intro-
duction of the cult of Magna Mater in 205
ward the Hellenistic rulers as long as they existed) is quite
BCE. In Rome
there seems to have been steady collaboration between Apol-
clear but not ubiquitous. As such, these texts belong to the
lo and the Cumaean Sibyl; elsewhere Apollonian divination
resistance literature of the Near East against foreign domina-
and sibylline prophecy did not always agree.
tion. As in the Book of Revelation, the return of Nero at the
head of the Parthian army figures prominently in books four,
A Roman law against reading Sibylline Books is men-
five, and eight. The fate of people after death is reflected in
tioned in an obscure context by Justin Martyr in his first
the Christian texts of books two, seven, and eight but not
Apology (44.12) from the middle of the second century CE.
in the Jewish texts. Given the poor knowledge of the Greek-
The sibylline texts remained authoritative in Rome until the
speaking Jews in the Diaspora after the first century CE, these
fourth century CE, when they were still consulted by Julian.
sibylline oracles are perhaps altogether more important for
According to the contemporary account of Rutilius Nama-
the history of the Jewish Diaspora than for early Christianity.
tianus, these texts were destroyed by Stilicho not later than
The order in which the Sibyllin Oracles have been pre-
408 CE. But the authority of Vergil, who had given such
served was established by a late compiler, and therefore it
prominence to the Cumaean Sibyl in his fourth Eclogue and
does not fit the chronology of each book. The oldest core of
in the Aeneid, saved the prestige of the sibyls among the
the collection is in book three, roughly dated between 163
Christians, as one can clearly see in the writings of Lactanti-
and 145 (or 140)
us, Eusebius, and Emperor Constantine. The Christians
BCE, but it was reworked and enlarged after
31
found in Vergil and in other sibylline texts prophecies of the
BCE (and perhaps also in the first century CE).
annunciation of Christ. Independently of the Christians, and
The first two books (not clearly separated in the manu-
in fact before Christianity existed, the Jews produced sibyl-
scripts) are Jewish in origin but were elaborated and re-
line texts that purported to convey divine expectations and
worked by Christians. The present text assumes the fall of
reactions from a Jewish point of view and invited recognition
Jerusalem in 70 CE, and its curious interest in Phrygia may
of the true God. The Christians accepted these Jewish texts,
point to its place of origin. A Christian origin has been pro-
occasionally interpolated them, and added to them other
posed for these books, because they are not mentioned before
texts of unequivocally Christian character. The collection of
the speech attributed to Emperor Constantine entitled Ora-
Sibylline Books that has reached survived is thus of mixed
tio ad sanctorum coetum. Nevertheless a Jewish origin for
Jewish and Christian authorship, but the extant manuscripts
some parts is unquestionable. Their position in the whole
are all of Christian origin. Collectively they are known as the
collection is based on the fact that book one describes the
Sibylline Oracles.
creation of the world and the succession of human genera-
tions, whereas book two has more apocalyptic and eschato-
These manuscripts can be roughly divided into two
logical elements.
groups. Some, published as early as the sixteenth century,
contain the first eight books. Others, made known chiefly
Book three, perhaps the most important historically,
by Cardinal Angelo Mai in the early nineteenth century, in-
contains texts of ideological orientations dating from various
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

SIBYLLINE ORACLES
8385
periods. Lines 1–96 seem to be later than Cleopatra and the
Books eleven through fourteen, taken together, are an
Battle of Actium (31 BCE) and perhaps even later than Nero;
apocalyptic outline of world history since the Flood. Book
lines 350–380 seem to refer to anti-Roman movements of
eleven is Jewish and may not be much later than Vergil’s
the first century BCE; and lines 466–469 seem to refer to the
death in 19 CE, alluded to in line 171. Lines 160–161, how-
era of Sulla. The main corpus is a messianic prophecy involv-
ever, seem to point to a later date and are perhaps interpola-
ing Jews and Greeks with special attention given to Egypt.
tions. It is not an anti-Roman book. Moreover the author
Three allusions to a seventh king of Egypt (ll. 193, 318, 608)
seems to be familiar with the Augustan laudatory ideology.
in all likelihood refer to Ptolemy Philometor (180–145 BCE).
Book twelve is Jewish with Christian interpolations and was
There is a reference to the Book of Daniel in line 396, but
written not long after 235 CE (though it could also have been
its implications are doubtful. In lines 194–195 there is a ref-
composed with the following book). It reflects a time and
erence to the resurgence of the Jews after some catastrophe,
milieu (Egypt) in which Jews were inclined to accept the
possibly the reign of Antiochus IV. In lines 388–400 and fol-
Roman Empire. Book thirteen is Jewish with Christian inter-
lowing a strange oracle about a king of Asia presents prob-
polations, is dated around 265 CE, and contains propaganda
lems. Finally, in lines 653–656 and following there is a
for Odenathus of Palmyra. Both books twelve and thirteen
prophecy about a savior from the East or from the sun. It
probably circulated independently, alongside book eleven, as
is by no means obvious that this king should be identified
a kind of imperial chronicle. Book fourteen, a confused text
with the seventh king of Egypt. The book as a whole, though
of Jewish origin that awaits satisfactory interpretation, seems
at certain points strongly anti-Roman and anti-Macedonian,
to end with the Arab conquest of Alexandria and with Jewish
is not radical in its hostility and seems to hope for and to
collaboration in it in the middle of the seventh century CE.
wish to foster good relations between Jews and Egyptian
If this is correct, it shows Jews composing sibylline texts in
Greeks.
Greek at a late date.
Christians maintained an interest in sibylline oracles
Book four seems to be based on pagan sibylline oracles
and composed new ones throughout the Middle Ages. The
of the end of the fourth century BCE. The text (ll. 49–101)
queen of Sheba was sometimes identified with the sibyl
knows of four empires and ten generations and identifies the
Sabba. The Tiburtine Sibyl became especially popular both
tenth generation and the fourth empire with Macedon. This
in the West and in the East. Some of her texts, though now
part, it has been suggested, belonged to an ancient chrono-
in medieval redactions, probably go back to the fourth centu-
logical level (prior to the collection), perhaps the fourth cen-
ry CE. As late as the thirteenth century Thomas of Celano
tury BCE. The Jewish elaboration presupposes the rise of
alludes to her in his Dies irae.
Rome and the end of the Temple of Jerusalem, the legend
of Nero’s flight to the Parthians, and the eruption of Vesuvi-
SEE ALSO Oracles.
us in 79 CE. It insists on baptism as a prerequisite of salvation
and on the rejection of the Temple cult. This points to some
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jewish sectarian groups, not necessarily to a Judeo-Christian
There is no satisfactory modern collection of the scattered pagan
sect.
sibylline texts, although Hermann Diels’s Sibyllinische Blätter
(Berlin, 1890) can still be profitably consulted. The standard
Book five, which has a Christian allusion in lines 256–
texts of the Jewish-Christian books are Charles Alexandre’s
259, knows of the destruction of the Temple and the legend
Oracula sibyllina, 2 vols. (Paris, 1841–1856; 2d ed., Paris,
of Nero, and Hadrian is still favorable to the Jews. A date
1869, which does not replace the first); Aloisius Rzach’s
before 132 CE seems probable, but line 51, with its reference
Oracula sibyllina (Vienna, 1891); and Johannes Geffcken’s
to Marcus Aurelius, must be treated as a later interpolation.
Die Oracula sibyllina (Leipzig, Germany, 1902). The text of
The text is strongly hostile to Rome and Egypt and contains
books 1–11 with a German translation and some parallel
a mysterious allusion to a temple in Egypt destroyed by the
texts are in Alfons Kurfess, ed. and trans., Sibyllinische Weis-
Ethiopians (ll. 501 and following).
sagungen (Munich, 1951); and Jörg-Dieter Gauger, Sibyl-
linische Weissagungen
(Düsseldorf and Zürich, 1998), which
Book six is a short Christian text known to Lactantius
includes the most important texts illustrating the Nachleben
in the form of a hymn. Book seven is Christian in its present
of these oracles and a useful introduction and commentary.
form, with possible but puzzling Jewish, Gnostic, and even
David S. Potter, Prophecy and History in the Crisis of the
Roman Empire
(Oxford, U.K., 1990), is a thorough study of
Neoplatonic traits. Book eight seems to be a combination of
book 13.
Jewish and Christian texts with a puzzling reference to an es-
chatological queen (l. 194) in the Jewish section (ll. 1–216),
An English translation is James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old
which is hostile to Rome and was probably written before
Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1, Apocalyptic Literature and
Testaments
(Garden City, N.Y., 1983), pp. 317–472. Paolo
195 CE. The Christian part is, at any rate, earlier than 300
Sacchi, ed., Apocrifi dell’Antico Testamento, vol. 3, includes
CE. It includes a famous acrostic (ll. 217–243, with a later
an annotated translation of books 3, 4, and 5 by Liliana
addition in ll. 244–250), whose Latin translation is frequent-
Rosso Ubigli (Brescia, Italy, 1999), pp. 383–535. Alejandro
ly quoted by Christian authors and was adopted into liturgi-
Díez Macho, ed., Apócrifos del Antiguo Testamento, vol. 3,
cal texts of the Middle Ages.
Oráculos Sibilinos (Madrid, 2002), pp. 329–612, includes 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

8386
SIDDHA¯RTHA
translation of the Sibylline Oracles by Emilio Suárez de la
Gasparro, “La sibilla, voce del dio per pagani, ebrei e cris-
Torre and an exhaustive introduction. A good annotated
tiani: un modulo profetico al crocevia delle fedi,” in Oracoli
French translation of some parts of the Christian books is
Profeti Sibille: Rivelazione e salvezza nel mondo antico (Rome,
Jean-Michel Roessli, “Les Oracles Sibyllins,” in Écrits
2002), pp. 61–112; Jean-Michel Roessli, “Augustin, les si-
apochryphes chrétiens (Paris, 2004).
bylles et les Oracles Sibyllins,” in Augustinus Afer: Saint Augus-
tin: africanité et universalité
, edited by Pierre-Yves Fux, Jean-
The following works, listed in chronological order, include discus-
Michel Roessli, Otto Wermelinger (Fribourg, Switzerland,
sions of both pagan and Jewish-Christian texts: Ernst Sackur,
2003), pp. 263–286; Mariangela Monaca, La Sibilla a Roma:
Sybillinische Texte und Forschungen Pseudomethodius (Halle,
I Libri Sibillini tra religione e politica (Cosenza, Italy, 2004);
Germany, 1898; reprint, Turin, Italy, 1963); Johannes Geff-
Monique Bouquet and Françoise Morzadec, La Sibylle: Pa-
cken, Komposition und Entstehungszeit der Oracula Sibyllina
role et représentation (Rennes, France, 2004).
(Leipzig, Germany, 1902); Aloisius Rzach, “Sibyllen” and
“Sibyllinische Orakel,” in Real-encyclopädie der classischen Al-
ARNALDO MOMIGLIANO (1987)
tertumswissenschaft, vol. 2A, cols. 2073–2183 (Stuttgart,
EMILIO SUÁREZ DE LA TORRE (2005)
Germany, 1923); Wilhelm Hoffmann, Wandel und Herkunft
der sibyllinischen Bücher in Rom
(Leipzig, Germany, 1933);
Harald Fuchs, Der geistige Widerstand gegen Rom in der an-
SIDDHA¯RTHA SEE BUDDHA
tiken Welt (Berlin, 1938); Henri Jeanmaire, La sibylle et le re-
tour de l’âge d’or
(Paris, 1939); Aurelio Peretti, La sibilla babi-
lonese nella propaganda ellenistica
(Florence, 1943); Samuel
Kennedy Eddy, The King Is Dead (Lincoln, Nebr., 1961);
SIDDHAS SEE MAHA¯SIDDHAS
Raymond Bloch, “L’origine des livres sibyllins à Rome,”
Neue Beiträge zur Geschichte der Alten Welt 11 (1965): 281–
292; Paul J. Alexander, The Oracle of Baalbek: The Tiburtine
Sibyl in Greek Dress
(Washington, D.C., 1967); Valentin
SIDDUR AND MAH:ZOR. The siddur and the
Nikiprowetzky, La troisième sibylle (Paris, 1970); Valentin
mah:zor (pl., siddurim and mah:zorim) are the prayer books
Nikiprowetzky, “Ré-flexions sur quelques problèmes du qua-
used in Jewish public worship. The term siddur (“order”;
trième et du cinquième livre,” HUCA 43 (1972): 29–76;
from the Hebrew root sdr, “order, arrange”) signifies an order
John J. Collins, The Sibylline Oracles of Egyptian Judaism
of prayer and generally denotes weekday and Sabbath liturgy.
(Missoula, Mont., 1974); John J. Collins, “The Place of the
The term mah:zor (“cycle”; from the root h:zr, “return, come
Fourth Sibyl in the Development of the Jewish Sibyllina,”
around again”) denotes the annual cycle of prayer for holi-
Journal of Jewish Studies 25 (Winter 1974): 365–380; Arnal-
days that come but once a year; the mah:zor is therefore usual-
do Momigliano, “La portata storica dei vaticini sul Settimo
ly subdivided nowadays into separate volumes for each holi-
Re nel Terzo Libro degli Oracoli Sibillini” (1975), in Sesto
Contributo,
vol. 2 (Rome, 1980), pp. 551–559; Paul J. Alex-
day: that is, the mah:zor for Passover, Sukkot, or ShavuEot
ander, “The Diffusion of Byzantine Apocalypses in the Me-
(the Pilgrimage Festivals) or for RoDsh ha-Shanah or Yom
dieval West and the Beginnings of Joachimism,” in Prophecy
Kippur (the Days of Awe, or High Holy Days). Surprisingly,
and Millenarianism, edited by Ann Williams (Essex, U.K.,
the determination of a standardized text for these volumes
1980), pp. 53–106; John J. Collins, Between Athens and Jeru-
is a relatively late phenomenon and, in fact, is still open to
salem (New York, 1983), pp. 61–72, 148–155; Luisa Breglia
editorial discretion. Even though there now exists authorized
Pulci Doria, Oracoli Sibillini tra rituali e propaganda (Naples,
wording for all standard prayers, and even though one can
Italy, 1983); John J. Collins, “The Sibylline Oracles,” in Jew-
anticipate generally what basic prayers each siddur or mah:zor
ish Writings of the Second Temple Period, edited by Michael
will contain, many siddurim published today also contain se-
E. Stone (Assen, Netherlands, 1984), pp. 357–381; John R.
lections drawn from the mah:zor, and different editions vie
Bartlett, Jews in the Hellenistic World (Cambridge, U.K.,
with each other to be more comprehensive.
1985), pp. 35–55; Emil Schürer, A History of the Jewish Peo-
ple in the Age of Jesus Christ,
vol. 3.1 (Edinburgh, U.K.,
HISTORY. No comprehensive textual standardization seems
1986), pp. 618–653; Nazarena Valenza Mele, “Hera ed
to predate the ninth century. Until then, and particularly be-
Apollo a Cuma e la mantica sibillina,” Rivista dell’Istituto Na-
fore the promulgation of the Mishnah (c. 200 CE), the very
zionale d’Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte, ser. 3, 14–15 (1991–
nature of early rabbinic liturgy militated against prescribed
1992): 5–72; Jesús-María Nieto Ibáñez, El hexámetro de los
texts for prayer, in that a single authorized set of fixed word-
Oráculos Sibilinos (Amsterdam, 1992); David S. Potter,
ing was avoided. Instead, prayer leaders were given a certain
Prophets and Emperors (Cambridge, Mass., and London,
order of mandated themes that they were encouraged to ex-
1994); Emilio Suárez de la Torre, “Sibylles, mantique in-
press creatively as worship proceeded; they thus combined
spirée et collections oraculaires,” Kernos 7 (1994): 179–205;
the complementary principles of structural fixity (qeva E) and
John J. Collins, Seers, Sibyls, and Sages in Hellenistic-Roman
linguistic spontaneity (kavvanah). After the close of the tan-
Judaism (Leiden, Netherlands, 1997); Ileana Chirassi Co-
lombo and Tullio Seppilli, eds., Sibille e Linguaggio Oraco-
naitic era (c. 200), there are isolated individual orders of
lare: Mito, Storia, Tradizione (Pisa, Italy, 1998); Emilio
prayer (called seder tefillot), and the very act of saying prayers
Suárez de la Torre, “La sibila de Eritras: análisis de fuentes
is often described by the verb meaning “to order” them, as
hasta el siglo II d. C.,” in Epieikeia: Homenaje al Profesor Jesús
if an official “order,” or siddur, were in existence; but except
Lens Tuero (Granada, 2000), pp. 439–467; Giulia Sfameni
for specific prayers attributed to the personal taste of 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

SIDDUR AND MAH:ZOR
8387
ual rabbis, there is evidence against the existence of authori-
both siddur and mah:zor. But it differs from Seder Rav Amram
tative, generally accepted, inalterable sets of wording such as
in at least five ways: (1) it contains only short, uncomplicated
are found in the siddur or mah:zor of today.
instructions on the conduct of worship, rather than lengthy
excurses; (2) these are recorded in Arabic, not Aramaic; (3)
This principle of freedom within structure is particular-
SaEadyah incorporates Palestinian material; (4) he favors
ly evident in the prayers of Palestinian Jewry where it contin-
piyyut:im (poetic insertions in the standard body of prayers);
ued in force even beyond the amoraic (or Talmudic) age
and (5) in general, he displays a mastery of the Islamic litur-
(after c. 500), at least until that community’s partial destruc-
gical aesthetic typical of his day, particularly in his preference
tion by the Crusades, at which time Palestinian spiritual in-
for logical order, grammatical purity, linguistic precision
dependence was interrupted. True, there are Palestinian or-
rooted in scripture, and philosophy (see his two baashot, peti-
ders of service from that time with their own typical
tions, following the Tefillah, for example).
linguistic preferences, but these are marked by enormous po-
etic variation, both within the basic prayers themselves and
By the tenth century, the center of the Jewish world had
in the insertions or additions for special occasions.
shifted to western Europe. There, each nascent community
Babylonian Jewry, on the other hand, favored ever-
proceeded to define its own liturgical identity, paying special
increasing linguistic fixity, particularly after the middle of the
heed to Amram’s paradigmatic Seder, but in some cases
eighth century, under the leadership of its newest scholarly
showing familiarity also with Siddur Sa Eadyah or other inde-
elite, the geonim. In their attempt to standardize worldwide
pendent Geonic precedents, and also with decisions reached
Jewish practice, these authorities initiated the practice of
by earlier authorities in North Africa (especially in Kairouan)
sending responsa to outlying Jewish communities, in which
and in Palestine itself. Thus every community developed its
they described their own liturgical preferences and declared
own liturgical rite, which amounted in each case to a local
them as universally binding. By the middle of the eleventh
modification of Geonic prototype, in which Amram’s prayer
century, they had penned at least two complete orders of
book predominated. All such European variations eventually
prayer, and it is from these compositions (especially the first
became classified as rites common either to Ashkenaz (Fran-
one) that today’s siddur and mah:zor eventually evolved. Later
co-Germany) or to Sefarad (the Iberian Peninsula), but in
sources mention a third prayer book, compiled by HDai Gaon
either case, the resulting liturgical corpus did not yet differ-
(d. 1038), but it has not survived.
entiate its material calendrically, so that daily, Sabbath, and
holy day prayers were all combined indiscriminately in one
The first of these comprehensive compendiums of
volume called variously mah:zor or siddur (or even seder, as
prayer, and the most influential to this day, is Seder Rav
in Seder Rav Amram). By the fourteenth century, however,
Amram, sent by Amram Gaon (d. 871) to a Jewish commu-
the liturgy had expanded to the point where its unmanage-
nity in Spain, whence it circulated widely to become the
able bulk resulted in a subdivision into several works. In Ash-
model for all western European rites. In content, it is
kenaz, these were the siddur, for daily and Sabbath prayers;
Amram’s prescribed wording for a comprehensive set of
the mah:zor, for holiday liturgy; and a further subdivision of
prayers—both siddur and mah:zor combined—along with de-
the mah:zor, which more and more frequently appeared as a
tailed legal instructions regarding how worship is to proceed.
separate work, the Haggadah, a Passover Eve home devotion-
Extant manuscripts of Seder Rav Amram are somewhat unde-
al “order,” or seder.
pendable with regard to the text of the prayers, which scribes
did not always copy accurately, but the accompanying legal
By the 1520s both the siddur and the mah:zor appeared
commentary is preserved faithfully enough to ascertain that
in printed form, with the result that mass-produced stan-
Amram relied on Babylonian precedent and was motivated,
dardized texts began to whittle away at long-standing local
in fact, by the desire to universalize its practice at the expense
points of diversity. These texts, however, were often the work
of Palestinian alternatives that were vying for cultural influ-
of printers whose competence lay in the new technology and
ence in newly established Jewish settlements of North Africa
its business-related affairs, not in rabbinic scholarship rele-
and western Europe. So Amram sought to demonstrate a
vant to the rigorous reproduction of authentic texts. Conse-
clear chain of authority going back to the Babylonian Tal-
quently, texts from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century
mud, via Geonic interpreters, such as his predecessor in of-
featured efforts to emend their errors. Especially noteworthy
fice, Natronai (d. 858), who had tried to accomplish the
in this regard is Shabbetai Sofer, a prominent Polish gram-
same goal by recording a list of daily blessings incumbent on
marian and qabbalist, who (from 1613 to 1618) attempted
every Jew, and whose list Amram now borrowed for inclu-
to fix a scientifically accurate rite. Wolf Heidenheim (1757–
sion in his Seder.
1832) extended his critical spirit into the modern age by
printing scientifically annotated editions; and in 1868, Hei-
The second Geonic prayer book is Siddur Sa Eadyah, the
denheim’s disciple, Seligman Baer, summarized critical opin-
work of SaEadyah Gaon (d. 942). In an introduction thereto,
ion up to his time in Seder Eavodat YisraDel.
SaEadyah states his intention: to help the average worshiper
differentiate the proper from the improper in the baffling
By then, the Sephardic rite had been carried throughout
array of liturgical customs then extant. Like Seder Rav
the Mediterranean, Holland, England, and even the New
Amram, Siddur Sa Eadyah is comprehensive, being at once
World by Spanish émigrés and their descendants, where it
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SIDDUR AND MAH:ZOR
evolved further according to liturgical canons of these lands.
and recited together just before and just after nightfall. On
The Ashkenazic rite was carried eastward across northern Eu-
holy days, an additional service (Musaf) is appended to the
rope to Poland and Russia, and then to North America
morning one. On Yom Kippur (originally, on all fast days)
where it now predominates. Qabbalists after the sixteenth
a concluding service (NeEillah) is recited.
century and their spiritual descendants, Polish H:asidim,
combined the two rites.
Daily service. Traceable in part to pre-70 days, before
the destruction of the Temple, are two central rubrics: (1)
In the 1800s, liturgical reform based on theological, aca-
the ShemaE (Dt. 6:4–9, 11:13–21; Nm. 15:37–41) and its
demic, political, and aesthetic considerations was the norm
blessings and (2) the Tefillah (lit., “the prayer”), also known
for much of European Jewry, particularly in Germany, but
as the EAmidah (The Standing Prayer) and as the Shemoneh
increasingly also in America. The most significant works,
EEsreh (The Eighteen Benedictions). Derived from Deuteron-
perhaps, are the 1819 Hamburg Prayer Book, which first in-
omy 6:7, “You shall speak of them . . . when you lie down
troduced comprehensive and theologically based liturgical
and when you rise up,” the ShemaE approximates an evening
reform to Germany, and David Einhorn’s EOlat tamid
and morning creed that asserts the unity of God. Its accom-
(1858), which became the model for the Reform movement
panying blessings further define God as creator of light; lov-
in the United States and Canada, where a standardized
ing revealer of Torah to the convenanted chosen people, Isra-
Union Prayer Book has existed since 1894/5.
el; and redeemer in history (at the paradigmatic salvific
Alongside those of the Reform movement, the most nu-
event, the Exodus from Egypt, and by analogy, ultimately,
merically significant liberal prayer books in America are
for final redemption at the end of days).
those of the Conservative movement. The original series
The subsequent Tefillah presents nineteen benedictions
emerged in the 1940s as the Conservative movement sought
of which the middle thirteen constitute the basic liturgical
to delineate its own ideological specificity. But the appear-
petitions. GamliDel of Yavneh (c. 90 CE) is credited with ar-
ance of its Mah:zor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in
ranging eighteen of them. Until then, numerous alternative
1972 heralded a major liturgical renaissance, in which all
sets of benedictions—“proto-tefillot,” so to speak—were the
Jewish communities now find themselves, and the older
norm, and these varied in both number and content. Those
books are being replaced.
who accept the authenticity of chapter 51 of the Book of Ben
Since the work of Leopold Zunz (1794–1886), prayer
Sira consider it the earliest known example of such a proto-
books have been studied according to geographic prove-
tefillah (c. 280 or 180 BCE). But GamliDel’s standardized for-
nance, so that rites are assumed to correlate with the rise and
mulation superseded local usage, and (perhaps a century or
fall of Jewish communities around the world. Actually, the
two later, in Babylonia) the single petition for a messianic
determining factor is not geographic, but social, distance;
rebuilding of Zion was divided into two separate requests,
prayer books today reflect ideological positioning of specific
so that the “Eighteen Benedictions” now number nineteen.
Jewish groups and their consequent social distance from each
Theologically speaking, the Tefillah’s first three bene-
other. Prayer book preference derives from a prior communal
dictions assert (1) the continuity of Israel’s covenant with
self-definition—as British Reform, or Hasidic (according to
God, in that the merit of the biblical patriarchs is said to war-
this or that sect), or American Conservative, and so on. A
rant messianic deliverance to their descendants ever after; (2)
few years after publication of the American Conservative
God’s power, particularly, to resurrect the dead; and (3)
movement’s new mah:zor in 1972, a new Reform siddur,
God’s sanctity. The last three blessings may have originated
Gates of Prayer, appeared in 1975, and its companion
in the Temple cult, as they (1) anticipate a restoration of that
mah:zor, Gates of Repentance, was published in 1978. These
cult (in messianic times), (2) offer God thanksgiving, and (3)
were patterned to some extent after Service of the Heart
pray for peace. Some scholars see a further theological mes-
(1967) and Gate of Repentance (1973), the twin volumes is-
sage in GamliDel’s arrangement of the middle blessings,
sued by Great Britain’s Union of Liberal and Progressive
which are said to reflect the classical Jewish doctrine of salva-
Synagogues. Clearly, world Jewry is in the process of defining
tion, beginning with knowledge of God, repentance, and di-
a new post–World War II identity, replete with remarkable
vine forgiveness; and culminating in the ingathering of the
liturgical creativity, including a proliferation of alternative
exiles, establishing a system of justice for the appropriate
prayer books that replicate on the level of whole books the
meting out of reward and punishment, and rebuilding Zion
very principle of “freedom within structure” that has marked
under messianic rule.
rabbinic liturgy from its earliest days.
STRUCTURE AND CONTENTS. Every siddur and mah:zor is
Not every current liturgy includes all these classical
identical in that the public liturgy consists of a specified core
theological statements. Since the Hamburg Prayer Book, Re-
of daily prayers, which are elaborated on holy days so as to
form Jews in particular have modified some of these posi-
reflect their relevant calendrical themes and moods. This
tions in one way or another, and even Orthodox prayer
normal daily structure calls for three services: morning
books that hew faithfully to the received texts have often
(Shah:arit), afternoon (Minh:aht), and evening (EArvit, or
emended their literal message by the inclusion of running
MaEariv); the latter two are generally combined, in practice,
commentaries that accompany the prayers in question.
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SIDDUR AND MAH:ZOR
8389
In time, other rubrics were added to the ShemaE and the
and (2) study material devoted in the main to recalling the
Tefillah. Personal prayer within the context of public wor-
Temple cult.
ship, for example, originally followed the final blessing of the
The afternoon service consists primarily of a Tefillah.
ShemaE; but with GamliDel’s mandate to say the Tefillah in
The evening service presents the nightly ShemaE with, how-
that place, it was postponed until the Tefillah’s conclusion.
ever, an additional blessing requesting divine protection at
The current siddur includes an ideal example of personal
night (the Hashkivenu). There then follows a Tefillah, which
prayer attributed to one of the rabbis of the Babylonian Tal-
was originally optional but has been treated as obligatory
mud, instead of calling for personal devotion from individual
since at least the twelfth century. Both services conclude wtih
worshipers upon conclusion of the Tefillah. Similarly, a Tal-
the EAleinu and the Qaddish.
mudic tradition that as much as an entire confession is ap-
propriate after the recitation of the Tefillah led, by the Mid-
Sabbath prayers. The basic core just outlined is altered
dle Ages, to a series of fixed supplications called Tah:anun,
for special days, by (1) a variety of linguistic changes in stan-
which beg God to act graciously despite humankind’s pauci-
dard prayers and (2) the inclusion of new material befitting
ty of good works. So today’s siddur appends to the Tefillah
the Sabbath theme. For example, the Sabbath is treated as
first the “private prayer” from the Talmud and then the
a foretaste of the perfect messianic age, so the thirteen inter-
Tah:anun. On Mondays and Thursdays a scriptural reading
mediary Tefillah petitions, which imply a lack, and therefore
then precedes the conclusion of the service (a practice as-
imperfection, drop out. Instead, one finds a single benedic-
cribed by tradition to Ezra).
tion affirming the day’s holiness, “Qedushat ha-Yom”
(“Sanctification of the Day”). The morning Torah reading
Concluding prayers include the EAleinu and the Qad-
is supplemented by a correlated reading from the Prophets
dish. The EAleinu is a second-century composition intended
called the haft:arah, and the Torah alone is read again on Sab-
for RoDsh ha-Shanah, but by the fourteenth century it was
bath afternoon.
recited here too, where it provides a daily reminder of two
polar attitudes in Judaism: universalism (in that God is sov-
The siddur calls also for introducing the Sabbath at
ereign over all), and particularism (in that God selected Israel
home by another Qedushat ha-Yom (known as Qiddush)
as the chosen people). The Qaddish resembles Christianity’s
that accompanies the drinking of wine and the lighting of
“Our Father” (the Lord’s Prayer), in that both it and the
candles; these practices date from the first century, if not ear-
Qaddish date from the first century and request “the coming
lier, though the benediction accompanying the Sabbath
of the Kingdom.” Originally, the Qaddish was intended as
lights is a later addition (c. ninth century). At Sabbath’s end,
the conclusion to a daily study session that culminated in a
the Havdalah prayer asserts Judaism’s fundamental binary
sermonic exposition on the theme of God’s promise, but by
dichotomy of reality into opposite realms of sacred and
the eighth century it had become associated with death; it
profane.
was known in Austria, some five hundred years later, express-
ly as a mourners’ prayer. It is said as such today, though it
In the sixteenth century, a service of welcoming the Sab-
appears elsewhere in various forms to divide the sections of
bath (Qabbalat Shabbat) was added to the siddur for Friday
the service.
evening. Rooted in qabbalistic theology, it portrays creation
as a series of continually advancing stages of divine emana-
These expansions—“private prayer,” Tah:anun, reading
tion, so that creation and creator are one and the same entity
of scripture, the EAleinu, and the Qaddish—after the second
seen from two different perspectives, both of which eventu-
major rubric, the Tefillah, are balanced by comparable addi-
ate in the Sabbath. Sabbath (Heb., shabbat) thus signifies not
tions before the first one, the ShemaE. A second-century prac-
only the last day of creation but also the final emanation of
tice of preparing for formal prayer by the informal recitation
the godhead, the female part, so to speak, of an androgynous
of psalms, grew by the ninth century (at least) to become an
God who is pictured as if its masculine and feminine aspects
entire rubric called Pesuqei de-ZimraD (Verses of Song). Its
are in exile from each other, paralleling the fragmentation of
essence is Psalms 145–150, followed by a benediction known
this, the unredeemed world. Accordingly the Qabbalat Shab-
as Birkat ha-Shir (Blessing of Song). These psalms are known
bat service welcomes the Sabbath not only as the seventh day
as the Daily Hallel, and thus form one of three hallels in the
of creation but also as the female aspect of the creator, God,
siddur and mah:zor, the other two being the Great Hallel (Ps.
personified as the Sabbath bride. The service progresses
136) and the Egyptian Hallel (Ps. 113–118), which, in gen-
through the recitation of six psalms, representing the first six
eral, characterize holy day worship.
days of creation, after which the Sabbath arrives and is greet-
ed with the sixteenth-century poem Lekhah dodi (Come, my
Even these introductory Verses of Song are now pref-
beloved), in which the masculine aspect of God is invited to
aced by another lengthy unit known as Birkhot ha-Shah:ar
greet his feminine counterpart, or bride, in preparation for
(Morning Benedictions). It arose as private home devotion
divine union.
but was included as public worship in Amram’s Seder, and
it has remained so despite centuries of debate. Birkhot
Holy day liturgy. Like the Sabbath prayers of the sid-
ha-Shah:ar contains (1) several blessings, generally predating
dur, the holy day mah:zor demonstrates the principle of rele-
200 CE, relevant to awakening and preparing for the new day
vant thematic expansion of a basic liturgical core. But it dif-
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8390
SIDDUR AND MAH:ZOR
fers in that it is rich in piyyut:im (sg., piyyut:). These are highly
far sound as, first, an evocation of the covenant at Sinai and,
stylized poems initiated in Byzantine-ruled Palestine from
second, its role in foreshadowing the messianic era. Malkhu-
the fourth or fifth to the seventh century and composed con-
yot (“sovereignty”) seems to have been added only in the sec-
tinually thereafter elsewhere, until the dawn of modernity.
ond century; the other two elements are observable in pre-70
Scholars do not agree on an explanation of the phenomenon:
fast-day liturgy.
Some see piyyut:im as a form of natural creativity, akin to sur-
Two of the many RoDsh ha-Shanah piyyut:im deserve
rounding Byzantine church hymnody; others follow medi-
mention. First, Unetanneh toqef posits the grand imagery of
eval etiology and explain this poetry as a Jewish response to
judgment before God, and a book of life in which human
persecution. Whatever the case, some piyyut:im were some-
deeds are recorded, such that one’s fate is written down on
how selected for retention in the versions of the mah:zor that
RoDsh ha-Shanah and sealed on Yom Kippur; but (it con-
survived history to become the extant rites actually practiced,
cludes) penitence, prayer, and charity affect atonement. Leg-
and thousands more are still being uncovered in manuscript
end ascribes this poem to an era of persecution in medieval
caches. Piyyut:im are categorized and named according to
Germany, but its actual origin lies in Byzantine Jewish hym-
their poetic form and function, and the liturgical place they
nody centuries earlier. Second, Avinu malkenu begs for grace
occupy. The most important piyyut:im, for example, are qero-
despite one’s lack of works. It began as a brief prayer for rain
vot, by which one designates those interwoven in the bene-
by EAqivaD ben Yosef (second century), but it is today a much
dictions of the Tefillah.
expanded litany, each line beginning with “Avinu malkenu”
The mood and message of specific holy days are implic-
(lit., “Our father and king”; today often rendered “Our par-
itly imparted by their piyyut:im. Sukkot piyyut:im, for exam-
ent and ruler”).
ple, focus on the booths (sukkot) and the taking of the lulav
The mah:zor for Yom Kippur, the climax of the peniten-
and the etrog (the “four species” commanded in Leviticus
tial season, contains a suitably day-long compilation of
23:40); and, following rabbinic interpretation of Sukkot as
prayer, which begins with the famous Kol Nidrei, an Arama-
a day of judgment, the Sukkot mah:zor features piyyut:im
ic liturgical legal formula, deriving either from post-
called hoshanot that implore God to save. ShavuEot, the holi-
Talmudic Palestine or from Babylonian magical folk-
day that celebrates revelation on Sinai, includes piyyut:im
traditions. It became popular despite the condemnation of
called azharot, which list commandments. Passover is recog-
authorities, and in Ashkenazic worship it became known for
nizable from piyyut:im regarding the Exodus and related tra-
its chant, which bears traces of the oldest stratum of syna-
ditions, such as the law and lore pertinent to the making of
gogue music (called mi-sinai, “from Sinai”), traceable to
matsah (unleavened bread). Passover has also a home Seder
twelfth- or thirteenth-century northern Europe. The Yom
with its accompanying liturgical Haggadah. Its contents and
Kippur mah:zor repeats some RoDsh ha-Shanah liturgy too,
structure are largely recognizable by the first or second centu-
notably Avinu malkenu, certain alterations in the Tefillah
ry, though many passages now in use are medieval, and some
that emphasize the themes of divine judgment in the year
reach back only a few hundred years.
ahead and the inscription of one’s fate in the book of life,
The two minor festivals of Purim and H:anukkah, which
and Unetanneh toqef.
celebrate divine redemption as reported in the Book of Esther
A short and a long form of communal confession are
and in Maccabees, respectively, are marked liturgically by a
embedded in the services for Yom Kippur Day. The rabbinic
special Tefillah insertion acknowledging thanksgiving “for
concept of confession (viddui), implied originally profession
the miracle.” Purim also features public liturgical recitation
as well, that is, recognition of human failure and virtue alike.
of the scroll of Esther, a practice paralleled since the Middle
Thus, for example, pilgrims bringing their second tithe
Ages by the reading of four other biblical “scrolls”: Lamenta-
(Ma Eas. Sh. 5.10–13) profess their successful fulfillment of
tions, on TishEa be-Av; Ecclesiastes, on Sukkot; Song of Songs,
covenantal responsibility and call on God to respond in ap-
on Passover; and Ruth, on ShavuEot. The H:anukkah home
propriate measure. But confession of shortcomings was em-
ritual of kindling lights for eight days contains two blessings,
phasized on Yom Kippur, as can be seen from the formula
one that interprets the practice as being derived from divine
recited by the high priest in the Temple then (Yoma D 3.8,
command and another that affirms the H:anukkah miracle.
4.2, 6.2). That formula later entered the synagogue service,
Both blessings are Talmudic, and the second one is used by
along with spontaneous personal confessions, a format fa-
later authorities as a paradigm for the benediction over the
vored at least until the sixth century (B.T., Yoma D 87b). But
Sabbath lights.
by the eighth century, standardized communal confessions
had become the norm.
Like the other holy days, RoDsh ha-Shanah and Yom
Kippur present their own mah:zorim. The former is marked
The Yom Kippur mah:zor is known also for the EAvodah
by a service for the blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) on two
and for Yizkor. The EAvodah is a lengthy poetic saga detailing
separate occasions. The more important of the two asserts
sacred history from creation to the appointment of Aaron
the trifold doctrine of malkhuyot, zikhronot, and shofarot, that
and his descendants as hereditary priests. The Temple cult
is, (1) God’s sovereignty, (2) God’s abiding remembrance of
is then portrayed in loving detail, drawing heavily on rabbin-
the covenant with Israel, and (3) the significance of the sho-
ic recollection of what once transpired there on Yom Kippur
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SIDDUR AND MAH:ZOR
8391
Day. Yizkor (more properly, Hazkarat Neshamot) is a me-
Studies in Jewish Liturgy (Philadelphia, 1930), and D. Kauf-
morial rubric consisting largely of prayers composed in the
man’s “The Prayer Book according to the Ritual of England
wake of massacres by Crusaders in central Europe, and the
before 1290,” Jewish Quarterly Review 4 (1892): 20–63.
KhmelDnitskii persecutions in seventeenth-century Poland.
Because they are Hebrew poems of considerable linguistic com-
Liberal liturgies have expanded these two rubrics, so that
plexity, most piyyut:im remain untranslated. An exception is
their EAvodah sometimes extends sacred history up to the
Ismar Elbogen’s excellent “Kalir Studies,” Hebrew Union
present and anticipates the future; their memorial services
College Annual 3 (1926): 215–224, and 4 (1927): 405–431.
regularly include explicit reference to the Holocaust. (In-
Several piyyut:im have also been translated and annotated by
deed, the Holocaust and the subsequent birth of the modern
Jakob J. Petuchowski. See especially the chapter entitled
state of Israel have emerged as newly celebrated holy days—
“Cult Entertainment and Worship” in his Understanding
Yom ha-ShoDah and Yom ha-EAtsmaDut—with their own li-
Jewish Prayer (New York, 1972), pp. 26–34, which discusses
the perspective adopted by ElEazar Kalir, the author of the
turgical insertions in some siddurim printed today.)
poetry investigated by Elbogen, and the single person whose
Finally, it should be noted that both the siddur and the
primacy among authors of piyyut:im is rarely questioned; and
mah:zor, even though they are intended primarily for public
Theology and Poetry (London, 1978), which discusses the ori-
worship, contain home prayers as well. In addition to those
gin of piyyut:im only briefly but then translates and annotates
already mentioned—Sabbath lights, Qiddush, and Hav-
a variety of these poems with theological consequence. Petu-
dalah; H:anukkah lights; Passover Seder; the sukkah and wav-
chowski also collaborated with Joseph Heinemann in pro-
ducing a popular translation of basic prayers and some
ing the lulav and etrog—the siddur contains regular table lit-
piyyut:im, along with short but reliable introductions, in Lit-
urgy—blessings over diverse foods and grace after meals—
erature of the Synagogue (New York, 1974).
which go back to first-century strata, if not earlier.
The later European era in which the “authorized” shape of the
SEE ALSO Shabbat.
current rites was determined deserves much more research
than has been conducted to date. Lacking are liturgically ori-
B
ented investigations of the influence of specific personalities
IBLIOGRAPHY
The tannaitic and amoraic periods (i.e., until c. 500
and movements from the beginnings of the early western Eu-
CE) are best
surveyed in Richard S. Sarason’s translation of Joseph Heine-
ropean literature until the printing press and the advent of
mann’s Prayer in the Talmud (Berlin, 1977). The period
the Enlightenment, particularly in English. A summary of
thereafter, including the Geonic standardization process, and
some attitudes typical of the later period of Hasidic prayer
Geonic prayer books, is analyzed in detail in my book The
books can be encountered in Louis Jacobs’s Hasidic Prayer
Canonization of the Synagogue Service (Notre Dame, Ind.,
(New York, 1972); and for a theory regarding qabbalistic in-
1979). For further evidence of tannaitic linguistic variety
fluence generally on the standardization of prayer texts, see
(i. e., before 200
my review of Stefan C. Reif’s Shabbethai Sofer and His Prayer
CE), dealt with by Heinemann, see my essay
“Censoring In and Censoring Out: A Function of Liturgical
Book (Cambridge, 1979) in the Journal of Reform Judaism 29
Language,” in Ancient Synagogues, edited by Joseph Guttman
(1982): 61–67. Reif is excellent on the seventeenth century
(Chico, Calif., 1981), pp. 19–37.
and the process of standardizing prayer books that it
brought.
The earliest relatively complete compilations of prayer texts come
from the post-Talmudic period, either from Palestine or
Treatments of individual prayers are too numerous to be listed
Babylonia. Many Palestinian texts have been published, and
here, but many are referred to in the notes to Heinemann’s
a good sampling of them is listed in the bibliography of gen-
Prayer in the Talmud and my Canonization of the Synagogue
izah fragments given by Heinemann in Prayer in the Talmud,
Service, mentioned above. In addition, many pioneer studies
p. 302. Of the two extant siddurim composed by Babylonian
of lasting value, including descriptions of the Palestinian
Geonim, only Seder R. Amram Gaon exists in English transla-
order of service, and theories on the origins of the major ru-
tion: part 1, translated by David Hedegord (Lund, 1951),
brics in the siddur have been collected by Jakob J. Petu-
and part 2, translated by Tryggve Kronholm (Lund, 1974).
chowski in Contributions to the Scientific Study of Jewish Lit-
An illustration of the critical discussion surrounding the ve-
urgy (New York, 1970). For the early lectionary, one should
racity of Amram’s textual recension can be found in volume
consult Ben Zion Wacholder’s “Prolegomenon” to Jacob
1 of Louis Ginzberg’s Geonica (1909; reprint, New York,
Mann’s The Bible as Read and Preached in the Old Synagogue,
1968), pp. 119–154. Though Siddur Sa Eadyah is not in En-
vol. 1, rev. ed. (New York, 1971).
glish translation, a classical discussion thereof can be found
The siddurim and mah:zorim resulting from modern-day prayer
in Ismar Elbogen’s “Saadiah’s Siddur,” in Saadia Anniversary
book reform have attracted much attention. The issues fac-
Volume of the American Academy for Jewish Research, edited
ing German reformers are beautifully summarized, albeit
by B. Cohen (New York, 1943), pp. 247–261. A treatment
with considerable bias, by an early American Reform rabbi,
of some of the problems in reconstructing that siddur is avail-
David Philipson, in his classic account The Reform Movement
able in Naphtali Wieder’s “Fourteen New Genizah Frag-
in Judaism (1907; rev. ed., reprint, New York, 1967). A more
ments of Saadiah’s Siddur Together with a Reproduction of
scientific account is Petuchowski’s Prayerbook Reform in Eu-
a Missing Part,” in Saadya Studies, edited by E. I. J. Rosen-
rope (New York, 1968) and his essay “Abraham Geiger, the
thal (Manchester, 1943).
Reform Jewish Liturgist,” in his New Perspectives on Abraham
For a sampling of studies on individual rites and prayer books, see
Geiger: An HUC-JIR Symposium (New York, 1975),
Abraham I. Schechter’s treatment of the early Italian rite,
pp. 42–55. American alterations in the siddur 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

8392
SÍDH
mah:zor can be traced by looking first at Eric L. Friedland’s
SÍDH. Various occasional titles are used to designate the
EOlath tamid by David Einhorn,” Hebrew Union College
otherworld in early Irish, but the normal generic term for it
Annual 45 (1974): 307–332, and “The Atonement Memori-
is sídh (pl. sídhe). Its common currency in this sense is con-
al Service in the American Mah:zor,” Hebrew Union College
firmed, if that were necessary, by the fact that it was bor-
Annual 55 (1984): 243–282. The former details the influ-
rowed by the author of the Old Welsh poem Preideu Annwn
ence and style of Einhorn’s epochal EOlat tamid, and the lat-
ter treats the memorial service from its origins to date. The
(The spoils of Annwn). The poem tells of a raid by Arthur
Union Prayer Book is treated in Lou H. Silberman’s essay
and three shiploads of his followers on the otherworld
“The Union Prayer Book: A Study of Liturgical Develop-
stronghold of Kaer Sidi (from the Old Irish genitive sídhe)
ment,” in Retrospect and Prospect, edited by Bertram Wallace
with the aim of carrying off the magic caldron of abundance
Korn (New York, 1965), pp. 46–80, and in my article “The
which belonged to the lord of the otherworld. Annwn is a
Language of Survival in American Reform Liturgy,” CCAR
common term in Welsh for the otherworld, conceived in this
Journal 24 (1977): 87–106. The prayer books that defined
instance as somewhere reached after a journey by boat but
Conservative Judaism in the 1940s can be approached
more generally described as somewhere beneath the ground.
through a reading of Robert Gordis’s candid account of the
Similarly the Irish otherworld, whether designated by sídh or
siddur he himself directed, “A Jewish Prayer Book for the
by another word, is occasionally envisaged as being overseas
Modern Age,” Conservative Judaism 2 (October 1945): 1–20.
but much more frequently as being underground.
The liturgical renaissance of today arises out of the initial, some-
what inchoate, strivings of a “creative liturgy” movement
It is said that when the Gaels (the Irish Celts) came to
that I surveyed in “Creative Liturgy,” Jewish Spectator 40
Ireland and defeated the divine Tuatha Dé Danann, their
(Winter 1975): 42–50. The Conservative movement’s new
poet and judge Amhairghin decreed that Ireland be divided
Mah:zor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, edited by Jules
in two and that the underground half be given to the Tuatha
Harlow (New York, 1972), is reviewed in Petuchowski’s
Dé Danann and the other half to the Gaels. So it was done,
“Conservative Liturgy Come of Age,” Conservative Judaism
and the Daghdha, the senior of the gods, assigned to each
27 (1972): 3–11. The Reform movement’s current siddur,
of the chiefs of the Tuatha Dé his own fairy dwelling. As
Gates of Prayer, and its mah:zor, Gates of Repentance, both ed-
Marie-Louise Sjoestedt has commented, this division “marks
ited by Chaim Stern (New York, 1975–1978), are accompa-
nied by companion volumes, prepared under my editorial su-
the end of the mythical period when the supernatural was
pervision, that discuss the purpose and philosophy behind
undisputed master of the earth, and the beginning of a new
them: Gates of Understanding, 2 vols. (New York, 1977–
period in which men and gods inhabit the earth together.
1983), in which see especially vol. 1, pp. 131–168. Finally,
From that moment the great problem of religion becomes
my own thought has most recently been published in Beyond
important, the problem of the relationship between man and
the Text: A Wholistic Interpretation of Liturgy (Bloomington,
the gods” (Gods and Heroes of the Celts, London, 1949,
Ind., 1986).
p. 47).
New Sources
But while the otherworld was generally associated with
Brisman, Leslie. “‘As It Is Written’ in the New Conservative
the subterranean regions, it was not confined to them. Tran-
Prayerbook [‘Siddur Sim Shalom’].” Orim 1–2 (1986):
scending as it did the limitations of human space as well as
6–22.
time, its location was perceived with considerable flexibility:
Ellenson, David Harry. “A New Rite from Israel: Reflections on
it could be under the sea as well as under the ground, in near-
‘Siddur Va’ani Tefillati’ of the Masorati (Conservative)
by or distant islands, in houses which may disappear as sud-
Movement.” Studies in Contemporary Jewry 15 (1999):
denly as they first appeared, or it could be coextensive with
151–168.
the secular world. It could be reached through a cave, the wa-
Falk, Marcia. The Book of Blessings: New Jewish Prayers for Daily
ters of a lake, a magic mist, or simply through the acquisition
Life, the Sabbath, and the New Moon Festival. San Francisco,
of heightened insight. But it was not merely a spiritual world,
1996.
which is presumably why the creators of Celtic mythic narra-
Gelbard, Shmuel Pinhas. “Prayer and the ‘Siddur.’” Journal of
tive sought in many instances to give it a clear geographic
Jewish Music and Liturgy 24 (2001–2002): 8–18.
identity: Lucan in his Pharsalia (5.452) wrote that the conti-
Hammer, Reuven. Entering the High Holy Days: A Guide to the Or-
nental Celts had no fear of death since it was for them only
igins, Themes, and Prayers. Philadelphia, 1998.
the middle of a long life. According to him, their druids
Newman, Judith Hood. Praying by the Book: The Scripturalization
taught them that after death human souls continued to con-
of Prayer in Second Temple Judaism. Atlanta, 1999.
trol their bodies in another world (alio orbe); mutatis mu-
Silverman, Morris. “Further Comments on the Text of the Sid-
tandis, this would also be a fair summary of the view of the
dur.” Journal of Jewish Music and Liturgy 13 (1990–1991):
afterlife implicit in early Irish and Welsh tradition.
33–42.
Very frequently in Irish tradition the subterranean loca-
Weissler, Chava. Voices of the Matriarchs: Listening to the Prayers
tion of the otherworld is identified with certain hills and
of Early Modern Jewish Women. Boston, 1998.
mounds, whether natural or manmade—so much so, in fact,
LAWRENCE A. HOFFMAN (1987)
that the word sídh commonly means simply “fairy or other-
Revised Bibliography
world hill,” in other words, an ordinary hill, usually modest
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SIKHISM
8393
in size, within which a whole world of supernatural beings
oneness of reality. They revere their sacred text, the Guru¯
live their own varied lives. Sometimes the sídh is a megalithic
Granth. They conduct public worship in a gurdwara, with
burial mound, as in the case of the great tumulus of New-
the Guru¯ Granth as the center of all their rites and ceremo-
grange at Bruigh na Bóinne, which was pre-Celtic but was
nies. Both Sikh men and women keep their hair unshorn and
assimilated to Gaelic mythology and considered to be the
identify themselves in the code given by their tenth guru¯.
home of the god Mac ind Óg, the Irish equivalent of British
HERITAGE: GURU¯ NA¯NAK AND THE ORIGINS OF SIKHISM.
and continental Celtic Maponos. The related Welsh term,
Sikhism began with the religious experience of Na¯nak. When
gorsedd (“mound”), had similar supernatural associations,
he was twenty-nine years old, he had a divine revelation.
though these are less fully or clearly documented. But evi-
Thereafter Na¯nak traveled extensively, spreading his message
dently this denotation of “hill” was not the primary meaning
of the singularity of the ultimate reality and the consequent
of *sedos, the Celtic form from which Irish sídh derived.
unity of humanity. Poetry was his medium of expression. At
Based on the Indo-European root sed- (“sit”), its semantic
the end of his travels, he settled on the banks of the river
evolution seems to have moved from “residence in general”
Ravi, where a community of Sikhs gathered. Several institu-
to “residence of the gods,” that is, the otherworld, and then
tions that are vital to Sikh spirituality and morality in the
to those hills within which the gods were believed to reside.
twenty-first century had their genesis in this first community
Nor does its evolution end there, for by semantic transfer-
established by Na¯nak.
ence Irish sídh came to refer also to the supernatural beings
Seva¯, voluntary service, was for Na¯nak an essential con-
who inhabit the sídh residence, and in modern spoken Irish
dition of moral discipline. Through service to their commu-
the generic term for an otherworldly being or fairy is sídheog,
nity, Sikh believers cultivate humility, overcome egotism,
the diminutive of sídh.
and purify their body and mind. Seva¯ may take the form of
S
attending to the holy book, sweeping and dusting Sikh
EE ALSO Annwn.
shrines, or preparing and serving food. It also includes help-
B
ing the larger community by building schools, hospitals, or-
IBLIOGRAPHY
Carey, John. “The Location of the Otherworld in Irish Tradi-
phanages, and charity homes.
tion.” Éigse 19 (1982): 36–43. Seeks to demonstrate that the
Langar is both the community meal and the kitchen in
overseas location of the otherworld was not part of the indig-
which it is prepared. In Guru¯ Na¯nak’s time, the idea of dif-
enous tradition. The point is well argued, if not wholly
ferent castes eating together was revolutionary. It has evolved
proven.
into a central practice of Sikhism. Eating together in a gurd-
Nutt, Alfred. “The Happy Otherworld in the Mythico-Romantic
wara complex means a lot to Sikhs, especially in diasporic
Literature of the Irish.” In The Voyage of Bran, Son of Febal,
communities. So long as they cover their heads, non-Sikhs
to the Land of the Living, edited by Kuno Meyer and Alfred
are welcomed too. Langar testifies to the social equality and
Nutt, vol. 1, pp. 101–332. London, 1895.
familyhood of all people.
Ó Cathasaigh, Tomás. “The Semantics of ‘síd.’” Éigse 17 (1977–
Sangat is a sacred gathering of Sikhs. Guru¯ Na¯nak wel-
1978): 137–155. Examines the generally accepted identity of
comed everyone who wished to follow his teachings. It is an
sídh (“otherworld [hill]”) and sídh (“peace”) and explores its
egalitarian community without priests or ordained ministers.
implications in terms of the relationship between sacral king-
ship and the supernatural powers.
Members of a Sikh congregation sit on the floor as they sing
hymns, listen to scriptural readings, and pray together with-
PROINSIAS MAC CANA (1987 AND 2005)
out restrictions of gender, race, creed, or caste. According to
Sikh scripture, sangat has transformative powers: “Just as iron
rubbed against the philosopher’s stone turns into gold, so
SIH:R SEE MAGIC, ARTICLE ON MAGIC IN ISLAM
does dark ignorance transform into brilliant light in compa-
ny of the good” (Guru¯ Granth 303).
A guru¯, for Na¯nak, is someone who reveals the divine.
The role of the guru¯ is to apply the eyeliner of knowledge
SIKHISM. The word Sikh means disciple or student
(gya¯n anjan) to enhance vision so one can see the transcen-
(from Sanskrit ´sis:ya, Pali sikha). Sikhism is traced to the per-
dent One (Guru¯ Granth 610). Before Guru¯ Na¯nak passed
son and ideology of Guru¯ Na¯nak, who was born in the Pun-
away, he appointed Angad as his successor, bequeathing him
jab in 1469. The religion developed through Na¯nak’s nine
his inspired utterances.
successor guru¯s within the historical and geographical param-
The second guru¯ continued the tradition of sacred poet-
eters of Hinduism and Islam. In the early twenty-first centu-
ry, which he felt was important for the knowledge it brought
ry there are twenty million Sikhs. The vast majority lives in
to human life. The transference of guruship from Na¯nak to
the fertile plains of the Punjab, with agriculture as a major
Angad was repeated successively until the installation of the
occupation. But with their spirit of adventure and entrepre-
tenth guru¯, Gobind Singh. The ten guru¯s are:
neurship skills, many have migrated to other parts of India
and around the globe. Sikhs follow the teachings of their ten
Guru¯ Na¯nak (1469–1539)
guru¯s—from Na¯nak to Gobind Singh. They believe in the
Guru¯ Angad (1504–1552)
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SIKHISM
Guru¯ Amar Das (1479–1574)
guage of scripture either Sanskrit or Arabic, the Sikh guru¯
brought together voices that expressed a common spiritual
Guru¯ Ram Das (1534–1581)
quest. What governed Guru¯ Arjan’s choice was not a syncre-
Guru¯ Arjan (1563–1606)
tism or synthesis of concepts and doctrines from prevailing
Guru¯ Hargobind (1595–1644)
religious traditions but rather his penetrating insight into the
divine. Like his predecessors, Guru¯ Arjan believed that
Guru¯ Har Rai (1630–1661)
knowledge of the transcendent is attained neither through
Guru¯ Har Kishen (1656–1664)
servitude to a god of the Hindu pantheon (sevai gosain) nor
through worship to Allah (sevai alla¯h). It is received through
Guru¯ Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)
an active recognition of, and participation in, the divine will
Guru¯ Gobind Singh (1666–1708)
(hukam):
For the Sikhs the same light is reflected in these ten different
Some address Ra¯m, some Khuda, Some worship Go-
bodies, and the same voice speaks through all ten.
sain, some Allah . . . . Says Na¯nak, those who recog-
nize the divine will It is they who know the secret of
Before his death in 1708, the tenth guru¯ ended the line
the transcendent One. (Guru¯ Granth 885)
of personal guru¯s by investing the Granth with guruship.
From that time on, Sikhs have revered the Granth as their
Arjan was a prolific poet and reiterated Na¯nak’s metaphysical
ever present guru¯ and derived their guidance and inspiration
formulation, “Ik Oan˙ka¯r” (literally, “1 Being Is”) in vivid im-
from this sacred book. There is no other guru¯. Thus the mes-
agery and from a variety of perspectives. The Granth contains
sage and the mission begun by Guru¯ Na¯nak continued
2,218 hymns by him, including his popular hymn Sukhmani
through nine more guru¯s and culminated in the Guru¯
(The pearl of peace).
Granth. Sikhs celebrate the identity between their guru¯s and
Once the Granth was complete, Guru¯ Arjan set most of
their poetic utterances: “Bani [voice] is the guru¯, the guru¯ is
its hymns to thirty-one classical Indian ra¯gas. In this way he
Bani, within Bani lie all elixirs” (Guru¯ Granth 982).
harmonized the verses with the natural rhythm of the day,
GURU¯ ARJAN AND THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF SIKH RELI-
season, region, and inner moods and emotions. But he did
GION. Guru
¯ Arjan, the fifth guru¯, was the son of Bibi Bhani
not limit the musical measures to the classical ra¯ga system;
(daughter of Guru¯ Amar Das, the third guru¯) and Guru¯ Ram
he also utilized folk musical patterns with elemental beats as
Das (the fourth guru¯). During his guruship, Sikhism ac-
well as regional bhakti and kafi forms with their own primal
quired strong scriptural, doctrinal, and organizational foun-
rhythms and other musical styles extending from Afghani-
dations. Guru¯ Arjan gave Sikhism its scripture, the Guru¯
stan to the south of the Indian Peninsula. Rather than con-
Granth, and its sacred space, the Golden Temple (Har¯ı
struct theological treatises or list ethical injunctions, he gave
Mandir). He encouraged agriculture and trade and organized
the Sikhs a body of literature, which he wanted them to eat
a system of financial support for the Sikh religion. During
(khavai) and savor (bhunchai). In his epilogue to the Granth,
this period Sikhs traded in Afghanistan, Persia, and Turkey.
Arjan offers the Granth as a platter: “they who eat this, they
Guru¯ Arjan articulated a distinct Sikh identity that was clear-
who relish it / they are liberated.”
ly different from Hinduism and Islam: “I do not make the
h:a¯jj nor any Hindu pilgrimage, I serve the One and no other.
The Guru¯ Granth is a thal (large metal dish) on which
I neither perform Hindu worship nor do I offer Muslim
lies truth (sat), contentment (santokh), and contemplation
prayers, I have taken the formless One into my heart. I am
(vicaru). The epistemological value of these dishes is savored
neither Hindu nor Muslim” (Guru¯ Granth 1136). Arjan’s
and absorbed by the body. The fifth guru¯ made Na¯nak’s aes-
compilation of the Granth and his building of the Har¯ı
thetic experience the quintessential practice for the growing
Mandir were both vital phenomena for the construction of
Sikh community.
Sikh psyche and Sikh identity.
The Har¯ı Mandir. On August 16, 1604, Guru¯ Arjan
The Guru¯ Granth. With Bhai Gurdas as his scribe,
ceremoniously put the Granth in the inner sanctuary of the
Arjan compiled the Guru¯ Granth in 1604. He gathered to-
Har¯ı Mandir in Amritsar. He had built the gurdwara in the
gether the passionate expressions of the Sikh guru¯s, Hindu
center of a pool his father had begun. The guru¯-architect’s
bhaktas, and Muslim saints. The Sikh guru¯’s editorial lens
structural plans and designs concretized the philosophical
did not demarcate boundaries between Sikh, Hindu, or
message and the literary patterns of the sacred verse. Later
Muslim: the spiritual language was common to them all.
patrons, including Ma¯hara¯ja¯ Ranjit Singh, employed Mus-
Whatever resonated philosophically and artistically with the
lim, Hindu, and Sikh craftspeople to build upon and embel-
verse of the founding guru¯, he included it in the Granth. But
lish the unique Sikh ideals cherished by Guru¯ Arjan. Emerg-
Arjan did not model the Sikh text on either Muslim or
ing from the shimmering waters, Guru¯ Arjan’s structure
Hindu scriptures, nor did he include passages from either of
appears to stand without any solid borders or boundaries.
their revered scriptures. Against a divisive backdrop in which
The innumerable abstract patterns on its walls set the imagi-
God was either Ra¯m or Rahim, the worship was either namaz
nation in motion. The panoramic view of the building merg-
or puja, the place of worship mandir or masjid, and the lan-
ing at once with transparent waters and radiant sunlight
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SIKHISM
8395
sweeps the visitor into a sensory swirl. Here the Sikhs visually
3. kara, a steel bracelet worn around the right wrist,
encounter Guru¯ Na¯nak’s perception of the infinite One.
4. kacha, long underwear,
The entry into the Golden Temple complex requires a
downward motion. The physical descent ensures that the
5. kirpan, a sword.
precincts are entered with a sense of humility. Guru¯ Na¯nak
These five K’s have become an essential part of their individ-
had said, “Getting rid of ego, we receive the word” (Guru¯
ual and communal identity. Furthermore all Sikh men have
Granth 228). In order to absorb the divine, the selfish, egotis-
the surname Singh, meaning “lion,” and all women have the
tical “I” must be emptied. Guru¯ Arjan reiterated the patho-
surname Kaur, meaning “princess.” Thus Sikh men and
genic effects of egocentricity: “By getting rid of arrogance we
women abandon their former castes, hereditary occupations,
become devoid of hatred” (Guru¯ Granth 183). The poison
belief systems, and rituals and join the new family. Women
of arrogance and egocentricity fills arteries with hostility
are liberated from tracing their lineage to their father or
toward the human family and the mind with inertia and
adopting a husband’s name after marriage.
ignorance.
Guru¯ Gobind Singh was also a superb poet. He com-
The four doors of the Har¯ı Mandir were Arjan’s archi-
posed heroic and martial poetry to inspire bravery and infuse
tectural translation of his ethical injunction: “ks:atriya, brah-
the hearts of men and women with self-confidence and love
man, ´su¯dra, and vai´sya, all four classes have the same man-
for the divine. His verses are included in the collection
date” (Guru¯ Granth 747). Rejecting societal distinctions, the
known as the Dasam Granth (Tenth book).
Granth declares that religion succeeds “when the entire earth
M
becomes one color” (Guru¯ Granth 663). “Color” (varna) is
A¯HARA¯JA¯ RANJIT SINGH (1780–1839) AND THE SIKH
K
the standard Indian word for the four classes, so by calling
INGDOM. By the middle of the eighteenth century Sikhs
had become a major political force, and at the end of the cen-
for the world to be of “one color,” it is demanding an end
tury they established a state of their own. In 1799 Ranjit
to class discrimination. The four doors opened up to wel-
Singh, the nineteen-year-old leader of a Kha¯lsa¯ band, seized
come people from all castes and complexions. Walking
power peacefully in the city of Lahore. Guided by Sada Kaur
through the doors, Sikhs could understand what Na¯nak
(1762–1832), his mother-in-law, Ranjit Singh integrated
meant: “accept all humans as your equals, and let them be
twelve warring Sikh bands into a sovereign state. In 1801 the
your only sect” (Japu 28).
Sikhs crowned him ma¯hara¯ja¯ of the Punjab. Known as the
GURU¯ GOBIND SINGH AND THE CULTIVATION OF SIKH
“Lion of the Punjab,” Ranjit Singh ruled for forty years. He
IDENTITY. The tenth guru¯, Gobind Singh, created the
created a formidable army and added Multan, Kashmir, and
Kha¯lsa¯ (Community of the Pure) in 1699 and translated
Peshawar to his kingdom. His court represented unparalleled
Na¯nak’s metaphysical ideal of the singular divine into an ef-
pageantry and brilliance. He wore the world’s largest dia-
fective social reality. Guru¯ Tegh Bahadur (the ninth guru¯
mond (the Kohinoor) on his right arm.
and father of Guru¯ Gobind Singh) gave up his life for reli-
gious freedom. The tenth guru¯ was barely nine at that time.
The ma¯hara¯ja¯ remained a devout Sikh who built and
His mother, Mata Gujari, brought him up courageously.
renovated many shrines. Even his foreign employees had to
Sikhs pay homage at the two shrines dedicated to her near
live by the Sikh code: they had to wear their beards long and
the town of Sirhind: Gurdwara Mata Gujari, where she spent
refrain from eating beef and from smoking tobacco. A decade
the last four days of her life and, just a mile away, Gurdwara
after his death, Sikhs lost their enormous and splendid king-
Joti Sarup, where she was cremated.
dom to the British in 1849. Ranjit Singh’s wife, Maharani
Jindan (1817–1863), was famous for her sharp intelligence,
The Kha¯lsa¯ was born when Guru¯ Gobind Singh invited
and the British referred to her as the only courageous “man”
the first five initiates to sip amrit, the sacred nectar, from the
in the area. The Sikh ma¯hara¯ja¯’s Kohinoor diamond was cut
same bowl. By sipping from the same bowl, these five people
down to fit Queen Victoria’s crown, and his young son Dalip
from different castes boldly denounced the divisions of caste,
(1838–1893) was converted to Christianity and exiled to En-
class, and hereditary profession. Guru¯ Gobind Singh had
gland. Generations of heroic Sikhs began to serve the British
prepared the drink by stirring water in a steel bowl with his
army, valorously fighting in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Sikhs
double-edged sword while sacred hymns were recited. His
formed a major part of the imperial army in World War I.
wife, Mata Jitoji, added sugar puffs, intermingling the
strength of steel with the sweetness of sugar. The drink nour-
SINGH SABHA AND THE REDISCOVERY OF SIKH IDENTITY.
ished the initiates physically and psychologically to fight
Ma¯hara¯ja¯ Ranjit Singh loved pomp and ceremony, and at his
against oppressive and unjust leaders and uphold the values
court he reintroduced many of the Brahmanic rites that had
of liberty and equality.
been discarded by the Sikh guru¯s. Later, under colonial rule,
Christian missionaries started to make conversions among
The amrit initiation is open to both Sikh men and
the Sikhs. In response to this loss of Sikh identity, the Singh
women, and both are equally enjoined to wear the emblems
Sabha movement was founded in Amritsar in 1873. Its goal
of the Kha¯lsa¯, popularly known as the “five K’s”:
was to reform and renew Sikh philosophy and culture. Simi-
1. kesha, uncut hair,
lar movements were founded by Hindus and Muslims to
2. kangha, a comb tucked in the hair to keep it tidy,
counteract Christian missionary activity. The Singh Sabha
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8396
SIKHISM
promoted the building of Sikh schools and colleges; one of
male or female, who can read Gurmukhi script may read the
its greatest achievements was the founding of the Kha¯lsa¯ Col-
Guru¯ Granth. Kirtan is the singing of the scriptural verses.
lege at Amritsar in 1892. The Singh Sabha also encouraged
Harmonium and tabla (a set of drums) are the most common
the production of books and newspapers to help bring Sikhs
musical accompaniments.
back to the teachings of their ten guru¯s. Bhai Vir Singh, the
Special social functions and rites of passage are marked
most prolific and inspiring Singh Sabha author, created vivid
by the bhog ceremony. The word bhog literally means “plea-
female characters like Sundari, Rani Raj Kaur, and Subhag
sure.” In Sikhism it signifies the gratification attained by hav-
Kaur as paradigms for Sikh morality.
ing concluded a reading of the scriptures. It has similar con-
The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, es-
notations to the Greek word eucharist, which means
tablished in 1920, continues to be the highest Sikh executive
“thanksgiving” and refers specifically the Christian sacra-
committee. With its headquarters in Amritsar, the Shiro-
ment of Holy Communion. Bhog involves reading the con-
mani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee sets up rules and
cluding pages of the Guru¯ Granth, saying ardas (the Sikh
regulations for Sikhs to follow throughout the world.
counterpart of the Lord’s Prayer in Christianity), and partak-
ing of the Sikh sacrament of karahprashad, which concludes
In an attempt to formalize the message of the guru¯s, the
every religious ceremony. Karahprashad is a sweet sacrament
Sikh Rahit Maryada (Sikh code of conduct) was published
consisting of equal portions of butter, flour, sugar, and water.
in 1950. This thirty-seven-page document was produced
During its preparation, Sikh men and women keep their
after years of deliberation and consultation amongst eminent
heads covered and their feet bare and recite the verses of the
Sikhs both in India and abroad. It is used as the standard
guru¯s. When the karahprashad is ready, it is put in a large
guide by Sikhs in their performance of personal (shakhsi) and
flat dish and placed on the right side of the Guru¯ Granth.
organizational (panthak) duties. The Sikh Rahit Maryada for-
After scriptural readings, the warm and aromatic sacrament
bids both men and women to cut or trim their hair. It also
is distributed to the entire congregation.
forbids them to eat meat from an animal that has been slowly
GURDWARA. In public, Sikh worship is conducted in a gurd-
bled to death in the h:ala¯l method (Sikhs may only eat jhatka
wara; literally, the doorway (dwara) to the guru¯. The shrines
meat—from an animal killed in one stroke). It prohibits
serve as a central point for the local Sikh community: they
adultery and the use of tobacco and narcotics. This impor-
are its source of information, assistance, food, shelter, and
tant Sikh manual also tries to combat female oppression.
fellowship. The gurdwaras are designed on the open and in-
Sikh women should not veil their faces; female infanticide
clusive architectural patterns of the Har¯ı Mandir. There is
is forbidden; and widows are free to remarry. It also abolishes
no central chamber from which any male or female is exclud-
the old Punjabi custom whereby a widow was shamefully
ed, for the Guru¯ Granth is the focal point to which everyone
wrapped in a sheet and carried away to the brother of her
has equal access.
dead husband.
Besides the Har¯ı Mandir, there are five places that are
WORSHIP: GURU¯ GRANTH. Reading their sacred verse, hear-
particularly important for the Sikhs. They are called the five
ing it, singing it, or sitting in its presence constitute the core
takhts, the five seats of temporal authority. The Akal Takht
of Sikh ritual. To have a room in their homes enshrining the
in Amritsar faces the Golden Temple and is regarded as the
Guru¯ Granth is the aspiration of most Sikhs. Both at home
supreme seat of religious and temporal authority. The other
and in public places of worship, the Guru¯ Granth is treated
four are associated with the tenth guru¯: Patna Sa¯hib in Bihar,
with the highest respect and veneration. It is draped in cloth
where he was born; Keshgarh, in Anandpur, where he created
(called rumala), placed on quilted mats, and supported by
the Kha¯lsa¯; Hazur Sa¯hib in Nander, where he died; and
cushions. A canopy hangs over it for protection, and a whisk
Damdama, near Bhatinda, which later developed into a cen-
is waved over it as a sign of respect. Sikhs everywhere bow
ter of Sikh learning.
before the Guru¯ Granth and seat themselves on the floor.
C
They remove their shoes and cover their heads in the pres-
ELEBRATIONS. True living for Sikhs involves remembering
the one reality as often and as intimately as possible. The
ence of their holy book. The Guru¯ Granth is opened at dawn.
daily spiritual routine (nit nem) consists of recitations of
This act of opening the holy book is called prakash, “making
hymns from the various guru¯s, including Guru¯ Na¯nak’s
the light manifest.” Vak, or “the order of the day,” is ob-
Japu, which is read, recited, or heard on tape in the morning.
tained by opening the book at random and reading the pas-
sage on the top of the left-hand page. After dusk, the Guru¯
Annually Sikhs celebrate gurpurabs (the days of the
Granth is closed. The closing ritual is called sukhasan, which
guru¯). These days commemorate the birthdays of their
means “to place at rest.” The Guru¯ Granth is read for all rites
guru¯s, important historical events, and the martyrdom of
of passage, for any family celebration (e.g., a new house, a
their heroes. All over the world Sikhs joyously celebrate the
new job, an engagement), and for all times of uncertainty
birth of Guru¯ Na¯nak, the installation of the Guru¯ Granth
and difficulty (e.g., sickness or death). The reading at these
in the Har¯ı Mandir, and the birth of the Kha¯lsa¯. Baisakhi,
events may be saptah, a seven-day reading, or it may be ak-
which is also the first day of the Sikh calendar and commem-
hand, a forty-eight hour, nonstop reading of its 1,430 portfo-
orates Guru¯ Gobind Singh’s creation of the Kha¯lsa¯. During
lio pages, during which several readers take turns. Any Sikh,
gurpurabs, uninterrupted readings of scripture take place, in-
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SIKHISM
8397
tellectual symposiums are held, and musical performances
Year) festivities in Anand pur that year, the guru and his wife
are organized. Gurpurab celebrations also include huge Sikh
prepared amrit and five men from different castes sipped it
processions with colorful floats carrying the Guru¯ Granth
from the same bowl. The drink purified them of all mental
and depicting different aspects of Sikh life. Throughout the
constraints, ending centuries of hereditary oppressions of
gurpurab, Sikhs will stop fast-moving cars and buses on the
caste, class, and profession. Zealous proselytization is alien
road and offer langar (food and snacks) to the travelers.
to Sikhs.
The Punjabi folk dances, gidda and bhangra, are popular
Weddings. Anand Karaj (from anand, “bliss,” and
performances during Sikh celebrations. Gidda is choreo-
karaj, “event”) is the Sikh rite of marriage. No words or ges-
graphed by women in gentle and lithesome movement. To-
tures are directly exchanged between the bride and groom,
gether they celebrate nature and its bountiful gifts through
nor are any legal formalities performed between their fami-
the seasons of spring, summer, monsoon, autumn, and win-
lies. The wedding takes place either in a gurdwara or in the
ter. Amid sparkling agrarian scenes, gidda captures simple ac-
home of the bride, with everyone seated on the floor in front
tivities: how they milk cows, cook mustard seeds, do needle-
of the Guru¯ Granth. Anand Karaj begins with the father of
work, fan in the summer, buy glass bangles, churn milk in
the bride handing one end of a scarf (about two and a quarter
the morning, carry water in earthenware pitchers sturdily
yards in length) to the groom and the other to his daughter.
balanced on their heads, and help with plowing and harvest-
Through the auspiciously colored scarf (pink, saffron, or
ing. Bhangra is traditionally performed by a group of men.
red), the couple is bonded together. Each holding one end
It dates back to the fourteenth century, originating in West
of the scarf, the groom and the bride then walk around the
Punjab (now a part of Pakistan). But in modern times bhan-
holy book four times. The four circumambulations by the
gra has become extremely popular with both Sikh men and
couple correspond to the four lavan (circle) passages read by
women. Dressed in bright colors, the group dances in an ele-
the official reader of the Guru¯ Granth. After each circling of
mental rhythm to the beat of a large drum, and everybody
the book, the bride and the groom touch their foreheads
joins in songs celebrating Punjabi village life. With the mi-
to the ground and rejoin the congregation by seating them-
gration of Sikh communities to the West, this Punjabi folk
selves on the floor in front. Bowing together to the Guru¯
dance has become popular with young music lovers in Brit-
Granth marks their acceptance of each other. They are sole-
ain, Europe, and North America. The modern form of bhan-
ly—and equally—bound to the sacred word rather than to
gra combines North Indian folk music with a kaleidoscope
any legal or social authority. The rite concludes with Guru¯
of contemporary styles, including reggae and Western pop.
Amar Das’s rapturous hymn Anand, the name of the wed-
RITES OF PASSAGE. In Sikhism there are four rites of passage:
ding ceremony itself. This popular scriptural hymn by the
name giving, amrit initiation, marriage, and death.
third guru¯ is liturgically recited at the conclusion of all Sikh
congregational services and joyful ceremonies. But with its
Name Giving. Sikh children are named in consultation
focus on the bliss that results from the union of the individu-
with the holy book. While the spine of the book rests on the
al with the divine, Anand is particularly appropriate for the
cushions, a reader (a family member if the rite is held at the
wedding ceremony.
home, an official reader if it is at the gurdwara) holds the
Guru¯ Granth closed with both hands and then gently lets it
Death. Life and death are regarded as natural processes,
open at random. The child is given a name that begins with
and just as each day that dawns must set, so must all people
the first letter appearing at the top of the left-hand page
depart. The dead body is carried on a stretcher by the closest
where the Guru¯ Granth opens. Sikhs do not have different
male relatives and friends of the family to the funeral
names for boys and girls. The addition of the name Kaur or
grounds, where it is cremated. As customary from ancient
Singh indicates the gender of the child. The child also re-
times, the pyre is lighted by the oldest son. The body returns
ceives his or her first kara or steel bracelet. The recitation of
to the elements it is made up of: the fire of the person merges
kirtan (hymns of praise) readings from the Guru¯ Granth, the
with the crematory flames, his or her breath merges with the
recitation of ardas (the daily prayer), and the partaking of
air, his or her body merges with the body of the earth, and
langar are the central activities, just as they are for all Sikh
his or her ashes and bones (phul; literally, “flowers”) are im-
rites of passage.
mersed in the flowing waters of a river or stream. Death in
the family is marked by a reading of the Guru¯ Granth. A bhog
Amrit initiation. No particular age is prescribed for
ceremony takes place on the tenth day, with the final prayers
amrit initiation. It may be as soon as a boy or a girl is old
recited for peace to the deceased. At the death anniversary,
enough to be able to read the scripture and comprehend the
the family will supply langar to the community.
articles of the Sikh faith. The initiation is open to all. Ac-
cording to the Rahit Maryada, “Any man or woman of what-
POPULAR MORALITY. Sikhism validates normal activities:
ever nationality, race, or social standing, who is prepared to
“While laughing, playing, dressing up, and eating we attain
accept the rules governing the Sikh community, has the right
liberation” (Guru¯ Granth 522). Its strong work ethic is
to receive amrit initiation.” It follows the pattern established
summed up in a popular maxim: “Work hard [kirat karni],
by Guru¯ Gobind Singh on Baiskahi 1699. Sikhs firmly be-
remember the divine [na¯m japna], and share your enjoyment
lieve that during Baisakhi (the first day of the Indian New
with others [vand chhakna].” Sikhs bring the divine into the
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8398
SIKKIMESE RELIGION
daily rhythms of their lives, and they even exalt the divine
(Delhi, 2003). For Sikh art and literature, see Madanjit
in their everyday greetings: whenever they want to say hello
Kaur, The Golden Temple: Past and Present (Amritsar, India,
or goodbye, they join their hands and say “sat sri akal” (truth
1983); Patwant Singh, The Golden Temple (Hong Kong,
is timeless). Their frequent exclamation—waheguru—surges
1988); Susan Stronge, ed., The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms
with a sense of wonder and echoes Guru¯ Na¯nak’s awe (wah)
(London, 1999); Kerry Brown, ed., Sikh Art and Literature
when he first experienced the transcendent One.
(London, 1999); and B. N. Goswamy, Piety and Splendour:
Sikh Heritage in Art
(New Delhi, 2000).
SEE ALSO A¯di Granth; Dasam Granth; Hindi Religious Tra-
For studies on the Sikh diaspora, see Parminder Bhachu, Twice
ditions; Na¯nak; Singh, Gobind.
Migrants: East African Sikh Settlers in Britain (New York,
1985); Bruce La Brack, The Sikhs of Northern California,
B
1904–1975 (New York, 1988); Gerry Barrier and Verne A.
IBLIOGRAPHY
For a basic introduction to Sikhism, see Harbans Singh, The Heri-
Dusenbery, eds., The Sikh Diaspora: Migration and the Expe-
tage of the Sikhs, 2d rev. ed. (New Delhi, 1994); Hew McL-
rience Beyond Punjab (Delhi, 1989); D. S. Tatla, Sikhs in
eod, Sikhism (London, 1997); Khushwant Singh, A History
North America: An Annotated Bibliography (New York,
of the Sikhs, 2d ed. (Delhi, 1991); Max Arthur Macauliffe,
1991); Pashaura Singh and Gerry Barrier, eds., Sikh Identity:
The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings, and Authors
Continuity and Change (Delhi, 1999); Harold Coward, ed.,
(Oxford, 1909); Owen Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi, The
The South Asian Religious Diaspora in Britain, Canada, and
Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, 2d ed. (Brighton,
the United States (Albany, N.Y., 2000); and Cynthia Mah-
U.K., 1995); J. S. Grewal, From Guru Nanak to Maharaja
mood and Stacy Brady, Guru’s Gift: An Ethnography Explor-
Ranjit Singh: Essays in Sikh History (Amritsar, India, 1972);
ing Gender Equality with North American Sikh Women
and Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, Sikhism (New York,
(Mountain View, Calif., 2000).
1993). For an introduction to Sikh sacred literature, see Hew
NIKKY-GUNINDER KAUR SINGH (2005)
McLeod, Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism (Manches-
ter, U.K., 1984; reprint, Chicago, 1990); and Nikky-
Guninder Kaur Singh, trans., The Name of My Beloved: Verses
of the Sikh Gurus
(San Francisco, 1995). The standard refer-
SIKKIMESE RELIGION SEE BUDDHISM,
ence is Harbans Singh, The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism (Patiala,
SCHOOLS OF, ARTICLE ON HIMALAYAN
India, 1992).
BUDDHISM
For studies on the development of the Guru¯ Granth, see Pashaura
Singh, The Guru Granth: Canon, Meaning, and Authority
(Delhi, 2000); Gurinder Singh Mann, The Making of Sikh
Scripture
(New York, 2001); and S. S. Kohli, A Critical Study
S´¯ILABHADRA (c. 529–645; Tib., Ngang tshul bzan po;
of the A¯di Granth, 2d ed. (Delhi, 1976).
Chin., Jiexian; Jpn., Kaiken) was an Indian Buddhist dialec-
tician belonging to the Yoga¯ca¯ra-Vijña¯nava¯da school, a mas-
Scholars have studied Sikhism from a variety of perspectives. See
Surjit Hans, A Reconstruction of Sikh History from Sikh Litera-
ter of the Na¯landa¯ monastic university, a disciple of
ture (Jalandhar, India, 1988); Nripinder Singh, The Sikh
Dharmapa¯la, and the teacher of Xuanzang. Several accounts
Moral Tradition (New Delhi, 1990); Harjot Oberoi, The
of S´¯ılabhadra’s life are extant. The Tibetan sources are frag-
Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and
mentary, but, owing to the fact that Xuanzang gives an ac-
Diversity in the Sikh Tradition (Chicago, 1994); Cynthia
count of him in his writings, those in Chinese are more infor-
Mahmood, Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues with
mative. From the Tibetan biographers, such as Taranatha
Sikh Militants (Philadelphia, 1997); Louis Fenech, Martyr-
and Sum pa mkhan po, one learns only that S´¯ılabhadra was
drom in the Sikh Tradition (Delhi, 2000); and Brian Axel,
contemporary with S´a¯kyamati, Ya´somitra, and SaDi rtsa lag.
The Nation’s Tortured Body: Violence, Representation, and the
But Chinese biographies such as those found in Xuanzang’s
Formation of a Sikh Diaspora (Durham, N.C., 2001).
Xiyu ji (viz. T.D. 51.914c–915a) and Yiqing’s Nanhai jikgui
Also see Mark Juergensmeyer and Gerry Barrier, eds., Sikh Studies:
neifa juan (T.D. 54.229b) enable one to construct an outline
Comparative Perspectives on a Changing Tradition (Berkeley,
of his religious career.
1979); Gurdev Singh, ed., Perspectives on the Sikh Tradition
(Chandigarh, India, 1986); Joseph T. O’Connell, Milton Is-
S´¯ılabhadra belonged to the royal family of Samatata in
rael, and Willard G. Oxtoby, eds., Sikh History and Religion
East India and was a member of the brahman caste. Fond
in the Twentieth Century (Toronto, 1988); Jasbir Singh
of study even as a child, he traveled through several countries
Mann and Kharak Singh, eds., Recent Researches in Sikhism
of India in search of religious teachers and arrived finally at
(Patiala, India, 1992); Christopher Shackle, Gurharpal
the monastic university at Na¯landa¯. There he studied under,
Singh, and Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, eds., Sikh Religion,
and was ordained by, the Yoga¯ca¯ra master Dharmapa¯la, at-
Culture, and Ethnicity (Richmond, U.K., 2001); and
taining the highest level of scholarship under his guidance.
Pashaura Singh and N. Gerald Barrier, eds., Sikhism and His-
tory
(New Delhi, 2004).
During this period, a non-Buddhist teacher from South
For feminist perspectives, see Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, Femi-
India, jealous of Dharmapa¯la’s scholarly and religious attain-
nine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent (Cam-
ments, wished to challenge him to a doctrinal debate. At the
bridge, U.K., 1993); and Doris Jakobsh, Relocating Gender
request of the local king, Dharmapa¯la accepted this chal-
in Sikh History: Transformation, Meaning, and Identity
lenge. When S´¯ılabhadra heard of this he volunteered to de-
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SIMA CHENGZHEN
8399
bate in his master’s place. Although only thirty years old,
The only extant work by S´¯ılabhadra is the
S´¯ılabhadra was victorious in the debate and was rewarded
Buddhabhu¯mivya¯khya¯na (a commentary on the Buddha-
with a town, where he then built a monastery. He succeeded
bhu¯mi Su¯tra). This work is preserved in the Tibetan canon
Dharmapa¯la as head of the Na¯landa¯ monastic university and
(Derge edition no. 3997; Beijing edition no. 5498).
became known by the respectful epithet Zhengfa Zang
(“treasury of the good law”).
SEE ALSO Dharmapa¯la; Xuanzang; Yoga¯ca¯ra.
The Vijña¯nava¯da theory of Dharmapa¯la insisted on dis-
B
tinguishing among five categories of people: (1) those des-
IBLIOGRAPHY
Beal, Samuel, trans. Si-yu-ki, Buddhist Records of the Western
tined to be bodhisattvas, (2) those destined to be pratyekabud-
World (1884). 2 vols. Reprint, Delhi, 1981.
dhas, (3) those destined to be ´sra¯vakas, (4) those of
undetermined spiritual destination, and (5) those who can
Beal, Samuel, trans. The Life of Xuanzang (1888). Rev. ed., Lon-
don, 1911.
never be emancipated (icchantika). His theory that there exist
people who will never attain Buddhahood is in clear contrast
Joshi, Lal Mani. Studies in the Buddhistic Culture of India (1967).
to the One Vehicle teachings (ekaya¯na), according to which
2d rev. ed. Delhi, 1977.
everyone has a Buddha nature and will eventually become
Nishio Kyoo, Butsuji kyoron no kenkyu (1940), 2 vols. Reprint,
emancipated. It was S´¯ılabhadra who transmitted the
Tokyo, 1982. Contains an edited Tibetan text of the Budd-
Vijña¯nava¯da theory of Dharmapa¯la to Xuanzang. Although
habhumivyakhyana with Japanese translation.
S´¯ılabhadra was 106 years old when Xuanzang met him, he
Takakusu Junjiro, trans. A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Prac-
taught the Vijña¯nava¯da theories to Xuanzang for about five
tised in India and the Malay Archipelago (A.D. 671–695)
years. Xuanzang in turn transmitted Dharmapa¯la’s theory to
(1896). Reprint, Delhi, 1966.
Kuiji (632–682), who founded the Faxiang sect in China.
MIMAKI KATSUMI (1987)
A notable doctrinal disputation between S´¯ılabhadra and
Jña¯naprabha (unattested; Chin., Zhiguang; Jpn., Chiko) was
held at Na¯landa¯. Fazang (643–712) gives an account of this
SILVER SEE GOLD AND SILVER
conflict in his works Huayan jing tanxuan ji (T. D. 35.111c–
112a), Shiermen lun zongzhi yiji (T.D. 42.213a, b), and Das-
heng qixin lun yiji
(T.D. 44.242a–c). This account was relat-
ed to him by Divakara, an Indian Dharma master and trans-
SIMA CHENGZHEN (647–735; adult style, Ziwei;
lator, at the Dayuan Si in Chang’an.
name in religion, Daoyin) was an eminent court Daoist and
The topic of the debate was the “three times,” or “three
Shangqing patriarch of the Tang period (618–907). A native
steps,” of the Buddha’s teaching. S´¯ılabhadra, who was of the
of Wen County in modern Henan province, Sima Chengz-
Vijñanavadin line based on the Sam:dhinirmocana Su¯tra and
hen was a descendant of the Sima ruling family of the Jin
the Yoga¯ca¯rabhu¯mi, expounded the Three Steps as follows:
dynasty (265–420) and of high regional officials under the
(1) the teaching of the H¯ınaya¯na principles regarding the
Sui (581–618) and early Tang. Sima Chengzhen received his
Four Noble Truths and the emptiness of the self
Daoist initiation from the Shangqing patriarch Pan Shizheng
(pudgalanaira¯tmya), (2) the teaching of the imaginary nature
(587–684) at Mount Songshan, the Central Peak, in Henan.
of things (parikalpitasvabha¯va) and the emptiness of things
Pan, a counselor on Daoist doctrine to Emperor Gaozong
(dharmanaira¯tmya), and (3) the teaching of “consciousness
(r. 650–684), transmitted to Sima the inspired fourth-
only” (cittama¯tra). On the other hand, Jña¯naprabha, who
century writings of the Shangqing scriptural corpus, as well
was of the Ma¯dhaymika (Madhyamaka) line based on the
as meditational and physiological techniques practiced by
Prajña¯pa¯ramita¯ Su¯tra and the Ma¯dhyamika ´sa¯stras, inter-
that movement. Sima Chengzhen succeeded his master as the
preted the Three Steps as (1) the teaching of the Lesser Vehi-
twelfth patriarch of the Shangqing lineage. After a period of
cle (H¯ınaya¯na), (2) the teaching that the external world does
wandering, he lived in seclusion on Mount Tiantai in Zheji-
not exist but that the mind does, and (3) the teaching that
ang, where he assumed the epithet Boyun zi, Master White
neither the external world nor the mind exists. Each thinker
Cloud.
regarded the third step as the highest. It is interesting that
Sima Chengzhen was successively summoned to the
this ideological difference was stated so clearly by the seventh
court by three sovereigns: the empress Wu Zetian (r. 684–
century, because the same kind of hermeneutical discussion
704) and the emperors Ruizong (r. 710–712) and Xuanzong
is found later in Tibetan Buddhism, in the Drang nges legs
(r. 712–756). Ruizong, who engaged in discussions on cos-
bshad snying po of Tsong kha pa, for example. Unfortunately,
mology and governance with the Daoist, in 711 founded the
as there are no sources other than Fazang’s report regarding
temple Tongbo guan for Sima Chengzhen near the master’s
this conflict between S´¯ılabhadra and Jña¯naprabha, its histor-
earlier retreat on Mount Tiantai. Among Sima’s surviving
ical credibility remains uncertain. In Xuanzang’s biography,
writings is a richly illustrated hagiography of Wangzi Jin, the
for example (T. D. 50.261a, b), Jña¯naprabha appears as a
resident saint of the Tongbo temple site, titled Shangqing shi
disciple of S´¯ılabhadra, and there is no mention of this doctri-
dichen Tongbo zhenren zhen tuzan (Daozang 612). Respond-
nal dispute.
ing to Emperor Xuanzong’s invitation in 721, Sima once
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8400
SIMEON BAR YOHAI
again undertook the journey to the capital Chang’an. The
pose, and mental discipline and tranquility. In these areas,
patriarch conferred a Daoist ordination on the emperor and
Sima Chengzhen in turn exercised an influence on the subse-
was in turn granted numerous honors and court titles. Xuan-
quent development of Daoist inner alchemy and neo-
zong adopted Sima’s counsel regarding the reform of China’s
Confucian thought and practices under the Song (960–
principle mountain cults and commissioned the Daoist, a re-
1279).
nowned calligrapher, to establish a standard text of Laozi’s
classic “The Way and Its Power” (Dao de jing) to be engraved
SEE ALSO Daoism, article on The Daoist Religious Com-
in stone. Sima also presented Xuanzong with designs for
munity.
Daoist swords and mirrors, of which an illustrated descrip-
tion has come down in the Shangqing hanxiang jianjian tu
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Engelhardt, Ute. Die klassische Tradition der Qi-Übungen (Qi-
(Daozang 431). Xuanzong finally ordered the construction
gong). Eine Darstellung anhand des Tang-zeitlichen Textes
of a new temple as a retreat for Sima. It was situated on
Fuqi jingyi lun von Sima Chengzhen. Wiesbaden, Germany,
Mount Wangwu, on the border between Shanxi and Henan
1987.
provinces, where the emperor’s sister Princess Yuzhen, an or-
Kohn, Livia. Seven Steps to the Tao: Sima Chengzhen’s Zuo-
dained Daoist nun, was also active. According to the com-
wanglun. Nettetal, Germany, 1987.
memorative inscription Tang Wangwu shan Zhongyan tai
Kohn, Livia. “The teaching of T’ien-yin-tzu.Journal of Chinese
Zhengyi [read Zhenyi] xiansheng miaojie (Daozang 970), Sima
Religions 15 (1987): 1–28.
Chengzhen settled on Mount Wangwu in 724 and died there
in 735. His posthumous title, bestowed by Emperor Xuan-
Kroll, Paul W. “Szu-ma Ch’eng-chen in T’ang verse.” Society for
the Study of Chinese Religion Bulletin 6 (1978): 16–30.
zong, was Master Zhenyi. Among his more than seventy dis-
ciples were Li Hanguang (683–769), the thirteenth Shangq-
Xu Kangsheng. “Lüelun Sima Chengzhen de daojiao sixiang.” In
ing patriarch, and Xue Jichang (d. 759), who became a
Daojia yu daojiao: di er jie guoji xueshu yantao hui lunwen,
vol. 2, edited by Chen Guying and Feng Dawen,
prominent master of the Southern Peak (Mount Heng in
pp. 254–263. Quangzhou, People’s Republic of China,
Hunan) and Tiantai (Zhejiang) lineages.
2001.
Although the subject of continuous official attentions,
FRANCISCUS VERELLEN (2005)
Sima was drawn to a life of seclusion. His best-known works
are concerned with Shangqing methods of personal cultiva-
tion and meditation, elucidating the Daoist stages of tran-
scendence. The meditation guide “On Sitting in Forgetful-
SIMEON BAR YOHAI SEE SHIMEON BAR YO
ness” (Zuowang lun [Daozang 1036]), attributed to Sima
H:DAI
Chengzhen, outlines a program in seven steps identified as
faith, detachment, renunciation through mental concentra-
tion, stoicism, discernment, oblivion, and finally, attainment
SIMEON BEN GAMALIEL II SEE SHIMEON
of the Dao. The title of this guide features again as one of
BEN GAMLIDEL II
five stages (purification, seclusion, contemplation, sitting in
forgetfulness, liberation) in “The Master Concealed in Heav-
en” (Tianyin zi [Daozang 1026]), commentated by Sima
Chengzhen. Sima’s program and precepts for adepts affirm
SIMEON BEN LAKISH SEE SHIMEON BEN
that the goals of deliverance and physical immortality were
LAQISH
attainable through sheer application. This belief was famous-
ly advocated by Sima’s younger Daoist contemporary, Wu
Yun (d. 778), who has also been credited with a work titled
SIMONS, MENNO (1496–1561). Dutch priest, the
“Sitting in Forgetfulness.” Sima’s essay on “The Quintes-
major northern European leader of an Anabaptist group that
sence of Swallowing Breath” (Fuqi jingyi lun [Daozang 830])
later came to be known as the Mennonite church. His firm
discusses the absorption of qi-energy, dietary regimens, and
leadership and numerous writings helped to consolidate the
physical exercises for prolonging life and curing diseases.
pacifist wing of early Dutch Anabaptism and to make it nor-
Highly appreciated by leading literati and statesmen of
mative, after the ill-fated attempt of some to establish the
his time, including Zhang Yue (667–731), Sima contributed
kingdom of God by force in the northern German city of
to the esteem in which Shangqing writings were held in liter-
Münster in 1534–1535.
ary circles under the Tang. In addition to ancient Daoist
Simons was born of peasant stock in Witmarsum, in the
concepts of meditation (especially in the Zhuangzi), Sima’s
province of Friesland, in 1496 and was enrolled in a monas-
teachings on purification, quietude, and the universal attain-
tic school at an early age. Since Friesland was dominated by
ability of transcendence assimilated doctrines current in
the Premonstratensian Order at that time, and since Simons
Confucianism and Buddhism on the subject of inborn
was installed in 1524 by that order as a priest in Pingjum as
human nature, the rectification of an individual’s moral pur-
well as in his home parish of Witmarsum in 1531, it may
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SIMONS, MENNO
8401
be assumed that he was a member of that order and received
writings of 1539: Foundation of Christian Doctrine, Christian
his training in it, perhaps in the nearby monastery of Vinea
Baptism, and Why I Do Not Cease Teaching and Writing.
Domini. The order was known for its excellent libraries and
Grace and ethics were to go hand in hand. The true church
the emphasis it placed upon education.
is the bride of Christ and must, therefore, be without spot
Simons’s religious struggle began early in his career as
or wrinkle (Eph. 5:27). Simons did not believe in sinless per-
a priest, in connection with his celebration of the Mass. His
fection, but rather that Christians must help each other
doubts about the real presence of Christ in the bread and
achieve the fullness of life in Christ through both faith and
wine indicate that Reformation ideas had reached Friesland.
obedience.
He wrote later that he had searched the writings of the re-
formers in vain for answers to the question of infant baptism,
This vision of the church, as well as cultural acceptance
which became his second concern. His problem with the
and economic prosperity, led to a dynamic witness at all so-
Mass was most likely inspired by the antisacramental move-
cial levels. But it also led to numerous divisions that were to
ment in the Netherlands, as well as by Erasmian humanism
trouble the later years of Simons’s work. Because of these
and the teachings of the Brethren of the Common Life.
tensions, many of his writings came to be unduly defensive
Questions about the validity of infant baptism may have aris-
and polemical. Circumstances, and his co-workers, forced
en when Simons heard that an Anabaptist tailor named Sicke
him into a harsher stand on excommunication and the ban
Freerks had been publicly executed in nearby Leeuwarden for
(exclusion from membership) than he had taught earlier.
having himself baptized a second time, but it appears also
that Simons had already encountered literature on the sub-
The doctrine of a pure church also forced him into po-
ject before this event.
lemical exchanges with Reformed theologians and others on
his view of the incarnation. A pure church required a pure
In his search for answers Simons eventually turned to
Savior. Hence Simons believed that Jesus had received both
the scriptures, which he had apparently not read during his
his divine and his human nature directly from God, and that
days as a student at the monastery. Yet he must have held
Mary was as passive as a glass of water through which a ray
the scriptures to be a significant authority, for he expressed
of sun passes. Although this Christology of heavenly flesh
deep disappointment at not finding in them the kind of sup-
was not new by that time, and was also taught by others, it
port he felt necessary for the practice of the Mass and infant
brought ridicule to Simons as he tried, with increasing bitter-
baptism. He continued to serve in his priestly office, but his
ness, to defend the doctrine.
new studies must have begun to change his emphasis, for by
1528 he had become known as an “evangelical preacher.”
Simons led a harried and persecuted life. In 1542 a
According to Simons’s own account, his spiritual pilgrimage
bounty of one hundred guilders was offered by Holy Roman
was a gradual transition, lasting eleven years, from a routine
Emperor Charles V (1500–1558) for his capture; this did not
reliance on tradition to a deep personal faith in Christ and
seriously disrupt his travels, even though some who had
reliance on the scriptures as final authority in matters of
given him lodging and food were executed. His journeys ex-
faith. Gradually his views became known, and by January
tended from Friesland to the Cologne area, and east to Dan-
1536 he had found it prudent to go into hiding. He used
zig (present-day Gdansk). He was eventually permitted to
this time for spiritual exercises and writing. After nearly a
year had elapsed he accepted a call from a representative Ana-
settle in Holstein, northeast of Hamburg, perhaps because
baptist delegation to be the spiritual leader of the scattered
he had broken with earlier Anabaptists in expressing his be-
groups of believers. He was baptized and ordained by Obbe
lief that a Christian could also be a magistrate, provided that
Philips. Sometime during this interim period Simons also
he lives in obedience to Christ. Extensive writings continued
married a woman about whom little more than her name,
to flow from his pen and press in Holstein until his death
Gertrude, is known.
on January 31, 1561.
Simons’s personal and theological point of departure
was the new birth. His first major treatise, entitled The Spiri-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tual Resurrection (1536), was followed a year later by a re-
The Complete Writings of Menno Simons, c. 1496–1561, edited by
statement of this theme under the title The New Birth
J. C. Wenger (Scottdale, Pa., 1956), remains the standard
(1537). This emphasis on conversion occurs centrally in his
English sourcebook. Irvin B. Horst has prepared a scholar’s
subsequent writings, particularly when he refers to his own
research guide entitled A Bibliography of Menno Simons (The
spiritual struggle before 1536.
Hague, 1962). The most comprehensive recent biography
has been written by Christoph Bornhäuser, Leben und Lehre
Intimately related to this theme was his emphasis on the
Menno SimonsD (Neukirchen, 1973). Cornelius Krahn’s
nature of the church. Simons was convinced that the church
Dutch Anabaptism: Origin, Spread, Life and Thought, 1450–
had fallen from its apostolic purity in both doctrine and life.
1600 (The Hague, 1968) places Simons’s work into the
Reformation of the present structures was no longer possible;
broader context of Dutch and Anabaptist history.
a new beginning patterned after the church in the Bible was
called for. This was, in large part, the content of his three
CORNELIUS J. DYCK (1987)
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SIMON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN
SIMON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN SEE
THE COSMOLOGICAL VISION. Martin Heidegger in his Sein
SYMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN
und Zeit (1929) speaks of the “fall” of humans into the
world. This is a felicitous rendering of the basic feeling that
developed as soon as humans became aware of being part of
SIN S
the vast cosmos. From the dawn of consciousness, humans
EE NANNA
felt impotent, an unbearable condition. That is why they re-
sorted to magic. When all rational response to reality be-
comes pent up and frustrated, the only alternative to passive
SIN AND GUILT. The human being, as homo religio-
inaction is the biological function of magic. Magic is the ma-
sus, is a creature that worries. This worrying is both a burden
nipulation of occult forces in nature; it is a way of participat-
and a distinction. In the dark age of mutation to Homo sapi-
ing in cosmic functions. Here specific acts are wrought as mi-
ens, at the turning point between animality and humanity,
mesis of their archetypal models; they deal with objects that
the human intuition of the presence of the surrounding nu-
are never indifferent, although some are of common use and,
minous tipped the balance toward humanness. As soon as
so to speak, tolerated by the gods, while others are taboos,
this ape could stand on its feet, its glance could lift itself from
that is, reserved by the gods for themselves. Humanity’s ma-
the earth, the source of food, and direct itself toward the
nipulation of a taboo is a dangerous business and demands
stars, that is, to a sphere higher—not only spatially—than
ritual reparation. But it is not sensu stricto a sin, and there
that of the satisfaction of its bodily needs and functions. In
is here no true guilt. The violation of a taboo is often abso-
this way humans discovered the universe and, concomitant-
lutely unavoidable, like everything pertaining to sexuality or
ly, the existential problem of their place in the cosmos, as-
the return home of the victorious warrior. Making reparation
signed to them by some power, for some particular reason,
to the numinous consists in magically purging the offender
toward some goal. They thus invented an entire mythical
through specific magical acts, sometimes through death. It
universe in answer to the questions evoked by this funda-
is not a punishment however, for that would imply personal
mental anxiety.
culpability, that is, violation of a commandment expressing
Mircea Eliade has shown time and again that the central
a divine will. What is dreaded by the “primitive” is not of-
characteristic of myth is a narrative of origins. If one knows
fending a transcendent being but upsetting the cosmological
how things started and why they went awry, one finds some
order. Thanks to myth, the primitive knows what is taboo,
kind of solace, as does the patient upon learning from a phy-
and thanks to magical rites, knows what to do and how to
sician the name of his or her disease. This reassurance is,
do it: the primitive confesses and expiates.
however, partial at best: The essentials for living are the most
precarious for humans among all the creatures of the earth.
If one follows Raffaele Pettazzoni (La confessione dei pec-
Reflecting on the origins of his human condition, humans
cati, 1929–1936) and picks up the one conception of sin that
came inevitably and universally to the conclusion that this
he calls magical (in contrast to theistic), one is struck by the
present life is not what it was meant to be by the god(s) in
biological aspect of what is called sin in confessions. They
illo tempore. In short, from being anxious, humans became
tend to focus, for example, upon sexuality, but more general-
unhappy, stricken with guilt feelings about an initial accident
ly, in agrarian cultures, they are clearly oriented toward a cos-
that is repeated endlessly throughout human existence and
mobiology. The appropriate expiation transfers to another
can be called “sin.”
object the threat of biological evil. It is so little a matter of
guilt on the part of the confessant that he lists sins that he
Sin and guilt, however, come in a great variety of shades,
obviously never committed. Sin, in this context, is not a per-
according to the various sensitivities represented by the great
sonal but a material object.
number of religious and philosophical feelings and systems.
In this article the classification of the different approaches to
One must therefore complement what has been said
the issue is of primordial importance. The article shall at-
above about purgation of the offender with a more objective
tempt to distribute the material from a phenomenological
aspect of the ritual. As Robert Hertz has noted, more often
point of view, starting with the cosmological apprehension
than not the point is not only to purge the transgressor of
of humans as surrounded by taboos and continuing with the
the mystical substance he unduly appropriated, but to bring
tragic conception that to live at all is a sin. In a second major
it back to its original focus. The personal participation in up-
section, the transition from such a naturalistic understanding
setting the cosmos is, of course, not ignored. But it is not
to an ethical conception will be assessed. The third area of
the center of concern, for humanity finds itself living after
investigation concerns the Judeo-Christian tradition and its
a cosmic catastrophe whose “culprit” is anonymous. Death
antitaboo, antideterministic, antinaturistic notion of sin as
is no punishment but belongs to life structure and to world
a breach of a personal covenant with God and humanity. A
order. Everything is here determined before the anthropo-
brief excursus discusses the very different notions of sin and
gony occurs. Later, when humans discovered agriculture,
guilt among the ancient Greeks. Finally, a particular case is
they applied to themselves its cyclical resurgence, the “eternal
made of Islam as another branch of the monotheistic tra-
return,” and so were born the initiation rites whose center
dition.
is the symbolic death of the initiate followed by the symbolic
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SIN AND GUILT
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return to life. Again on this score, death does not imply any
to the demands of the divine standards of purity: “Mankind
consciousness of a guilt to be atoned for.
as many as there be [commit] sin . . . the food that belongs
to God I have eaten.” So people are naturally sinful, and this
At this point, one can discern two variants in the treat-
can be explained by a kind of generative transmission of that
ment of the presence of evil in the world according to the
status. “The penalty of my father, of my grandfather, of my
cosmological view. The second variant will be reviewed
mother, of my grandmother, of my family, of relations
below in the section on Mesopotamia. This first division may
through brothers and sisters, may it not come nigh me”
be concluded with the mention of the first variant, namely,
(Langdon, 1927).
the conception of individual life as being by itself already an
offense, an injustice, an arrogance, to be atoned for. Such a
If the defilement of sin is “our oldest memory,” the in-
view is found in geographical areas as remote from one an-
exorability of sin is also very much present today, to the ex-
other as Central America and Greece. According to the Maya
tent that people have maintained a dualistic view of reality.
and Aztec myth, this world is the last extant in a series of cre-
This finds expression in phylogenetic laws (Darwin), in the
ations destroyed by cataclysms. This one endures only on ac-
psychological fabric of humanity (Freud), and in societal
count of the sacrifices of human hearts offered to the gods,
structures (Marx). But until now the word sin has been used
who themselves made the first oblation (see K. Garbay, Hi-
here only by approximation, for it is only when the fault is
storia de los Mexicanos por sus pinturas, 2d ed., Mexico City,
put in the context of a covenantal relation with God that one
1973).
can speak, sensu stricto, of sin (against an expressed divine
Thus, the most archaic form of fault is defilement, that
will). Here, taboos and magic have no role to play. If they
is, “a strain or blemish that infects from without” (Ricoeur,
are still found in the documents, they are reduced to the state
1967, p. 8). The focus is on the world rather than humanity,
of traces. This article thus turns to the next religious venture;
and the ethical sin is confused with the material evil, for all
it has been characterized by some as a process of demytholog-
failure upsets the cosmological order and brings with it de-
ization.
filement, thus drawing between sacred and profane a divid-
THE RELIGIONS OF ISRAEL. Starting with those remnants of
ing line that often makes no sense to modern humans. This,
the fault as defilement, one may observe with Ricoeur (1967,
however, constitutes what Ricoeur calls “our oldest memo-
p. 70f.) the customary positive character of the stain; purity’s
ry,” for which the concept of retribution is central. That is
characteristic, on the other hand, is negative. When, as in the
why it took no less than the questioning of this foundational
Bible, sin becomes a breach in the living relation with God,
myth to dissociate ethical sin from physical evil and suf-
there is conversion of the positive to the negative. Sin is “the
fering.
loss of a bond, of a root, of an ontological ground” counter-
MESOPOTAMIAN RELIGION. This second variant to the cos-
balanced by the positive “fundamental symbolism of the re-
mological conception mentioned earlier is found in Mesopo-
turn.” One has entered another world, but not one isolated
tamia. There for the first time, the anonymity of evil was felt
from the rest of the universe.
intolerable. The phenomenology of evil had to find a lan-
One central characteristic of the Hebrew scriptures is
guage by which a responsible agent could be incriminated as
that they are polemical in reaction to the ways of thinking
the bearer of guilt. Two ways were open: either through de-
of the neighboring world. It is clear that such documents
monizing powers and forces manipulating humans as pawns
cannot be read in isolation from their environment. Taking
on a chessboard or through designating human culprits, thus
issue, for example, with the ontological dualism present ev-
making them the bearers of guilt. Both solutions are found
erywhere, Israel understands the profane as being in analogy
in Mesopotamian mythologies. The former, however, is fun-
with the sacred. Humans have been created in the image of
damental. It gives expression to the all-important human
God (Gn. 1:26f.). Something of the kind existed in Mesopo-
sentiment that evil was already present before the anthropo-
tamia, where the king was the image of the divine, in contra-
gony. Before becoming guilty through participation, the
distinction to all other human beings. Israel “demytholo-
human is a victim. This tragic conception found expression
gized” this notion through a process of democratization. Not
in the text Ludlul bel nemeqi, where the so-called Babylonian
the king only, but human qua human is imago Dei. The cre-
Job cannot make sense of his misfortune. Similarly, in A Dia-
ator has granted humans creative faculties: speech, sexuality,
logue about Human Misery, the so-called Babylonian Qohelet
conscience. Conscience is here no intrinsic human quality
concludes that one cannot know the divine intentions. But
but a gift of God; it is the Hebrew lev (Ex. 35:21–22, 29).
already a Sumerian confessional says, “Whether man has
It makes the individual an ethical being. For the first time,
acted shamefully, whether he has acted well, he knows not
one meets a vivid consciousness of sin: Abel’s blood cries out
at all.”
from the ground (Gn. 4:10); Joseph’s brothers acknowledge
One is struck by the pessimism of the Mesopotamian
their guilt (Gn. 42:21ff.); the psalmist laments “my sin is ever
myths. The cosmological myth Enuma elish, for example, re-
before me” (Ps. 51:5). Sin is now assessed within a context
sembles a Greek tragedy. Humanity falls into sin as it falls
of interrelationship between God and man, that is, of the
into existence. In the background of all Babylonian and As-
covenant. It is thus no longer just an ethical fault. Neither
syrian penitential psalms, the free will of humans is never up
is it a juridical offense only. Being in covenant with God en-
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SIN AND GUILT
tails an existence in holiness; sin therefore is deviation
original sin in the sense of an inherited corrupt nature. Sin
( Eavon), a straying from the norms of holiness, understood
is a kind of second nature in humans (Jer. 13:23); it is human
as the very dynamism of life. It is a crime against God’s sanc-
obstinacy to alienate oneself. Ezekiel speaks of the human
tity, and it is only to be expected that it would occasion the
niddah (impurity), and Paul, later, uses the Greek term ha-
far-ranging disturbance of life. For God’s holiness and the
martia in the singular.
holy human response to it keep the cosmos and humanity
From the pragmatic concern with sins one has now
in shalom (peace, integrality, wholeness, sanity.) Far from the
passed to the reflective elaboration of a theory of sin that un-
face of God, there can be only disease and catastrophe (Lv.
derscores humanity’s congenital weakness. Humans are
26:1ff.; Dt. 28:1ff.).
“flesh”; they are born sinners (Ps. 51:7). They are capable of
Thus is the notion of sin oriented toward a liturgical un-
only relative justice (Is. 51:1). Sinning has become an atti-
derstanding. To the microcosmic concentration of the litur-
tude connatural to humans, a permanent blemish (Is. 6:5).
gy in the Temple of Jerusalem corresponds the macrocosmic
This realism leads the New Testament to the conclusion that
liturgy of the world with humans at its center. This, which
the world is ruled by evil (Rom. 3:9, Col. 1:13, 1 Jn. 5:19),
is especially true of the Priestly source, is also fundamental
because humans have enthroned it.
for Yahvism in general (Is. 6:3, 6:5). Pushed to the extreme,
sin becomes a pesha D, that is, an apostasy, an abandonment
Sin is not only a fault before God, it is also an act wrong-
of rectitude, of justice, of fidelity—in brief, of Torah. Thus
ing one’s neighbor. David claims that he did not sin against
there is in the Bible no theory of sinfulness, but, very practi-
King Saul (1 Sm. 19:4; 24:12); in return, Saul would be com-
cally, there are sins, a thousand and one ways to go astray
mitting a sin against David in attempting to kill him, some-
from an existence whose whole raison d’être is to be holy.
thing Saul acknowledges later (1 Sm. 26:21). Time and again
Here the realism is such that sins corrupt the whole “heart,”
the prophets, in particular, equate the one aspect of humani-
which therefore must be replaced by a pure heart, and not
ty’s sin with the other. No one denounces more forcefully
only on the individual level but, eschatologically and actual-
than Amos social ills as sins against humans and against God.
ly, on the communal level when all Israel is made “new,”
When, later, Jesus is asked which is the greatest command-
“whole,” “holy.”
ment, he replies by equating the commitment to love God
with that to love one’s neighbor, i.e., one’s fellow human be-
Thus, for Israel, since humanity is created coresponsible
ings (Mt. 22:36–40; cf. Dt. 6:5, Lv. 19:18).
for the governance of creation and indeed is high priest in
the cosmic temple (Gn. l:26ff. and the whole literary Priestly
Sin entails the curse. A classic description of the latter
“layer” in the Pentateuch), it is also ultimately responsible
is found in Deuteronomy 28 (cf. Lv. 26). As Johannes Peder-
for the presence of evil in the universe and in history. The
sen writes, “Sin breeds the curse, and the curse breeds sin”
known world is a perverted “garden” where even the genera-
(1959, vol. 1, p. 441). “The sinner is charged with a curse,
tive and the creative powers of humans are twisted in their
for the curse is a dissolution which takes place in the soul
process and their aim, and diverted from their natural bliss.
of the sinner” (ibid., p. 437). This is why there is an intimate
In sorrow are people to produce their food amid a plantation
relation between sin and disease or other misfortunes. In the
that is the reverse of the one of Eden, as it is full of thorns
first case as in the second, one “is stricken in the soul” (1 Kgs.
and thistles. Ultimately everyone returns, not to “paradise,”
8:38). Human-made evil includes military defeat, drought,
but to dust (Gn. 3:16–19).
famine, and so forth (8:33–40). There are thus three possible
causes of illness: one’s own sin, the curse of others, or the
That deviation is the product of both the human “heart”
sinfulness of humanity in general (cf., Ps. 32:1ff., 38:3ff.,
(internal) and an external power, personified in Genesis 3 as
etc.; Sir. 38:1–15).
the “serpent,” which is an evil spirit according to other texts.
There is between the two a correspondence. The serpent’s
The Israelites did not distinguish between performance
discourse is immediately intelligible to humans, evoking in
and performer, sin and sinner. Sin is the doing of the sinner;
them favorable echoes. For humanity is inclined to do evil
the sinner sins. There cannot be a judgment of the deed that
(Gn. 6:5). Later this inclination is conceptualized in the
would not be a judgment of the doer. Beyond illness and dis-
Apocrypha and rabbinism as the yetser ha-ra E (4 Esd. 7:118,
ease, death is the ultimate punishment of sin. But death is
2 Bar. 40:42f.). Thus there is present here a trace of a tragic
not just the final accident ending human existence. As has
anthropology, insisting upon the passivity and the alienation
been seen, sin is the dissolution of the soul; life is torn apart
of humanity. The point these texts want to make is that by
by sin (Dt. 27:15–26). It is really the presence of death in
birth, the status of humanity is to be separated from God.
the midst of life, and suffering is its foretaste. As Paul is later
Before any human act, sin is already there. It follows from
to proclaim, “death is the wages of sin” (Rom. 6:23).
this that the divine covenant is a gracious gift, undeserved
Being phenomenologically a movement of radical re-
and productive of a second birth, the birth of a “circumcised”
form within Judaism, one deeply influenced by apocalypti-
life (i. e., marked by the intimate relationship with God).
cism, early Christianity crystallized the notion of sinfulness
As, however, the yetser ha-ra E is no radical evil but a per-
into a state of universal corruption (Mt. 7:11). In contrast
manent temptation, there is here no servum arbitrium or
to the rabbis, Paul emphasized the unavoidability of sin. It
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is due to Adam’s “fall” (Rom. 5:12ff.), on the one hand, and
well ordered. By imitating such a world the soul becomes di-
to an equation made between weakness of the flesh and its
vine and well ordered as well.
antagonism to God (Rom. 8:3, “the flesh of sin”), on the
Aristotle takes issue with Socrates’ optimism that no one
other. Moreover the law has brought human sinfulness to a
sins voluntarily. For, in the first place, people are responsible
paroxysm, for the law makes sin real and sanctionable (Rom.
for the way they figure out what is good for them. Second,
4:15). It is this very paroxysm that expresses itself in the cru-
once a goal is set, human reflection decides what are the ap-
cifixion of the just par excellence, its total reversal by the grace
propriate means to reach it, and the means selected makes
of God making Christ’s death atone for humankind’s sins.
one guilty or innocent. The human soul disposes of a power
Paul writes, “Christ died for our sin” (1 Cor. 15:3), and fur-
of choice (proairesis); it is the root of liberty, but the passions
ther, “Christ was innocent of sin, and yet for our sake God
can overcome intellection. There is indeed a guilty lack of
made him one with the sinfulness of men, so that in him we
knowledge, which, for an alcoholic, for instance, is self-
might be made one with the goodness of God himself” (2
inflicted. Euripides has Medea say, “I do realize how terrible
Cor. 5:21). Thus “in Christ” (a favorite expression of Paul)
is the crime I am about, but passion overrules my resolutions,
it has become possible to lead a saintly life, which as was seen
passion that causes most of the misery in the world” (Medea
above is, according to the Hebrew Bible, the goal of creation.
1078–1080). Happiness, however, is submission to intellec-
In summary, the final answer to humanity’s guilt, according
tion (nous), that is, to what is most divine in humans. There
to the New Testament, is given by the death of Christ which
is a veritable rational determinism concerning the ends of
overcomes the human state of sin and guilt and thereby inau-
such submission. To obey nous assures contact with the im-
gurates the kingdom of God on earth.
mortal. But there is no notion here of sin in the sense of a
THE GREEKS. For the sixth-century philosopher Anaximan-
breach in a personal relationship with God. For God is a
der, being itself is already evil. One finds in Greece other ech-
Thought thinking itself and is totally indifferent to humanity
oes of such pessimism. Tragedy is, after all, a Greek inven-
and the world.
tion. According to this conception of existence, humanity’s
fault (not sin) is a blindness sent by the gods, a fatal error
The Stoa puts the emphasis on individual autonomy
that the Greeks called hamartia. In Sophocles’ Oedipus at
within a human communion (koinonia, philia, oikeiosis)
Colonus, the hero says, “In me personally you would not find
whose cement is Reason which permeates the whole. In the
a fault [hamartias] to reproach me with to having thus com-
second century CE, Marcus Aurelius wrote:
mitted these crimes against myself and against my kin” (ll.
All things are implicated with one another, and the
967f.). One may observe that Oedipus is the ambivalent
bond is holy; and there is hardly anything unconnected
symbol of crime and excusable fault. For Aristotle, hamartia
with any other thing. For things have been coordinated,
is the terrible and tragic fault made by distinguished individ-
and they combine to form the same universe [order].
uals, by heroes. He insists on their nobility. In sum, there
For there is one universe made up of all things, and one
is more fascination in Greece with hero worship than with
God who pervades all things, and one substance, and
hamartology. As E. R. Dodds has shown, in the Greek tradi-
one law, one common reason in all intelligent animals,
tion one is dealing more with a “shame culture” than with
and one truth; if indeed there is also one perfection for
real guilt. The Homeric hero “loses face”; his public reputa-
all animals which are of the same stock and participate
in the same reason. (Meditations 7.9)
tion (tim¯e) means everything to him. Although with time
there occurred a moralization process whereby shame be-
Here universal laws are identical with divine laws, so that
came guilt, the ground for feeling guilty remained murky.
human life is conceived by the Stoic thinker Epictetus (c.
It is tied with hubris; still, the sixth-century poet Theognis
55–c. 135) as a divine service (huperesia or diakonia). The
says, “No man . . . is responsible for his own ruin or his own
ideal is to live according to nature, for the world order is to-
success: of both these things the gods are the givers. No man
tally rational and anything that happens must therefore be
can perform an action and know whether its outcome will
accepted. Providence is another name for necessity. Sin is
be good or bad” (ll. 133–136). So, despite the protest of the
error, the violation of the cosmic laws.
fifth-century philosopher Heraclitus that “character is desti-
Finally, a more clearly religious solution is proposed by
ny” (frag. 119), one’s daemon was in general more important,
Orphism. In Orphic thought, the root of evil is the body;
for an ancient Greek, than one’s character.
it is a prison for the soul. The soul is punished in the body
Plato adopts the opinion of Socrates that “no one sins
for earlier sins. If these sins are not expiated during one incar-
willingly,” for wrongdoing is an error of judgment. No one
nation, the soul transmigrates to another body. This doctrine
who knows what is good (which is also happiness), would
of reincarnation provided an elegant solution to the moral
choose not to imitate it. Ananke (necessity) exists, but it op-
dilemma of divine justice and human suffering. The way to
erates within the kind of life freely chosen by the soul. “He
purify the soul of sin is to emancipate the individual from
who chooses is responsible, not God” (Republic 10.617e).
group solidarity and its corollary, vicarious suffering for an-
The only sin is to shift from the voluntary to the involuntary.
other’s fault. The goal is to escape from the wheel of deaths
When this is avoided, the soul can be assimilated to God by
and rebirths through rituals that bring katharsis, that is, a
contemplating the world of the Forms, which is divine and
cleansing from the old taint of carnality.
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THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. This article will deal here—all
not so. Already Basil of Caesarea (330–379) had stated that
too briefly, to be sure—with three Christian theologians cho-
there is no ontological reality to evil (Hexaemeron 2.5). Au-
sen for their towering stature in the history of the Eastern
gustine follows suit and says that the problem is rather unde
and the Western churches and for their lasting influence on
malum faciamus, stressing more forcefully still that evil is no
Christian thinking and philosophy until the present day.
substance, no creature. All creatures participate in being and
Irenaeus (c. 120–202), with whom this discussion shall start
are therefore good. It is only through his free choice that hu-
for reasons of chronology, has a conception of humanity be-
mans bring sin from potential to real, from nothingness to
fore the Fall that Augustine found himself incapable of shar-
an act. Evil is negative. It is amissio boni or privatio boni. It
ing. For Irenaeus, the time before the Fall is that of Adam’s
is a deficiency of the created that makes freedom possible and
immaturity. He has been created in the “image of God” but
hence human history.
is still to be brought to the stage of the “likeness of God.”
Augustine had the opportunity to underscore this
The Fall delayed the process of maturation, but on the other
theologoumenon of the gratuitousness of God’s grace in his
hand, it also marked a kind of human weaning from the pa-
polemics against Pelagius (fl. c. 400–418). This British monk
rental God. Only a relatively independent being can enter
taught that humanity can reach perfection in holiness by the
a meaningful relationship with the creator. Human history
practice of virtues and asceticism. Humans therefore bear the
consists of the vicissitudes of that relationship. It would how-
sole guilt for their sins, as they are endowed with free will.
ever end in total failure were it not for the incarnation. Christ
“If sin is innate, it is not voluntary, if it is voluntary, it is not
is his father’s manifestation (manifestatio, phanero¯sis), thus
innate.” Pelagius of course chooses the second proposition.
making God visible. To see God in Christ is the way for hu-
Children are in the situation of Adam before the Fall. Some
mans to be divinized. God came down to humans, and hu-
of them imitate Adam; others become perfectly washed of
mans climb up to God.
all sin.
When turning to Origen (c. 185–c. 254), one finds hu-
In response to Pelagius, Augustine considerably har-
manity at the crossroads of two diverging theologies: the the-
dened his stance. He developed the “original sin” theory (in-
ology of Justin and Clement, “Greek” and indifferent to the
augurated by Cyprian, 200–258, and by Ambrose, c. 330–
role of the flesh, and the theology of Irenaeus, deeply biblical
397) and stated that all humans are born sinful and guilty,
and christological. In On First Principles (Peri archo¯n), there
meriting eternal damnation. With the Fall, the human spirit
is no mention of an original sin committed by Adam. Rather
has been victimized by the rebellion of the body, which
Origen emphasizes the fall of souls. These are preexisting
should have been its servant. (By contrast, the animal, al-
pure spirits that strayed from their creator and fell into
though under the dictum of nature, is not guilty, because it
human bodies. They are in pilgrimage back to God. This
has no reason, no spirit.) Originally nature was natura sana,
process of salvation is also a process of restoration, of mend-
but it has become natura vitiata. This explains why sin is
ing, of putting the world back in order. This is possible be-
transmitted from one generation to another, making sin as
cause there is between God and the world a kinship the trace
unavoidable as life itself. This inherent nothingness in hu-
of which in humans is the nous. There is here no autonomous
mans impairs their liberty. Evil is an act; it has an existential
existence of darkness. Evil is simply a turning away from
character and can be described as a defectus, an aversio a Deo,
God.
conversio ad creaturas (Against Secundinus the Manichaean
It is thus with no surprise that one finds Origen focus-
17). For this, which is a perversion, God is not responsible.
ing upon Christ’s work rather than on his person. Christ is
He is responsible for the musical instrument, not for its
the great educator who brings humanity from deficiency to
discord.
perfection. The goal (teleio¯sis) is the perfection of human na-
Augustine’s theories are not exempt from ambiguities.
ture by the Logos, the divinization of humanity. The means
They have remained so in the church for sixteen centuries
is obedience to God, which Christ teaches by his word and
(Tresmontant, 1961, p. 611). For the freedom and the cul-
by his death: “The Son . . . made himself obedient unto
pability of humans is on the other hand predestined by God.
death to teach obedience to those who could reach salvation
Augustine developed the doctrine of double predestination,
only by way of obedience.” Salvation is apokatastasis panto¯n
which had such a powerful impact on Calvin and on so many
(a restitution of all things and a definite achievement). Even
Christian theologians. The seminal transmission of sin and
Satan will be saved. But until the eschaton, the movement
guilt was Augustine’s way of counterbalancing the culpability
of drawing near to God is endless. All has been revealed; but
of the individual. Humanity finds evil already present before
all is to be discovered. Christ has come; but he ceaselessly
actualizing it itself. But the fact that perverted nature is in-
comes.
herited considerably relativizes humanity’s ultimate responsi-
The church father Augustine (354–430) is without rival
bility, for Augustine attributed to evil a quasi-nature through
as regards the theology of the West. Augustine inaugurates
a continuous contingency.
a “new type of discourse, that of onto-theology,” says Ri-
ISLAM. In the QurDa¯n, sin is essentially pride and opposition
coeur. The question unde malum would be legitimate only
to God. The model of such misbehavior is given by Ibl¯ıs
if evil were substantial, as the Manichaeans teach. But it is
(Satan), who refused to prostrate himself before Adam.
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SINGH, GOBIND
8407
Human sin is minimized to the level of a weakness that has
Protestantism. On Protestantism, one should, of course, turn
become a kind of habit: “the heart is prone to evil” (12:53).
to Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics, vol. 3.1, The Doctrine of
In fact, the original mistake of Adam proved beneficial for
Creation (New York, 1958), and to Paul Tillich’s Systematic
humanity, for through this mistake the world became popu-
Theology, vol. 2, Existence and the Christ (Chicago, 1960).
lated and God worshiped by a great number of people. Be-
Another synoptic treatment of sin in the history of religions
sides, the forgiveness of sin is within easy reach for all (57:28
is provided by the collective work Man and His Salvation, ed-
ited by Eric J. Sharpe and John R. Hinnells (Totowa, N. J.,
and passim). Repentance does not require atonement, and
1973), which explores aspects of Buddhism, Islam, Hindu-
the pilgrim on the h:a¯jj to Mecca returns home as innocent
ism, early Christianity, Jewish Hasidism, Zoroastrianism,
as a newborn child. Prophets and saints are delivered in this
and so on.
life from moral and physical evils. Believers are further deliv-
The French theologian A.-M. Dubarle has written extensively on
ered from eternal punishment. However, good works as well
the problem of sin in the Bible and in church doctrine. Espe-
as faith are necessary for salvation.
cially deserving notice here is his Le péché originel: Perspectives
The power of God stands at the center of Muslim faith.
théologiques (Paris, 1983). Claude Tresmontant, another
That power is such that it can even be arbitrary. For example,
French theologian, gives an excellent presentation of the
problem of creation and anthropology from the origins of
God commands reprehensible acts from Muh:ammad. The
Christianity to the time of Augustine in La métaphysique du
QurDa¯n (35:9) declares that God leads astray those he chooses
christianisme (Paris, 1961), which is particularly important
(cf. 42:12, 40:36). If God willed, everyone in the land would
for its treatment of Origen and Augustine. Pierre Nautin’s
believe. But God does not impose his will on humans so that
Origène, sa vie et son œuvre (Paris, 1977) reconstructs with
they may be responsible for themselves (10:99f., 18:28). This
great care Origen’s biography and the tenets of his thinking.
does not detract from the fact that all has been decreed be-
The best treatment of Greek thought about sin and guilt is E. R.
forehand by God, including humanity’s failings.
Dodds’s The Greeks and the Irrational (Berkeley, Calif.,
1951), especially his chapter on shame. On the Buddhist
SEE ALSO Confession of Sins; Evil; Magic.
conception of sin, offense, and illusion, Henri de Lubac’s As-
pects of Buddhism
(New York, 1963) has the merit of being
BIBLIOGRAPHY
a reliable translation for Western readers of Eastern concepts
Mircea Eliade’s A History of Religious Ideas, 3 vols. (Chicago,
that are not easily understood by noninitiates.
1978–1986), has become an instant classic. Its synthesis of
New Sources
religious thought and the extent of its bibliographic data are
Blocher, Henri. Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle. New Studies
without parallel elsewhere. From a philosophical and phe-
in Biblical Theology. Downers Grove, Ill., 2001.
nomenological point of view, Paul Ricoeur has written two
remarkable books, The Symbolism of Evil (Boston, 1967) and
Buruma, Ian. The Wages of Guilt: Memories of War in Germany
The Conflict of Interpretations (Evanston, Ill., 1974). He is
and Japan. New York, 1995.
also the author of a study on Augustine, which, although as
Carrasco, Davíd. “Uttered from the Heart: Guilty Rhetoric
yet unpublished, I have used here with his permission.
among the Aztecs.” History of Religions 39 (August 1999):
On ancient Near Eastern religions, the irreplaceable Ancient Near
1–31.
Eastern Texts relating to the Old Testament, 3d ed., edited by
Connor, Peter. Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Guilt. Balti-
J. B. Pritchard (Princeton, 1969), needs no commendation.
more, Md., 2000.
It is an inexhaustible source of reliable, often firsthand, infor-
Delumeau, Jean. Eric Nicholson, trans. Sin and Fear: the Emer-
mation. Stephen Langdon’s Babylonian Penitential Psalms
gence of the Western Guilt Culture, 13th–18th Centuries. New
(Paris, 1927) remains the indispensable book on that ques-
York, 1991.
tion. Although in need of updating, the admirable synthesis
of Israel’s psyche and culture by Johannes Pedersen, Israel:
Enright, Robert and Joanna North, eds. Exploring Forgiveness.
Its Life and Culture, 2 vols. (1926–1947; reprint, Oxford,
Madison, Wisc., 1998.
1959), remains unmatched, except, on the institutions, by
Tavuchis, Nicholas. Mea Culpa: A Sociology of Apology and Recrim-
Roland de Vaux’s Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions, 2d
ination. Stanford, 1991.
ed. (London, 1965). One should add to these two works the
excellent systematic studies of Old Testament theology by
West, Angela. Deadly Innocence: Feminist Theology and the Mythol-
Walther Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament, 2 vols.
ogy of Sin. New York, 1995.
(Philadelphia, 1961–1967), and by Gerhard von Rad, Old
ANDRÉ LACOCQUE (1987)
Testament Theology, 2 vols. (New York, 1962–1965).
Revised Bibliography
There are many monographs on “sin and guilt” according to the
Jewish and Christian understanding, written in several lan-
guages. Few of them, however, have the scope and soberness
SINGH, GOBIND
of expression of the French collective work Théologie du péché
(1666–1708), the last of the ten
(Tournai, 1960), by Philippe Delhaye et al. Here one finds
guru¯s (“teachers”) of Sikhism. After his death the Sikh guru¯
invaluable information on the notion of sin in “primitive”
was understood to be the A¯di Granth, the sacred book. Until
religions, in the Bible, among the Greeks, in Roman Catho-
Gobind Singh, the Sikh community, whose religious ideals
lic theology, and to a lesser extent in Eastern Christianity and
and practices were a North Indian combination of Vais:n:ava
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8408
SINGH, GOBIND
devotional movements from South India and elements of Is-
beards unshorn, as was customary among certain ascetic
lamic Sufism, had been led by a series of guru¯s beginning
sects.
with Na¯nak (1469–1539) and passing through to Gobind
On April 13, 1699, after the morning service, Gobind
Singh’s father, the ninth guru¯, Tegh Baha¯dur.
drew his sword and asked for five men to offer their heads
Gobind Singh (originally Gobind Ra¯i) is known as the
for sacrifice. He took them behind a tent and reappeared be-
paradigm of the chivalrous, proud, martial, and loyal reli-
fore the congregation, his sword dripping with blood, but
gious ideal to which members of the Sikh Kha¯lsa¯, “the com-
then revealed that instead of the men he had slaughtered five
munity of pure ones,” aspire. In fact, it was Gobind Singh
goats. He addressed the volunteers as the “five beloved,” panj
who established the Kha¯lsa¯, and gave all male Sikhs the sur-
piya¯re, who were destined to become the nucleus of a new
name Singh (“lion”) and Sikh women the name Kaur
community, the Kha¯lsa¯ (from the Persian kha¯lis, “the pure
(“lioness”). Gobind Singh is further known as the reported
ones”). He baptized the five men (who came from different
author of the Dasam Granth (Tenth Volume), an epic work
Hindu castes) by making them drink, from a single bowl,
that stands second only to the A¯di Granth in prestige in the
amrit (nectar) he had churned with a double-edged dagger.
Sikh community. Under Gobind Singh’s rule (1675–1708)
He gave them a new family name, Singh (“lion”), and after
Sikhism was transformed from a persecuted sect to a power-
his own baptism changed his name from Gobind Ra¯i to Go-
ful religious community that has stood as the political and
bind Singh. Five emblems (kakka¯r or the “five ks”) were pre-
economic mainstay of the Punjab ever since.
scribed for the Kha¯lsa¯: to wear their hair and beards unshorn
(kais); to carry a comb (kangha¯) in their hair to keep it tidy;
Gobind Singh was born at Patna (in the Indian state of
to wear the knee-length breeches (kachha¯) then worn by sol-
Bihar) on December 26, 1666, the only child of Tegh
diers; to wear a steel bracelet (kara¯) on their right wrist as
Baha¯dur and his wife Gujari. He spent the first few years of
a symbol of poverty and pledge to their guru¯s; and always to
his life in Bihar before returning to his ancestral home, An-
carry a saber (kirpa¯n) to defend their faith. In addition to
andpur, in the foothills of the Himalayas. He was nine years
these five emblems, the converts were forbidden to smoke or
old when his father was summoned by the Mughal emperor
chew tobacco, to consume alcoholic drinks, to eat the flesh
to answer charges of extortion, and was executed in Delhi
of animals slaughtered by being bled to death (as was cus-
on November 11, 1675. Before he died, he proclaimed Go-
tomary among Jews and Muslims); they were permitted only
bind as his successor. Fearing further reprisals, the young
jhatka¯ meat, that of an animal dispatched with one blow. Be-
guru¯ and his entourage moved farther back into the moun-
cause their adversaries were largely Muslims, the Kha¯lsa¯ were
tains and set up their camp at Paonta, on the banks of the
forbidden to molest their women. The idea, in short, was to
Yamuna River. Here Gobind was taught Sanskrit and Per-
raise an army of sant sipa¯his (soldier-saints).
sian (in addition to the Punjabi and Braj he had learned at
Patna) and the arts of war. He spent much time hunting and
The vast majority of the guru¯’s followers underwent
composing poetry. His favorite themes were based on Hindu
baptism and became hirsute Kesa¯dha¯ri Kha¯lsa¯, as distinct
mythology, notably the exploits of the goddess Can:d:¯ı, the
from the Sahajdhari Sikhs (“those who take time to adopt”).
destroyer of demons.
The eruption of this militant force alarmed the neighboring
Hindu chieftains as well as the Muslim Mughals. Gobind
In his autobiography, Bicitra na¯tak (The wonderful
was compelled to evacuate Anandpur. No sooner had he left
drama), Gobind wrote, “I came into the world charged with
than his two youngest sons were captured and executed. The
the duty to uphold the right in every place, to destroy sin
guru¯ was left with forty men who stockaded themselves at
and evil . . . that righteousness may flourish: that the good
Chamkaur. In the skirmishes that ensued the guru¯ was able
may live and tyrants be torn out by their roots.” As he grew
to escape, but his two elder sons fell in battle. Tradition holds
into manhood Gobind decided to organize his followers into
that despite these adversities Gobind sent the emperor a defi-
a fighting force. Soon he raised a small army that came into
ant poem entitled Zafarna¯ma¯ (The Epistle of victory). There
conflict with neighboring Rajput chiefs. Gobind defeated
he wrote, “What use is it to put out a few sparks when you
their combined forces at Bhangani in 1686 and those of the
raise a mighty flame instead?”
Mughal governor of Punjab at Nadaun a year later. His in-
creasing strength alarmed the Mughals, and the emperor Au-
Gobind eluded his pursuers and found safe refuge at
rangzeb sent his eldest son, Prince Moazzam, against him.
Muktsar. He spent a year in the region baptizing large seg-
The prince discreetly decided to leave Gobind alone and di-
ments of the Hindu peasantry, including those of the Phulki-
rected his generals to reduce the hill chieftains. Gobind uti-
an States: Patiala, Nabha, Jind, and Faridkot. With the assis-
lized these years to fortify Anandpur by building a chain of
tance of a disciple, Man¯ı Singh, he prepared a definitive
fortresses. He married three wives, who bore him four sons.
edition of the Sikh scripture, the A¯di Granth, compiled by
the fifth guru¯, Arjun, in which he inserted compositions of
Gobind gave religious sanction to practices introduced
his father, Tegh Baha¯dur. He also collected his own writings
by his father, Tegh Baha¯dur, and his grandfather, the sixth
in the Dasam Granth.
guru¯, Hargobind. Early in 1699 Gobind sent out
hukumna¯mahs (orders) to the Sikhs to present themselves at
It is not clear whether or not Gobind intended to com-
Anandpur on the Hindu New Year’s day with their hair and
plain to the emperor against Wazir Khan, governor of the
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SINHALA RELIGION
8409
Punjab, about the murder of his infant sons, but he was on
composite system derived from a variety of sources, includ-
his way to the Mughal capital when he received news of the
ing pre-Buddhist indigenous beliefs, Indic astrology, popular
emperor’s death and the conflict over succession between his
Hinduism, Brahmanism, and Dravidian religion, especially
sons. The guru¯ decided to back Prince Moazzam, and a de-
that of South India. Over many years these seemingly non-
tachment of Sikh soldiers fought a victorious battle on his
Buddhist beliefs have been incorporated into a Buddhist
side at Jajau on June 8, 1707. Later Gobind visited the new
framework and ethos. The religious beliefs that have derived
emperor at Agra and stayed on for several months. The em-
from non-Buddhist sources have been labeled “spirit cults.”
peror did not take any action against his governor of the
This is a heuristically useful label if one does not make the
Punjab, and when he marched to his southern domains
mistake of defining them as non-Buddhist or anti-Buddhist.
against his rebellious brother, Kam Baksh, the guru¯ followed
Some aspects of the spirit cults, such as the beliefs in pretas,
him as far as Nander (now in Maharashtra). At Nander two
or the malevolent spirits of departed ancestors, are very an-
young Pathans who were in his entourage entered his tent
cient popular beliefs that have been assimilated by Bud-
and stabbed him. It is most likely that the assassins were hire-
dhism. Furthermore, Buddhist canonical texts are full of ref-
lings of the Punjab governor. Before he succumbed to his
erences to pious laypersons who on death have become
wounds on October 7, 1708, Gobind proclaimed an end to
reborn as gods, which means that, as Marasinghe puts it in
the succession of guru¯s and exhorted the Sikhs to look upon
Gods in Early Buddhism (Colombo, 1974), the karman theo-
the A¯di Granth as the symbolic representation of their ten
ry is a kind of machine that can create its own gods. The the-
guru¯s.
ory of karman can, at the very least, easily justify the creation
Gobind Singh remains the beau ideal of the Kha¯lsa¯
or continuing existence of the many kinds of supernatural
Sikhs, the paradigm of chivalry combined with valor, poetic
beings that inhabit the behavioral universe of Buddhist na-
sophistication, and generosity. He is referred to as dasam
tions in South and Southeast Asia. The crux of the issue is
padsha¯h (“tenth emperor”), n¯ıle ghorey da¯ asva¯r (“rider of the
not whether these beliefs are Buddhist or non-Buddhist: It
roan stallion”), citia¯n ba¯ja¯n va¯la¯ (“lord of white hawks”), and
is that one can remain a Buddhist, and a citizen of Sri Lanka
kalgi dhar (“wearer of plumes”).
or Burma or Thailand, without subscribing to a belief in the
spirit cults. The latter is not a necessary condition to being
SEE ALSO A¯di Granth; Dasam Granth; Na¯nak; Sikhism.
a Buddhist. Being a Buddhist is necessary for one’s ethnic
and national identity in the Therava¯da societies of South and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Southeast Asia, whereas the spirit cults have little or no bear-
Whereas few English-language sources deal exclusively with Go-
ing on one’s larger identity. One is not a “heretic” if one re-
bind Singh, a number of general works on the Sikh religion
jects the popular religions; indeed, in some instances it may
contain sections dealing with his life and writings, based on
indicate affirmation of Buddhist orthodoxy and the ideal cul-
his own work and contemporary records in Persian and Gur-
tural values of the group.
mukhi. Gokul Chand Narang’s Transformation of Sikhism,
5th ed. (New Delhi, 1960) deals with the gradual rise of Sikh
To place the Sinhala spirit cults in a larger perspective
militancy that culminated with Gobind Singh. The volume
it is useful to begin with a consideration of Vädda religion
Poetry of the Dasam Granth (Delhi, 1959), compiled by
as described by C. G. Seligmann and Z. Seligmann in The
Dharmapal Asta, is the only attempt to present the guru¯’s
Veddas (Cambridge, 1911). These aboriginal inhabitants of
own compositions and others traditionally ascribed to him.
Unfortunately, the translations do not do justice to the
Sri Lanka speak a Sinhala dialect and were at least peripheral-
original.
ly part of the traditional political system, owing allegiance
to the king of Kandy. Although they were Sinhala-speaking,
New Sources
and their spirit cults showed considerable overlap with that
Gajrani, Shiv. Guru Gobind Singh: Personality and Vision. Patiala,
2000.
of Sinhala Buddhists, most Väddas never converted to Bud-
dhism. An examination of Vädda religion will help us under-
Kapoor, Sukhbir Singh. The Ideal Man: The Concept of Guru Go-
stand more fully the nature of the Sinhala spirit cults and
bind Singh, the Tenth Prophet of the Sikhs. London, 1988.
their relationship with Buddhism.
Singh, Balbir. Message of Guru Gobind Singh and Other Essays. Pa-
tiala, 1997.
CULT OF THE NÄ YAKKU. The Väddas, unlike the Sinhala
Singh, Dalib. Guru Gobind Singh and Khalsa Discipline. Amritsar,
Buddhists, had as the basis of their religion a system of ances-
1992.
tor worship. Väddas who die are said to become deities
Singh, Dharam. Dynamics of the Social Thought of Guru Gobind
known as nä yakku (sg., yaka¯), literally “kinsmen deities”; the
Singh. Patiala, 1998.
transformation of a person’s spirit to a yaka¯ occurs a few days
after his or her death. Ancestral spirits help the living but
KHUSHWANT SINGH (1987)
Revised Bibliography
show wrath if neglected.
Complementing the spirits of the recently dead is a pan-
theon of major Vädda deities. This pantheon is headed by
SINHALA RELIGION. The Sinhala of Sri Lanka are
Kande¯ Yaka¯ (“lord of the mountain”). Ancestral spirits are
for the most part Buddhists, yet their practical religion is a
considered to be feudal attendants of Kande¯ Yaka¯ and have
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8410
SINHALA RELIGION
his warrant to assist or punish the living. The concept of per-
group rituals. The operative pantheon in most parts of the
mission or warrant (varan) and the system whereby the
Kandyan region thus consisted of the ban:d:a¯ra cult, formal-
higher gods engage lower deities as attendants are identical
ized into a numerological category of the Twelve Gods.
with Sinhala beliefs.
Many of these gods have in fact demonic attributes and are
often referred to in rituals as devata¯ (“godling”), a composite
Kande¯ Yaka¯ then is a benevolent deity who brings pros-
of the demonic and the divine. The Twelve Gods are associ-
perity and wealth to Vädda society. He is sometimes propiti-
ated with most of the social, economic, and personal needs
ated as Kande¯ Vanniya (Lord Kande¯). Several other major
of the worshiper—hunting, animal husbandry, and rice cul-
deities are propitiated in Vädda collective rituals. There is
tivation, as well as individual afflictions such as illnesses due
Bam
˘ bura Yaka¯, a grim spirit who presides over yams, and for
to demonic incursions.
whom a mimetic ritual of the boar hunt is performed;
In˘digolle Yaka¯, also called Gale¯ Yaka¯ (“lord of the rock”),
There is, then, a striking similarity between the Vädda
who is often propitiated with his spouse In˘digolle Kiri
gods and the Sinhala pantheon of the ban:d:a¯ra. The deities
Amma¯; and Bilin˘di Yaka¯, an infant deity also widely propiti-
in both pantheons are chiefs or lords (but not kings); they
ated in Vädda country (nowadays in parts of the Eastern and
are euhemerized beings, often ancestral heroes. In collective
Uva provinces). In addition there is a whole class of female
rituals the Väddas propitiate their gods with meat offerings;
deities called kiri amma¯ (“milk mother, grandmother”).
among the Sinhala, however, only some of these deities
These kiri amma¯ are the spirits of eminent Vädda women,
(those possessing demonic qualities, like Gange Ban:d:a¯ra) are
generally the wives of Vädda headmen or chiefs, many of
offered meat (impure) offerings. Furthermore, and this is of
whom are thought to haunt mountain springs and rocky hill-
crucial significance, both Vädda and Sinhala pantheons show
sides. A few of these kiri amma¯ are prominent enough to
considerable overlap. Thus, Kiri Amma¯ is the operative fe-
have individual names. These named kiri amma¯ are often in-
male deity among both the Vädda and the Kandyan Sinhala.
voked for curing children’s diseases and for sickness in gener-
The Vädda god Kande¯ Yaka¯, the benevolent deity of the
al. In addition to these major deities are minor deities, all of
hunt, is perhaps none other than Kande¯ Deviyo¯ of the Kan-
whom are the spirits of prominent deceased Väddas. Thus,
dyans. In Kandyan rituals Kande¯ Deviyo¯ also appears as the
the Vädda religion recognizes a pantheon that is comprised
god of the hunt. The Vädda term yaka¯ appears to have been
of individual ancestors as well as a special class of deities who
transformed into d¯eviyo¯ (“god”) by the Sinhala, since yaka¯
are deified heroes. Although these deified ancestors and he-
clearly means “demon” in Sinhala. Several other deities are
roes are an important element in Vädda worship there are
shared by both Vädda and Sinhala. In addition, many ritual
also Vädda deities such as In˘digolle Yaka¯, who are believed
terms are common to both cultures: han˘gala (priest’s robe),
to have come from across the oceans. These latter beliefs—
ayuda (arms, ornaments of the deity), kapura¯la (priest),
those of deified ancestors and foreign deities—directly link
ad:ukku (meal served to the deity), dol:a (offering to demons),
Vädda religion with that of their Sinhala neighbors, at least
and puda (offering to gods). These terms, as well as the
in parts of the Northwestern and North Central Provinces,
ban:d:a¯ra cult itself, are not confined to the Kandyan area ex-
and in Uva and in the Central Province (the Kandyan re-
clusively but constitute (or historically constituted) a series
gion).
of overlapping circles covering most of Sinhala-speaking Sri
The Sinhala Buddhists have no system of ancestor wor-
Lanka. Even when the numerological category of twelve was
ship like that of the nä yakku, but they do believe in a cult
not used (as in the North Central Province), there was
of deified ancestors and foreign deities, which Parker, in his
throughout Sri Lanka a system of local village worship of
Ancient Ceylon (London, 1904), has labeled the ban:d:a¯ra cult.
ban:d:a¯ras, or lords, who constituted a pantheon of euhemer-
Ban:d:a¯ra means “chief,” and this cult is that of a group of dei-
ized ancestors or heroes.
ties who are viewed as “lords” or “chiefs.” Parker has called
Both Vädda religion and the ban:d:a¯ra cult of the Kandy-
this a form of ancestor worship, but this is an erroneous iden-
an Sinhala show striking resemblances to the nat cultus of
tification, for the Sinhala do not deify their immediate ances-
the Burmese and the Thai cult of the ph¯ı. Worship of both
tors. Rather, deified heroes or leaders of a local area or region
nats and ph¯ı constitutes an indigenous cult of ancestors, hav-
constitute a major part of the cult. The striking feature of
ing a role similar to the cult of the Kandyan ban:d:a¯ra. Note
the ban:d:a¯ra cult, however, is that all deities, both local and
that ban:d:a¯ra means “lord,” which is exactly what nat (from
foreign, were originally human beings who have been dei-
the Sanskrit na¯tha) means. Furthermore, the nats are associ-
fied. Many of them have the title ban:d:a¯ra (“lord”); all of
ated with natural phenomena, as are many Kandyan and
them are viewed as lords or chiefs and are subordinate to the
Vädda deities. It is indeed likely that a form of euhemerism
great gods or devas of the Sinhala Buddhist pantheon, who
was the old indigenous, pre-Buddhist religion, not only of
are viewed as kings or world rulers (cakravartins).
Sri Lanka, but of other Therava¯da nations of this region. The
THE BAN:D:A¯RA CULT AMONG THE SINHALA. The ban:d:a¯ra
full significance of nat or ban:d:a¯ra comes out clearly in rela-
cult has been formalized in many parts of the Kandyan re-
tion to the great, often Brahmanic-derived devas, who consti-
gion into a cult of the Dolaha Deviyo (“twelve gods”). The
tute the upper level of the pantheon. These devas are kings
Twelve Gods are individually and collectively propitiated in
or cakravartins; the ban:d:a¯ras are lesser beings and thus are
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SINHALA RELIGION
8411
chieftains or lords who owe formal suzerainty to the “god-
The concept of divine protectors of the secular and sa-
kings.”
cred realm is an ancient one in Sri Lanka. First, there was
the ancient Buddhist doctrinal notion of the guardians of the
As institutionalized at the village and tribal level, the
four quarters of the universe. In addition to this there devel-
form of village religion described above is intrinsically associ-
oped in Sri Lanka the idea of four guardians of the state. If
ated with that of the inspired priest acting as a medium or
the Buddhist guardians protected the cosmos the devas were
mouthpiece of the apotheosized ancestor or hero. The Selig-
protectors of the nation, and therefore were of great signifi-
manns and other anthropologists writing on tribal India refer
cance in the practical religion. The concept of the four gods
to him as “shaman.” This designation is somewhat mislead-
(hatara d¯eviyo¯) and the four shrines (hatara d¯eva¯le) were
ing since “shamanism” in South and Southeast Asia is differ-
clearly established in the kingdoms of Ko¯t:t:e (fifteenth centu-
ent from the classic Siberian type. In the latter the soul of
ry) and in Kandy. In popular usage the term hatara varan
the shaman leaves the body. In the South Asian type this
rarely happens; the deity possesses the priest and the god is
d¯eviyo¯ (“gods of four warrants”), which should in theory have
thus physically “present” in the human community. Further-
referred to the four Buddhist guardians of the universe, came
more, the extreme individualism of classic shamanism is not
to be synonymous with the concept of the Four Gods—the
found here. The possessed priest activates a formal, publicly
guardians of the kingdom.
accepted pantheon of deities; he rarely has personal guardian
In relation to the concept of the Four Gods, numerolo-
gods or individual spirits as in classic shamanism.
gy is once again very important. There have always been four
Traditional Sinhala religion probably coexisted, as it
guardian gods, but the deities occupying these positions
does today, with other forms of religious belief and practice,
show considerable variation. In general one would say that
such as witchcraft, sorcery, and divination. When the great
the positions of the Four Gods from the fifteenth century on-
historical religions like Buddhism were introduced into this
ward were filled from the following list of devas: Vis:n:u,
region the older religion had to adapt itself to the new situa-
Na¯tha, Vibhis:an:a, Saman (Laks:man:a), Skanda, and the god-
tion. The basic mechanism whereby non-Buddhist beliefs
dess Pattin¯ı. If the ban:d:a¯ras were part of the operative village
were incorporated into Buddhism was the theory of karman.
religion, the devas, in particular the Four Gods, were part of
Deified ancestors could easily be incorporated through the
the state cultus. In the Kandyan kingdom, for example, the
theory of karman so that the death of the ancestor and his
Four Gods were paraded in the annual state procession along
subsequent rebirth as a deity could be explained in terms of
with the tooth relic. The king, the chiefs, and their retinue
his good and bad actions in previous births. Over and be-
also participated in this event. The procession reflected in
yond this, the older system of spirit cults had to be integrated
microcosm the larger macrocosmic structure of the Kandyan
with those of the great traditions, which included the great
state.
Brahmanic devas and the Buddha himself. This relationship
Underlying the organization of the pantheon is a politi-
between the older spirits and the devas and Buddha was ex-
cal idiom, very much like that found in the nat cultus in
pressed in the political idiom of the secular state.
Burma as described by Melford Spiro in Burmese Supernatu-
THE BAN:D:A¯RA CULT AND THE WORSHIP OF DEVAS. The
ralism (Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1967): The Four Gods are
ban:d:a¯ra cult, or the cult of the Twelve Gods, was the opera-
the kings and guardians of Buddhism and the secular state
tive folk religion of many villages in the Kandyan kingdom
and the Twelve Gods are the chiefs, attendants, or ministers
for many centuries. But the cult of the ban:d:a¯ras was in turn
or the god-kings. The order in the pantheon is based on the
enveloped in the cult of the devas, the superordinate god-
idea of order in the political state. Crucial to the feudal idiom
kings of the pantheon. What then is the relationship between
underlying the pantheon is the notion of s¯ıma¯ (“limit,
the ban:d:a¯ra cult and the great devas, most of whom derived
boundary”), which has several meanings in the political
historically from Brahmanism? To appreciate the full signifi-
sphere. First, in relation to territory, it indicates the bounda-
cance of this relationship one must shift one’s ground from
ry or border of a kingdom, province, or village; second, in
the narrow perspective of Vädda or Kandyan religion to the
relation to authority and control, it is the limit of a political
larger perspective of a Sinhala Buddhist nation. The
domain, for example, the king has s¯ıma¯ over the kingdom,
ban:d:a¯ras were local or regional deities, and although some
the chief over a province, and the headman over a village;
of them, such as Man˙gara and Devata¯ Ban:d:a¯ra, were widely
third, in relation to time, it means a “time limit” (ka¯la
dispersed they were viewed as chieftains, not kings. The
s¯ıma¯va) on the exercise of political authority, that is, the ka¯la
devas by contrast were national deities, viewed as kings, hold-
s¯ıma¯va for the king is the king’s lifetime, for a chief only a
ing jurisdictional sway over Sri Lanka; they were protectors
year. All these meanings of s¯ıma¯, so important in the political
of that Sinhala Buddhist nation. The ban:d:a¯ras are subservi-
idiom, are transferred intact to the religious context. Thus,
ent to the devas, and the latter, according to popular religion,
the deities in the pantheon all have their s¯ıma¯ in terms of ter-
are in turn subordinate to the Buddha. The devas have a war-
ritory, authority, and time. The ban:d:a¯ras have the village,
rant (varan) from the Buddha himself, whereas the lesser
region, or province as their s¯ıma¯. However, these boundaries
ban:d:a¯ras generally exercise their authority with permission
are not permanently fixed: A regional deity may eventually
from the devas.
come to have a national reputation and worship, as in the
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8412
SINHALA RELIGION
case of Kiri Amma¯ and Man˙gara, and more recently of
Buddhist symbolism. The omnipresence of the Buddha in Sri
De¯vata¯ Ban:d:a¯ra. Nevertheless the ideology that the ban:d:a¯ras
Lanka is expressed in the symbolism of his sacred footprint
are regional chiefs is important in that it defines their status
embedded at Sr¯ı Pada Mountain (known also as Adam’s
in the overall religious system of the Sinhala. The Four Gods
Peak), the visible presence everywhere of monks and dagobas
by contrast have as their s¯ıma¯ the whole of Sri Lanka, but
or stu¯pas containing relics of the Buddha or the saints of the
they also have their special s¯ıma¯ over which they have more
early Buddhist church, and the sacred places of Buddhist pil-
direct control. These generally are the regions surrounding
grimage where people from different regions come together
the pilgrimage center(s) of each deity.
to celebrate their collective unity as Buddhists. Sinhala reli-
gion as a totality has been adapted, through its long history,
DEMONS, GODS, AND THE BUDDHA. At the lowest level of
into a Buddhist framework.
Sinhala religion are such demons and evil spirits as pretas,
who are viewed as the malevolent spirits of dead kinsmen.
CHANGE IN SINHALA RELIGION. Changes in the religious be-
All these evil spirits embody Buddhist notions of spiritual
liefs of the Sinhala have occurred in a variety of ways without
and ethical hindrances, such as craving (tan:ha¯), hatred (krod-
radically affecting the formal structure of the pantheon,
ha), greed (lobha), defilements (kle´sa), and enmity (vaira).
which has the Buddha at the apex, followed by four guardian
Evil beings, like good beings, are karman-bound creatures
gods of the realm, followed by the regional and village gods
who, because of their propensity to cause harm, are caught
and godlings (ban:d:a¯ras), followed by the malevolent de-
in a situation where salvation is difficult if not impossible.
mons, spirits, and ghosts. The most common forms of
They cause illness, both physical and psychic, and may pos-
change are as follows.
sess people, especially women. They are born in blood and
(1) Migrations of peoples and cults from South India are
violence, and they must be propitiated with meat and other
a common phenomenon to this day. Hindu gods and
impure substances. In the western and southern parts of Sri
deities are, however, incorporated into the Buddhist
Lanka they are propitiated in elaborate ritual dramas, de-
pantheon and given Buddhist legitimation. For exam-
scribed by Paul Wirz (1954) and more recently by Bruce
ple, Hindu gods like Vis:n:u and Saman (Laksmana) ap-
Kapferer (1983).
pear with their consorts in early Sinhala iconography.
The demons are under the authority of the devas (i.e.,
When they are converted into bodhisattvas in Sinhala re-
the great gods of the pantheon), who must control them to
ligion they lose their consorts as befits good Buddhist
ensure a just social order. The devas are essentially rational
salvation aspirants.
and just deities, viewed by Sinhala Buddhists as future Bud-
(2) Sociopolitical and economic conditions may favor the
dhas or bodhisattvas. These devas (as well as the lesser
rise or decline of a god. This the cult of the god Na¯tha,
ban:d:a¯ras) are bound to the worshiper in a nexus of mutual
who was in charge of the sovereignity of the Kandyan
obligation: The god protects humans, their cattle, and their
kings, dramatically declined after the British conquest
crops, and ensures the common weal; humans in turn ex-
of Kandy in 1815. Similarly, a god may rise into promi-
presses their gratitude by transferring the merit they have
nence and eclipse others in terms of public popularity.
earned to the gods and thus hastening the nirva¯n:a and Bud-
dha-aspiration of the latter. These transactions are formally
(3) The external changes mentioned above are rationalized
expressed in the annual post-harvest thanksgiving rituals
in terms of a dialectic of internal change in the pan-
where the myths of the gods are sung, where ritual dramas
theon. The more popular a deity, the more favors he
celebrating their lives are enacted, and where thanks are of-
grants his devotee; this in turn means that the devotee
fered to them by the village community.
transfers merit to him, thereby bringing the god closer
to his goal of Buddhahood. But the closer the god is to
Over and above the cults of the gods and demons is the
the Buddha model the less he is interested in the affaris
worship of the Buddha. The Buddha himself is viewed as the
of the world. Consequently, he must eventually become
supreme deity and totally benevolent, reigning over the rest
otiose, and more world-involved—even demonic—
of the pantheon. In his role as overlord of the pantheon he
beings from the lower reaches of the pantheon move up
is referred to as “king”; in his role as the teacher of salvation
to take his place. Thus, the logic of karman and the
he is “monk.” In public parades known as perahära, the Bud-
transfer of merit govern internal mobility in the pan-
dha’s role as king is predominant; in the rituals and prayers
theon.
addressed to him inside the viha¯ra, his role as monk comes
to the fore. These latter prayers and rituals in the Buddhist
(4) Finally, social changes may produce radical changes in
temple are standard throughout the nation, whereas there
the formal structure of the pantheon. In The Cult of
exist regional variations in the cult practices associated with
the Goddess Pattini by the author of this aritcle
the gods and demons. If the rituals to the gods and demons
(pp. 290–291), it is noted that the politcal conditions
have to do with this world (health, wealth, fertility), the Bud-
of the Ko¯t:t:e Kingdom (1410–1544) in Sri Lanka result-
dhist rituals have to do with the next world, or with one’s
ed in the extension of the jurisdictional sway of the
rebirth and the eventual realization of nirva¯n:a. The unity of
major guardian gods into the ban:d:a¯ras. Similarly, mod-
the Sinhala Buddhists as a moral community is expressed in
ern sociopolitical conditions, including the centraliza-
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SIRHIND¯I, AH:MAD
8413
tion and democratization of the state and the develop-
SIOUX RELIGION SEE LAKOTA RELIGIOUS
ment of modern communications, have tended to erode
TRADITIONS
the spheres of influence of minor gods and demons.
Today, some gods are coming into especial prominence,
while other gods and their cults are declining.
SIRHIND¯I, AH:MAD (AH 971–1034/1564–1624 CE),
It is likely that modern socioeconomic and political condi-
an eminent Indian Muslim S:u¯f¯ı, known also as mujad-did-i
tions may produce radical changes in the formal structure of
alf-i tha¯n¯ı “renewer of the second millennium [of the Islamic
the pantheon as sketched above. Nevertheless, Sinhala reli-
era]”). He was a prolific writer on Islamic mysticism and the-
gion will retain its basic core. The pantheon headed by the
ology. His celebrated collection of letters, addressed to his
Buddha and the system of worship associated with him are
fellow S:u¯f¯ıs as well as to a few officials of the state, was re-
not likely to change. Even if the cult of the Four Gods and
peatedly hailed as a landmark in the development of Muslim
the Twelve Gods should collapse, some deities will continue
religious thought in India.
to preside over humanity’s “this-worldly” destiny—and so
will the belief in named demons and pretas, the spirits of
Sirhind¯ı’s religious activities were conducted within the
dead ancestors. All deities will continue to embody Buddhist
Naqshband¯ı order of the S:u¯f¯ıs, which was introduced into
the subcontinent bySirhind¯ı’s spiritual mentor, Muh:ammad
values and remain bound to each other and to humans by
al-Ba¯q¯ı Billah. Sirhind¯ı became a prominent personality in
the ethics of karman and the transfer of merit.
the order, brought about an expansion of its influence in
India and elsewhere, and attracted numerous disciples,
SEE ALSO Folk Religion, article on Folk Buddhism; Merit,
whom he instructed in the Naqshband¯ı mystical doctrine.
article on Buddhist Concepts; Na¯gas and Yaks:as; Nats;
He devoted a great deal of attention to the spiritual progress
Sam:gha; Tamil Religions.
of the believer toward perfection. His works reflect an unre-
lenting effort to integrate the basic concepts of Islam into a
BIBLIOGRAPHY
comprehensive S:u¯f¯ı outlook. True to the classical S:u¯f¯ı tradi-
The two most comprehensive books on Sinhala religion dealing
tion, he endeavored to analyze Islamic concepts in a two-fold
with the demon and deva cults are Bruce Kapferer’s A Cele-
fashion in order to discover in each of them the inner and
bration of Demons (Bloomington, Ind., 1983) and my The
secret (ba¯tin) aspect in addition to the outward (z:a¯hir) one.
Cult of the Goddess Pattini (Chicago, 1984). Paul Wirz’s Ex-
In other words, all things have form (s:u¯rah) and essence
orcism and the Art of Healing in Ceylon (Leiden, 1954), writ-
(h:aq¯ıqah), and the highest achievement lies in understanding
ten in the thirties, is still a useful reference work, but better
the inner, essential aspect of commandments and articles of
still is the excellent and little-known article by Dandris De
faith.
Silva Gooneratne, “On Demonology and Witchcraft in Cey-
lon,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch 4
The most original contribution of Sirhind¯ı to mystical
(1865–1866): 1–117, both dealing with the demon and as-
thought seems to be his description of the spiritual transfor-
trological cults. Michael M. Ames’s article “Magical-
mation that occurred at the end of the first millennium of
Animism and Buddhism: A Structural Analysis of the Sinha-
the Islamic era, following intricate changes in the structure
lese Religious System,” in Religion in South Asia, edited by
of the mystical “realities” (h:aqa¯Diq), the spiritual condition
Edward B. Harper (Seattle, 1964), and Richard F. Gom-
of the Muslim community improved in a substantial man-
brich’s Precept and Practice (Oxford, 1971) deal with the
ner. Prophetic perfections, which had been fading away since
deva cults in the southern province and the Kandyan villages
the death of Muh:ammad, regained their splendor. The per-
respectively and also discuss the articulation of the spirit cults
and astrological beliefs with Buddhism. H. L. Seneviratne’s
son in possession of these perfections was the mujaddid, the
excellent Rituals of the Kandyan State (Cambridge, 1978) is
renewer or revivifier of the second millennium. It is likely
a comprehensive study of the state cultus of the sacred tooth
that Sirhind¯ı considered himself to be fulfilling this reli-
relic and the worship of the Four Gods. For recent socioeco-
giously crucial role; his disciples certainly saw him in this
nomic changes in Sinhala religion, read my “Social Change
light.
and the Deities,” Man 12 (1977): 377–396, and Medusa’s
Hair
(Chicago, 1981).
Most scholars of medieval Muslim India maintain that
Sirhind¯ı performed a crucial role in the history of Indian
New Sources
Islam. Indian Muslims have always faced a dilemma concern-
Gombrich, Richard Francis, and Gananath Obeyesekere. Bud-
ing the attitude that they should adopt toward Hindu civili-
dhism Transformed: Religious Change in Sri Lanka. Princeton,
zation, and two streams of thought developed among them:
N.J., 1988.
some held that Indian Muslims should take into account the
sensibilities of the Hindus and seek a common ground for
Scott, David. Formations of Ritual: Colonial and Anthropological
the two civilizations, while others maintained that the Mus-
Discourses on the Sinhalayaktovil. Minneapolis, 1994.
lim minority, in constant danger of assimilation into the
GANANATH OBEYESEKERE (1987)
polytheistic Hindu environment, must preserve the pristine
Revised Bibliography
purity of Islam and reject any local influence. Sirhind¯ı ap-
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8414
SISTERS OF CHARITY
peared on the Indian scene during the reign of the Mughal
S´IVA [FIRST EDITION]. The ancient name of S´iva
emperor Akbar (1556–1605), who systematically attempted
is Rudra, the Wild God. His seminal myth is told in the most
to make Islam and the ruling dynasty more acceptable to the
sacred, most ancient Indian text, the R:gveda (c. 1200–1000
non-Muslim Indians. The most conspicuous step in this di-
BCE; hymns 10.61 and 1.71). When time was about to begin
rection was his abolition of the jizyah, a tax that Islamic law
he appeared as a wild hunter, aflame, his arrow directed
imposes on the non-Muslim inhabitants of a Muslim state.
against the Creator making love with his virgin daughter, the
Sirhind¯ı strongly opposed Akbar’s conciliatory policy toward
Dawn. They had the shape of two antelopes. Some of the
the Hindus. He made devastating attacks on Hinduism and
Creator’s seed fell on the earth. Rudra himself as Fire (Agni)
maintained that the honor of Islam required the humiliation
had prepared the seed, from which mankind was to be born.
of the infidels and the resolute imposition of Islamic law
From a rupture of the undifferentiated plenum of the Abso-
upon them. Because Sirhind¯ı expressed these views in letters
lute some of the seed fell on the earth. Rudra’s shot failed
to officials of the Mughal court, numerous scholars have
to prevent its fall; time, which was about to begin, came in
credited him with reversing the heretical trends of Akbar’s
between, in the shape of the flight of his arrow. The Creator,
era and with restoring pristine purity to Indian Islam.
Praja¯pati, terribly frightened, made Rudra Lord of Animals
(Pa´supati) for sparing his life (Maitra¯yan:¯ı Sam:hita¯ 4.2.12;
Recent research has shown, however, that this interpre-
after 1000 BCE). The gods, as they witnessed the primordial
tation is far from certain. It is true that Sirhind¯ı wrote to
scene, made it into a mantra, an incantation, and out of this
state officials and suggested changes in the imperial policy,
mantra they fashioned Va¯stos:pati, “lord of the residue
but there is no evidence that the Mughal empire changed its
(va¯stu),” “lord of the site (va¯stu),” or “lord of what is left over
attitude toward the Hindus as a result of his activities.
on the sacrificial site.” However, Pa´supati—“lord of ani-
Sirhind¯ı was first and foremost a seeker after religious truth.
mals,” “lord of creatures,” “lord of the soul of man”—is
The overwhelming majority of his epistles deal with typically
Rudra-S´iva’s most significant name.
S:u¯f¯ı issues. The concepts of prophecy (nubu¯wah) and saint-
hood (wila¯yah), the relationship between religious law
Fundamental pairs of antitheses inhere in the primordi-
(shar¯ı Eah) and the mystical path (tar¯ıqah), the theories of
al R:gvedic myth of Rudra Pa´supati and Rudra Va¯stos:pati.
unity of being (wah:dat al-wuju¯d) and unity of appearance
As Fire he incites Praja¯pati toward creation; as the formidable
(wah:dat al-shuhu¯d)—these command Sirhind¯ı’s attention in
hunter he aims at the act of creation, meaning to prevent the
most of his works. In dealing with these matters, Sirhind¯ı
“incontinence” of the Creator, the shedding of the seed.
belongs to the stream of mystical thought established by Ibn
Rudra acts as hunter and yogin in one. The scene has for its
al-EArab¯ı, though they differ in certain aspects. Questions of
background the plenum of the uncreated or the Absolute
the relationship between the Islamic state and its Hindu pop-
that was and is before the mythical moment of the inception
ulation, which have acquired tremendous importance in the
of the life.
modern period and have therefore been central in numerous
In the Vedic sacrificial ritual, Va¯stos:pati receives as an
modern interpretations of Sirhind¯ı’s thought, do not seem
oblation the remainder of the sacrifice. The power of the
to have been in the forefront of his interests.
completed sacrifice is left in the remainder and magically en-
sures the continuity of the rites, of the entire tradition—and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of the order and rhythms of art. Va¯stos:pati is the guardian
Sirhindi’s magnum opus is the collection of his Persian letters,
and protector of the site, the buildings and their content, in
Maktu¯ba¯t-i ima¯m-i rabba¯n¯ı (1899; reprint, Istanbul, 1973).
later Hinduism.
See also Selected Letters of Shaykh Ah:mad Sirhind¯ı (Karachi,
Jan Gonda, in his article “The S´atarudriya,” in the fest-
1968), translated and edited by Fazlur Rahman. A more re-
schrift Sanskrit and Indian Studies (Dordrecht, 1980, p. 75),
cent work is J. G. J. ter Harr’s Follower and Heir of the Proph-
considers Rudra “the representative of the dangerous, unreli-
et: Shaykh Ah:mad Sirhind¯ı (1564–1624) as Mystic (Leiden,
able and hence to be feared nature.” Looking at S´iva from
1992). Sirhind¯ı’s theology is the main topic in Burhan
Ahmad Faruqi’s The Mujaddid’s Conception of Tawh:¯ıd
another angle, Daniel H. H. Ingalls, in “Ka¯lida¯sa and the At-
(1943; reprint, Lahore, 1970). My own study, Shaykh
titudes of the Golden Age” in the Journal of the American
Ah:mad Sirhind¯ı: An Outline of His Thought and a Study of
Oriental Society (1976), sees that “S´iva represents the recon-
His Image in the Eyes of Posterity (London, 1971), deals with
ciliation of good and evil, of beauty and ugliness, of life and
the central concepts of Sirhind¯ı’s thought, reviews the devel-
death—the vision solved all problems and could transmute
opment of his image in later literature, and includes an ex-
a man’s suffering into joy.” Neither of these views refers to
tensive bibliography.
the primordial and central myth of Rudra, in which Rudra
acts as consciousness of metaphysical reality or the Absolute
YOHANAN FRIEDMANN (1987 AND 2005)
in its relation to life on earth.
In Vedic times, the fierce hunter had the power over life
and death, to afflict a mortal wound or to heal it. He was
SISTERS OF CHARITY SEE SETON,
worshiped with the words “Do not hurt me” and also in-
ELIZABETH
voked as “lord of songs, lord of sacrifice, bringing cooling
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S´IVA [FIRST EDITION]
8415
remedy, radiant like the sun, like gold” (R:gveda 1.43.4–5).
form. His being in manifestation is to be meditated upon as
He was praised as the lord of the high and the low, of rob-
a river of five streams from five sources (S´veta¯´svatara
bers, of the ill-formed, but also of craftsmen working in
Upanis:ad 1.5). They are the five senses with their objects “an
wood, metal, and clay. Praise went to him in the flux of
impetuous flood of five pains.” If Rudra as the ogdoad is the
waves, in young grass and the desert, in soil and air, house
cosmos, as the pentad he is the five senses, the sense percep-
and palace. This is how the S´atarudriya hymn of the Yajurve-
tion and experience of the cosmos. Five is S´iva’s sacred num-
da (after 1000 BCE) invokes him, an omnipresent power
ber in particular. His mantra, “Namah: S´iva¯ya,” has five sylla-
whose shape reverberates in uncounted Rudras like him who
bles, and his “body” is said to be constituted of five mantras
are his retinue. Rudra’s color is copper red, his throat deep
(Taittir¯ıya A¯ran:yaka 10.43–47; c. third century BCE). They
blue; one of his names is the Blue-Red One. His home is ev-
evoke the body of God in the five directions of space, in the
erywhere, but particularly in the North, in Himalayan caves
five elements, in the five senses.
but also on crossroads, cremation grounds, and the battle-
field.
Vedic Rudra, the fierce hunter, is clad in the skins of
wild animals. In the Maha¯bha¯rata (c. 400 BCE–400 CE), S´iva
The gods meant to exclude Rudra from the Vedic sacri-
is seen by the hero Arjuna, in a vision, as an archer and an
fice. This is mythically accounted for by the primordial flight
ascetic. A hymn of the R:gveda (10.136), on the other hand,
of his arrow. Rudra, though he had been made lord of ani-
celebrates Rudra drinking from one cup with an ascetic. The
mals, was not himself born yet as a god. The story of Rudra’s
Maha¯bha¯rata sums up the relation of S´iva to yoga, saying
birth has several versions. The S´atapatha Bra¯hman:a (9.1.1.6;
that “S´iva is yoga and the lord of yogins; he can be ap-
c. mid-first millennium BCE) tells of Praja¯pati, from whom
proached by yoga only.”
all the gods departed except Manyu (Anger). Praja¯pati cried.
His tears fell on Manyu, who became thousand-headed,
In post-Vedic times Praja¯pati’s role as creator was taken
thousand-eyed, hundred-quivered Rudra. Rudra was hun-
over by Brahma¯. Rudra decapitates his father, Brahma¯. Vari-
gry. Praja¯pati asked the gods to gather food for Rudra, who
ous reasons are given in the Puranas (fourth through four-
stood there flaming. The gods appeased Agni-Rudra. By the
teenth centuries CE); one of them, the lusting of Brahma¯ for
S´atarudriya offering and hymn they drove out his pain, his
his daughter, recalls the primordial scene. The head of
evil. The S´atarudriya sacrifice was the first to be performed
Brahma¯ clings to S´iva’s hand. S´iva as a penitent beggar, the
on completion of the Vedic sacrificial altar. Rudra, as soon
skull his begging bowl, goes on a pilgrimage of expiation.
as he was born from Praja¯pati, was given this place in the
After twelve years the skull falls from S´iva’s hand in Banaras,
Vedic sacrifice. To this day the S´atarudriya hymn is recited
and S´iva is released from his sin. His pilgrimage takes the god
in S´aiva temples every morning.
to a hermitage in a forest of deodar trees. The hermits believe
that the young, naked beggar has come to seduce their
On being born, Rudra was invested with the cosmos by
women—and S´iva’s phallus (lin˙ga) falls from his body, by
Praja¯pati. His eightfold domain consisted of the five ele-
his own will or by a curse of the sages; it then arises as a flam-
ments—earth, water, fire, air, and space—together with sun
ing pillar. These events are part of the play (l¯ıla¯) of S´iva in
and moon, the measurers of time, and the sacrificer, or initi-
this world to enable his devotee to recognize God in the
ate. Rudra is the totality of manifestation. He did not create
guises he assumed. The sages apparently fail to identify the
the cosmos. He became and is the cosmos. God and the
begging bowl, Brahma¯’s head or skull (brahma´siras), in
world are one. As the cosmos is a product of S´iva’s eight
the beggar’s hand. Brahma´siras is also the name of S´iva’s
forms, so is the human being, the microcosm.
most formidable weapon, the Pasupata weapon.
The S´veta¯´svatara Upanis:ad (c. late first millennium
Most of S´iva’s myths are known to the Maha¯bha¯rata.
BCE), like the R:gveda, implores Rudra not to injure man or
The myth of S´iva the ascetic, paradoxically, is the theme of
beast. The formidable hunter is everywhere, he merges with
his marriage to Pa¯rvat¯ı, daughter of Parvatara¯ja, “Lord
the ogdoad and transcends it, he rules over all the worlds,
Mountain.” In it is included the story of the destruction—
makes them appear and withdraws them at the end of time.
and resurrection—of Ka¯ma, the god Desire, an archer who
In him at the beginning and at the end the universe is gath-
aimed his arrow at S´iva but was reduced to ashes by a glance
ered. The dweller in the mountain resides in the cave of the
from S´iva’s third eye. Fire and ashes belong to S´iva as much
heart of man. He is immanent and transcendent, the one su-
as serpents and the moon’s crescent, for S´iva’s nature is two-
preme God. Though he has a face, a hand, a foot on every
fold: he is fierce as fire, yet cool and calm as the moon. He
side, no one can see him; he is seen only with the mind and
is the reluctant bridegroom, the indefatigable lover, and the
heart. Those who know the Lord by introspection, yoga, and
ascetic. He is the savior of the world; he swallowed its poison,
loving devotion (bhakti) are freed from the fetter (pa¯´sa) of
and it left a dark blue mark on his throat. He destroys de-
worldly existence, for he is the cause of worldly existence and
mons or shows them his grace. He defeats death; he is the
of liberation. In his auspicious, unterrifying form he is the
death of death, for he is time and transcends time as eternity.
Lord, the omnipresent S´iva, hidden in all beings.
He is the teacher who in silence expounds to the sages music,
Rudra, the “wild god,” is one with S´iva, the auspicious,
yoga, gnosis, and all the arts and sciences. He is a dancer,
supreme god whose splendor encompasses his primordial
Lord of Dancers, who dances the world in and out of exis-
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S´IVA [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
tence. He is a male god inseparably united with his female
S´iva (1973). A monograph that structurally and masterfully
power (´sakti). One image shows him half male, half female.
analyzes one fundamental aspect, the erotic-ascetic polarity
His theriomorphic form is the bull called Nandin (Joy). His
within S´iva; based on hitherto mostly unpublished textual
main attributes are trident, skull, and antelope. His symbol
sources.
is the lin˙ga, the (phallic) pillar, the most sacred object of wor-
Rao, T. A. Gopinatha. Elements of Hindu Iconography, vol. 2, parts
ship—although none is known in India prior to the third to
1 & 2 (1916). Reprint, New York, 1968. Although first pub-
second century BCE. The lin˙ga stands erect in its double sig-
lished in 1916, this work remains a comprehensive and valid
nificance; full of creative power, and also of the yogic power
support of S´aiva studies.
to withhold the seed. Its symbolism is akin to the meaning
Scheuer, Jacques. S´iva dans le Maha¯bha¯rata. Paris, 1982. This
of the primordial scene.
book fills a gap in the present knowledge about S´iva by estab-
lishing S´iva’s position in the central theme of the
Whereas the relation of S´iva to Brahma¯-Praja¯pati is cru-
Maha¯bha¯rata.
cial, that of S´iva to Vis:n:u is one of coexistence or subordina-
tion but also of amalgamation and interchange. Vis:n:u some-
STELLA KRAMRISCH (1987)
times carries the name of S´iva or Rudra; Vis:n:u is conjoint
in one type of image with S´iva as Harihara; in one painting
Vis:n:u-Kr:s:n:a carries S´iva’s insignia, trident and serpent,
S´IVA [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS].
whereas S´iva holds Kr:s:n:a’s flute. S´aivism and Vais:n:avism are
Clas-
complementary, although sectarian rivalry led to the concep-
sical Sanskrit images of S´iva found in Vedic texts and epic
tion of the gruesome S´arabhe´sa. To each of the three great
mythology influentially inform, but do not encompass, Hin-
Hindu gods is assigned one of the three tendencies (gun:a)
dus’ imagination of the great god S´iva in both the past and
of cosmic substance (prakr:ti), that of S´iva being tamas (dark-
present. Certainly the classical Sanskrit texts contribute im-
ness), the disruptive tendency that precedes every new
ages of the authority and majesty of the Lord, as well as his
creation.
divine play (l¯ıla¯). They provide a sacred rationale for his wor-
ship, but it is other kinds of texts in Sanskrit and in the re-
In the darkness of the flood between the dissolution of
gional languages of India that foreground the practice of his
the universe and the beginning of a new world, the flaming
worship, especially those focusing on the accessibility of the
pillar of S´iva’s lin˙ga arose and was worshiped by Brahma¯ and
Lord to humankind. These other texts illustrate how S´iva is
Vis:n:u. This is celebrated by vigil, vows, fast, and worship on
imagined and embraced in ritual, devotional, philosophical,
Maha¯´sivara¯tri, the Great Night of S´iva, the climax of the reli-
and political communities in India, and in Hindu communi-
gious year, on the fourteenth lunar day of the dark half of
ties abroad; how he is given a home in the practices, hearts,
the last month of the lunar year. The last night of each
and minds of his devotees.
month is S´iva’s Night (S´ivara¯tri) and the evening of each day
RITUAL DIMENSIONS. Granite temples across India, striking
throughout the year is the time for his worship.
in their majestic size and antiquity, are homes of S´iva. Many
of the temples were built according to the A¯gamas, philo-
SEE ALSO Indian Religions, article on Mythic Themes;
sophical and ritual manuals from medieval times written in
Rudra; S´aivism; Tantrism.
Sanskrit. S´aiva temples were constructed according to a phi-
losophy of emission (sr:s:t:i) and reabsorption (samha¯ra). The
BIBLIOGRAPHY
main enclosed sanctum in the temple, where only priests can
Eliade, Mircea. Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Translated by
normally enter, contains the most subtle image of S´iva, the
Williard R. Trask. 2d ed. Princeton, 1969. The basic work
on yoga clarifies the conception of God (¯I´svara) in the yoga
lin˙ga. It is considered to be the most subtle because it does
system and that of S´iva the Great God and Great Yogin.
not have any distinguishing marks; as such, it is the source
of the emission of S´iva’s divine substance. As his divine emis-
Gonda, Jan. Die Religionen Indiens. 2 vols. Vol. 1, Veda und älterer
sion radiates outward, it undergoes a process of densification.
Hinduismus, 2d rev. ed. Stuttgart, 1978. Vol. 2, Der jüngere
Thus, the images of S´iva around the outside of the temple
Hinduismus. Stuttgart, 1963. A most thorough and judicious
presentation of the religions of India, including a survey of
walls and visible to all are personified, with distinctive ico-
the character and history of S´aivism.
nographies related to the Sanskritic mythologies; for exam-
ple, popular images on temple walls are those of
Gonda, Jan. Vis:n:uism and S´ivaism: A Comparison. London, 1970.
Ardhana¯r¯ı´svara (the Lord who is half woman),
In their juxtaposition the two views of the world define one
another. Copious, detailed notes enrich the scope of the
Daks:¯ın:a¯murti (the Teacher), and Nat:ara¯ja (the Lord of the
book.
dance).
Kramrisch, Stella. The Presence of S´iva. Princeton, 1981. A presen-
The philosophy of emission and reabsorption also ap-
tation focused on the ontological and cosmogonic implica-
plies to the rituals performed in the temple. According to the
tions of the mythology of S´iva and the persistent themes
A¯gamas, worshippers are classified into two main groups:
within its network.
those who seek liberation (moks:a), such as priests and re-
O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. S´iva: The Erotic Ascetic. London,
nouncers, and those who seek worldly enjoyments (bhoga),
1981. Reprint of Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of
such as householders. The focus of the former is on reabsorp-
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S´IVA [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8417
tion; the latter, emission. Priests undertake elaborate rituals
Consider this stanza from Appar, as translated by Indira
to spiritualize their bodies by placing mantras on their body
V. Peterson:
parts; thus they become subtle like S´iva and are fit to perform
If you could see the arch of his brow, the budding smile
his worship. Laypeople, who stand outside the sanctum,
on lips red as the kovvai fruit, cool matted hair, the
make offerings of material gifts (pu¯ja¯) and mental and devo-
milk-white ash on coral skin, and the sweet golden foot
tional prayers to S´iva.
raised up in dance, then even human birth on this wide
earth would become a thing worth having.
One of the most important ritual festivals held at the
temple is Maha¯´sivara¯tri, the Great Night of S´iva, which oc-
In Appar’s vision, God is alive; his lips are red, emerging into
curs on the fourteenth lunar day (tithi) of the dark half of
a smile, and the colors of his body are vivid. His dance has
the lunar month of January/February or February/March,
cosmic significance, as per the classical mythology, but it is
according to classical texts. The fourteenth tithi of the dark
also personally meaningful. The poet addresses his fellow hu-
half of the lunar month is the last day of the moon’s waning
mans with “if you could see,” and he assures them that their
cycle, or the new moon, just prior to the commencement of
unmediated vision of the living Lord is worth the price of
its waxing period, which culminates in the full moon. Thus,
birth in this world. Drawing on the powerful mythological
there is actually a S´ivara¯tri every lunar month; however,
image of the cosmic dance of the Lord, the poet foregrounds
Maha¯´sivara¯tri is especially important because it is said to be
the live encounter with the Lord.
favored by S´iva himself, because it comes at the end of the
Even though Maha¯de¯viyakka and Lalla¯ De¯d lived cen-
lunar calendar, and because of its status as a major vrat (vow)
turies apart in very different regions of the subcontinent and
in the Hindu calendar. Devotees fast all day, then go to the
are claimed by distinctive traditions (the former by
temple at night to view the ritual bathing of the S´iva lin˙ga
V¯ıra´saivism, the latter by Kashmir S´aivism), a pattern
and to hear religious discourses and engage in singing devo-
emerges in what is understood to be their life stories. With
tional songs; the most devout stay awake all night in contem-
some support from their poetry, the hagiographies of
plative devotion to the Lord.
Maha¯de¯viyakka and Lalla¯ De¯d present the saints as having
DEVOTIONAL DIMENSIONS. The heart is the most important
been married, but problematically so, since they were both
home of S´iva in the devotional traditions of S´iva-bhakti. To
determined to follow a spiritual, and not a worldly, path.
a great extent, bhakti traditions are a response to the formali-
Both of them eventually extricated themselves from this
ty of temple worship: They validate laypeople’s direct partici-
overdetermined social path, and each set out on her own, es-
pation in the worship of the Lord by insisting that a commit-
chewing even clothing. The way they imagined their spiritual
ted, loving attitude towards God is all that is needed to
path, as revealed in their poetry, is distinctive.
maintain a good relationship with God. Bhakti’s thesis pro-
Maha¯de¯viyakka was completely in love with “the lord white
vided a justification for laypeople to worship images of God
as jasmine” (a form of S´iva), and imagined herself married
themselves, without priestly mediation. For example, villag-
to him. Lalla¯ De¯d tended to refer to S´iva in more abstract
ers who are not in the priestly caste can conduct their own
terms, such as “Supreme Principle” and “Consciousness,”
pu¯ja¯s at village shrines. Families in villages and cities can
and expressed her desire to experience unity with him
worship at home in special pu¯ja¯ rooms, where one can offer
through identification with his divine essence.
traditional prayers and mantras or else just offer one’s own
PHILOSOPHICAL DIMENSIONS. The mind is also a home of
prayers to God. In contrast to temple worship, where by tra-
S´iva. In many Indian languages, there are no separate terms
dition the priests are all male, at home the worship is most
for mind and heart; they are inextricably tied together in the
often offered by the mother of the household. Bhakti also
same word. Both bhakti and philosophy involve emotional
provided a way for laypeople to characterize their role in tem-
commitment to, and intellectual engagement with, God.
ple worship as essential, direct, and meaningful.
However, the earliest Hindu philosophical texts, the
Upanis:ads, and then medieval and later philosophies that
Medieval bhakti poetry exists in all the major regional
drew on them, tended to frame the path of spiritual libera-
languages of India. Some of the most famous poetry that is
tion in epistemological terms, emphasizing knowledge and
dedicated to S´iva was written by the three male leaders
experiences of the mind. On the occasions when these texts
(na¯yanma¯r) of Tamil S´iva-bhakti—Campantar, Appar, and
do suggest that the true self resides in the heart, they convey
Cuntarar (seventh to ninth centuries CE); a female poet from
the notion that true knowledge is not necessarily rational ac-
Karnataka, Maha¯de¯viyakka, who wrote in Kannada (twelfth
cording to common understanding, for a critique of ordinary
century CE); and a female poet from Kashmir, Lalla¯ De¯d (also
dualistic knowledge is in the fore of these influential philo-
known as Lal Ded, Lalli, and Lalleshwari; c. 1320–1391 CE),
sophical sources.
who wrote in Kashmiri. Their bhakti poetry was not simply
a humanizing of God; that had already been done in mythol-
Philosophies of S´iva are embedded in both mythology
ogy and iconography. It was the human response to God in
and iconography. The classical story of S´iva’s game of dice,
all vicissitudes, from awe to love, that the bhakti poets fore-
which pervades Sanskrit-language mythology, regional-
grounded. Bhakti validated the relationship possible through
language epics, and major sculptural traditions (such as the
embodiment.
caves at Ellora¯ and Elephanta), provides an intriguing image
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S´IVA [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
of S´iva’s power of creation. As S´iva plays, his nature as a sub-
plicit invectives against Buddhists and Jains, and implicit
tle yet dense unity increasingly devolves into fragments of ex-
claims to superiority among the many streams of Hinduism,
ternalized form, pushed into shape by gaps created by the un-
especially Vais:n:avism. The sectarian impulse also informs
certainty of the game; these fragments become elements of
the medieval philosophical schools, the texts of which in-
the known world, including humankind. This basic pattern
clude detailed discussion of and argumentation with perspec-
informs the dynamics of the temple, as discussed earlier, but
tives of other schools, towards demonstrating the preemi-
the story highlights the role of chance, and it dwells on the
nence of their own teachings.
plurality of possible outcomes and then paths to restore
S´iva’s wholeness, so the dicing can begin again.
In terms of practices, in addition to family-oriented
worship services, S´aivism has a side in which a masculine,
Gender is a key symbol of the process, as S´iva devolves
militant identity is promoted. Robert Gardner and Ákos
from self-containment to the androgyne (Ardhana¯r¯ı´svara,
Östör’s film, Sons of Shiva (1985), captures a celebration of
the Lord who is half woman), to an independent, iconic S´iva
the S´aiva folk festival Gajan by village male householders,
and his wife Pa¯rvat¯ı. The androgyne thus stands as a mediat-
who join together for three days to perform rituals of pen-
ing term, important because it instantiates gender while si-
ance to the Lord. The Naga Sadhus, nude male ascetics who
multaneously offering a critique of it. Through spiritual
organize themselves into regiments (akharas) as in an army
practices such as hat:hayoga, one can access the critique to
and carry the weapon-like trident, embody this form of
transcend the duality of gender and of consciousness.
S´aivism, as do other secretive male sects, including the Nath
These philosophical ideas were codified in one of the
Babas (Gorakhnathis) and the Aghoris.
most important medieval schools of S´aiva philosophy, Kash-
Since the late 1960s, this masculine, militant side of
mir S´aivism. The major classical exponent of this school,
S´aivism has been used to define a political party that has
which claimed Lalla¯ De¯d, was the philosopher Abhinavagup-
sought and intermittently achieved governmental authority,
ta (c. 975–1025 CE). Emphasizing nondualism (advaita), this
the Shiv Sena, whose name translates to “army of S´iva.” This
school maintains that the ultimate (parama¯rtha) and ordi-
party, which is based in Mumbai (Bombay), was founded by
nary (vyavaha¯ra) levels of reality are both real and true simul-
Bal Thackeray and promotes an extreme Hindu nationalist
taneously. S´iva is the oneness of reality that appears as the
(Hindutva) agenda, which links it to the Bharatiya Janata
manifest universe through his power of ´sakti, and he is thus
Party and Rashtriya Swayamseval Sangh. A potent symbol
the origin of all apparent distinctions. The yogi participates
for the party is the historical figure of Shivaji (1627–1680),
in true S´iva-nature by the experience of the relationships
a Maratha king who is understood in many contrasting ways;
among God’s unified essence and multiple forms. Through
the Shiv Sena understands him to have been an incarnation
the vibration (spanda) of awareness, the yogi is attuned to
of S´iva and a warrior defender of Hindus against Muslims.
three simultaneous levels of consciousness: division (separa-
The party has been definitively identified as an instigator of
tion among objects), unity-in-division (the link between the
the violence that rocked Mumbai in 1992 and 1993.
unity of the subject and diversity of the objects), and undi-
vided unity (of all things in the divine subject).
S´AIVISM ABROAD. S´iva is at home in many Western coun-
tries, including the United States. As Vasudha Narayanan
The other important classical S´aiva school of philosophy
once wittily remarked, S´iva and other major Hindu gods and
is the medieval Tamil S´aiva Siddha¯nta school (originated
goddesses received visas to come to the United States from
twelfth to fourteenth centuries CE), which sought to locate
India, whereas many of the more local deities did not. The
itself as the culmination of Tamil S´iva-bhakti by characteriz-
pan-Indian gods have been favored in terms of the public
ing the poets’ hymns as emotional and spontaneous, a pre-
Hindu temple culture that has been emerging in the United
liminary stage leading towards the knowledge revealed in its
States since the late 1970s, for that realm, especially in the
own philosophical canon. This school views the world as
immigrant context, demands negotiation and consensus. In
composed of three irreducible realities, Lord (pati), soul
contrast, home shrines (pu¯ja¯ rooms), which are a central part
(Tamil, uyir; Skt., pa´su), and bond (Tamil, irul:mala; Skt.,
of Hindu practice and exist in Hindu homes across the Unit-
pa¯´sa). The soul is located between Lord (S´iva) and bond.
ed States, have considerably more flexibility according to
Through knowledge and devotional action, the soul loosens
personal tastes and resources.
the grip of the aspects of the bond that are karma and ma¯ya¯;
then, through the Lord’s grace, the soul achieves the attain-
In the United States, S´iva usually shares a temple with
ment of the Lord and experiences bliss and pure knowledge
Vis:n:u, with both being central deities therein; this is not
in a relationship where “the two are as one.”
common in India, where temples were and are constructed
POLITICAL DIMENSIONS. Through ideology and practice,
along sectarian lines. Lacking a dominant Hindu context, the
S´aivas construct a home for S´iva as a ruler. In its extended
temples in the United States have had to be more inclusive
sense, politics is the attempt to gain authoritative power, and
to attract the kind of attendance and material resources re-
the staking of one’s claim involves defining oneself in opposi-
quired for their construction and maintenance. Daily and
tion to others. This dynamic is found in Tamil S´iva-bhakti
major festivals are held at the temples, with Maha¯´sivara¯tri
and Kannada V¯ıra´saiva hymns, many of which contain ex-
being a popular annual festival.
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S´IVA [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8419
Two temples in Hawai’i are especially devoted to S´iva,
analysis of the hymns of the three most famous saints, the
and their central images are viewed as manifestations of the
inclusion of the hymns in medieval temple worship and their
god: the Iraivan/Kadavul temple at Kauai, Hawai’i, and the
contextualization in biographies, and their interpretation by
Viswanatha temple at Wahiawa (Oahu). S´iva is said to have
a medieval philosopher. Includes translations of the hymns
appeared to the founder of the Kauai temple, Swami Sivaya
and a philosophical text (Uma¯pati’s Tiruvarut:payan).
Subramuniyaswami, who was born in the United States and
Ramanujan, A. K., trans. Speaking of S´iva. Baltimore, 1973; re-
initiated in Sri Lanka, and in 1987 a crystal S´iva-lin˙ga was
print, New York, 1985. Presents translations from four me-
dieval S´iva-bhakti saints in the V¯ıra´saiva tradition who wrote
found in Arkansas and brought to the Kauai temple. The
poems in the Kannada language, preceded by an illuminating
Wahiawa temple has a “Sacred Healing Stone” as its
introduction to V¯ıra´saivism.
S´iva-lin˙ga, a manifestation of S´iva that is also understood
with respect to local mythologies such that it is also said to
Philosophical Dimensions
Dhavamony, Maraisusai. Love of God according to S´aiva
be an embodiment of the Hawaiian god Lono, as well as an
Siddha¯nta. Oxford, 1971. Classic reference source on a vari-
embodiment of two sisters from Kauai who were turned into
ety of Tamil texts to S´iva, including bhakti and philosophy,
rocks. The adaptability of S´aivism is demonstrated in the his-
with discussion and partial translations of texts.
torical and ongoing relationship between tradition and cre-
Dyczkowski, Mark S. G. The Doctrine of Vibration: An Analysis
ativity.
of the Doctrines and Practices of Kashmir S´aivism. Albany,
N.Y., 1987. Lucid exposition of key doctrines and develop-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ments in Kashmir S´aivism.
Ritual Dimensions
Goldberg, Ellen. The Lord Who Is Half Woman: Ardhana¯r¯ı´svara
Clothey, Fred W., and J. Bruce Long. Experiencing S´iva: Encoun-
in Indian and Feminist Perspective. Albany, N.Y., 2002. Im-
ters with a Hindu Deity. Columbia, Mo., 1983. This collec-
portant feminist analysis of the classical mythological and
tion of essays explores the relationships between S´iva and his
iconographical form of S´iva as the Lord who is half woman,
devotees through literature and ritual.
highlighting the vital role of the feminine principle.
Handleman, Don, and David Shulman. God Inside Out: S´iva’s
Davis, Richard H. Ritual in an Oscillating Universe: Worshipping
Game of Dice. New York, 1997. Engaging discussion of phi-
S´iva in Medieval India. Princeton, 1991. Important study of
losophy in the classical Sanskrit mythology of S´iva, arguing
the contemporary worship of S´iva in temples according to
that S´iva’s game of dice is the divine play that creates the uni-
the medieval philosophical and ritual A¯gama texts.
verse.
Huyler, Stephen P. Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion.
Prentiss, Karen Pechilis. “On the Making of a Canon: Historicity
New Haven, 1999. Engaging introductory discussion of gen-
and Experience in the Tamil S´iva-bhakti Canon.” Interna-
eral patterns in Hindu worship of the gods, from village to
tional Journal of Hindu Studies 5, no. 1 (2001): 1–26. Dis-
temple; includes a section on S´iva. Beautifully illustrated
cussion of how the Tamil S´aiva Siddha¯nta school located it-
with over 150 color photographs.
self as the culmination of Tamil S´iva-bhakti by
Kannikeswaran, Kanniks. “Abodes of Shiva.” 1999. Available
emotionalizing the bhakti hymns through an analysis of the
from Templenet at: www.templenet.com/abode.html. Pro-
Tirumuraikan:t:apura¯n am (a translation of which follows the
vides photographic illustrations and historical and ritual de-
article on pages 27–44).
scriptions of S´aiva temples all over India, with a special focus
Political Dimensions
on temples in Tamil Nadu, South India.
Banerjee, Sikata. Warriors in Politics: Hindu Nationalism, Violence,
Younger, Paul. The Home of the Dancing S´ivan. New York, 1995.
and the Shiv Sena in India. Boulder, Colo., 2000. Lucid anal-
In an engaging, story-like narrative, the author discusses the
ysis of the violent strategies of the Shiv Sena in the political,
history of the famous Chidambaram temple to the Dancing
economic, and social contexts. Includes an important analy-
S´iva in Tamil Nadu, South India, and describes contempo-
sis of “masculine Hinduism.”
rary worship there.
Gardner, Robert, and Ákos Östör, directors. Sons of Shiva. Cam-
bridge, Mass, 1985. This half-hour film documents the par-
Devotional Dimensions
ticipation of male devotees in a festival to S´iva in the town
Cutler, Norman J. Songs of Experience: The Poetics of Tamil Devo-
of Vishnupur, West Bengal, including rituals of the sacred
tion. Bloomington, Ind., 1987. An important literary study
thread, firewalking, and trance.
of the way Tamil bhakti poetry simultaneously embodies the
Hansen, Thomas Blom. The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu
spiritual experience of the poets, the praise of God, and the
Nationalism in Modern India. Princeton, 1999. Provides an
engagement of the audience. Includes translations from
accessible overview of the rise of Hindu nationalism in the
Tamil S´iva-bhakti and Vis:n:u-bhakti traditions.
1980s and 1990s.
Peterson, Indira V. Poems to S´iva: The Hymns of the Tamil Saints.
S´aivism Abroad
Princeton, 1989. Engaging introduction to hymns of the
Mazumdar, Shampa, and Sanjoy Mazumdar. “Creating the Sa-
three most famous and prolific Tamil S´iva-bhakti saints, in-
cred: Altars in the Hindu American Home.” In Revealing the
cluding analysis of the hymns and the manner in which they
Sacred in Asian and Pacific America, edited by Jane Naomi
are sung today, as well as translations of many of their most
Iwamura and Paul Spickard, pp. 143–157. New York, 2003.
popular stanzas.
The authors argue that Hindu home shrines are underrepre-
Prentiss, Karen Pechilis. The Embodiment of Bhakti. New York,
sented in scholarship, though they are central to Hindu tra-
1999. An interpretive history of Tamil S´iva-bhakti through
dition and play an important role in a new cultural context.
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8420
SKANDHAS
Narayanan, Vasudha. “Creating the South Indian ‘Hindu’ Experi-
knowledge, and against any standard that could be employed
ence in the United States.” In A Sacred Thread: Modern
to distinguish between truth and falsity. Cicero presented
Transmission of Hindu Traditions in India and Abroad, edited
this view in his De Academica and De natura deoreum.
by Raymond Brady Williams, pp. 147–176. New York,
1992. An important discussion of syncretism and identity in
A more skeptical group claimed that the Academic skep-
Hindu temple worship in the United States; includes infor-
tics were really negative dogmatists, as they indeed asserted
mation on the two S´iva temples in Hawai’i.
that nothing can be known and that “all assertions are merely
Subramuniyaswami, Satguru Sivaya. Dancing with S´iva: Hindu-
probable.” Following the legendary Pyrrho of Elis (360–275
ism’s Contemporary Catechism. 5th ed. Kappa, Hawai’i, 1997.
BCE), who would not make any judgment, a movement
Faith-based question-and-answer discussion of all aspects of
called Pyrrhonism developed about 100 BCE. Its theoretician,
S´aivism.
Aenesidemus (100–40 BCE), and his successors set forth a se-
Tamil Electronic Library. “A List of Hindu Temples in USA and
ries of “tropes,” or ways of suspending judgment on all ques-
Canada.” Available from: www.geocities.com/kalyan.geo/
tions, scientific, mathematical, metaphysical, theological,
temple1.html. Provides addresses, phone numbers, and web-
and ethical. The Pyrrhonian materials were gathered togeth-
sites of Hindu temples by state and by province.
er by Sextus Empiricus in his Outlines of Pyrrhonism and
Waghorne, Joanne Punzo. “The Hindu Gods in a Split-Level
Against the Dogmatists (c. 200 CE) and were to play a most
World: The Sri-Siva-Vishnu Temple in Suburban Washing-
important role in the rise of modern skepticism.
ton, D.C.” In Gods of the City: Religion and the American
Urban Landscape
, edited by Robert A. Orsi, pp. 103–130.
Both the Academic and Pyrrhonian skeptics offered
Bloomington, Ind., 1999. Engaging discussion of the eco-
their doubts as ways of finding peace of mind and of con-
nomic, social, and religious aspects of constructing a house
forming with popular religion. Their opponents claimed to
for God in the American suburbs.
know what the world was like, and to base their way of life
K
on such knowledge. However, if these opponents were to
AREN PECHILIS (2005)
find they were mistaken in their knowledge they would be-
come mentally disturbed and uncertain as to how to live.
The skeptics, however, by suspending judgment, would at-
SKANDHAS SEE SOUL, ARTICLE ON BUDDHIST
tain peace of mind. They would live undogmatically, doing
CONCEPTS
what was natural and/or conventional. They would behave
normally and accept the laws of their society and its customs,
including religious ones. Others might scoff at popular reli-
SKEPTICS AND SKEPTICISM. The term skeptic
gion because it did not conform to their “knowledge” of the
comes from the Greek words skeptikos (“an inquirer, one who
world. The Academics and Pyrrhonians suspended judgment
reflects”) and skeptesthai (“to view, to consider”). Philosophi-
on such questions as “Do the gods exist?” and simply fol-
cal skepticism arose from some of the observations made by
lowed the religious customs of their communities undogma-
early Greek philosophers. Heraclitus said that the world is
tically, without committing themselves to any theological
in such flux that “one cannot step twice in the same river.”
claims. The skeptics thus could say that they were no threat
The only truth, he asserted, was that everything changes.
to accepted religion.
Cratylus went further and said that, since everything
The Greek skeptics, from Arcesilaus to Sextus, had ap-
changes, people change, and their language changes, so that
parently little effect on Judaism or Christianity (although
knowledge and communication are not really possible. The
Pyrrhonism flourished principally in Alexandria, Athens, and
Sophists Protagoras and Gorgias asserted additional skeptical
Rome). In Jewish postbiblical writing, the word for “skeptic”
views. Protagoras argued that humanity is the measure of all
is aipikuros. Obviously derived from the name Epicurus, the
things; by implication, each person measures the world indi-
term denotes both a general doubter and one who doubts
vidually, so there are no general human truths. Gorgias is
crucial features of Judaism. Criticisms of aipikurosim indicate
said to have argued that nothing exists, but even if it did one
some awareness of skepticism in the Jewish community.
could not know it, and even if one did know it one could
not communicate it. The culmination of these early skeptical
Church fathers occasionally comment on skeptical
comments was Socrates’ remark, at his trial, that all he knew
views, although only Augustine appears to have taken them
was that he knew nothing.
very seriously. He had read Cicero’s account. When he be-
came a Christian, he wrote various dialogues about the status
Systematic accounts of human inability to gain accurate
of religious knowledge; one of them, Contra Academicos,
knowledge about the world were first rendered by Arcesilas
showed how faith and grace aided in overcoming problems
(c. 315–241 BCE) and Carneades (213–129 BCE). They de-
of skepticism.
veloped arguments, directed primarily against Stoic and Epi-
curean opponents, to undermine any claims of knowledge
During the Middle Ages ancient skeptical views were lit-
and to establish that nothing can be known. This view,
tle known or discussed, except through Augustine’s rebuttal.
termed “Academic skepticism,” presented a series of argu-
Some Muslim and Jewish philosophers, however, pointed to
ments against the truth of purported sense and rational
basic skeptical problems in the acceptance of revealed reli-
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SKEPTICS AND SKEPTICISM
8421
gion. Ibn Rushd (Averroës) had shown that Aristotle’s phi-
of biblical prophecies (Joseph Mede and Henry More), in a
losophy conflicted with certain revealed claims, such as the
desperate appeal to faith (Pascal), or in moderating one’s
statement that the world was created and the individual soul
quest for knowledge to a kind of probabilism (Gassendi,
is immortal. Maimonides argued that some religious claims
Chillingworth, and the English latitudinarian theologians).
could be proved and also disproved by reason and therefore
had to be accepted on faith. The Muslim mystic al-Ghaza¯l¯ı
Many sought to undermine Descartes’s optimistic an-
sought to show that science and reason could not lead to sat-
swer to skepticism, and to cast doubts on any metaphysical
isfactory knowledge about the world and that God’s omnip-
foundation to modern science and any rational basis to theol-
otence prevents people from being able to know God or
ogy. This attempt was coupled with skeptical criticism of
God’s handiwork. The skeptical implications of these Jewish
scripture as a collection of books containing special indubita-
and Muslim views appeared in discussions in the late Middle
ble knowledge—criticism launched by La Peyrère in his Men
Ages, especially among the Latin Averroists and in the writ-
before Adam and by Spinoza in his Tractatus Theologico-
ings of Nicholas of Cusa.
Politicus. The French Protestant philosopher, historian, and
theologian Pierre Bayle joined these skeptical strands togeth-
In the sixteenth century a new period in skepticism
er in his massive Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697–
began, partly as a result of the humanist revival of the classics
1702), casting doubts on the new philosophies of the seven-
(including the rediscovery of Cicero’s accounts of Academic
teenth century, from Descartes to Locke and Leibniz, as well
skepticism and the writings of Sextus Empiricus), partly as
as on older philosophies. Bayle’s only advice to his readers
a result of new data about the geographical, human, and as-
was to abandon reason for faith. Voltaire and Hume devel-
tronomical world that contradicted previously accepted the-
oped the more irreligious implications of Bayle’s attacks.
ories, and partly because skeptical arguments were employed
Voltaire called Bayle’s work “the arsenal of the Enlighten-
in theological conflicts between Roman Catholics and re-
ment,” and used it to undermine any confidence in the
formers. Erasmus, disputing Luther, appealed to ancient
Judeo-Christian tradition. Hume used Bayle’s skepticism to
skeptical arguments to deny that one could tell if people had
show that one has no rational basis for one’s beliefs in any
free will. Erasmus suspended judgment on theological issues
area whatsoever. One’s beliefs in science or religion are based
while accepting on faith the views of his church. Montaigne,
on natural factors, on animal faith. Kant developed Hume’s
after reading Sextus Empiricus, modernized the ancient
skeptical criticism of arguments about the nature of God,
skeptical arguments into a thorough attack on the science
contending that knowledge of the nature and existence of
and theology of his time. He showed how attempts to know
God is beyond the capabilities of pure reason and that all
the world led to contradictions and absurdities. He also in-
theological arguments about the existence and nature of God
troduced a fideistic note, that humans should turn to God
are faulty.
and accept on faith whatever knowledge God gives humans.
In view of all the doubts about religious claims to knowledge
Hume’s naturalistic skepticism and the limitations
(of such subjects as the nature of God, God’s relationship to
placed on human reason by Kant’s analysis would seem to
humanity, and humanity’s spiritual nature and religious des-
have led modern thought into an unconquerable skepticism.
tiny), one should accept the faith into which one is born.
Many more recent philosophies have suggested ways of
Changing faiths would require knowledge of the merits of
avoiding, overcoming, or living with skepticism: ways that
various faiths, whether they are true, or truer than one’s own.
others, in turn, have shown to be impracticable. Hume and
Kant ended a tradition of seeking rational knowledge about
Whether or not Montaigne was sincere in his fideism,
the existence and nature of God. This skepticism about theo-
his position was adopted by various Counter-Reformers in
logical knowledge produced a vital form of fideism. J. G. Ha-
France who sought to show that the Calvinists made indefen-
mann, a religious friend of Kant’s, argued that Hume was
sible claims about the source of religious knowledge and the
actually the greatest voice of orthodoxy. By eliminating any
nature of such knowledge. These Catholics sought to reduce
appeal to reason or evidence in religion, he showed it rested
the Calvinists to complete skeptics. The Calvinists, in turn,
on faith. Hume had said skepticism is the first step toward
tried in a similar way to reduce the Catholics, by arguing that
becoming a true and believing Christian. It is doubtful, how-
it was uncertain who the pope was, what he and church
ever, that Hume was any kind of Christian but, rather, was
councils had said, and so on.
a deist or an agnostic. Hamann, however, used Hume’s writ-
ings to urge Kant to turn to faith. Kierkegaard found the
Montaigne’s presentation of the new Pyrrhonism
basis of his fideism in Hamann’s interpretation of Hume and
brought about a general skeptical crisis among many intellec-
developed the total skepticism that he regarded as inherent
tuals in the seventeenth century. Descartes’s philosophy was
to religious belief.
designed to overcome all doubts by pushing skepticism even
further than Sextus or Montaigne. By finding one funda-
Modern skepticism from Montaigne onward eroded
mental truth (“I think, therefore I am”), one could then es-
confidence in traditional metaphysical and theological sys-
tablish a general criterion of truth and discover truth in
tems, a process that is reflected in the accommodation of its
mathematics, physics, and theology. Others, faced with the
tenets in pragmatism, positivism, and existentialism. This
same skeptical crisis, sought a solution in the interpretation
process also led to radical expressions of fideism as the basis
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8422
SKOBTSOVA, MARIA
for religious belief, such as those of Pascal and Kierkegaard,
SKOBTSOVA, MARIA. Mother Maria Skobtsova
and to various forms of Neo-orthodoxy in the twentieth
(1891–1945) became a very unusual sort of Russian Ortho-
century.
dox nun in 1932. She did not join a monastic community
or withdraw from her secular milieu, the Russian émigré
SEE ALSO Doubt and Belief; Existentialism; Neoorthodoxy;
community of France. Instead, she defined her way as “mo-
Positivism.
nasticism in the world.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
For a nun, this lifestyle had little precedent in modern
Burnyeat, Myles, ed. The Skeptical Tradition. Berkeley, 1983.
Orthodoxy and Mother Maria did not intend to set a new
Studies by various European and American scholars on skep-
trend for others to follow. She needed and demonstrated a
ticism from ancient times to the nineteenth century.
great deal of dedication, responding pragmatically to peo-
Penelhum, Terence. God and Skepticism: A Study of Skepticism and
ple’s suffering rather than simply accepting a convent rule.
Fideism. Boston, 1983. An examination of whether fideism
As she put it, she saw “the true image of God in the human
is justified by skepticism.
being [ . . . ] the very icon of God incarnate in this world”
Popkin, Richard H. The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to Spi-
in each of the individuals she helped.
noza. Berkeley, 1979. A study of the revival of skepticism in
Mother Maria often criticized traditional Russian con-
the Renaissance and the Reformation and its import for the
development of modern philosophy.
vents as inward-looking and defensive. This criticism provid-
ed the basis for her mystery play, Anna, composed in the late
Popkin, Richard H. The High Road to Pyrrhonism. San Diego,
1930s.
Calif., 1980. A collection of essays dealing with skepticism
in the late seventeenth and the eighteenth century.
Mother Maria believed that monasticism should be re-
Popkin, Richard H. “The Third Force in Seventeenth Century
considered as a part of the revival of the Russian Church
Philosophy: Skepticism, Science and Biblical Prophecy.”
abroad, newly liberated from its former state-imposed con-
Nouvelles de la republique des lettres 3 (1983): 35–63. On the
straints. She wrote, “we have no enormous cathedrals, no en-
role played by interpretations of biblical prophecies as a way
crusted gospels or monastery walls.” Rather, her Church had
of dealing with skepticism, from Joseph Mede to Henry
been granted “awe-inspiring freedom,’” which could com-
More and Newton.
pensate for every kind of earthly deprivation.
Richter, Rauol. Der Skeptizismus in der Philosophie. 2 vols. Leipzig,
1904–1908. Important survey of the history of skepticism
She addressed this topic in vivid lectures, many of which
from the perspective of nineteenth-century German thought.
were published. One 1937 discourse, not published until
Covers the material up to Nietzsche.
sixty years later, provoked much comment, both among Rus-
Robin, Léon. Pyrrhon et le scepticisme grec. Paris, 1944. A standard
sian émigrés as well as among residents of the former Soviet
study of Greek skepticism.
Union.
Russell, Bertrand. Sceptical Essays. London, 1928. An expression
Mother Maria’s disdain for tradition appears all the
of skepticism by one of the twentieth century’s leading phi-
more curious, however, considering that her childhood
losophers.
friend K. P. Pobedonostev (1827–1907) promoted conserva-
Santayana, George. Scepticism and Animal Faith. London, 1923.
tive values in his role as the Over-Procurator of the Church’s
A powerful statement by a leading naturalist philosopher of
synod. Mother’s Maria’s relationship with Pobedonostev re-
the force of skepticism.
sulted from her family’s elevated social position. But her so-
Schmitt, Charles B. Cicero Scepticus: A Study of the Influence of the
cial standing did not cause her to value her lifestyle and privi-
Academica in the Renaissance. The Hague, 1972. A study of
leges of which the Russian revolution, as well as her
the development of skeptical influences in the late Middle
impending exile, would eventually deprive her. Early in
Ages and the Renaissance as a result of the rediscovery of Cic-
1917, even before the state required it, she had donated a sig-
ero’s statement of ancient skepticism.
nificant proportion of her lands to meet her former tenants’
New Sources
needs. This action supported her membership in the Socialist
Brooke, John Hedley. Science and Religion: Some Historical Per-
Revolutionary Party, which she had joined that year. In 1918
spectives New York, 1991.
she was elected mayor of Anapa, a tribute to her respect in
Kitcher, Philip. The Advancement of Science without Legend: Objec-
the community. Although the Russian civil war of 1919
tivity without Illusions. New York, 1993.
ended this appointment, her moderate socialism and her
Howard-Snyder, Daniel, and Paul Moser, eds. Divine Hiddenness:
Christian concern for the needy survived. Both those atti-
New Essays. New York, 2002.
tudes comprised “Orthodox Action,” the movement that she
Wilson, A. N. God’s Funeral: The Decline o f Faith in Western Civi-
founded and led in 1936 and that later sustained her work
lization. New York, 1999.
in France.
Wilson, David Sloan. Darwin’s Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and
Mother Maria was always concerned with individuals.
the Nature of Society. Chicago, 2002.
She feared the most efficient organizations might lose that
RICHARD H. POPKIN (1987)
emphasis: “I would say that we should not give away a single
Revised Bibliography
hunk of bread unless the recipient means something as a per-
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SKY: THE HEAVENS AS HIEROPHANY
8423
son for us.” Although she was consistently compassionate,
Sergei Hackel’s biography of Mother Maria was first pub-
she eschewed sentimentality.
lished in 1965, and it later appeared in a revised edition as
Pearl of Great Price: The Life of Mother Maria Skobtsova,
Throughout the 1930s, Mother Maria housed and sup-
1891–1945 (London and Crestwood, N. Y., 1981). The
ported people who were “restless, orphaned, poor, drunk, de-
book includes extracts from her writings and has been pub-
spairing, useless, lost whichever way they went, homeless,
lished in German, Russian, Italian, Greek, and Finnish.
naked, [and] lacking bread.” She founded a series of homes
SERGEI HACKEL (2005)
to provide food and shelter. Perhaps her principal achieve-
ment, however, was to counteract despair. As she noted, such
endeavors required her to experience what the other feels, “to
become all things to all people,” to work long hours, and to
SKY
maintain a rich reserve of good cheer.
This entry consists of the following articles:
THE HEAVENS AS HIEROPHANY
In this way, Mother Maria became “a mother for all, for
MYTHS AND SYMBOLISM
all who need maternal care, assistance or protection.” She
had expressed this intention after the youngest of her three
children died in infancy in 1926.
SKY: THE HEAVENS AS HIEROPHANY
The concept of a close relationship between the starry heav-
She was married twice, in 1910 and in 1919. During
ens and human beings is ancient, multifaceted, and wide-
her first marriage, Mother Maria aspired to a literary career.
spread. The changing colors of the sky, the alternation be-
Her poetry became popular in the literary world of St Peters-
tween night and day, different weather patterns and seasons,
burg, and her poems that were published in 1912 and 1916
eclipses, the appearance and disappearance of the sun, moon,
are again in print. She continued to write poetry during the
and stars, all contribute to the interest, awe, and attraction
Russian emigration. From 1916 on, her concerns were large-
humans feel for the sky and sky-related phenomena.
ly religious, yet after she became a nun, she did not want her
Throughout human history, this fascination with the celes-
poems to be published. The death of her elder daughter in
tial world has given rise to a great many myths, rituals, and
1936, however, prompted the publication of her later verse,
monuments. For heuristic purposes this association between
much of which contains revealing statements of devotion
the cosmic and the human may be divided into two catego-
that are convincingly her own. She continued writing in this
ries: technomorphic representations and anthropomorphic
vein, on stray scraps of paper, for years afterwards.
representations. Anthropomorphic representations may be
In addition to writing poetry, she also created art using
further divided into two classifications: heavenly divinities,
canvas and wood, furnishing the chapels she founded with
often considered to be personifications of the sky and/or the
her unconventional embroideries and icons. The German
heavenly bodies, and human beings of celestial essence or
occupation of France (1940) exacerbated past social prob-
those who have been transferred to the heavens.
lems and imposed unprecedented limitations on the Jewish
TECHNOMORPHIC REPRESENTATIONS. Since very ancient
population. Mother Maria and her colleagues sheltered Jews
times, people have tended to construct cosmologies based on
at her homes and safeguarded many of them by listing them
an analogy between the structure of the heavens and human
as members of her parish. She also arranged to transport
activies. Such cosmologies are sometimes called technomor-
them to safer destinations.
phic representations (from the Greek techn¯e, “craft”). The
The Nazis arrested Mother Maria and her colleagues in
sky was often imagined as a solid object (vault, bucket, etc.)
February 1943. But her confinement to the Ravensbrück
made of iron, stone, wood, or other material. The stars might
concentration camp enabled her to minister to companions
be simply holes or windows in the solid sky, or they might
in distress. Her work was unalloyed by any fear of death. On
be torches, flames, lights, nails, flowers, plants, or animals.
Good Friday, 1945, although she was not chosen for exter-
Naive ideas were not infrequent, such as the notion that stars
mination, she volunteered to take a fellow prisoner’s place
are shards of the old sun and moon broken off by the spirits
and was executed.
and continually polished by them.
The shapes formed by an arbitrarily selected number of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
stars give rise to the constellations. The free play of imagina-
A collection of Mother Maria’s Russian writings is given in Eliza-
tion made one great cluster of stars into the Milky Way and
veta Kuz’mina-Karavaeva and Mat’ Mariia’s, Ravnina
another group into an animal (the Great Bear) or a wagon:
russkaia, edited by A.N. Shustov and E.A. Polikashin (St. Pe-
the first wagon made by a human, the wagon of Óðinn
tersburg, Russia, 2001), but all her theological prose is omit-
(Odin), Icarus, Jason, Philomelus, Abraham, David, Elijah,
ted. As of 2004, a critical and comprehensive edition of her
Peter, Mary, or Jesus, a wagon whose wheels creak at mid-
Russian works in five volumes was being compiled and ed-
night and whose tremblings produce snow.
ited by T. Emel’ianova (Moscow, Russia). A selection of her
theological articles is available in English as Mother Maria
In these naive cosmologies, the North Star often plays
Skobtsova: Essential Writings, translated by R. Pevear,
an important role, being one extremity of the axis mundi on
L.Volokhonsky, and others (Maryknoll, New York, 2003).
which the heavenly vault turns. Thus Estonians call the
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8424
SKY: THE HEAVENS AS HIEROPHANY
North Star, “nail of the firmament” (po˜hja nael), around
Among the astral gods, the sun god is one of the most
which the heavenly dome turns. The Saami (Lapps) have
important. He was very prominent in the Nile Valley as Re-
similar representations. They also believe that if the nail is
Atum but less prominent both in Mesopotamia (where Sha-
not in place, the sky would fall to earth; this will happen at
mash had a subordinate position) and among the Indo-
the end of the world when everything will be consumed by
Europeans. The sun divinity may also be female.
fire. The Finns say that the sky is the lid of the earth. In con-
A moon goddess (or god, usually in those cultures where
trast, the Buriats see it as a big turning bucket. The Yakuts
the sun god is female) is also very important in several cul-
thought it was made of several animal skins spread over one
tures. In Mediterranean religions, the moon goddess could
another. The Buriats added to this that the Milky Way was
be featured as a Great Mother responsible for fertility. The
the place where the skins were sewn together. A great num-
Iranian Ana¯hita¯ had a moon crescent as her attribute. Arte-
ber of representations relating to the “cosmic mantle” and
mis of Ephesos was a lunar divinity. Later on, the Greek Ar-
to the “heavenly tent” have been analyzed by Robert Eisler
temis and the Roman Diana were definitely identified with
in his Weltenmantel und Himmelszelt (1910). Influenced by
the moon.
the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule, Eisler looked for Orien-
tal prototypes for all Mediterranean astral beliefs. At the
On the other hand, Ana¯hita¯’s own name was related to
same time, he related sacred kingship to the idea of a cosmic
the name of the planet Venus. In Pahlavi, Ana¯hid is Venus’s
ruler whose attribute was usually a starry mantle, and showed
name. Other Venus goddesses are the Babylonian Ishtar, the
that this tradition was carried over by Christianity down to
Phoenician Astarte, Aramean EAttar-Eatteh, and the Arabian
the present times.
EAttar or Astar. Venus as morning and evening star often may
be represented as a male god.
The idea that the stars are the signs of a mysterious heav-
enly writing is related to the shapes of the constellations. The
In late Babylonian religion, the planetary gods had pre-
“heavenly book,” or the celestial vault in its entirety, may be
cise identities. They were divided into two groups: the benef-
a register kept by a specific deity (e.g., the Babylonian god
icent (Marduk, Ishtar-Sarpanïtu, and Nabu) and the malefi-
Nabu). This register contained the past, present, and future
cent (Ninib and Nergal). Marduk was Jupiter and together
of the entire universe. In all probability, this concept forms
with Venus/Ishtar, the principle of creation, he gave life to
the background of astrology.
Mercury/Nabu, the representative of the happy destiny of
The sun and the moon, the largest heavenly bodies, are
humanity. Mars/Nergal, the war god, and Saturn/Nergal, the
also the object of technomorphic representations. In Mani-
death god, were destructive powers. Among the Babylonians,
chaeism, for instance, they are simply two boats navigating
the moon god—Enzu of Lagash, Sin of Akkad, or Nanna of
in the sky, whose role is to aid in the transfer of the light kept
Ur—was more important than the solar god, Shamash, Bab-
prisoner into the material world.
bar, or Nigirsu.
ANTHROPOMORPHIC REPRESENTATIONS. Personifications of
The relationship between humanity and the stars.
objects and natural phenomena have allowed people in all
Catasterism, the transfer of human beings to heaven, usually
times and cultures to explain and understand the world
in the shape of a constellation, is related to the very ancient
around them. In this context, the personification of the heav-
beliefs that dead children become stars, that a falling star
ens has been an essential element of human concepts as pro-
foretells the death of a relative, and that even the human soul
jected in myths, legends, and theologies. The personification
is a star. Less naively expressed, the last statement is attribut-
of the heavens is expressed essentially as divinities or as puri-
ed to Heraclitus by the fourth-century Neoplatonist Macro-
fied people who have been translated there.
bius: “Anima scintilla stellaris essentiae.”
Heavenly deities. In many cultures the sky, the sun, the
As early as the fifth century BCE, the playwright Aris-
moon, and the known planets were conceived as personal
tophanes mocked catasterism in his comedy Freedom. Alc-
gods. These gods were responsible for all or some aspects of
maeon of Croton, a physician, thought that the soul was im-
existence. Prayers were addressed to them, offerings were
mortal like the endless movement of the divine stars. The
made to them, and their opinions on important matters were
playwright Euripides reported that Helen of Troy was trans-
sought through divination.
lated to the “palace of Zeus” beyond the starry sky. Even ac-
cording to the “materialists,” Leucippus and Democritus, the
It is known that many world mythologies—including
fiery soul was cognate with the sun and the moon.
some of those considered the most ancient from a historico-
cultural viewpoint—make a distinction between a primordi-
Catasterism was also attested to in Egypt in the third
al divinity of the sky (such as the Greek Ouranos) and an
century BCE. According to the Pyramid Texts, the king fol-
active divinity (such as Zeus), head of a pantheon of gods.
lows Orion and Sirius to the sky. During his heavenly ascent,
The sky divinity usually tends to become remote and otiose.
Sothis/Sirius is his sister. According to Wilhelm Gundel, the
E. O. James has shown that a sky god was known among var-
idea that humans continue to live after death in the stars (and
ious groups of both Indo-European and Semitic people. This
were stars in heaven even before their birth) is Egyptian in
sky god ranged from a tribal supreme being, often remote
origin. Walter Burkert also emphasizes the differences be-
and ineffectual, to an active creator and ruler of the universe.
tween Babylonian and Egyptian astral religion: Whereas the
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SKY: MYTHS AND SYMBOLISM
8425
divinity of the astral bodies is particularly important in Baby-
New Sources
lonia, the Egyptians stress the idea of a correspondence be-
Aveni, Anthony F. Conversing with the Planets: How Science and
tween humans and the stars. The belief in an astral immortal-
Myth Invented the Cosmos. New York, 1992.
ity, already featured by Plato as a possibility of posthumous
Barton, Tamsyn S. Ancient Astrology. New York, 1994.
reward, became commonplace among his disciples Xenocra-
Grant, Edward. Planets, Stars, and Orbs: The Medieval Cosmos,
tes, Crantor, and Heracleides Ponticus. Later, mythology
1200–1687. New York, 1996.
and science converged toward impressive representations
Krupp, E. C. Beyond the Blue Horizon: Myths and Legends of the
such as those of the eschatological myths of Plutarch (c.
Sun, Moons, Stars, and Planets. New York, 1991.
46–c. 119 CE). These representations cannot be ascribed to
Wright, M. R. Cosmology in Antiquity. New York, 1995.
an uninterrupted Pythagorean tradition, as the French schol-
ar A. Delatte and his school suggest. The most prominent
IOAN PETRU CULIANU (1987)
representative of this school was L. Rougier, who defended
Revised Bibliography
the Pythagorean thesis against Franz Cumont, defender of
the Oriental thesis of the German Religionsgeschichtliche
Schule. During the Hellenistic period and late antiquity, the
SKY: MYTHS AND SYMBOLISM
underground hell of the platonic myths was transferred to
a place in heaven.
But when the stars of Orion and Seirios have climbed
up into midheaven and rosy-fingered Dawn is facing
In no religious tradition except gnosticism did all the
Arkturos, then, Perses, pluck and bring home all your
astral gods become evil demons. A strong polemic against as-
clusters of grapes. Set them to dry in the heat of the sun
trology is implicit in gnostic mythology. Astrology, based on
for ten days and nights, and in the shade for five days,
an ancient Babylonian and Egyptian inheritance, took shape
and then on the sixth day draw off the blessings of glad
Dionysus into your jars. (Hesiod, Works and Days
in the third century BCE. In astrology, a particular relation-
609–617)
ship between human destiny and the heavenly bodies is ex-
pressed. This relationship takes on complicated forms, which
Moctezuma, having observed the comet since mid-
can often be retraced to basic representations such as the
night, went the next day to Netzahualpilli to seek its
“heavenly book” and the heavenly figures, or constellations.
meaning. Replied the king of Texcoco, “Your vassals,
Astrology also put into mathematical language some meth-
the astrologers, soothsayers and diviners have been care-
less! That sign in the heavens has been there for some
ods of divination, which probably were based on the idea of
time and yet you describe it to me now as if it were a
the influence of the planets upon human individual and col-
new thing. I thought you had already discovered it and
lective history.
that your astrologers had explained it to you. Since you
now tell me you have seen it I will answer you that that
SEE ALSO Astrology; Cosmology; Moon; Stars; Sun; Su-
brilliant star appeared in the heavens many days ago.
preme Beings.
(Durán, 1964, pp. 247–248)
Diverse as they are both in interpretation and cultural
BIBLIOGRAPHY
origin, these epigraphs capture the essence of why ancient
Ancient astral beliefs are surveyed by Robert Eisler in Weltenman-
people turned to the sky for direction and meaning. Their
tel und Himmelszelt: Religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen
queries were immediate: “When shall I plant?” “When shall
zur Urgeschichte des antiken Weltbildes, 2 vols. (Munich,
I hunt?” And they were deeper: “Will the child I am about
1910). Valuable information is also contained in Uno Harva
to bear be born healthy?” “Will the gods repay my offering
Holmberg’s Der Baum des Lebens (Helsinki, 1923) and,
to them by sending gentle rain and a good crop?” But why
above all, in Wilhelm Gundel’s Sternglaube, Sternreligion und
look upward and outward to commune with the transcen-
Sternorakel: Aus der Geschichte der Astrologie, 2d ed. (Heidel-
berg, 1959).
dent? Of all the numinous forces in nature’s domain that can
serve as paragons of order in the world—cycles of plants, ani-
Babylonian astral religion is the object of the second volume of
mals, the running of the stream, the first rain, the last frost—
Franz Xaver Kugler’s Sternkunde und Sterndienst in Babel: As-
only what happens in heaven offers the precise predictive
syriologische, astronomische und astralmythologische Unter-
power that enables people to cast their eyes around the cor-
suchungen, 3 vols. in 2 (Münster, 1907–1924).
ner of time into the future.
On the sky god among the Semites and the Indo-Europeans, the
Sunrise, sunset, the phases of the moon, the annual ap-
standard work is E. O. James’s The Worship of the Sky-God:
pearance and disappearance of the constellations—all occur
A Comparative Study in Semitic and Indo-European Religion
(London, 1963).
with undeviating regularity. Harness the power of the sky
and one opens the doorway of time to come.
Theories concerning astral religion have been recently discussed
in my own work, Psychanodia I: A Survey of the Evidence con-
When Greek poet Hesiod spoke the Works and Days
cerning the Ascension of the Soul and Its Relevance, “Études
(the first quotation), he was using the sky as a rational guide
préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l’empire romaine,”
for how to run a farm. If one desires the optimum vintage,
vol. 99 (Leiden, 1983).
pick the grapes only when the brightest star in the constella-
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8426
SKY: MYTHS AND SYMBOLISM
tion of Böotes, the Ploughman, makes its first annual pre-
above the waters” (Ps. 36:6); “Above the earth is the solid fir-
dawn appearance. People have been aware of the clockwork
mament supporting the upper waters” (Gn. 1:6–7).
sky since Paleolithic times. Alongside cave drawings of ante-
Elsewhere, Exodus 20:4 speaks of a tripartite universe:
lope and bison, one finds tally marks indicating the direction
the heavens, the earth, and the watery abyss beneath the
of the light of the moon and the course of the sun. Such prac-
earth; or, as in Psalms 115:16, the heavens, the earth, and
tical concerns involved in the making of calendars constitute
She’ol. As a rule the Bible imagines the physical sky to be
the earliest forms of exact science.
a vast hemisphere, sometimes, as in Psalms 104:2, stretched
The second quotation offers a somewhat less rational
out over the earth. In the Book of Job the sky is a building
perspective on the sky. The early seventeenth-century chron-
supported by columns (26:11), a storehouse for snow and
icler Torquemada’s account of the celestial omens cast by
hail (38:22), the winds (37:9), and water (38:37). In Genesis
Netzahualpilli, king of Texcoco, a rival state of the Aztecs,
7:11 the sky has windows through which rain falls to the
pertains to the appearance of a comet in the skies over an-
earth.
cient Mexico in the early fifteenth century. He tells of King
The Egyptian cosmos depicted in tomb paintings con-
Moctezuma’s retort, in which the ruler boasts of his prior
sists of a rectangular box with Egypt at the center. A flat sky
knowledge of the same phenomenon. Torquemada goes on
was supported by columns on high mountains. The Nile sur-
to give details of the frightful omens concerning disasters that
rounded all and continued its course into the heavens as a
indeed later befell the unfortunate monarch. If it seems odd
celestial river—the Milky Way. The stars were lamps hung
to find the occult art of astrology attached to scientific comet
by ropes or painted on the body of Nut, the feminine sky
watching, one should keep in mind that until well after the
deity. For the Inca the Milky Way is also a sky river, for the
Western European Renaissance the principal reason for
Maya it is a road; both are extensions of terrestrial parallels.
charting the heavens was to interpret messages sent by celes-
Among the Egyptian sky lamps roamed deities and spirits.
tial spirits. As the Babylonian cuneiform tablets in the Old
The sun god Ra traveled the sky in a boat. Reference is made
World and the Maya codices in the New World demon-
to a ladder connecting heaven and earth whereby spirits
strate, mathematical predictions about the positions of celes-
could ascend to heaven upon death.
tial bodies have long been strongly wedded to religious
concerns.
Diné Bahane, the Navajo story of creation, describes the
smooth hard shell of the sky overhead. There is a hole on
“As above, so below.” The logic of the credo of astrolo-
its eastern side through which ancient ancestor spirits could
gy, a form of divination, developed quite naturally out of the
enter into a second world. Other entries led to successive
realization that the movement and position of the sun could
upper worlds, each of a different color, in a layered universe.
be closely correlated with seasonal cycles of life and that the
Each layer is inhabited by different kinds of animal deities.
moon governed both the tides and the menstrual cycle.
Might not other celestial forces influence tides in the affairs
In some cosmologies, the layer-cake concept continues
of men and women? Sky objects became deified. They were
in the world below. In the Western tradition, it offers the
worshipped, revered, even compensated for the good that
spatial polar opposite to the good found in heaven above.
they brought, and they were offered sacrifice as a means of
The first mention of hell in Western history appears in Hesi-
averting misfortune. We may not think of Hesiod’s poetry
od’s Theogony, where it is called Tartaros, the lower deck of
as science, nor of Moctezuma’s astrological ruminations as
a three-story cosmos. Influenced by the Greeks and the New
religion, but both pursuits are foundational in worldviews
Testament, the Italian poet Dante (1265–1321) would later
undivided by Enlightenment thinking. In the symbolic
tell of a hell that came equipped with nine decks, each of
sphere of sky-meaning dealt with in this entry one confronts
which offered inverse luxury accommodations commensu-
the unfragmented world of an alien other open to dialog with
rate with the sin in which one indulged. Gluttonous, lustful,
tangible cosmic forces that constitute a living, breathing
and slothful people sat near the top; murderers, blasphemers,
reality.
and self-robbers (those who committed suicide) resided in
the middle; and grafters, simonists (those who committed
THE STRUCTURE OF THE UPPER WORLD. Early records
fraud), soothsayers, and a variety of traitors occupied the up-
from the Middle East offer a common if not universal con-
side-down penthouse at the lowest level of hell.
cept of the arrangement of things in the firmament (literally
a “thin plate”). Consider these Old and New Testament cos-
While Maya heaven consisted of thirteen layers, the
mological speculations: “He set a circle upon the face of the
lower was composed of nine. Like the Dantean lower realm,
deep” (Prv. 8:27); “He sitteth upon the circle of the earth”
it was populated with evildoers: the Lords of the Under-
(Is. 40:22). Both suggest a god in heaven who looks down
world, each in charge of his own particular pestilence. In
upon the edge (horizon) of a flat disk. But the earth rests on
most instances then, unknown transcendent space seems to
pillars: “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s and He
be modeled after terrestrial parallels.
hath set the world upon them” (1 Sm. 2–8). Above the disk
WHY SKY GODS BEHAVE AS THEY DO. Myths are stories
lies the water than makes rainfall and below the water that
that try to give answers to life’s big questions: Where did I
wells up from artesian springs: “God spread forth the earth
come from? Why must I die? What will happen to me when
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SKY: MYTHS AND SYMBOLISM
8427
I die? This section will attempt to convey how some of the
thedrals face that direction. Concerning Ishtar, the pre-
celestial metaphors that lie behind particular asterisms derive
Christian worshipers upon whose pagan temples these edi-
from the discovery of perceived likenesses between the ac-
fices now stand needed to be sure that every time they faced
tions of celestial bodies and particular aspects of life for
the cosmic axis and uttered her name they would soon feel
which people sought meaning.
within their breasts the power of dawn, of fire, of creation
and fertility. When the Sumerians spoke to Ishtar they drew
Designating the planets by name and seeking omens
out her feminine sensuousness:
from their behavior lay at the foundation of astrally based
religions practiced by nearly all our cultural predecessors.
Ishtar is clothed with pleasure and love
The drama overhead constituted a parallel plane of exis-
She is laden with vitality, charm and voluptuousness
tence—a stage on which people here on earth could reflect
In lips she is sweet; life is in her mouth.
and examine human behavior. The gods of the ancient Near
At her appearance rejoicing becomes full.
East, for example, were not personages who guided nature’s
She is glorious; veils are thrown over her head.
forces or programmed its laws. These “attribution deities”
Her figure is beautiful; her eyes are brilliant.
began with the actual properties of the material elements that
(Pritchard, 1955, p. 383)
gave them their names. Thus, Esharra, an earth god, was the
Unlike the other planets, Venus always remains close to the
manifest fruitfulness of the land that made for a bountiful
sun, close to the surface of the earth. Thus Ishtar descends
harvest and fat cattle. The rubescent sky god Nergal (Mars)
into the underworld with the sun at night, only to return the
was the red feverishness of the summer sun that destroyed
morning after her lustful affair with Shamash, bringing with
crops; Merodach the youthfulness of the spring equinox sun;
her omens related to the fertility of the land and of women.
Dumuzi the sun at the beginning of summer; and Ishtar
(Venus) the returning greenness of the grass after winter’s
Like Ishtar’s descent and return, the death and resurrec-
frost and summer’s scorching heat.
tion of Quetzalcoatl are visibly manifest every time Venus
disappears in the western sky in the evening and reappears
Venus. Venus, for example, was given a host of names.
in the eastern sky in the morning. According to the Annals
She was called Ishtar in Chaldea, Nabu in Babylonia,
of Cuauhtitlan, a colonial document from Central Mexico,
Ana¯h¯ıta by the Persians, Benu by the Sumerians, Astarte and
after an eight day disappearance into the underworld, Venus
then Aphrodite by the Greeks—all feminine appellations.
is resurrected in the eastern sky as Lord of the Dawn.
The Greeks recognized Venus’s dual aspect, referring to the
planet as Phosphoros in the morning and Hesperos in the
For the ocean-bound people of ancient Hawai‘i, the
evening. Later the Romans named these aspects Lucifer and
planets were sustainers, supporters or pillars of a giant celes-
Vesper. In ancient Mesoamerica, Venus was a male, Quetzal-
tial round house built on the model of the houses in which
coatl (feathered serpent); to the Maya he was Kukulcan. Ha-
they once lived. They were placed in the sky to help people—
waiians named the planet Hokuloa, the Tahitians Ta’urua.
to warn them of coming events. To learn the warning system,
Wasp Star, Red Star, Great Star, Lone Star, Lord of the
one needed to pay close attention and follow the movement
Dawn, Home of the Love Goddess, Proclaimer, Companion
of the planets among the stars from year to year. Some plane-
to the Royal Inebriate, Bringer of Light, Satan himself—all
tary deities paid special attention to fishermen, others to tat-
these titles were given this single celestial source of light by
too artists—one cannot explain why in every case. Like the
imaginative people from various epochs and corners of the
stars, the planets could intermarry and breed children. Bright
world.
Venus, as one might expect, was by far the most prominent.
It was variously known as Dog of the Morning, Star of Day,
What did these names mean? Bringer of Light and Lord
and Forerunner of the Morning, a status similar to that of
of the Dawn are understandable enough, for Venus always
the Greco-Roman Phosphoros-Lucifer.
precedes the rising sun. But why has Venus variously been
When Hawaiian Venus was the Great Star, its name was
linked with the highest ideal of feminine beauty, love, and
Hokuloa, which placed it in the same class as the sun and
sexuality, as in the Western tradition, or with death and res-
moon, but when it dodged unsteadily from side to side, like
urrection, as in the Mesoamerican tradition? In the ancient
Mercury, it was dubbed the Royal Inebriate. For seafarers
Middle East, where Venus was called Ishtar, there is a long
like the Hawaiians, weather prediction ranked high in im-
history of worship of the goddess who evoked the power of
portance alongside astrological affairs of war and state.
the dawn. The first syllable of Ishtar’s name is probably de-
Naholoholo, literally “swift-moving,” like the storms in this
rived from the Sanskrit ush, meaning “a burning” or “fire.”
region, is one old Hawaiian name given to Venus. In one
Ush also came to mean “east,” the direction to which wor-
tale, the Great Guide Star of the Evening deviates from his
shipers turned their faces in order to feel the rays of the
course to suppress the fury of a hurricane and, as a result,
bright sun god, both powerful and nurturing. Later, east be-
loses his balance and falls out of his canoe.
came the cardinal axis about which most early Old World
maps were constructed. It marked where the sun rose on the
Venus’s habit of dogging the rising and setting sun also
equinoxes, the first days of autumn and spring. The English
had its effect on Chinese celestial imagery. In eighth-century
word orientation means “easting,” and most old European ca-
China, for example, white was the color of ghosts, and the
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8428
SKY: MYTHS AND SYMBOLISM
brilliance of Venus also mocked the flash of swordly metal.
rose to the godhead position in the later Babylonian astral
This is probably why the Chinese called the planet the Grand
religions as a consequence of that city having gained promi-
White and the Executioner’s Star—a planet that portended
nence over its rivals.
deadly plots and cutting edges. When Venus crossed the con-
To fleeting Mercury, ancient people applied terms such
stellation of the Battle Ax (part of Gemini), it foretold the
as burner or sparkler, terms that visually depict the way the
clash of weapons; when it entered the Ghost constellation,
planet twinkles at the horizon. Animals associated with Mer-
it was time to execute the vassals. Warriors once stood on the
cury, the stealthy fox and the leopard, characterize its aspect
Great Wall following the movements of the Grand White,
as a trickster, for Mercury would always foil one who tried
even at the expense of neglecting to observe the maneuvers
to follow him by hiding and disappearing frequently.
of their enemies. When the planet was especially bright—for
example, if it could be seen in the daytime—its spotlight as-
CELESTIAL IMAGERY. Conditioned to believe that myth can
pect indicated an omen of special importance. Perhaps the
have no basis in observed fact, the modern mind might seem
yin principle would strongly override the yang so that a
content to sweep such detail under the rug of superstition
lower-order vassal could rise up against the Emperor of the
and irrational mysticism. But by appealing to natural phe-
Sun.
nomena that actually took place in land and sky—by paying
Other attribution deities. Other planets exacted their
attention to qualities peculiar to each planet—one can begin
own metaphors. For example, the red planet Mars—planet
to piece together an empirical side of the mythic coin that
of blood and fire for the Tang of sixth-century China—was
complements and enriches the seemingly strange logic be-
regarded as the punishment star. It was especially potent
hind sky myths. Moreover, if the listener to whom the story
when it passed its namesake constellations of Virgo and Scor-
is being told knows the celestial imagery that goes with each
pio. Curiously, Antares, the bright red star in Scorpio, also
chapter, the greater its efficacy. The tale truly begins to come
means “rival of Mars” in the Western tradition. Its hot, rosy
to life in the real world.
radiation also warned of drought.
Culture structures nature. And so people order the stars
Because they once were earth gods, all the planets in the
as well as the planets into patterns in the sky. The most com-
Sumerian pantheon had terrestrial dwelling places. The
mon set is the zodiac, literally a circle of animals, usually
dwelling place of Mars (Nergal) was a violent domicile that
twelve or thirteen in number, that circumscribe the sky. The
generated the malevolence associated with the war god. The
Egyptian zodiac consisted of twelve constellations, the Maya
names the Assyrians gave to Mars suggest anything but be-
thirteen, the Chinese twenty-eight. The zodiac constitutes
neficence and dependability. He was the pestilential one,
the roadway along which the sun, moon, and stars pass. Its
hostile and rebellious. War was another of the aspects of
stars play a major role in acquiring astrological predictions.
Mars, which, some Assyriologists contend, may have been as-
Among the Desána of Colombia, hexagonal shapes and
sociated with the planet’s blood red color, especially when
outlines (e.g., a number of bright stars centered on the Belt
it lies low over the land. Or is it the erratic motion Mars ex-
of Orion rather than a sky band) provided the ordering prin-
hibits, well beyond that of the other planets?
ciple. Hexagons indicate life’s creative-transformative ener-
Slowest moving of all the planets, Saturn was Ninib to
gies concentrated and at work. The Desána see these recur-
the Sumerians, a phlegmatic old man who lumbered ever so
ring shapes in the structure of rock crystals, which are
slowly across the celestial vault. Saturn also received the des-
common shamanic power objects. They see them in honey-
ignation Lu-Bat, the steady one, for it could be counted
combs, wasps’ nests, the womb, ritual enclosures, and the
upon, more than any other so-called wanderer (the Sumeri-
plates on the back of a tortoise.
ans likened the planets to errant sheep who strayed from the
The Aztecs viewed in their star patterns the sustainers
flock) to be present in the night sky just as the sun ruled the
of life—the gods they sought to repay with the blood of sacri-
day. Because it moves thoughtfully, steadily, and deliberate-
fice for bringing favorable rains, for keeping the earth from
ly, Saturn’s character reflects wisdom and intelligence more
quaking, for spurring them on in battle. Among the gods was
than speed and vigorous activity. By inhibiting the upper-
Black Tezcatlipoca, who ruled the night from his abode in
most realm, a result of the extreme length of time it takes
the north, with its wheel (the Big Dipper). He presided over
the planet to complete its cycle around the zodiac, Saturn oc-
the cosmic ballcourt (Gemini), where the gods played a game
cupied the biggest sphere and was therefore accorded the
to set the fate of humankind. He lit the fire sticks (Orion’s
highest power in divinatory astrology.
belt) that brought warmth to the hearth. And at the end of
Nearer to the sun than the cold, remote location of Sat-
every 52-year calendrical cycle, Black Tezcatlipoca timed the
urn, yet farther than fiery Mars, lies Jupiter—Greek Zeus.
rattlesnake’s tail (the Pleiades) so that it passed overhead at
Jupiter is commonly associated with justice. He became a
midnight—a guarantee that the world would not come to
moderator and, consequently, most fit to rule the celestial
an end and that humanity would be granted another epoch
gods. He alone held the power to create storms, floods, and
of life. The priests in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital,
earthquakes. As Marduk he was elevated to the position of
climbed to the top of their sky watchers’ temple on the Hill
tutelary, or protective, deity of the city of Babylon. He also
of the Star to witness this auspicious sign. These indigenous
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SKY: MYTHS AND SYMBOLISM
8429
cultures lived their sky, knowing that everything that hap-
fested in the commingling of fresh and salt waters where the
pened on earth was destined in the cosmos.
Tigris and Euphrates meet the Persian Gulf. Before this time
THE SKY IN CREATION NARRATIVES. Genesis means “origina-
the universe was a watery chaos not unlike that in the biblical
tion,” and every genesis myth begins with a sense of time.
Genesis. Likewise Ometecuhtli, the creation deity of the Az-
The modern scientific genesis began more than thirteen bil-
tecs who resides in the uppermost layer of heaven, is bisexual.
lion years ago in a Big Bang from which all events and things
The Popol Vuh, the Quiché Maya story of the creation
have spun. But this, unlike all other cosmologies, is decidedly
of “all the sky earth,” features twin heroes (usually depicted
nonparticipatory—a story without a purpose as one modern
as the sun and moon, or the sun and Venus) who go into
cosmologist has characterized it.
the underworld to battle the lords of pestilence. One brother
In the Old Testament Genesis, the purpose seems to be
defeats the evil lords by tricking them into offering them-
to demonstrate that all things were intended to be good. Per-
selves for sacrifice. He demonstrates his power over time by
haps all people need to believe in a world that can be con-
sacrificing his twin brother, tearing out his heart; then, by
ceived as orderly, intentional, purposeful, and, above all, cre-
voice command, he reverses time and brings him back to life.
ated specifically with them in mind—a good world. The
So ecstatic are the lords with such legerdemain that they
orderly creation by word in Genesis stands in stark contrast
plead to Venus: “Do it to us!” Venus indulges them, but,
to the early Greek Theogony and the earlier Babylonian
cleverly, only completes the first half of the process. Were
Enuma Elish from which it undoubtedly derived. These mili-
it not for Venus’s cunning actions in the netherworld before
taristic states portray a present world that emerges in the af-
the dawn of history, the Maya say, the world would be far
termath of a battle among cosmic forces. In the Theogony,
worse off with disease than it is today. Cunning and trickery
the history of the world is characterized as the history of the
are qualities of sky gods in many Native American narratives.
descent of the orderly government of Zeus by succession
The Chinese think about their past in terms of three
from his godly predecessors.
ages: the mythological, the ancient, and the modern. The
The Babylonian creation myth, also acted out in heav-
first two are of special concern. Creation was an event that,
en, follows a similar might-is-right storyline with Marduk,
by most accounts, took place close to half a million years ago.
the analog of Zeus and Jupiter, battling Tiamat (Typhoeus
It began just as the sages in many other cultures tell it: by
in the Theogony), the raging force of the untamed waters.
the opening of heaven and earth. This was not a creation ex
Out of Marduk’s victory in battle comes a common motif
nihilo (out of nothing), but rather a stepwise fabrication fired
in stories of creation, the raising of the sky:
up by the Dao, an unknowable principle that resulted in the
sorting out of an originally undifferentiated chaos.
He shot off an arrow, and it tore her interior. It cut
through her inward parts, it split her heart. When he
First there was a One, and out of that One, the Two
had subdued her, he destroyed her life. He split her
was produced, the yin-yang principle that constitutes the
open like a mussel in two parts; Half of her he set in
makeup of everything conceivable. As in the biblical Genesis,
place and formed the sky therewith as a roof. He fixed
there is also an anthropic version of the fabrication of the
the crossbar and posted guards; He commanded them
universe. Pangu, a creator god, goes about his work with
not to let her waters escape. (Heidel, 1942, p. 42)
hammer and chisel as he sculpts masses of chaotic matter into
the correct shape. They say his labors lasted eighteen thou-
The idea behind this fantastic imagery is that divine kingship
sand years; day by day as he worked along, he increased in
lies at the root of the state, and it must be established au-
stature, and the heavens rose and the earth expanded around
thoritatively once and for all through compulsive force. In
him. Once he made the stage ready, he died. But even his
like manner, a violent process also was necessary to create an
death benefited humans directly, for his body parts became
orderly universe.
the entities that fill up earth’s basin: his head became the
The concept of raising the sky is especially prominent
mountains; his left eye, the sun; his right eye, the moon; his
in the cosmogonies of Polynesia and Micronesia, as well as
beard, the stars; his limbs, the four quarters; his blood, the
in Nigeria and the Malay Peninsula. One story conceives of
rivers; his flesh, the soil; his breath, the wind and clouds; his
the sky as a vessel suspended over the earth by a cord. Once
voice, the thunder. His limbs were the four directions; met-
it hung so low to the earth that one of the first humans acci-
als, rocks, and precious stones were made from his teeth,
dentally bumped against it while raising his pestle to grind
bones, and marrow. His sweat became the rain, and the in-
rice. He raised the sky higher up with his hands to its present
sects that stuck to his body were the people.
position.
Sky gods usually appear to be both unique religious cre-
The further back one traces creation myths, the more
ations and products of history. At one end of a broad contin-
hazy they become on the issue of whether man or woman
uum lie deities who display characteristics related to rulership
came first in the genealogy. Perhaps this only reflects the
of the world and moral oversight (e.g., the Indian Varun:a
magnitude of the problem about where the principle of sexu-
and Iranian Ahura Mazda¯); at the other end are deities whose
al union originates. For example, in the Babylonian Enuma
chief traits mark them as creators, bringers of rain and fecun-
Elish, the blending of the male and female principle is mani-
dity, and likely to develop into more specialized storm gods
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SKY: MYTHS AND SYMBOLISM
(e.g., Zeus, Jupiter, Thor, and possibly the Inca Viracocha
when some important celestial event occurred. Such elabo-
and the Teotihuacan storm god). In the middle of the array
rate theatrical stagings reveal Maya beliefs about the essence
would stand the figure of a cosmocrat like Maha¯vairocana,
of heavenly power in a direct and forceful way. The goal of
the cosmic buddha of the Shingon school in Japan.
specialized Maya ceremonial architecture seems to have been
MAKING SACRED SPACE ON EARTH. As the Roman urbs was
to instill in the viewer-participant the same sort of passion
the place of assembly, civitas was the religious and political
that might have welled up in the breast of the medieval
association of tribal families. Both translate as “city.” The
Christian pilgrim who for the first time saw the sun shine
Etruscans founded the city all at once rather than by gradual
through the stained glass windows of, say, the cathedral of
degrees. A white bull drew a plough in one direction, a black
Chartres. For the ancient Maya, the cosmos carried powerful
bull in the other as circular furrows were plowed to circum-
messages and their delivery occurred, as one might expect in
scribe the intended location of the heart of the city: the tem-
the tropics, in the open outdoor space of the royal court.
plum, whence the modern English word temple.
Among the cosmo-magical principles of place-making
Knowing which way to face lies at the basis of rules of
cited by Wheatley are the location of major ceremonial struc-
communication between people and their gods. Which way
tures over caves or springs, natural openings to the under-
must a priest or worshippers turn in order to perform cor-
world, and the orientation of such structures to prominent
rectly a private or public ceremony, a consecration or sacri-
points in the land and skyscape. Thus, the great pyramid of
fice? For the Etruscans the setting of directions was not ac-
Cholula, Mexico, the largest Native American structure,
cording to humans but rather to the world itself. There was
faces the sunset at the summer solstice between the twin vol-
a front and a back to Etruscan ritual space, a left and a right
canoes Popocatepetl and Ixtaccíhuatl. Likewise, Teotihua-
in the early templum—this human-built representation of the
cán’s Pyramid of the Sun, built over a cave, is oriented to a
celestial templum, the home of the gods who lived in the sky.
mountain on the north, as well as toward the west to the set-
“Four parts did it have: that toward the east antica, positca
ting point of the Pleiades star group, the first annual appear-
that toward the west: the northern part on the left, the south-
ance of which marks New Year’s day, when the sun passes
ern on the right,” wrote the Roman historian Isidorus. Thus,
directly overhead.
gates to the city were placed at four cardinal interruptions
Shrines often mark connection points with the sky-
in the furrow. A foundation sacrificial ritual honoring the an-
earth. For example, a small chapel on the side of Cholula’s
cestors, ancient gods, and heroes, then took place at the cen-
pyramid is positioned over a natural spring that connects to
ter. “There is no place in the city not impregnated with reli-
the underworld. The radial ceque system of the Inca capital
gion and not occupied by some divinity,” wrote Livy.
of Cuzco is delineated by huacas, sacred places (many of
Historians of religions have sorted out a number of rea-
them natural springs) where worshippers feed the earth
sons that motivated ancient cultures around the world to
mother, Pachamama. The Hopi marked the solstices, which
seek divine plans for the arrangement and orientation of cer-
the elders referred to as “houses” where the sun stops in its
emonial architecture. Paul Wheatley, in discussing the spatial
travels along the horizon. At these places along the high
arrangement of buildings in the Chinese city, suggests that
mesa, the priests erected small shrines. There a sun priest in
those religions that specifically associated the creation of the
charge of the calendar would deposit prayer sticks, an offer-
universe with the origin of humanity tend to dramatize the
ing to welcome the sun and to encourage it on its celestial
cosmogony by attempting to reproduce on earth a miniatur-
journey. Some of these shrines have special openings that
ized version of the cosmos. On the other hand, those that
allow shafts of sunlight to penetrate particular directions,
relate divine revelation to the meaning of human existence
thus serving as another way to mark the appropriate time.
often abstract their gods from the landscape; the attendant
Sometimes the sun priest would gesture to the sun, whirling
rituals appear to bear little connection to the environment.
a shield decorated with sun designs to imitate the sun’s turn-
Thus, in eastern Asia and particularly in Mesoamerica, where
ing motion, hastening away any malevolent spirits who
creation hypotheses are heavily mythologized, one can expect
might impede the great luminary.
religion to have played a decisive role in the planning of cere-
Celestially motivated structures might be classified as
monial space.
theaters, as well as observatories. The modern preoccupation
Historian of religions Mircea Eliade gave an account of
with precision and exactitude in assessing ancient building
cosmic hierophanies, which he considers to be sacred phe-
alignments often undervalues the symbolic significance of
nomena revealed at different cosmic levels. His discussion of
sky phenomena. (A modern example is the proposed design
architectural hierophanies emphasizes the cohesive bond be-
of the new World Trade Center complex in New York,
tween ancient religion and cosmology. The use of ceremonial
which incorporates a colossal shadow casting device to mark
architecture to convey celestial messages to a throng celebrat-
the precise moment of the September 11, 2001, event.) Cos-
ing a ritual seems to have flowered in the classic Maya world
mic hierophanies often translate into light and shadow phe-
(200–900 CE). There are numerous examples of important
nomena in architectural space dedicated to worshipping the
events—inaugurations, celebrations of victories in battle,
ancestor creator gods. One example of a hierophany involv-
great royal turning points—being commemorated on days
ing the subtle influence of light and shadow on Mesoameri-
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SKY: MYTHS AND SYMBOLISM
8431
can Maya architecture occurs at the ruins of Chichén Itzá.
Years on the Shaman’s Path by David Freidel, Linda Schele,
About an hour before sunset on the vernal equinox, the nine
and Joy Parker (New York, 1993) gives an excellent overview
platforms that make up the pyramidal base of the Temple
of ancient and contemporary Maya celestial mythology. Also
of Kukulcan cast thin shadows on the balustrade wall of the
of a regional nature, historian of religion Lawrence Sullivan’s
north stairway in such a way as to form an undulating line.
Icanchu’s Drum: An Orientation to Meaning in South Ameri-
The union of this line with the large serpent head at the base
can Religions (New York, 1988) discusses celestial beings,
world planes, and the transcendent as manifested in sky
of the northern staircase presents a striking picture of a ser-
myth.
pent of light. Here was an appropriate event to take place on
a temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl-Kukulcan, the feathered
Most relevant among the many works of Mircea Eliade are The
Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (New York,
serpent god of creativity and reservation—and it seems to
1959) and Patterns in Comparative Religion (New York,
have been designed to take place at the right time.
1958), especially chapter 2: “The Sky and Sky Gods.” Chap-
Toward the end of the last millennium, the Chichén
ter 1 in Eliade’s Cosmos and History: The Myth of the Eternal
hierophany was appropriated by the government as a nation-
Return (New York, 1954) develops several themes, such as
al holiday when it was realized that the event also takes place
the symbolism of the center and the celestial archetypes of
on the birthday of the nineteenth-century Mexican liberator
human space. From Primitives to Zen: A Thematic Sourcebook
of the History of Religions
, edited by Mircea Eliade (New
Benito Juárez. Today, the world New Age community de-
York, 1967), is an excellent sourcebook. Also see W. Brede
scends on the serpent on equinox day to find salvation and
Kristensen’s The Meaning of Religion: Lectures in the Phenom-
renewal by seeking the ancient truths and lost wisdom of the
enology of Religion (The Hague, 1960); see especially chapter
Maya, which they believe are revealed on this special day.
3, “The Worship of the Sky and of Celestial Bodies,” which
Thousands of people attend the annual event, which has its
takes an approach very different from Eliade’s. Also useful is
European parallel in the Stonehenge pilgrimage on the sum-
George B. Foucart’s excellent article “Sky and Sky Gods” in
mer solstice. Thus, the ruins of antiquity become the contest-
the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, edited by James Has-
ed ground for the ownership of sacred time and place—
tings, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1920). Further, on sky gods see
between native and foreigner, between scientific expert
the brief essay “The Supreme Being: Phenomenological
and New Ager, between local commoner and national bu-
Structure and Historical Development” in The History of Re-
reaucracy.
ligions: Essays in Methodology, edited by Mircea Eliade and Jo-
seph M. Kitagawa (Chicago, 1959), pp. 59–66. A classic En-
Like all seasonal rituals in the round of cyclic time, the
glish-language work on the sky gods is E. O. James’s The
serpent hierophany is really about hope—the return of a de-
Worship of the Sky-God: A Comparative Study in Semitic and
sired past that elevates the present above the mundane. The
Indo-European Religion (London, 1963). In addition, al-
descending serpent offers food for a spiritually starved society
though methodologically outdated, James G. Frazer’s Wor-
possessed by a longing to recreate a glorious past superior to
ship of Nature, vol. 1 (London, 1926), remains an excellent
an unfulfilling present. Whether a descending serpent, a
source for data (see pp. 1–315 on “the worship of the sky”).
See also Charles H. Long’s concise work Alpha: The Myths
wandering planet, or a conspicuous star group that calls to
of Creation (New York, 1963); Alexander Heidel’s The Baby-
mind a parallel in the earthly realm, whatever emerges out
lonian Genesis: The Story of Creation (Chicago, 1942); James
of the sky seems ever-present, all-powerful and, above all, sta-
Bennett Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the
ble and reliable. The heavens are the hallmark of a collection
Old Testament, 2d ed., corr. and enl. (Princeton, 1955); and
of living entities that command reverence, exude wisdom,
Diego Durán, The Aztecs: The History of the Indies of New
and, with an aura of mystery and wonderment, offer the
Spain (New York, 1964).
prospect of human salvation.
Lindsay Jones’s Monumental Occasions: Reflections on the Eventful-
ness of Religious Architecture (Cambridge, Mass., 2000) and
SEE ALSO Ascension; Cosmology; Heaven and Hell; Moon;
Twin City Tales: A Hermeneutical Reassessment of Tula and
Stars; Sun.
Chichén Itzá (Niwot, Colo., 1995) deal with broader theoret-
ical questions and the historical interpretation of cosmically
B
related architecture. In the art historical realm the image of
IBLIOGRAPHY
An astronomical tour of ancient sacred places as sources of tran-
the sky dome in art and architecture is dealt with in Ananda
scendent power is given in Edwin C. Krupp, Skywatchers,
K. Coomaraswamy’s “The Symbolism of the Dome” in Se-
Shamans, and Kings: Astronomy and the Archaeology of Power
lected Papers, vol. 1: Traditional Art and Symbolism, edited
(New York, 1997). Krupp’s earlier Echoes of the Ancient Skies:
by Roger Lipsey (Princeton, 1977), pp. 415–458. See also
The Astronomy of Lost Civilizations (New York, 1983) focuses
Alexander C. Soper’s “The ‘Dome of Heaven’ in Asia,” Art
further on archaeological manifestations of celestial symbol-
Bulletin 29 (1947): 225–248; and Karl Lehmann’s “The
ism. Skywatchers: A Revised Version of Skywatchers of Ancient
Dome of Heaven,” Art Bulletin 27 (1945): 1–27.
Mexico by Anthony Aveni (Austin, Tex., 2001) focuses most-
Cosmogony and Ethical Order: New Studies in Comparative Ethics,
ly on Mesoamerica (see esp. chap. 5). Aveni’s Conversing with
edited by Robin Lovin and Frank Reynolds (Chicago, 1985)
the Planets: How Science and Myth Invented the Cosmos, rev.
offers a series of essays on creation stories from around the
ed. (Boulder, Colo., 2003) offers a chapter (3) on sky my-
world. David Carrasco’s edited volumes To Change Place:
thology that includes how early Christianity transformed the
Aztec Ceremonial Landscapes (Niwot, Colo., 1991); The
pagan sky gods. Chapter 2 of Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand
Imagination of Matter: Religion and Ecology in Mesoamerican
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SLAVIC RELIGION
Traditions (Oxford, 1989); and Mesoamerica’s Classical Heri-
pagan literature as such. However, songs, fairy tales, and oral
tage: From Teotihuacan to the Aztecs (Boulder, Colo., 2000)
epics such as the Russian byliny, which survived among peas-
have revolutionized the approaches of cultural anthropology
ants, are representative of pagan religious traditions.
and the history of religion to the subject of Mesoamerican
cosmologies. Lastly, the author acknowledges Peter Chem-
The worship of pagan gods did not disappear immedi-
ery’s essay from the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Reli-
ately with the arrival of Christianity. Descriptions of pagan
gion (New York, 1987) both for guidance and for informa-
temples, idols, and practices can be found in early church
tion in the preparation of this updated contribution.
chronicles. Later, with the advance of Christianity, many
A
pagan practices found new manifestations that were compat-
NTHONY F. AVENI (2005)
ible with the new religion. This was especially true in the By-
zantine sphere of influence, and, in fact, the best examples
of pagan prototypes that merged with Christian figures are
SLAVIC RELIGION. The exact origin of the Slavs, an
found in Russia.
indigenous European people, is not known, but by about
800
The second important factor in the formation of the
BCE pockets of Slavs were scattered in a region east of
the Vistula and the Carpathians and west of the Don. Some
Slavic religion was the close contact of the Slavs with neigh-
six hundred years later the Slavs inhabited a large area in cen-
boring peoples, especially the Balts and Indo-Iranians. This
tral and eastern Europe. Over the centuries they were driven
contact is attested by some common Slavic words pertaining
north, south, and east by successive migrations of Germanic
to religion that have clear affinities with Iranian.
and Asiatic tribes.
The third and most essential factor is the heritage of
Around the sixth century CE the Slavs began separating
mythological images. In the tradition of Celtic, Baltic,
into three groups, the West, South, and East Slavs. Proto-
Greek, and other related mythologies of Europe, Slavic be-
Slavic, an Indo-European language, was spoken in an area
liefs strongly preserved very ancient pre-Indo-European im-
extending from the north of Russia to the south of Greece,
ages typical of an agricultural, matrifocal, and matrilinear
and from the Elbe and the Adriatic coast to the Volga. By
culture. (This oldest substratum is called Old European.)
about the tenth century, Proto-Slavic had separated into
Slavic paganism as described by Christian missionaries, how-
three subgroups, the ancestors of the West Slavic, South
ever, was clearly dominated by male gods of Indo-European
Slavic, and East Slavic language groups.
origin. Their names and functions can be reconstructed by
means of comparative Indo-European mythology and lin-
The West Slavs lived in a region reaching beyond the
guistics. These gods belonged to a pastoral, patriarchal, and
Elbe and were bounded on the west by Germanic tribes. The
warlike people of the Eurasian steppes who superimposed
language they spoke developed into modern Polish, Czech,
their social system and religion upon the Old European cul-
Slovak, and Wendish. (The Wends settled between the Elbe
ture about 3000 BCE.
and the Oder, in what is now Germany, and their descen-
dants today are entirely surrounded by Germans.) The South
The stratigraphy of Slavic religion and mythology thus
Slavs, covering the area east of the Adriatic, south of the
contains the following levels: (1) Old European, rooted in
Danube, and west of the Black Sea, had the Magyars and
a local Neolithic culture; (2) Indo-European, derived from
Vlachs as their northern and eastern neighbors. Their lan-
the pastoral; patriarchal culture of the Eurasian steppes; and
guage was the forerunner of Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian,
(3) Christian, in which pagan prototypes fused with Chris-
Macedonian, and Bulgarian. The ancestors of today’s Rus-
tian figures, producing a “double faith.” (Christianity was in-
sians, Belorussians, and Ukrainians, the East Slavs lived in
troduced into Moravia in 863, Bulgaria in 885, Poland in
an area bounded by Lake Ladoga, the upper Volga and Don,
966, and Russia in 988.)
and the Dnieper. To the southeast were the Khazars and Pe-
SOURCES. Written sources begin with the sixth-century By-
chenegs, Asiatic steppe dwellers; to the north and east were
zantine historian Procopius, who wrote that the Slavic Scla-
Finno-Ugric peoples; and to the northwest were Balts.
venian and Antes tribes worshiped a thunder god as “lord of
FORMATION OF SLAVIC RELIGION. The term Slavic religion
the whole world.” They sacrificed bulls and other animals to
can be used to refer to the mythology and cultic life common
him, and they made other offerings at times of death, illness,
to all Slavs from the sixth to the tenth century. The basic
or war to ensure salvation. They also venerated and made sac-
structure of Slavic mythology, composed of Old Euopean
rifices to rivers, nymphs, and “other demons.” Divination
and Indo-European elements, stems from the proto-Slavic
and sacrifice were carried out together.
culture in the Slavic homeland. Strong affinities with the my-
Scarcely any other reliable written information is avail-
thology and religious nomenclature of the early Slavs have
able for the sixth through the tenth century. In the East Slav-
been found among their close neighbors, the Balts, the Irani-
ic area, the only Slavic pantheon on record is that set up by
ans, and the Thracians.
Vladimir I in 980. Eight years later he cast down the pagan
Three important factors must be borne in mind in re-
deities and forcibly baptized the population of Kiev. The
gard to Slavic religion. First, literacy came to the Slavs in the
Russian Primary Chronicle (compiled c. 1111) says: “And
aftermath of Christianization. As a consequence, there is no
Vladimir began to rule Kiev alone, and he set up idols on
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8433
a hill outside the palace court—a wooden figure of Perun,
It was made of timber, and the exterior was adorned with
and his head was of silver and his mouth was of gold; Khors
sculptures to which animal horns were attached. It contained
and Dazhbog and Stribog and Simargl and Mokosh—and
several hand-sculpted idols dressed in helmets and armor and
he and his people made sacrifice to the idols.” Simultaneous-
each dedicated to a god, the most important being that of
ly, “Vladimir also placed Dobrynja, his uncle, in Novgorod,
Zuarasici (Svarozhich).
and after Dobrynja came to Novgorod, he set up an idol of
Carl Schuchhardt, who excavated Rethra in 1922, con-
Perun above the river Volkhov, and the people of Novgorod
cluded that the temple, presumably built about 1000
revered him as a god.”
CE, was
destroyed by fire about 1068, but that its floor plan was
The descriptions that we have of Slavic idols and tem-
square. Thietmar said that Riedegost was principal among
ples, it must be remembered, come from the writings of the
all the local temples. People came to it with homage before
very people who destroyed them. The most reliable sources
going to war, and with offerings on their return. The priests
on the religion of the West Slavs are provided by Otto, a
determined reconciliation offerings by means of dice and
twelfth-century bishop of Bamberg, whose war with the
horse oracles. it was apparently the sanctuary for the entire
pagan gods of the Slavs in northern Germany was recorded
Lutici confederation, of which the Retharii were one tribe.
by this three biographers, Ebbo, Herbord, and Monachus
Prieflingensis, as well as by Thietmar, bishop of Merseburg,
Bishop Otto of Bamberg went twice to Szczecin (Stet-
who wrote firsthand accounts of eleventh-century Wendish
tin), where there were two temples (according to Ebbo) or
paganism (see Palm, 1937). Early sources on the pre-
four (according to Herbord). The most important of these
Christian religion in Poland, Bohemia, Moravia, Bulgaria,
temples stood upon one of the three hills and was dedicated
Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia are either biased or very scant.
to Triglav, the three-headed “summus deus” (Ebbo, 3.1). It
Slavic religion and mythology cannot be reconstructed on
was richly sculptured inside and out, and its interiors were
the basis of written records alone. Of utmost importance are
decorated with war booty. On his first trip there (about
archaic motifs in folklore, linguisitic reconstructions, and ar-
1124), Otto cut off the idol’s three heads and sent them to
chaeological monuments. In the past, very few scholars drew
Pope Calixtus II. Another idol of Triglav was destroyed in
upon all these sources; in this respect, much research is yet
Brandenburg, probably by Albrecht the Bear (Albert I),
to be done.
sometime between 1150 and 1157.
TEMPLES AND IDOLS. The most precise descriptions of tem-
At Wolin, according to Monarchus Prieflingensis, Otto
ples and idols come from the eleventh through the thirteenth
found a temple with a sacred spear that, as legend had it, had
century in the area of the northwestern Slavs, present-day
been placed there in memory of Julius Caesar. According to
Germany. The best-documented site is Arkona, a citadel-
Ebbo, there was also an outdoor cultic center with idols,
temple of the god Sventovit, which was destroyed in 1168
which became the site of the new Adalbert Church. The
by Christian Danes when they stormed the island of Rügen.
practice of building a church on the site of a pagan sanctuary
According to Saxo Grammaticus (Gesta Danoraum 14), Ar-
was one of the most effective, and most commonly em-
kona was a red-roofed log structure of consummate work-
ployed, methods of combating paganism all over the Slavic
manship, encircled by a yard and protected by a splendidly
area. It attracted the people to whom the place itself was still
carved wooden fence bearing various symbols painted in
holy, and it removed all traces of the worship previously per-
“heathen” style. The fence had a single entrance. In the inner
formed there.
chamber of the temple loomed the awe-inspiring statue of
Otto’s mission of 1128 destroyed the temple at Wol-
Sventovit, larger than life and with four heads that faced the
gast. According to Ebbo, when Otto’s men entered the tem-
cardinal directions. Carl Schuchhardt’s excavation in 1921
ple in search of idols, they found only a gigantic shield hang-
proved the existence of the temple. Repeated excavations in
ing on the wall. Fearing the crowd that had gathered outside,
1969 and 1970 revealed an earlier layer of the sanctuary dat-
they carried the shield with them for protection, whereupon
ing to the tenth century, and possibly to the ninth.
the crowd fell to the ground, thinking it was an appearance
After conquering Arkona, the Danish armies took Garz
of the war god Gerovit (Iarovit). Herbord describes the
(Karentia), also on the island of Rügen, which Saxo describes
shield as covered with gold leaf, and he equates Gerovit with
as a castle hill with swamps on all sides. Of its three temples,
Mars.
the largest had an inner room consisting of roof, posts, and
Helmold of Bosau, writing of the pagan revival among
purple hangings. In the middle of this room stood an oaken
the Wends in 1134, mentions “Prove deus Aldenburgensis
statue of Rugievit—whose name, according to Saxo, meant
terrae.” On his trip with the bishop Gerald to Oldenburg
“god of Rügen [Rugia]”—having seven heads, with seven
and to the interior between that city and Lubeck in 1156,
swords hanging from his girdle and an eighth sword held in
he saw a grove where an oak tree was enclosed within a court-
his hand. Saxo says the other temples belonged to “Porevit”
yard surrounded by a fence of stakes. It was dedicated to the
and “Potenut,” respectively.
god of that land, Proven, for whom no idol was present. The
The earliest source, Thietmar (1014), describes a similar
monk Herbertus describes a sacred grove where a large tar-
temple on the castle hill of Riedegost or Radigast (Rethra).
covered idol stood leaning against a tree (presumably an
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SLAVIC RELIGION
oak). Most likely, the name Proven is a distortion or variant
The god of heavenly light, also known as the white god,
of Perun, the name of the Slavic thunder god.
and the god of death and the underworld, also known as the
black god, form a fundamental polarity in the Slavic religious
According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, when
tradition. This opposition of mythological figures is reflected
Prince Igor made a peace treaty with Byzantium at Kiev in
in the semiotic system of Slavic languages, based on the ar-
945, he and his men went to a hill where there was a statue
rangement of oppositions such as day and night, light and
of Perun. There they laid down their arms and swore to keep
dark, life and death, good and evil. The white and black gods
the treaty. In his treaty with Byzantium in 971, Prince Svia-
are mentioned in Helmold’s twelfth-century Chronica Sla-
toslav made a similar oath, stating that those who would not
vorum, pertaining to the West Slavs: “They expect a fortu-
respect the treaty would be cursed by Perun and Volos and
nate lot from the good god and from the evil one an unfortu-
that they would become as yellow as the gold of their orna-
nate [lot]; for this reason is the evil god called devil in their
ments and be destroyed by their own weapons.
language, or ‘black god.’” The Gustinskii Chronicle of 1070
A ruined temple, perhaps of Perun, was discovered in
reports that ancient sorcerers were convinced that “there be
1951 near Novgorod in a place called Peryn. The wooden
two gods: one heavenly and the other in hell.” The white god
structure itself was not preserved, but the floor plan, an oc-
is the deity of daylight while the black god is the god of
tagonal rosette shape, was clearly evident. In the center was
night. Both have close analogies in the Vedic Mitra-Varuna
charcoal, indicating where the idol and a place for fire had
and the Baltic Dievas-Velinas oppositions.
probably been located. Nearby was a flat stone, apparently
a part of an altar. In 1958, at Staraia Ladoga, a wooden effigy
The Slavic thunder god, Perun, deity of justice and fe-
of a god with mustache and beard and wearing a conical hel-
cundity, stands close to the god of heavenly light; he was the
met was found in a layer dated to the ninth or tenth century.
chief adversary of the black god. Although described as the
“lord of the whole world” by Procopius and listed first in
From all that is presently known of East Slavic temples,
Vladimir’s pantheon, Perun was never addressed as “summus
wooden idols stood on hills within temples for which there
deus” (“highest god”) as was the god of heavenly light (Sven-
are no descriptions. On the analogy of the excavated temples
tovit).
of the Balts in the Smolensk area dating from the fifth to the
seventh century, such hills were fortified and had wooden
The god of heavenly light. Many different names iden-
structures on the inner side of the ramparts. A round temple
tify the god of heavenly light: the forms Belobog, Belbog, and
containing a wooden idol stood in the center or at the end
Belun (all meaning “white god”) are common in Slavic place-
of the hill fort.
names and folklore. Close relatives in the Kievan pantheon
are the sun gods Dazhbog, Khors (an obvious borrowing of
A tradition going back millennia is evidenced by carved
the Iranian name for the personified sun, Khurs¯ıd), and pos-
images of gods, produced throughout proto-Slavic periods
sibly Stribog (whose name is perhaps related to the Iranian
and later times, that are similar to those of early history. A
srira, “beautiful”). The personified sun appears throughout
number of stone statues, some with three or four heads, oth-
Slavic folklore: each morning he rides out from his golden
ers holding a drinking horn, wearing a conical cap, and deco-
palace in the east in a two-wheeled chariot drawn by horses.
rated with incised horse figures or sun symbols, are known
He begins the day as a youth and dies each night as an old
from excavations. Similar idols from Stavchany in the upper
man. He is attended by two lovely virgins (the morning and
Dniester Valley date from the fourth century CE (see Gim-
evening stars), seven judges (the planets), and seven messen-
butas, The Slavs, 1971, fig. 61).
gers (the comets). As a “year god,” this deity ages with each
Idols were dedicated to various gods. In the West Slavic
season. The polycephalic images, three- or four-faced gods,
area, the richest temples belonged to the warrior god of
known as Triglav or as Chetyregod, represent different faces
“heavenly light” in his various aspects (Svarozhich, Iarovit,
of the year god.
Sventovit), whereas the thunder god (Perun) was worshiped
outdoors, in a grove where an oak tree stood. The East Slavs
Among the West Slavs, Iarovit, Porovit, Sventovit, and
also erected temples for Perun.
Svarozhich, described in the eleventh and twelfth centuries,
repesent various aspects of the year god: spring, summer, au-
It is clear that at the time when Christianity arrived, the
tumn, and winter. Several of these names had calendrical sig-
official religion was dominated by warrior gods of Indo-
nificance. Iaro was connected with iaru, meaning “young, ar-
European heritage. Following the destruction of their tem-
dent, bright,” and Porovit may have been related to pora,
ples, these gods sank into the subculture so that only vestiges
“midsummner.” Sventovit, whose name is from svent-,
of their earlier glory survived.
“light” and “holy,” was worshiped in October, during the
GODS OF INDO-EUROPEAN HERITAGE. Three divine arche-
harvest. Svarozhich was worshiped in the temple at Radigast.
types of the Indo-European religious tradition are clearly
Judging from his name (a diminutive of Svarog, signifying
represented in the Slavic pantheon: the god of heavenly light,
that he was a son of Svarog, the heavenly smith), Svarozhich
the god of death and the underworld, and the thunder god.
probably represented the aspect of the newborn winter sun.
The first two stand in opposition to each other, but the rela-
However, Svarog (glossed as Hephaistos in thirteenth-
tionship of the three deities is triangular, not hierarchical.
century records) and Svarozhich could also be a single god,
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8435
since the diminutive form of addressing deities is a character-
god: (1) a sorcerer god of death, related to music and poetry,
istic Slavic phenomenon. (For instance, bozhich, “little god,”
and (2) a god of cattle, wealth, and commerce. The etymolo-
is a form frequently used instead of bog, “god.”) As in all
gy suggests ancient functions: vel- is connected with “death,”
other Indo-European religions, this deity was portrayed as
“the dead,” and “giant” on one hand and with “sight, fore-
a warrior, dressed in armor and a helmet, carrying a sword
sight, insight” on the other. Volos has connections with “hair,
and shield, and accompanied always by a horse. Weapons
fur” and with “disease, evil spirit.” The original name of the
and horses were manifestations of his powers.
god must have been Veles, not Volos.
In Christian times, the god of heavenly light fused with
Veles was degraded to a devil at the beginning of Chris-
the Christian God and Saint John (Ivan). Up to the begin-
tian times. All that remains of this god are such expressions
ning of the twentieth century, the spring aspect of the god
as k Velesu za more (“to Veles in the otherworld”) and the
survived in Belorussia and Russia in the image of Iarilo, who
formula “Velesov vnuk ” (“grandson of Veles”), apostrophiz-
was worshiped in the week following Whitsuntide. Folklore
ing the musician and prophetic poet Boian of the Old Rus-
preserves the image of Iarilo riding upon a white horse: he
sian epic Slovo o polku Igoreve. Place-names incorporating
wears a white cloak, is crowned with wildflowers, and carries
Veles imply sites where this god was worshiped, such as Titov
a sheaf of wheat. Girls honored Iarilo by performing choral
Veles in Macedonia.
dances upon newly sown fields. In the eighteenth century,
Volos was merged with the image of Saint Blasius (Vla-
the Orthodox bishop of Voronezh is central Russia pro-
sii) and also partly with that of Saint Nicholas (Nikola), the
scribed a pagan festival and “satanic” games centered on an
patrons of flocks and crops. He was honored as such up to
idol called Iarilo. In Kostroma, until 1771, people buried
the twentieth century on his holiday, 11 February. Such
an idol with exaggerated male attributes. The burial of a
forms as Volosovo and Volosovskii were frequently used as
phallic idol typifies the year god’s cycle. The death of the year
names for monasteries and churches in Russia. According to
god, symbolized by submerging his image in water or by
legend, they were founded on the spots where the idols of
burning a birch tree, was commemorated in Belorussia until
Volos stood in pre-Christian times.
the early twentieth century.
Idols and places of Volos worship are mentioned as late
Reminiscent of the Indo-European archetype of the di-
as the eighteenth century. Of utmost importance is the de-
vine twins—the Dioscuri of Greek myth, the Asvins of the
scription of the sacrifice of the priest Volkhv in Skazanii o
Vedas, the Dievo Suneliai of Lithuanian folk songs—are the
postroenii grada Yaroslavlia (Legends about the Founding of
saints Boris and Gleb, Cosmas and Damian, and Flor and
Yaroslavl), published in 1876 and based on a manuscript of
Lavr. The emblem of Boris and Gleb, the youthful martyrs,
1781. Having burned the sacrificial victim and prophesied
was a young shoot. They sometimes appear as bogatyri
in the name of Volos, the priest was himself sacrificed to the
(“knights”) who have vanquished a dragon and harnessed
god. This is a parallel to the self-sacrifice of the Germanic
him to a plow, and on Serbian icons they are depicted as doc-
god Óðinn (Odin).
tors holding the tools of their trade. In Russia, Flor and Lavr
The thunder god. Overseer of justice and order, purifi-
were the protectors of horses. Their holiday was August 18,
er and fructifier, and adversary of the devil, Perun is feared
at which time animals were sacrificed to them and the flesh
to this day in some Slavic areas. His presence and actions are
cooked for a feast in their honor.
perceived in lightning and thunder. His animals (the bull
and the he-goat), his birds (the dove and the cuckoo), and
The cult of the dawn was common among all Slavs. The
his weapons (the ax and the arrow) are pervasive symbolic
Slavic deity Zoria, or Zaria, is the heavenly bride, the goddess
motifs in Slavic folk beliefs and songs.
of beauty, the dawn. At daybreak she is greeted, like Usas of
India, as “the brightest maiden, pure, sublime, and honor-
Parallels in other Indo-European mythologies, such as
able.”
the Baltic Pe¯rkons and Perku¯nas and the Germanic Þórr
(Thor), attest to the antiquity of this god. The root per-/perk-
Certain Slavic myths give an anthropomorphic interpre-
(“to strike, to splinter,” “oak, oak forest,” “mountaintop”)
tation to the relationship between the sun and the moon.
is common to Indo-European languages. The oak was
The Russian word for “moon,” mesiats, is masculine, but
Perun’s sacred tree. Oak forests and mountaintops—where
many legends portray the moon as a beautiful young woman
a god of storms might easily alight—are attested by literary
whom the sun marries at the beginning of summer, aban-
sources as places of veneration. The name Peryn, known from
dons in winter, and returns to in spring. In other myths, the
Russia and the Balkans, must have preceded the name Perun.
moon is the husband and the sun is his wife, as in Baltic my-
The original name of the god is likely to have been *Perkyn,
thology. In folk beliefs, Mesiats is addressed as kniaz’
which conforms to the Baltic Perku¯nas and to Indo-
(“prince”) and is believed to have powers over the growth of
European words for “oak” (Latin quercus, from *perkus) and
plants. In Polish, the word for “moon,” ksiez˙yc, is the dimin-
E
“oak forest” (Slavic *pergynja, Celtic hercynia); hence the ori-
utive form of the word meaning “prince” or “lord.”
gin of the designation “oak god” (Brückner, 1980, p. 106).
The god of death and the underworld. The names
With the onset of Christianity, Perun gradually merged
Veles and Volos apparently represent two aspects of the same
with Saint Elijah (Il’ia), who is portrayed in Russian icons
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SLAVIC RELIGION
crossing the heavens in a chariot. Bull sacrifice and a commu-
MYTHIC IMAGES ROOTED IN OLD EUROPEAN RELIGION.
nal feast on Saint Il’ia’s Day, July 20, were recorded in north-
The primary figures of the oldest stratum of Slavic culture
ern Russia in 1907. Saint Il’ia’s Day was most reverently cele-
are predominantly female: Fates, Death, Baba Yaga, Moist
brated into the mid-twentieth century in the Rhodope
Mother Earth, and a host of nymphs and goblins (water,
Mountains of Bulgaria. The festival, during which a bull was
mountain, and forest spirits) largely preserved in folklore and
sacrificed and prepared for the communal feast, took place
attested by written records. In all these feminine figures may
on a hill or summit.
be discerned features of the goddesses of Old Europe: the
Household guardians. Slavic names for household
life-giving and life-taking goddess, the goddess of death and
guardians—Russian ded, dedushka (dim.), and domovoi;
regeneration, and the pregnant earth goddess.
Ukrainian did, didko, and domovyk; Czech dedek; and Bul-
Life-giving and life-taking goddesses and their asso-
garian stopan—have the meaning “grandfather” or “house
ciates. Mokosh is the only female deity mentioned in the
lord,” suggesting their origins in ancestor worship within a
Kievan pantheon of 980. In folk beliefs, Mokysha, or
patrilineal culture. The guardian is commonly represented
Mokusha, has a large head and long arms; at night she spins
as an old man wearing a fur coat, or as an animal (a dog, bear,
flax and shears sheep. Her name is related to spinning and
or snake). He was believed to live behind or beneath the
plaiting and to moisture. The life-giving and life-taking god-
oven. He cared for animal herds and protected the entire
dess, or Fate, was the spinner of the thread of life and the
home and its occupants from misfortune. If not honored,
dispenser of the water of life. Mokosh was later transformed
Domovoi might leave the house, his departure bringing on
into the East Slavic goddess Paraskeva-Piatnitsa, who was as-
illness or the death of householders or cattle. There is a relat-
sociated with spinning, water, fertility, health, and marriage.
ed belief among the Slavs that well-being cannot establish it-
self in a newly built house until after the death of the head
Up to the twentieth century, it was believed that fate
of the family, who then becomes its guardian. If the family
took the form of birth fairies who appeared at the bedside
moves into a new home, it takes its guardian with it.
of a newborn baby on the third or the seventh day after birth.
In anticipation of the fairies, the baby was washed and
The Russian forest spirit, Leshii or Lesovik (from les,
dressed in new clothes while a special dinner was prepared.
“forest”), also appears as an old man or an animal. His princi-
Bread, salt, and wine were put out for the fairies. Three Fates
pal function is to guard forests and animals.
of different ages were believed to appear. They determined
Ancestor worship, a prominent practice among all pre-
the infant’s destiny and invisibly inscribed it upon his or her
Christian Slavs, is evidenced in gifts presented to the dead.
forehead. If the parents feared the Fates, they hid the infant
A strong belief in life after death is indicated by prehistoric
outside the home, a practice common among the South
and even modern burial rites. Food offerings are made in
Slavs.
cemeteries to this day. Everything deemed necessary for the
afterlife—weapons, tools, clothing, wives, slaves, horses,
Fate was given various names by the Slavs. To Russians
hunting dogs, food—was buried in the grave or was burned
she was Rozhenitsa or Rozhdenitsa (“birth giver”); to Czechs
if the deceased was cremated. The richer one was in life, the
she was Sudicˇka; to Serbs and Croats she was Sudjenica or,
more pompous the burial. Slavic royal tombs of prehistory
earlier, Sudbina (cf. Russian sud’ba, “fate”); and to Bulgari-
and early history are as elaborate as those of other Indo-
ans she was Narechnitsa (from narok, “destiny”). Both Roz-
European groups: Phrygian, Thracian, Baltic, or Germanic.
henitsa and the male Rod, to whom offerings were made, are
mentioned in a thirteenth-century Russian text, Slovo Isaia
The Arab traveler Ibn Fad:la¯n stated (922) that when a
proroka.
Slavic nobleman died, his body was laid provisionally in a
grave for ten days while his property was divided. The de-
The Russian dolia and the Serbian sreˇca represent the
ceased, who was dressed in rich garments and equipped with
fate of a person’s material life. There were good and bad
weapons, food, and drink, was seated in a boat. His wife
dolias and sreˇcas. The benevolent spirit protected her favor-
(who chose death voluntarily in order to enter the afterworld
ites and served them faithfully from birth to death. The ma-
with her husband) was killed by stabbing and seated next to
levolent spirit, nedolia or nesreˇca, usually personified as a
him. Then all was consumed by fire. A funeral banquet (triz-
poor and ugly woman, capable of transforming herself into
na) continued for days and nights.
various shapes, bestowed bad luck. The person who attracted
an evil dolia would never succeed, and all efforts to shake bad
Thereafter, the deceased was commemorated and of-
fortune would be in vain.
fered food on the third, seventh, twentieth, and fortieth days
after death. Similar observances took place six and twelve
Fate could also appear as two sisters, Life and Death.
months after death. In addition to these family observances,
Her deathly aspect was known as Mora, Marà, or Smert’
general festivals commemorating the dead occurred three or
(“death”). She was perceived as a tall white woman who
four times a year. These feasts, called “holy dziady,” were of-
could change her shape. When chased by dogs, she turned
fered in the home and in cemeteries. The holy dziady—the
into a stick, a block, a bat, or a basket. The plague was per-
word literally means “ancestors”—show that the Slavs looked
sonified as a slim black woman with long breasts who some-
upon their forefathers as guardians.
times had the legs of a cow or horse and the eyes of a snake.
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8437
To Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs she was known as Kuga; to
can be old and ugly or very beautiful. She can make herself
Bulgarians and Russians she was Chuma.
invisible, turn into a ball of yarn, and move rapidly. She
knows the magical properties of plants and is the keeper of
Associates of the life-giving and life-taking goddesses
the water of life and death.
were female spirits filled with passionate sensuality, who
mingled with humans and dwelt in forests or in mountain
Moist Mother Earth and Corn Mother. The sacred
caves. They helped with household chores, spun hemp, and
deity known as Moist Mother Earth (Mati Syra Zemlia) was
reaped grain and tied it into sheaves. They worked rapidly
perceived as pure, powerful, and pregnant. Up to the twenti-
and produced crops that never diminished. The Bohemians
eth century peasants believed that in springtime it was a grave
called them divozˇenky, the Poles dziwozˇony, the Slovaks divja
sin to strike the earth with anything before March 25, be-
davojke, and the Bulgarians divi-te zheny (“wild women”).
cause during that time the earth was pregnant. Plowing and
Tall and naked, they had long breasts and long hair, which
digging were forbidden on the holidays of this deity. For cen-
they flung over their shoulders. They were distinguished by
turies, peasants settle disputes over property by calling upon
short feet or chicken legs. They yearned for motherhood, and
Mother Earth to witness the justice of their claims. Marriages
they often took care of neglected babies and punished bad
were confirmed by the participants’ swallowing lumps of
mothers. Sometimes they substituted their own ugly off-
earth (a tradition recorded in nineteenth-century northern
spring for handsome human children. In response to an inju-
Russia). Oaths were taken in a similar manner (attested as
ry or malicious joke, they could kill by touch or tickle. Being
late as 1870 in the Orel district of central Russia) or by put-
half human, they could marry and become model wives and
ting earth on one’s head.
housekeepers, but if their true identity became known, they
The corn (i.e., grain) spirit was personified as the Corn
disappeared instantly.
Mother or as the Old Rye (Barley, Wheat, or Oat) Woman.
Another related spirit, Paludnitsa (“midday spirit”), had
She made crops grow. At harvest, it was believed that she was
the appearance of an airy white lady or of an old woman who
present in the last stalks of grain left standing in the field.
wandered at noon in the fields during harvesttime. She also
In Pomerania, the person who cut the last stalks of grain
floated upon violent gusts of wind. Whomever she touched
fashioned them into a doll, which was called Corn Mother
died a sudden death. Her most common victims were young
or Old Woman and was brought home on the last wagon.
women who either already had children or were in childbed.
In some areas, the Corn Mother, in the form of a doll or a
wreath, was symbolically drenched with water (drowned)
Baba Yaga and Ved’ma. The Old European goddess of
and was kept until the following spring, when some of its
death and regeneration is reflected in the Slavic deity Baba
grain was mixed with the new seed grain at planting time.
Yaga, who has been preserved in folk tales as a witch. She
The agricultural cycle of death (harvest) and rebirth (plant-
was said to live in darkness and to devour humans, but she
ing) was thus ensured, life-taking and life-giving in turn.
was also believed to have a gift for prophecy. She was usually
old and ugly, with bony legs, a long nose, and disheveled
Nymphs. Two types of nymph were known to the
hair, but she might also appear as a young woman, or as two
Slavs: vilas and rusalkas. Both are usually depicted as beauti-
sisters. Baba Yaga was represented as a bird or a snake, and
ful young women, although rusalkas are also described as
she could turn herself into an animal or even into an inani-
children or as old women.
mate object. The first half of her compound name, baba,
Vilas. Many Slavs believed that vilas originated like
suggests “grandmother” and “pelican”; the second, yaga,
blossoms with the morning dew or that they were born when
from Proto-Slavic *(y)ega, means “disease” or “fright.” The
E
the sun shone through the rain. Others said that vilas were
word baba can also mean “block,” or “woodpile,” which con-
born from meadow grasses whose roots resembled garlic
notes destruction, death, and decay.
bulbs; still others believed that they were born of the
In East Slavic tradition, Baba Yaga has a male counter-
mountains.
part: Koshchei Bessmertnyi, “Koshchei the Immortal.” His
The vila is depicted as a very beautiful young girl who
name, from kost’ (“bone”), suggests the notion of the dying
wears a thin white dress and whose long, loose, red or gold
and rising god, that is, a deity who cyclically dies and is re-
tresses fall over her back and breasts. She is distinguished
born. In folk tales, Baba Yaga is either the mother or the aunt
from a human maiden by her feet, which resemble the
of Koshchei. Another male equivalent of Baba Yaga in her
hooves of a donkey or a goat. She can turn into a horse, a
role of the “mother of the winds” is Morozko (“frost”).
swan, or a falcon. Because she is so beautiful, she cannot tol-
erate the presence of anyone more beautiful than she or any-
Ved’ma (“witch”) is a demonized goddess. She can be
one who laughs at the sight of her feet. Possessed of supernat-
seen flying beneath the clouds and over the mountains and
ural strength, she can, with a single glance, kill anyone who
valleys on a broom or a rake. She departs from the house
displeases her.
through the chimney as a bird or a fiery snake. She can pro-
duce rain or cause a storm simply by touching an object with
There are three kinds of vila, associated with mountains,
her broom. She possesses a magical ointment, the source of
with water, and with clouds. The mountain vila helps care
water, which she sprinkles on herself before flying. Ved’ma
for children and orphans, the water vila can poison springs,
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8438
SLAVIC RELIGION
and the cloud vila, who has wings, can fly. Well known
at the folkloristic level. In the northwestern Slavic area, elev-
throughout the South Slavic area is the story of the Swan
enth- and twelfth-century records describe temples housing
Maiden: she was a cloud vila forced to become the wife of
warrior idols of Indo-European heritage and religious cere-
a mortal when he stole her wings; later she finds her wings
monies presided over by a priestly order. Enough evidence
and flies off to the clouds. The water vila lives near water,
has been preserved to give a fairly clear picture of Slavic reli-
either by mountain lakes and springs or on the seacoast,
gion in that area.
sometimes in caves or pits in the earth. All the vilas can un-
In Christian times, peasants amalgamated Old Europe-
derstand the languages of fish and birds. They often gather
an and Indo-European goddesses and gods with Christian
near water where they dance in a kolo (“circle”). If a human
figures and saints into a typically Slavic folk religion. They
interrupts their kolo, they may blind him or make him dance
preserved those heathen images that were best suited to their
until he drops dead. Sometimes, the vilas dance their kolo in
agrarian way of life. Strongly preserved are Mother Earth and
the clouds.
Corn Mother; Iarilo, the stimulator of crops; Perun, a stimu-
In Slavic folklore vilas are associated with diseases and
lator of slumbering vegetation and purifier of evil powers;
injuries. Nevertheless, they can also heal wounds with herbs
and personifications of the moon and the dawn. Of these,
and can cure grave afflictions, especially blindness and bar-
Mother Earth was revered most of all; even in the field of
renness.
law her powers were great. The thunder god, Perun, remains
influential to this very day, appearing in the battle with cos-
Rusalkas. Descriptions of rusalkas vary from region to
mic chaos in the shape of a serpent or dragon hiding in whirl-
region. They are sometimes said to live in the forest, but in
winds.
most accounts they are reported to live at the bottom of lakes
and rivers, in the deepest water. The rusalka is seen as the
SEE ALSO Baltic Religion; Germanic Religion; Indo-
mistress of water, the female counterpart of the male spirit
European Religions.
of water, the vodianoi. In early Russian religion, water itself
was personified and venerated, often in the form of a female
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Afanas’ev, A. N., ed. Poeticheskie vozzreniia slavian na prirodu
spirit.
(1865–1869). 3 vols. Reprint, The Hague, 1969–1970.
The rusalka is depicted as a beautiful young woman
Brückner, Alexander. Mitologia slowianska i polska (1918). Re-
with a white body and long, loose, green or gold hair that
print, Warsaw, 1980.
she combs while sitting on a riverbank. Always naked, she
Dordevic´, T. “Veˇstica i vila u naˇsem narodnom verovanju i pre-
loves to swing on branches and to play, sing, and dance. She
danju.” Srpski etnografski zbornik 66 (1953).
entices men off forest paths or lures them into her dance so
Gasparini, Evel. Il matriarcato slavo: Antropologia culturale dei pro-
as to tickle them to death and carry them into the water. In
toslavi. Florence, 1973.
some accounts, the rusalka is said to have a tail like a fish;
Gimbutas, Marija. “Ancient Slavic Religion: A Synopsis.” In To
in other accounts, she is a seven-year-old girl. In northern
Honor Roman Jakobson: Essays on the Occasion of His Seventi-
Russia, the rusalka was believed to be an ugly, hairy old
eth Birthday, vol. 1, pp. 738–759. The Hague, 1967.
woman with long, sagging breasts.
Ivanov, Viacheslav V., and Vladimir N. Toporov. Slavianskie ia-
zykovye modeliruiushchie semioticheskie sistemy: Drevnii peri-
Many narratives attest to the human origin of rusalkas.
od. Moscow, 1965.
They were believed to be the spirits of drowned or strangled
Jakobson, Roman. “Slavic Mythology.” In Funk and Wagnalls
women, young female suicides, or the souls of unbaptized
Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend
dead children (sometimes drowned by their mothers); in
(1949–1950), edited by Maria Leach, vol. 2,
other words, they originated from unclean deaths.
pp. 1025–1028. Reprint, 2 vols. in 1, New York, 1972.
Krauss, F. S. Volksglaube und religiöser Brauch der Südslaven. Mün-
Goblins. In the West and South Slavic areas, goblins
ster, 1890.
were perceived as little men (dwarfs) who, if they were fed
Kuliˇsic´, Sˇpiro. Srpski mitoloˇski reˇcnik. Belgrade, 1970.
and cared for, brought good harvests and money. The Bohe-
Machek, Václav. “Essai comparatif sur la mythologie slave.” Revue
mian ˇsetek or ˇsotek stayed in sheep sheds or hid in pea patches
des études slaves 23 (1947): 48ff.
or wild pear trees. The Slovak ˇskratak, Polish skrzat or skr-
Mansikka, Viljo Johannes. Die Religion der Ostslaven. Helsinki,
zatek, and Slovene ˇskrat (cf. German Schrat) appeared as a
1922.
small bird emitting sparks. The Polish latawiec (“flying gob-
Meyer, Karl Heinrich. Fontes historiae religionis Slavicae. Berlin,
lin”) took the shape of a bird or a snake. A close parallel is
1931.
the Lithuanian aitvaras, who usually appeared as a bird
Moszyn´ski, Kazimierz. Kultura ludowa slowian, vol. 2, Kultura du-
(rooster) or a fiery snake and who brought forth milk prod-
chowa. Cracow, 1939.
ucts and grain. It was generally thought that goblins could
Niederle, Lubor. Manuel de l’antiquité slave, vol. 2, La civilisation.
be hatched from an egg carried for a certain length of time
Paris, 1926. See chapter 6, pages 126–168.
in one’s armpit.
Palm, Thede. Wendische Kultstatten: Quellenkritische Untersuchun-
CONCLUSION. Except in the northwestern Slavic area (pres-
gen zu den letzten Jahrhunderten slavischen Heidentums. Lund,
ent-day Germany), Slavic religion can today be studied only
1937.
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8439
Perkowski, Jan L., ed. Vampires of the Slavs. Cambridge, Mass.,
Siminov, Pyotr. Essential Russian Mythology: Stories that Change the
1976.
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Pettazzoni, Raffaele. “Osservazioni sul paganesimo degli Slavi Oc-
Tokarev, S. A., ed. “Mifi narodov mira [World myths].” Bolshaya
cidentali.” Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni 19–20
Rossijskaya Enciklopedija, vol.1–2. Moscow, 1998.
(1943–1946): 157–169.
Tolstoy, N. I., ed. Slavyanskije drevnosti [Slavic antiquity]. vol.1.
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Moscow, 1995.
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Warren, Elizabeth. Russian Myths. Austin, 2002.
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Tales: A Study in Patterns. Lewiston, N.Y., 1993.
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MARIJA GIMBUTAS (1987)
Reiter, Norbert. “Mythologie der alten Slaven.” In Wörterbuch der
Revised Bibliography
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pp. 165–208. Stuttgart, 1973.
Rybakov. B. A. “Drevnie elementy v russkom narodnom tvor-
SLEEP, as a periodic, recurrent state of inactivity and al-
chestve (Zhenskoe bozhestvo i vsadniki).” Sovetskaia etnogra-
fiia
1 (1948): 90–106.
tered consciousness, marks a boundary line in human experi-
ence. However sleep is culturally evaluated and understood,
Shapiro, Michael. “Baba-Jaga: A Search for Mythopoeic Origins
it is a state quite different from ordinary, waking life. As
and Affinities.” International Journal of Slavic Linguistics and
such, it has been a universal object of religious interest and
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imagination. The various traditions, symbolisms and rituals
Tokarev, Sergei A. Religioznye verovaniia vostochnoslavianskikh
of sleep are closely related to religious understanding of night
narodov XIX-nachala XX veka. Moscow, 1957.
and the role of dreams, to assessments of death, and to
Yankovitch, Nénad. “Le soleil dans l’antiquité serbe.” Antiquités
themes associated with its apparent opposites: dawn and
nationales et internationales (Paris) 4, no. 14–16 (April–
awakening.
December 1963): 70–80.
MYTHOLOGIES OF SLEEP. Figures and notions associated
Zelenin, Dimitri K. Ocherki slavianskoi mifologii. Saint Peters-
with sleep appear in numerous mythologies and folk tradi-
burg, 1916.
tions.
Znayenko, Myroslava T. The Gods of the Ancient Slavs: Tatishchev
and the Beginnings of Slavic Mythology. Columbus, Ohio,
Personifications of sleep. While personified figures of
1980.
sleep appear in mythology, poetry, and artistic representa-
New Sources
tions, they are rarely themselves the focus of cultic activity.
Afanasyev, A. N. Poeticheskiye vozzrenija slavyan na prirodu [Poeti-
The personifications often reveal the ambiguous assessment
cal views of Slavs on Nature], vol.1–3, Moscow, 1995.
of sleep: it is peaceful and restorative, and it is like death. For
Belyakova, G. S. Slavyanskaja mifologija [Slavic mythology]. Mos-
example, while the early Iranian Vispe Ratavo (7.4) can en-
cow, 1995.
join the worship of sleep, sleep is more usually understood
within that tradition to be a negative force controlled by the
Haney, Jack V. Russian Legends. Armonk, N.Y., 2003.
demon Bushyasta; in India, the ambivalent deities Rudra
Ivanits, Linda. Russian Folk Belief. Armonk, N.Y., 1992.
(Kaivalya Upanis:ad 6–9) and S´iva (Un:a¯di Su¯tra 1.153) are
Johnson, Kenneth. Slavic Sorcery: Shamanic Journey of Initiation.
identified as lords of sleep.
St. Paul, Minn., 1998.
The most developed personification of sleep occurs
Kapica, F. S. Slavyanskije tradicionnije verovanija, prazdniki i ritu-
within the Greco-Roman tradition with the archaic figure of
ali [Slavic traditional beliefs, festivities and rituals]. Moscow,
2001.
Hypnos (Lat., Somnus). Schematically, the poet Hesiod
(eighth century BCE) located Hypnos and his brother, Death
Kulikowski, Mark. A Bibliography of Slavic Mythology. Columbus,
(Thanatos), along with the race of Dreams, as the asexually
Ohio, 1989.
produced children of Night. Sleep is the friend of man;
Lofstedt, Torsten M. Russian Legends about Forest Spirits in the
Death, his pitiless adversary (Theogony 211–213, 756–766).
Context of Northern European Mythology. Berkeley, 1993.
In other poetic and artistic materials, the fraternal relations
Perkowski, Jan L. The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism.
of Sleep and Death are further developed; they are twin
Columbus, Ohio, 1989.
brothers (Iliad 14.231). Hypnos or Somnus is personified as
Petruhin, A.Y., T. A. Arapkina, L. N. Vinogradova, and S. M.
a small winged bird, an infant, or a young warrior. In some
Tolstaya, eds. Slavyanskaja mifologija [Slavic mythology].
traditions, Sleep carries a horn or a poppy-stalk from which
Moscow, 1995.
he drips a liquid that causes slumber. The only recorded in-
Ryan, W. F. The Bathhouse at Midnight: A Historical Survey of
stance of a regular cult of sacrifice to Hypnos is at Triozen
Magic and Divination in Russia. University Park, Pa. 1999.
(Pausanius, 2.31.3); rather it is Hermes, in his role as con-
Shaparova, N. S. Kratkaya enciklopedija slavyanskoj mifologii [A
ductor of dreams, who was the object of nightly libations and
short dictionary of Slavic mythology]. Moscow, 2001.
petitions for a good sleep.
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SLEEP
Sleeping gods. At its most complex level, the notion of
fifty-seven years in the Dictaean cave near Knossus, ShimEon
sleeping gods is tied to cosmic cyclical patterns of the period-
bar Yoh:Dai in Palestine for twelve, Zalmoxis in Thrace for
ic dissolution and recreation of the world. Thus Vis:n:u falls
three.
asleep on the back of the cosmic serpent (S´es:a or Ananta) at
The widespread legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephe-
the end of each world-age. In late Puranic texts, Nidra¯, the
sus, first recorded in a Western language by Gregory of
personified goddess of sleep, is depicted as entering Vis:n:u’s
Tours in the sixth century, has also found its way into the
body. Visnu sleeps until Brahma¯ commands Nidra¯ to depart
QurDa¯n (18.8–25); the legend narrates how the seven Chris-
so that Vis:n:u might awake and recreate the cosmos
tian anti-idolators slept in a cave for 367 years before being
(Ma¯rkan:d:eya Puran: 81.53–70). Vis:n:u also is represented as
awakened during the reign of Theodosius II. Subsequently,
undergoing an annual period of sleep. During the monsoon
they returned to sleep, not to be awakened again until the
months, beginning in June and July, Vis:n:u—and therefore
general resurrection. Related, but different from this motif
the world—sleeps (Padma Puran: 63, 125). In late tradi-
of cave hibernation, are the Jewish legends of two figures
tions, Indra is thought to perform Vis:n:u’s functions during
who sleep during a period of tribulation: Abimelech the
this period (Harivam: 50.26).
Ethiopian, who slept for sixty-six years from the destruction
The notion of a deity undergoing periodic durations of
of the Temple by the Babylonians; H:oni ha-MeEaggel (“the
sleep is not uncommon and may be expressed in ritual as well
circle maker”), who slept for seventy years, in one account
as myth. Thus there was an annual Syrian ritual of the
from the destruction of the Temple, in another, from the pe-
“awakening” of Melqart-Herakles (Josephus Flavius, Jewish
riod of the conflict between Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II.
Antiquities 8.146), while, from earliest times through the
Equally persistent, although not well organized into a
Roman period, the daily Egyptian temple service began with
narrative scheme, is the motif of magical sleep most familiar
a hymn awakening the sun (Pyramid Text 573).
from tales such as that of Sleeping Beauty, wherein a potion,
However, gods are most commonly celebrated for being
a spell, or an object causes unnatural sleep that either cannot
sleepless and hence all-seeing. YHVH (Psalm 121:3–4), the
be undone or must be undone by countermagic or by an act
Adityas (R:gveda 2.27.9), Mitra (R:gveda 3.59.1), Ahura
of accidental or innocent intervention.
Mazda¯ (Vid¯evda¯t 19.20), Sraosha (Yasht 11.10–12), and oth-
In heroic quest-sagas, the hero is often put to a test, one
ers are praised for never sleeping. A special motif is that of
of which is that sleep is forbidden until the quest is accom-
a god with multiple eyes, some of which are always open,
plished. The best known instance is a negative example: Gil-
while others are asleep, thereby guaranteeing their omni-
gamesh’s failure to stay awake. In such sagas, the hero fre-
science (for example, Argos and El-Kronos in the account of
quently confronts a sleepless adversary, such as the dragon
Philo of Byblus). The opposite motif, that of the sleeping
in the Argonautica who guards the Golden Fleece until it is
and therefore powerless deity, is represented by Elijah’s
overcome by Jason through the intercession of Medea and
taunts to the priests of Baal (1 Kgs. 18.27–28) and east Euro-
her magic song invoking “Sleep, highest of gods” (Apollonius
pean Christian dualistic creation myths that have the Devil
Rhodius, 4.146).
working while God sleeps during the sabbath that followed
creation.
Soul loss and transformation. A tradition of exceed-
ingly wide distribution is that the soul becomes separated
Sleep in heroic tales and folklore. One of the more
from the body during sleep and that death will result if the
persistent folkloristic themes is that of a lengthy sleep, a Rip
individual is awakened or the body moved before it returns.
Van Winkle motif in which sleep serves as a sort of suspend-
So ubiquitous is this belief that E. B. Tylor thought it one
ed animation for a period of years. While occasionally the
of the basic human experiences that gave rise to religion and
emphasis is on perpetual sleep, conferred as either a punish-
James G. Frazer devoted the third volume of The Golden
ment or a boon (both are claimed in different accounts of
Bough to its ramifications.
the Greek hero Endymion), there is, more frequently, a ter-
minus. Best known is the widely distributed eschatological
Closely related to the theme of the separable soul is the
tale of the Sleeping Emperor, asleep within a cave or moun-
notion that sleep is a time of shape-changing (often expressed
tain. Frederick Barbarossa is held to be asleep within the Ky-
in folklore in accounts of were-animals). These traditions are
ffhäuser, seated at a marble table surrounded by his knights,
most fully elaborated in shamanism. The shaman is, among
awaiting his awakening, when he will lead Germany in a glo-
other things, an expert in the retrieval of lost souls by being
rious battle and usher in a golden age. The same sort of claim
able to achieve a sleeplike trance and pursuing them. In
is made for Charlemagne asleep in a hill near Paderborn,
South America, one of the tests for shamanic abilities is that
Wittekind in Westphalia, Siegfried in Geroldseck, Henry I
the candidate frequently experiences lengthy periods of deep
in Goslar, Thomas of Erceldoune in the Eildon Hills, and
sleep. Throughout shamanism, the return of the shaman
others. These beliefs may at times fuel apocalyptic move-
from an ecstatic journey is most commonly described as an
ments, as in the case of the flagellants of Thuringia, led by
“awakening.” During his journey, the shaman will frequently
Konrad Schmid in the fourteenth century. The same motif
change shape. Snorri Sturlson’s description of the shamanic
occurs in the hagiography of wise men: Epimenides sleeping
attributes of the Norse god Óðinn (Odin) is representative
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8441
of this related set of elements: while his body lay “as if sleep-
also a feature of initiatory ordeals. In Australia, novices are
ing or dead,” he assumed the form of a bird, animal, fish,
prevented from sleeping for periods of up to three days. The
or snake and traveled to far lands “on his own or other men’s
goal in these varied practices appears to be twofold: to tran-
errands” (Ynglingasaga 7).
scend the normal bodily processes and to achieve heightened
consciousness.
RITUALS OF SLEEP. Religious practices related to sleep or the
interruption of sleep are characteristic of many traditions.
METAPHORS OF SLEEP IN RELIGIOUS SPEECH. References to
sleep in myth and religious literature reflect its metaphorical
Social location. Who sleeps with whom is a central
significance as the state of death, ignorance, or enlighten-
question of religious etiquette. This is not only a matter of
ment.
sanctioned sexuality. Within many societies, a mark of male
adulthood is residential segregation in the men’s house, a lo-
Sleep as death. In many languages, sleep is a metaphor
cation of secret rituals forbidden to women. Elements of ritu-
for death. While this may serve as a euphemism, the connec-
als of initiatory separation focus on this shift in social loca-
tion, as the Greek myth of Death and Sleep as twin brothers
tion. In other societies, the blueprint of a domestic house
suggests, is deeper. At one level, there is the physical resem-
represents a map of such social and sexual relations. For ex-
blance of a sleeping body to a corpse. This association is
ample, in central Thailand, only certain members of the fam-
heightened by burial ceremonies that treat the grave or recep-
ily sleep in the bedroom; other close relations may enter the
tacle as a bed and place the corpse in a position of repose (ei-
room but may not sleep there; guests are restricted to an en-
ther prone or sitting). The parallel is stronger in cultures that
trance room, separated from the sleeping room by a clearly
hold that the soul escapes from the sleeper’s body just as it
demarcated threshold.
does from the corpse at death. Finally, there is the view that
the land of the dead is a land of sleep. To return from the
Incubation. Going to a particular sacred place to sleep
dead is to be awakened.
in order to gain a religious end is common. Most frequently
such incubation is for the purpose of gaining a revelation or
Some myths of the origin of death lay emphasis on the
a cure. The former is to be related to similar phenomena such
sleep motif. For example, the SelkDnam of Tierra del Fuego
as the American Indian dream quest; the latter, to the general
tell of the repeated attempts of the ancestors, who were tired
ideology of shrines. Perhaps the most extensive record of in-
of life, to achieve a deep sleep. After many failures, another
cubation is that by Aelius Aristides in the second century
group of ancestors wrap them in blankets and teach them the
who has left, in his Sacred Teachings, a report of his experi-
way of “transformation sleep.” After a few days of such sleep
ences in a variety of Asklepian shrines over a twenty-seven
(i. e., death), they will either be reborn on earth or, if they
year period.
do not wish to return, they will be reborn as another kind
of being or take up a celestial existence.
Sleep interruption or deprivation. The regular inter-
ruption of sleep is a common practice in religious asceticism,
Sleep as ignorance. The understanding of sleep as a ces-
especially in monastic communities. Thus the Christian “ca-
sation of consciousness leads readily to the use of sleep as a
nonical hours” in which monks would be aroused at either
metaphor for ignorance. In gnostic traditions within a diver-
midnight or 2:00 AM for prayer. Similar interruptions figure
sity of religions, sleep, forgetfulness and oblivion have be-
in other spiritual regimens such as the Daoist practice of the
come characteristics of earthly existence. Salvation consists
“expulsion of the breath” that must be undertaken at least
of awakening and recollection. In these traditions, the archa-
five times during the period of midnight to noon.
ic language of the darkness and sleep of the land of the dead
has been transferred to ordinary, mundane existence. The
Sleeplessness is an often recurring feature of religious as-
waking world of light and consciousness has been transferred
ceticism and vision quests. In the lists of five sins that must
to the “beyond.”
be “cut off” by a yogin, sleep appears (Maha¯bha¯rata
12.241.3). Like the sleeplessness of the hero, sleep depriva-
Sleep as enlightenment. While enlightenment is most
tion is the mark of a spiritual athlete. The hagiographies of
frequently expressed in terms of awakening (as in the root
holy persons frequently celebrate either their ability to sleep
budh, “to wake, be awake,” which has given rise to such
far less than ordinary people or to do without sleep entirely.
words as Buddha, bodhisattva, and bodhi, “perfect knowl-
For example, the pre-Christian Syrian Stylites were said to
edge,” all reflecting the sense “to be awake from the slumber
resist sleep for seven days while perched on columns. Accord-
of ignorance and delusion”), it can, at times, be expressed in
ing to legend, if they fell asleep, a scorpion would sting them
the language of sleep. This is especially the case in mystical
awake (Lucian, Syrian Goddess 29). In the traditions of the
systems where lack of consciousness of the world and contact
Christian Desert Fathers, preserved in texts such as Palladi-
with the supramundane is emphasized. In her various writ-
us’s Lausiac History, monks such as Doretheus, Macarius of
ings, Teresa of Ávila uses terms such as sleep, falling asleep,
Alexandria and Pachomius are praised for never sleeping. All-
being numb, repose, languishing, and stupor to describe ecsta-
night vigils, spending days and nights immersed in cold
sy. This builds on the Augustinian tradition that ecstasy is
water, and sleeping only in a sitting position were frequent
a state midway between sleep and death, more than sleep, less
ritual means for achieving sleep deprivation. Sleeplessness is
than death, where the soul is withdrawn from the bodily
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SMART, NINIAN
senses (Augustine, De Genesi ad litteram 12.26.53). In the
Glasgow. Both his father and mother, a published poet and
Indic Upanis:adic tradition, the language of sleep in relation
woman of means, deeply influenced him. Ninian and his two
to enlightenment is further developed. The brief Mandukya
brothers all grew up to become professors in different disci-
Upanis:ad presents the common fourfold schematization: (1)
plines. After school, Smart joined the British Army Intelli-
waking consciousness, (2) dream consciousness, that is, ordi-
gence Corps (1945–1948) and after infantry training was
nary sleep, (3) deep sleep (susupti), a sleep without conscious-
sent to learn Cantonese at the School of Oriental and African
ness or dreams, and, the goal, (4) pure consciousness. Deep
Studies, University of London. Postings to Singapore and
sleep is the realm of the “Knower”; the only danger is to con-
then Sri Lanka provided his first extended contact with Bud-
fuse this penultimate stage with the true gnosis of the fourth
dhism. After demobilization, he joined Queen’s College, Ox-
state.
ford, in 1948 to study classics, ancient history, and philoso-
phy, while continuing his interest in Chinese and Asian
SEE ALSO Asklepios; Consciousness, States of; Dreams; Sha-
studies, later supplemented by Sanskrit and Pali at Yale.
manism; Shape Shifting.
Graduate studies at Oxford in the philosophy of religion
were combined with the comparative study of religions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Working with J. L. Austin and R. C. Zaehner, Smart pres-
Material on sleep can be gleaned from monographs on related top-
ented the first postwar dissertation in philosophy of religion
ics—for example, the classic study of incubation by Ludwig
at Oxford, later published as Reasons and Faiths: An Investiga-
Deubner, De incubatione (Leipzig, 1900)—and from the
tion of Religious Discourse, Christian and Non-Christian
large body of literature on dreams, of which Ernesto de Mar-
(1958).
tino’s Il sogno e le civiltà umane (Bari, 1966) is most useful.
Still, there is no reliable cross-cultural overview of sleep. The
At Oxford he met Libushka Baruffaldi, and they were
chapter on the interrelationships of sleep, death, and the
married in 1954, Libushka providing loving support that
erotic titled “On the Wings of the Morning: The Pornogra-
sustained him and their four children throughout his long
phy of Death” in Emily Townsend Vermeule’s Aspects of
career. Smart’s first post was a lectureship in philosophy at
Death in Early Greek Art and Poetry (Berkeley, 1979) is an
exemplary study that needs to be matched for other cultures.
University College of Wales, Aberystwyth (1952–1956), fol-
lowed by appointments in the history and philosophy of reli-
JONATHAN Z. SMITH (1987)
gion at King’s College, London University (1956–1961),
and then as first H. G. Wood Professor of Theology at Bir-
mingham University (1961–1967). In 1967, Lancaster Uni-
versity appointed Smart as founding professor of religious
SMART, NINIAN. Roderick Ninian Smart (1927–
studies, a position he held till 1982. Together with his col-
2001)—usually cited without his first name—was one of the
leagues, Smart brought the Lancaster Religious Studies De-
most influential religion scholars of the twentieth century.
partment to great international renown, promoting the his-
Combining academic and personal leadership with a gener-
torical, phenomenological, and social-scientific study of
osity of spirit and gracious personality, he was loved and
religion. During his time there, more than twenty Sri Lankan
cherished by many people all over the world. Praised by col-
students obtained a doctorate in religious studies at Lancas-
leagues and students as an imaginative, inspiring teacher who
ter, and more than one hundred Lancaster religion graduates
possessed both lightness of touch and depth of learning, he
later held posts in higher education worldwide. He also
enjoyed a high academic profile and wide international influ-
served as pro-vice-chancellor of Lancaster University (1969–
ence, especially in the English-speaking world. His prolific
1972). Later, Lancaster University awarded him its highest
output established his worldwide reputation, based on an
honor as honorary professor of religious studies, and he be-
immense range of knowledge and a compassionate concern
came emeritus in 1989.
for humane and universal values. His careful attention to the
intricate details of different religions, philosophies, and cul-
From 1976 on, Smart was also professor of religious
tures was always set within a larger global vision transcending
studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, divid-
narrow tribal and national boundaries. Intent upon promot-
ing his time for some years between Lancaster and California.
ing personal and social well-being, he authored, edited and
In 1986 he became the first J. F. Rowny Professor in the
co-edited more than forty books (which were translated into
Comparative Study of Religion, a position he held until his
many other languages) and over 250 articles, essays, chapters,
retirement in 1998. In 1996 he was named the Academic
and encyclopedia entries. His writings on the study of reli-
Senate’s research professor, the highest academic honor of
gion have influenced generations of students and scholars
the University of California for its faculty. Smart chaired de-
and also a wide general readership eager to learn about world
partments at the Universities of London, Birmingham, Lan-
religions and philosophies.
caster, and at Santa Barbara. He was elected president of the
BIOGRAPHY AND SCHOLARLY ACHIEVEMENTS. Born in
major learned societies in his field, the British Association for
Cambridge, England, to Scottish parents on May 6, 1927,
the History of Religion (1981–1985), the American Society
Smart was educated at Glasgow Academy after his father had
for the Study of Religion (1984–1987), and the American
become Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of
Academy of Religion (1998–2000). He was awarded seven
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SMART, NINIAN
8443
honorary doctorates, including degrees from Loyola Univer-
APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS. Smart wrote ex-
sity, Chicago, and the Universities of Glasgow, Stirling, Ke-
tensively—and, in the eyes of certain critics, sometimes too
laniya (Sri Lanka), Lancaster, and Middlesex. In 1999,
superficially—on most religious traditions in the modern
Queen’s College, Oxford, where he had studied, made him
world. He became well known through the five editions of
an honorary fellow.
his widely used textbook, The Religious Experience (first pub-
Smart was frequently invited as guest lecturer and visit-
lished as The Religious Experience of Mankind, 1969), later
ing professor at, among other institutions, Yale, Wisconsin,
superseded by The World’s Religions: Old Traditions and
Princeton, Banaras, Queensland, Otago, Cape Town, Ban-
Modern Transformations (1989). His early work in the phi-
galore, and Hong Kong. His Heslington Lectures at the Uni-
losophy of religion dealt with questions of truth and dia-
versity of York (1966) were published as Secular Education
logue, combined with an interest in the study of Buddhism
and the Logic of Religion (1968). His Gifford Lectures at the
and Hinduism. Smart went on to develop a phenomenologi-
University of Edinburgh (1979–1980) appeared as Beyond
cally grounded, multidisciplinary, cross-cultural approach to
Ideology: Religion and the Future of Western Civilization
the comparative study of religious traditions ancient and
(1981/1982), and his Drummond Lectures at the University
modern, what he later called the study of “worldviews” and
of Stirling (1985) as Religion and the Western Mind (1987).
“ideologies.” He also spoke of religious studies as “aspectual,”
Other prestigious lectures included the Stewart Seminars at
“dealing with a vital aspect of human institutions and experi-
Princeton University (1971), resulting in a major theoretical
ence,” exploring the power that religion exercised over the
work, The Science of Religion and the Sociology of Knowledge
human mind, imagination, societies, and cultures. Without
(1973/1978); the Chavara Lectures at the Center for Indian
denying the necessity of philology, he emphasized the need
and Inter-Religious Studies, Rome (1993); and the Dharma
for clear conceptual analysis and attention to “religion on the
Endowment Lectures at Dharmaram College, Bangalore
ground,” requiring a social-science approach.
(1997).
Smart’s work has made important contributions to the-
Smart was strongly committed to wider issues in reli-
ory and method in the study of religion, comparative ethics,
gious education. He was prominent in setting up the Shap
religious education, sociology of religion, and studies in poli-
Working Party on World Religions in Education (1969),
tics and religion. Much of the theoretical orientation of his
aimed at helping teachers in English schools to introduce the
vast program is lucidly summarized in his two inaugural ad-
study of world religions into the curriculum. As one of its
dresses, “The Principles and Meaning of the Study of Reli-
founding co-chairs and a subsequent president, Smart pro-
gion” (1968) and, twenty years later, “The Study of Religion
vided significant leadership and, in 1969, was appointed di-
as a Multidisciplinary and Cross-cultural Presence among
rector of the Schools Council Project on Religious Education
the Human Sciences” (1989), where he also announced his
in Secondary Schools, which he was instrumental in estab-
intention to undertake a future study of a universal human
lishing in Lancaster. The related Project on Religious Educa-
“grammar of symbolism,” once he had completed his work
tion in Primary Schools was set up under his direction in
on world philosophies. Unfortunately, his early demise pre-
1973. Through his close collaboration with the acclaimed
vented this promising plan from coming to fruition.
BBC television series The Long Search (1974–1977), dealing
with the religions of the world (though not those of Africa),
His second book, A Dialogue of Religions (1960/1981)
and through his association with the popular Open Universi-
presents an imaginary dialogue between six different people
ty religious studies program in Britain he exercised extensive
(a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Sri Lankan Bud-
public influence. With several British colleagues Smart was
dhist, and a Japanese Buddhist), covering topics from rebirth
also, in 1971, cofounder of the internationally known jour-
and salvation to the worship of God, incarnation and history,
nal Religion: A Journal of Religion and Religions, now edited
Buddhism, and the Trinity. The book reflects Smart’s sym-
in Lancaster and California.
pathetic imagination and his capacity to understand the dia-
logical process. Many consider his early Doctrine and Argu-
An extensive traveler, Smart attended innumerable con-
ment in Indian Philosophy (1964/1992) to be his finest and
ferences and meetings, always encouraging younger scholars.
technically most accomplished work. It showed an excellent
His friends knew him as a keen cricket and tennis player who
grasp of complex issues in Indian philosophy and was inno-
greatly enjoyed family life, conviviality, and good conversa-
vative in not using Sanskrit or Pali words in the text, but in-
tion; and as someone who doodled, wrote limericks and
stead giving their English translation, supplemented by an
poems (some published as Smart Verse, 1996), drew car-
annotated glossary explaining the original Pali and Sanskrit
toons, and painted with water colors. Smart was looking for-
words. Another helpful but less well-known study on Indian
ward to a long, active retirement but, soon after his perma-
thought is The Yogi and the Devotee: The Interplay between
nent return to Lancaster, he died unexpectedly on January,
the Upanishads and Catholic Theology (1968), based on his
29, 2001. This tragic loss occasioned warm tributes from for-
Teape Lectures given in Delhi and Calcutta in 1964.
mer colleagues, friends, and students around the world. The
many memorial celebrations and colloquia honoring this
Smart’s writings on education date mainly from the late
eminent scholar seem already to have moved his life and
1960s to the mid-1970s. Secular Education and the Logic of
work into the realm of legend.
Religion (1968) was influential in shaping the form and con-
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SMART, NINIAN
tent of British religious education by arguing: (1) the plural-
in the comparative study of religion, in philosophy of reli-
ist nature of society; (2) the neutrality of the state with regard
gion, or in education. His writings can be seen as mirroring
to religious matters; and (3) the need for a disinterested, rath-
some of the important developments in the modern study
er than confessional, study of religion at all levels of educa-
of religion without including more recent theoretical issues
tion. This book championed a nondogmatic, multi-faith ap-
developed by poststructuralist, postcolonial, and feminist
proach through the use of a phenomenological method that
critics. Although sometimes criticized as too broad-ranging,
promoted empathetic understanding and objectivity. It also
Smart’s work advocates a strong pluralist position and pos-
first introduced Smart’s account of the multidimensional
sesses a genuine inclusiveness, reflecting the ability to repre-
character of religion, later widely diffused through The Reli-
sent “the other” through a deep empathy that is rare among
gious Experience and subsequent publications, such as World-
scholars. Although one might not always agree with a partic-
views: Crosscultural Explorations of Human Beliefs (1995/
ular thesis, his ideas throw light on many different problems
2000) and Dimensions of the Sacred: An Anatomy of the
in the study of religion.
World’s Beliefs (1996). These dimensions are the doctrinal or
philosophical, mythic or narrative, ethical or legal, ritual or
Smart carried his brilliance and learning lightly, advo-
practical, experiential or emotional, and social or organiza-
cating that “the understanding of religion is not only impor-
tional, to which he later added the artistic or material and
tant in itself, but it can be fun.” He also maintained that
the political or economic. These describe religions as they
being religious is more important than studying religion. His
exist rather than reducing them to their origins and func-
scholarly achievements and the wide diffusion of his work
tions. It is wholly appropriate to speak, as some do, of a
owe much to his effective use of the media. Described as a
Smartian six- (or eight-) dimensional approach to the study
peripatetic scholar of religion, philosopher, comparative
of religion, which many have found illuminating in reaching
theologian, poet, and global citizen, Smart’s personality was
conceptual clarity and empathetic understanding of religious
in many ways as important as his approaches to the study of
traditions and secular ideologies.
religion. He once wrote, “the study of religion is a science
that requires a sensitive and artistic heart,” and he embodied
Among Smart’s last books were an Atlas of the World’s
this more than most. A more nuanced interpretation of his
Religions (1999) and World Philosophies (1999), which begins
achievements and the historical significance of his oeuvre is
with the “one world” theme and shows his continuing explo-
still to come, but it is imperative that all that is most original,
ration of philosophical diversity, including that of African
innovative, and best in his work will be carried on by others
philosophies, within a new worldview of global pluralism.
for whom his legacy remains both inspiring and challenging.
Described as “the heaviest book he has written,” its impres-
sively wide sweep and inclusiveness are its great strengths, re-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
flecting immense learning, though it has been judged as “too
Extensive bibliographical references to Smart’s works, though not
ambitious and too reductive,” pleasing neither the specialist
complete, can be found in the two Festschrift publications
nor the general reader. Others assess it more positively, for
that appeared during his lifetime (giving him great pleasure):
it shows Smart’s continuing preoccupation with important
Aspects of Religion: Essays in Honour of Ninian Smart, edited
philosophical issues, his clarity of perception and acuity of
by Peter Masefield and Don Wiebe (New York, 1994), and
mind, and an astute observation of a fast-changing global
The Future of Religion: Postmodern Perspectives, Essays in Hon-
scene.
our of Ninian Smart, edited by Christopher Lamb and Dan
Cohn-Sherbok (London, 1999). Lancaster University is de-
SIGNIFICANCE AND LEGACY. Smart was a great pragmatist,
veloping the Ninian Smart Archive and a bibliography,
but also a pioneer, prophet, and visionary. The newly emerg-
which will list all of Smart’s publications, from the strictly
ing global civilization was for him “an age of opportunity”
academic to the merely flippant and entertaining. A good
requiring a balance between personalism and pluralism.
overview of Smart’s wide research can be gained from John
Speaking of “a creative critical pluralism” arising out of the
J. Shepherd, ed., Ninian Smart on World Religions: Collected
interactive encounter of different cultures, and a new “tran-
Works, 2 vols. (Aldershot, UK, 2005), which brings together
scendental humanism,” he affirmed: “It is the mutual inter-
key articles in the theory and method of the study of religion,
penetration of cultures through empathy that the compara-
religious education, philosophy of religion, interfaith dia-
logue, comparative ethics, Buddhism and Hinduism, reli-
tive study of religion offers as a major ingredient in the
gious traditions in the modern world, and religions and wor-
formation of a peaceful global city” (Beyond Ideology, 1981,
ldview analysis. Smart himself published two collections of
p. 312). He strongly opposed the ghettoization of religious
selected articles: Concept and Empathy: Essays in the Study of
studies and dispassionately pleaded for treating all symbolic
Religion, edited by Donald Wiebe (London and New York,
systems or worldviews together, calling for a deeper conversa-
1986), a compilation of previously published articles that
tion between the different religions through the creation of
contains his Lancaster University inaugural address, “The
a new umbrella organization, a global academy of religion.
Principles and Meaning in the Study of Religion”; and Re-
flections in the Mirror of Religion
, edited by John Burris (Lon-
It is too early for a full critical assessment of Smart’s con-
don and New York, 1997). Smart’s approach to religious ex-
tribution to the study of religion. Only time will tell which
perience has been analyzed by Jose Kuruvachira, Religious
of his numerous works and ideas will be of lasting influence
Experience Buddhist, Christian, Hindu: A Critical Study of
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SMITH, HANNAH WHITALL
8445
Ninian Smart’s Interpretation of the Numinous and the Mysti-
Bible, whose unfailing care for humankind she portrayed in
cal (New Delhi, 2003).
both its fatherly and motherly expressions. The love and
Smart’s work was referred to several times in the first edition of
bounty of her childhood milieu later defined the pivotal
The Encyclopedia of Religion, edited by Mircea Eliade (New
point of her understanding of the mature Christian’s experi-
York, 1987), to which he contributed the articles on “Soteri-
ence of God: “God is enough!” With these givens, early in
ology” (vol. 13, pp. 418–423) and “Comparative-Historical
her life as an evangelical believer, Smith also concluded that
Method” (vol. 3, pp. 571–574), themes that are also dis-
God’s infinite love and power would ultimately bring all er-
cussed in his The Science of Religion and the Sociology of
rant humankind back into his family. The heretical tones of
Knowledge (Princeton, 1973).
this “restitutionism” sometimes threatened Smith’s standing
In addition to the publications cited in the entry above, other
within the evangelical community. However, her adherence
books by Smart include Philosophers and Religious Truth
to an early promise she had made to a group of English evan-
(London, 1964/1969); The Philosophy of Religion (New York,
gelicals to never promote her “heresy” publicly allowed her
1970/1979); The Phenomenon of Religion (London, 1973/
to develop and maintain the spiritual authority she came to
1978); New Movements in Religious Education, co-edited with
command in these circles.
Donald Horder (London, 1975); The Phenomenon of Chris-
tianity
(London, 1979), also published as In Search of Chris-
Smith married Philadelphia Quaker Robert Pearsall
tianity: Discovering the Diverse Vitality of Christian Life (San
Smith (1827–1898) in 1851. Her plans to pursue higher ed-
Francisco, 1979); and Sacred Texts of the World: A Universal
ucation came to an abrupt end with the birth of the first of
Anthology, co-edited with Richard D. Hecht (New York,
1982), wherein Smart’s different dimensions of religion are
their six children (only three survived into adulthood). The
used for the arrangement of selected texts, including passages
rise of spiritual renewal movements within American and
from new religions and secular worldviews. Smart’s interests
British Protestantism in 1859 led the Smiths to embrace the
in comparative theology and what some call his “theological
evangelical understanding of the authority of the Christian
intentions,” are evident from The Concept of Worship (Lon-
scriptures over the priority the Friends traditionally had
don and New York, 1972); his Christian Systematic Theology
given to the more mystical guidance of each individual’s
in a World Context, coauthored with Steven Konstantine
“inner light.” The Smiths both professed evangelical conver-
(London and Minneapolis, 1991); and Buddhism and Chris-
sion and resigned from the Society. After rejecting the rigid
tianity: Rivals and Allies (London and Honolulu, 1993).
biblicism of the Plymouth Brethren, Smith turned to the
Smart’s Gifford Lectures were published as Beyond Ideology:
Wesleyan Holiness revivalism sponsored by a group of Meth-
Religion and the Future of Western Civilization (London,
1981; San Francisco, 1982). His own religious beliefs are
odist ministers called the National Holiness Association,
perhaps most clearly delineated in “An Ultimate Vision” in
which shaped her theology and message for the next twenty
Ultimate Visions: Reflections on the Religions We Choose, ed-
years. The openness of Wesleyan churches and camp meet-
ited by Martin Forward, pp. 257–265 (Oxford, 1995).
ings to women’s public ministry allowed Smith to quickly
Themes relating to religion, politics, and nationalism are taken up
become a favored teacher and evangelist. The nonsectarian
in many of Smart’s writings, but are especially focused on in
nature of the revival opened up similar engagements for
Mao (London, 1974); Religion and Politics in the Modern
Smith within the parallel Calvinist-oriented Holiness move-
World, co-edited with Peter H. Merkl (New York and Lon-
ment, which was rising in many Presbyterian and other Re-
don, 1983/1985); and in Religion and Nationalism: The Ur-
formed churches.
gency of Transnational Spirituality and Toleration (Rome,
1994). Personal appreciations of Ninian Smart as a col-
European sales of Smith’s brief account of the life of her
league, scholar, teacher, and friend are found in “Tributes to
son Frank (1854–1872), who died while a student at Prince-
Ninian Smart (1927–2001)” in Religion 31, no. 4 (2001):
ton, introduced her to the Protestant communities of En-
315–386.
gland and Europe. The enthusiastic reception of the 1875
publication of her spiritual manual The Christian’s Secret of
URSULA KING (2005)
a Happy Life assured her a prominent role in the European
revival. (The devotional classic became one of the best-sellers
of all nineteenth century publications and remains one of the
SMITH, HANNAH WHITALL (1832–1911), au-
most widely read guides to evangelical spirituality.) Smith
thor, evangelist, and social activist, was born to birthright
became known as “The Angel of the Churches.” She played
Quaker parents in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February
the central role in an eclectic group of participants at the an-
7, 1832. Frustrations with her slow spiritual progress as a
nual holiness camp meetings held at the Broadlands estate
young Quaker girl immersed in the troubled Quakerism of
of Lord and Lady Mount-Temple, along with author George
her time cast the only shadows over what she otherwise de-
Macdonald (1824–1905), African American evangelist
scribes as her “sunshine years.” Her early journals give strong
Amanda Smith (1837–1915), who had accompanied Han-
intimations of the concepts that later became the central
nah to England, and hundreds of Oxford and Cambridge
themes of her ministry as a spiritual guide. The unfailing
students caught up in the continuing holiness renewal move-
provision of loving— even doting— parents shaped her un-
ment. At the Brighton Convention for the promotion of
derstanding of the “unselfishness” of the loving God of the
Christian holiness in May 1875, where more than 8,000 En-
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SMITH, JOSEPH
glish and Continental clergy and lay persons gathered to dis-
brother-in-law, a director of Johns Hopkins. Her views on
cuss the theology and life advocated by the Smiths, her teach-
women’s higher education strongly influenced her niece
ing sessions on the higher Christian life regularly attracted
Martha Carey Thomas, the first dean and second president
5000 attendees.
of Bryn Mawr College, who became Hannah’s surrogate in
fulfillment of the educational ambitions that had been de-
At the height of the revival’s influence, questions arose
nied her. Both of Mary’s children whom Hannah reared, Ray
as to her husband Robert’s moral and doctrinal integrity, and
Strachey (1887–1940) a social activist, and Karin Stephen
Hannah and he abruptly returned to the United States. The
(1887–1953), one of the first Freudian psychoanalysts, mar-
work of the previous two years, however, left a formative and
ried into the Bloomsbury circle. William Lloyd Tennyson,
lasting imprint on world Protestantism. In Germany, Scan-
George Bernard Shaw, Sydney Webb, Lytton Strachey
dinavia and Switzerland the old pietistic “Fellowship Move-
(1880–1932), Vanessa Bell (1879–1961) and Virginia
ments” in the established Lutheran and Reformed churches
Woolf (1882 –1941) among many others, were frequent visi-
were revived. In Germany, the Inner City Movement was ac-
tors at Smith’s home. Her children and their spouses and
tivated to urban social reform. The Wesleyan free churches
guests didn’t hesitate to talk with Smith about her rigid ad-
on the continent were strengthened and new non-
herence to her Quaker and evangelical mores. An invalid for
denominational holiness associations were formed, which by
the last seven years of her life, she remained alert and in-
the turn of the twentieth century became the source of new
volved. Her granddaughter Ray Strachey took her in her
European holiness and Pentecostal bodies. The most influen-
wheel chair to demonstrate at the Parliament building before
tial of all such associations was the Keswick Convention,
a critical vote on women’s suffrage. Ray also published Han-
through which missionary and student volunteer programs
nah’s last work: Group Movements of the Past and Experiments
spread the Holiness/Higher-Life message throughout evan-
in Guidance (1934), which presented her views and concerns
gelical Protestantism.
for the numerous religious renewal movements she has par-
After their return to America Smith and her husband
ticipated in or observed for over half a century.
both turned their energies to new interests: he to a position
Smith’s son Logan (1865–1946), Oxford professor of
with her family’s glass business, and she to raising her chil-
literature and author of the trivia genre in English literature,
dren, her writing, and active involvement in social reform
shared his home with Smith until her death in 1911.
while still maintaining a lifetime ministry as counselor to the
constant stream of inquirers who contacted her. She was the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
first president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Woman’s
Dieter, Melvin. “The Smiths: A Biographical Sketch with Selected
Christian Temperance Union in 1874 and was influential in
Items from the Collection.” Asbury Seminarian 38, no. 2
electing her friend Frances Willard (both women had deep
(spring 1983): 6–42.
roots within the Holiness revival movement) as president of
Dieter, Melvin E. The Holiness Revival of the Nineteenth Century.
the Union in 1879 on a reform platform which supported
2d ed. Lanham, Md., 1996.
women’s suffrage as well as temperance. Smith later became
the director of the evangelism division of the WCTU, a
Parker, Robert Allerton. The Transatlantic Smiths. New York,
1959.
training ground for women evangelists who were denied a
public platform by their denominations. She also introduced
Smith, Hannah Whitall. The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life.
Frances Willard to the leaders of the British temperance
Old Tappan, N.J., 1875.
movement, leading to the organization of the World Chris-
Smith, Hanna Whitall. The Unselfishness of God and How I Discov-
tian Temperance Union.
ered It: My Spiritual Autobiography. New York, 1903.
The Smiths moved to England in 1888 to be near their
Smith, Hannah Whitall. Living in the Sunshine. Chicago, 1906.
daughter Mary (1864–1945) and her children. Hannah
Smith, Logan Pearsall, ed. A Religious Rebel: The Letters of
quickly became a featured speaker on behalf of various re-
“H.W.S.” (Mrs. Pearsall Smith). London, 1949. Published in
form causes in Anglican Churches, free churches, public fes-
the United States as Philadelphia Quaker: The Letters of Han-
tivals, and even at Westminster Abbey. The Smiths previous
nah Whitall Smith. New York, 1950.
contacts with William and Henry James, Walt Whitman,
Strachey, Barbara. Remarkable Relations: The Story of the Pearsall
family members closely connected with Johns Hopkins and
Smith Family. New York and London, 1980.
other American colleges and universities, along with a circle
Strachey, Ray, ed. Religious Fanaticism: Extracts from the Papers of
of social contacts associated with the marriages of her chil-
Hannah Whitall Smith. London, 1928.
dren, placed the Smith family in regular contact with a cele-
MELVIN E. DIETER (2005)
brated circle of artists and intelligentsia. Mary’s first husband
was Frank Costello (1855–1899), a member of Parliament.
Her second husband was Bernard Berenson (1865–1959)
celebrated art historian. Her daughter Alys (1867–1951) was
SMITH, JOSEPH (1805–1844), the founder of the
the first wife of Bertrand Russell (1872–1970). Hannah ne-
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, popularly
gotiated Russell’s first American lectureship through her
known as the Mormons. Joseph Smith, Jr. was perhaps the
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SMITH, JOSEPH
8447
most original, most successful, and most controversial of sev-
were ordinary funerary documents—though the Church has
eral religious innovators—including Ellen Gould White
continued to accept The Book of Abraham as canonical.
(Seventh-day Adventists), Mary Baker Eddy (Christian Sci-
ence), and Charles Taze Russell (Jehovah’s Witnesses)—who
In the meantime, Smith also established settlements in
created important religious movements in nineteenth-
Missouri, which he regarded as the center of a future Zion.
century America.
In 1838 economic difficulties and internal dissension forced
Smith to give up the Kirtland settlement. His intention of
Born in Sharon, Vermont, on December 23, 1805,
gathering all the Saints in Missouri, however, had to be de-
Smith was the third of the nine children of Joseph and Lucy
ferred after the Mormons were ruthlessly driven from the
Mack Smith. He grew up in the unchurched and dissenting,
state in 1839. It was in Nauvoo, a settlement founded in
but God-fearing, tradition of a New England Protestant bib-
1839 on the Mississippi River, that Smith further expanded
lical culture, which attracted many of those whose economic
his ambitious vision of a Mormon empire that was to be both
standing in established society had been eroded. In 1816,
spiritual and temporal. By 1844 Nauvoo had become the
plagued by hard times and misfortune, the sturdy, self-
largest city in Illinois, with a population of about eleven
reliant, and closely-knit Smith family left New England for
thousand. This city was under the full religious, social, eco-
western New York in search of economic betterment; they
nomic, and political control of the Mormon kingdom, with
settled in the village of Palmyra, along the route of the Erie
Joseph Smith as its charismatic leader.
Canal.
Some historians suggest that he may have become
During the 1820s, as the Smiths continued to struggle
touched by megalomania; he assumed leadership of the Mor-
against economic reversals, the religiously inclined young
mon militia in the resplendent uniform of a lieutenant gener-
man had a number of visions and revelations. These con-
al and announced his candidacy for the presidency of the
vinced him that he was to be the divinely appointed instru-
United States. Smith ostensibly made his gesture toward the
ment for the restoration of the gospel, which in the opinion
presidency in order to avoid making a politically difficult
of many of his contemporaries had been corrupted. Under
choice between the two major parties, but he was also im-
the guidance of an angel he unearthed a set of golden plates
bued with the millennial belief that if God wanted him to
from a hill near his parents’ farm. He translated these golden
be president and establish Mormon dominion in the United
plates with divine aid and published the result in 1830 as the
States, no one could hinder him. Innovative ordinances, such
Book of Mormon. Smith claimed that this book, named after
as baptism for the dead, and especially plural marriage—with
its ancient American author and compiler, was the sacred his-
Smith and his closest associates secretly taking numerous
tory of the pre-Columbian inhabitants of America, migrants
wives—offended the religious sensibilities of some Mor-
from the Near East, some of whom were the ancestors of the
mons. Likewise, controversial doctrines such as pre-
American Indians. In 1829 divine messengers had conferred
existence, metaphysical materialism, eternal progression, the
the priesthood—the authority to baptize and act in the name
plurality of gods, and the ability of humans to become divine
of God—on Smith and his associate Oliver Cowdery. Short-
through the principles of Mormonism, failed to gain univer-
ly after the publication of the Book of Mormon, Smith and
sal acceptance among the Saints. A group of alarmed anti-
Cowdery officially organized the Church of Christ in Fayet-
Mormons effectively capitalized on internal dissent and were
te, New York, on April 6, 1830. In 1838 the name was
able to organize a mob that killed Smith and his brother
changed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hyrum on June 27, 1844.
Prominent among those attracted to Smith’s teachings
History has shown the killers of the Mormon prophet
was Sidney Rigdon, erstwhile associate of Alexander Camp-
wrong in thinking that they had delivered a mortal blow to
bell. Rigdon invited Smith and his New York followers to
Mormonism, although their crime was an implicit recogni-
establish a Mormon settlement in Kirtland, Ohio. It was
tion of Smith’s crucial role in creating and sustaining the new
there that Smith greatly amplified and broadened his theo-
religion. It was his spirituality, imagination, ego, drive, and
logical and organizational principles in a series of revelations
charisma that not only started Mormonism but kept it going
(first published in 1833 as the Book of Commandments, and
in the face of nearly insurmountable internal and external
later enlarged into the current, canonical Doctrine and Cove-
opposition. At the same time, these were the very characteris-
nants). The Saints were enjoined to gather in communities
tics that had generated much of that opposition. Smith’s was
as God’s chosen people under an egalitarian economic sys-
a multifaceted and contradictory personality. Reports of en-
tem called the Law of Consecration and Stewardship. They
counters with him by both non-Mormons and believers give
were also directed to build a temple as the sacred center of
the impression of a tall, well-built, handsome man whose vi-
the community. These revelations initiated a patriarchal
sionary side was tempered by Yankee practicality, geniality,
order that harkened back to Old Testament traditions. An-
and a sense of humor that engendered loyalty in willing fol-
other ancient source was Smith’s translation of some Egyp-
lowers. Though after his death his followers could not all
tian papyri published as The Book of Abraham in 1842. This
agree on precisely what he had taught and split into several
work became a source of some controversy when a modern
factions, they all accepted Smith’s central messages of the res-
translation published in 1968 suggested that these papyri
toration of the gospel and the divine status of the Book of
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8448
SMITH, MORTON
Mormon, continuing revelation by prophets, and the estab-
ted in 1945, accepted in 1948, and published in English
lishment of the kingdom of God with Christ as its head.
translation as Tannaitic Parallels to the Gospels (1951). From
1948 to 1950 he returned to Harvard Divinity School, where
SEE ALSO Mormonism.
he eventually earned a Th.D. in 1957 with a controversial
thesis, eventually published in 1971 as Palestinian Parties and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Politics That Shaped the Old Testament. His first teaching ap-
The literature on Joseph Smith is as controversial as his life. Most
pointments were as instructor and then assistant professor in
of the anti-Smith polemics are based on affidavits collected
biblical literature at Brown University (1950–1955), fol-
by Mormon apostate Philastus Hurlbut and published by
lowed by a year as visiting professor in the history of religions
Eber D. Howe as Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, Ohio,
1834). Smith’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith, presented the
at Drew University (1956–1957). In 1957 he was appointed
other side in Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet
successor to Elias J. Bickerman as professor of ancient history
(1853; reprint, New York, 1969). History of the Church of
at Columbia University. He held this chair until his retire-
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by Joseph Smith, Jr., 2d rev.
ment in 1985, though he continued to teach at Columbia,
ed., 6 vols., edited by B. H. Roberts (Salt Lake City, 1950)
in the Department of Religion, until shortly before his death
is an indispensable source collection. The most authoritative
on July 11, 1991.
account of Smith’s family background and early career is
Richard L. Bushman’s Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of
Smith was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1946 and
Mormonism (Urbana, Ill., 1984).
served in parishes in Baltimore (1946–1948) and Boston
The nineteenth-century theory that the Book of Mormon was Sid-
(1949–1950). Though he never officially left the priest-
ney Rigdon’s plagiarized version of a novel by Solomon
hood—he continued to be listed in the Episcopal Clerical Di-
Spaulding was first demolished by I. Woodbridge Riley in
rectory until the end of his life—he held no subsequent
The Founder of Mormonism: A Psychological Study of Joseph
church-related positions. During his later life many consid-
Smith, Jr. (New York, 1902). David Persuitte has revived the
ered him an atheist, but it would probably be more accurate
argument that the Book of Mormon, especially its claim for
to call him an agnostic.
the Israelite origins of the American Indians, was influenced
by Ethan Smith’s View of the Hebrews (Poultney, Vt., 1823)
Throughout his life, one of Smith’s principal scholarly
in Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon (Jeffer-
interests remained the question of boundaries between disci-
son, N.C., 2000). The first modern interpretation is Fawn
plines, groups, and religions. On the one hand, he endeav-
M. Brodie’s No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph
ored to show the inadequacies of commonly accepted
Smith, the Mormon Prophet (1945; 2d ed., rev. & enl., New
boundaries. On the other hand, he undertook with equal
York, 1971), which advances a psychoanalytic interpretation
passion to highlight the overlooked distinctions between sep-
and sees him as a product of his cultural environment. Mor-
arate groups within ancient Judaism and early Christianity.
mons prefer Donna Hill’s less critical Joseph Smith, the First
He was equally at ease in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and his
Mormon (Garden City, N. Y., 1977), though scholars cannot
afford to bypass Brodie. The most successful attempt to
work frequently involved more than one discipline from
avoid the prophet-fraud dichotomy is Jan Shipps’s Mormon-
among biblical studies, classics, rabbinics, and patristics. Sev-
ism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition (Urbana, Ill.,
eral of his articles, even early in his career, were devoted to
1984). A short biography in the Penguin series by the distin-
breaking down conceptual barriers between Israelite and
guished Jacksonian scholar Robert V. Remini, Joseph Smith
other ancient Near Eastern religions, such as his 1952 essay
(New York, 2000), is essentially a PR job, skirting controver-
“The Common Theology of the Ancient Near East” in
sial issues. There is no reliable up-to-date biography of
Studies in the Cult of Yahweh (vol.1, pp.15–27). In his works
Smith.
on Second Temple Judaism, too, he castigated those who,
KLAUS J. HANSEN (1987 AND 2005)
in his opinion, lacked due regard for context as well as due
precision in terminology (“Terminological Boobytraps,” in
Studies in the Cult of Yahweh [vol. 1, pp. 95–103]). Smith
emphasized affinities across disciplines but also the distinc-
SMITH, MORTON. Robert Morton Smith was born
tive character of groups: the “syncretists” and the “Yahweh-
in Philadelphia on May 28, 1915, the son of the physician
alone party” in the biblical period, the Pharisees as a less-
Rupert Henry Smith and his wife Mary (Funk). He received
than-dominant “sect” in first-century Judaism, the Zealots
a B.A. from Harvard in 1936, with a major in English.
and the Sicarii as two distinct groups, Pauline Christianity
Thereafter he continued at Harvard Divinity School (S.T.B.
as a minority phenomenon.
1940), where he studied the New Testament (NT) under
Henry Cadbury, Judaism under Harry A. Wolfson, and
Smith is probably remembered most for his publication
Greco-Roman religions under Arthur D. Nock. At Wolf-
of a letter attributed to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–before
son’s urging he learned rabbinic Hebrew as background to
216 CE). In 1958 he discovered what appears to be an eigh-
NT studies. He was awarded a travel fellowship for study at
teenth-century copy of this heretofore unknown letter in the
the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he was stranded
library of the desert monastery of Mar Saba, about twelve
by the outbreak of World War II, but he used the time to
miles southeast of Jerusalem. This letter contains substantial
complete a doctoral dissertation, written in Hebrew, submit-
quotes from a “secret gospel” (mustikon euangelion) of Mark,
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SMITH, MORTON
8449
which combines elements of the raising of Lazarus in John
tions he raised—if not the answers he proposed—have pro-
11:1–44 with the story of Jesus’ encounter with a rich young
foundly influenced scholarship in the fields he dealt with.
man (Lk. 18:23 and parallels in Mk. 10:22; Mt. 19:22) in-
serted in the context of Mark 10:34. The most controversial
SEE ALSO Jesus; Judaism; Magic; Pharisees; Scholem,
part of the secret gospel—and of Smith’s interpretation of
Gershom.
it—is an allusion to nocturnal teaching, interpreted by Smith
as an initiation rite with baptismal and sexual implications
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(Clement of Alexandria, 1973, pp. 91, 167–188; Secret Gos-
Calder, William M., III. “Morton Smith.” Gnomon 64, no. 4
pel, 1973, p. 113). It was suggested or insinuated that the
(1992): 382–384. This obituary contains concise but de-
letter was a modern forgery, or even that Smith himself was
tailed biographical information.
responsible for such a forgery. The most explicit accusations
Ehrman, Bart D. “Response to Charles Hedrick’s Stalemate.”
were brought by Quentin Quesnell in “The Mar Saba Clem-
Journal of Early Christian Studies 11, no. 2 (2003): 155–163.
entine: A Question of Evidence” (Catholic Biblical Quarterly
In his critique of Hedrick and Stroumsa, Ehrman argues that
37, no. 1 [1975]: 48–67), to which Smith responded in the
homoerotic elements in Secret Mark are central to Smith’s
same journal (38, no. 2 [1976]: 196–199). No tests have
interpretation and that the correspondence between Smith
been carried out on the manuscript, which has been available
and Scholem (to be published by Stroumsa) does not prove
to most researchers only through the photographs taken by
the authenticity of Smith’s manuscript find.
Smith. The manuscript was seen in Mar Saba in 1976 by sev-
Hedrick, Charles W. “The Secret Gospel of Mark: Stalemate in
eral scholars, including David Flusser and Guy G. Stroumsa,
the Academy.” Journal of Early Christian Studies 11, no. 2
in the context described by Smith. On that occasion it was
(2003): 133–145. Encourages scholars to integrate the study
of the Secret Gospel of Mark into their reconstruction of
taken from Mar Saba to the Orthodox patriarchate in Jerusa-
early Christianity.
lem. Since then, it has not been made available to scholars.
Meyer, Marvin. “Secret Gospel of Mark.” In Secret Gospels: Essays
Stroumsa (2003) notes that a perusal of the extensive
on Thomas and the Secret Gospel of Mark, pp. 107–178. Har-
correspondence between Smith and Gershom Scholem, the
risburg, 2003.
foremost scholar of his generation in the field of Jewish mys-
Smith, Morton. Tannaitic Parallels to the Gospels. Philadelphia,
ticism, reveals the gradual development of Smith’s thought
1951; corrected reprint 1968. This dissertation received a
about the letter and the gospel as his studies progressed. Al-
book-length reply in Jacob Neusner, Are There Really Tan-
though it took Smith fifteen years between discovery and full
naitic Parallels to the Gospels? A Refutation of Morton Smith
publication, he had described his Mar Saba manuscript finds
(Atlanta, 1993). Some of the shortcomings of Neusner’s ar-
in the patriarchate’s journal, Nea Sion, as early as 1960. His
gumentative and personal attack on the person he still calls
interpretation of the gospel and the letter have not found
“the sole really important teacher I ever had” (p. x and pas-
wide acceptance, and even the discovery itself remains highly
sim) have been exposed by Shaye J. D. Cohen, “Are There
controversial (Ehrman, 2003). The continued popular as
Tannaitic Parallels to the Gospels?” Journal of the American
Oriental Society
116, no. 1 (1996): 85–89.
well as scholarly interest in Smith’s discovery is evidenced by
the space devoted to it on the internet (see http://
Smith, Morton. Palestinian Parties and Politics That Shaped the
www.earlychristianwritings.com/secretmark.html) and by a
Old Testament. New York, 1971; 2nd rev. ed. London, 1987.
special issue of the Journal of Early Christian Studies (11, no.
A brilliant attempt to identify diverse ideologies behind dif-
ferent parts of the Hebrew Bible.
2 [2003]) devoted to “The Secret Gospel of Mark: A Discus-
sion.” The work on the Mar Saba manuscript strengthened
Smith, Morton. Clement of Alexandria and a Secret Gospel of Mark.
Smith’s interest in magic, which led to his equally provoca-
Cambridge, Mass., 1973. The voluminous scholarly edition
and commentary on the Letter of Clement of Alexandria
tive and controversial book Jesus the Magician (1978). This
from the Mar Saba library.
interest had been stimulated by his early contacts with Ger-
shom Scholem’s work on Jewish mysticism and magic. It is
Smith, Morton. The Secret Gospel: The Discovery and Interpretation
evident already in Smith’s seminal 1956 essay “Palestinian
of the Secret Gospel According to Mark. New York, 1973. A
description of the discovery of the Letter of Clement and a
Judaism in the First Century” (Studies in the Cult of Yahweh,
popular commentary on its contents.
vol. 1, p. 108), which highlights the diversity of Jewish
groups, the Pharisees being only one among many. His con-
Smith, Morton. Jesus the Magician. New York, 1978. Smith’s
controversial comparison of Jesus with magicians of late
tinued interest in magic found expression in several articles
antiquity.
on the subject (Studies in the Cult of Yahweh, vol. 2,
pp. 208–256). His catalogue of the British Museum’s collec-
Smith, Morton. Studies in the Cult of Yahweh. Edited by Shaye J.
tion of magical gems remained unfinished at his death but
D. Cohen. 2 vols. Leiden, 1996. Contains forty of Smith’s
more important articles, many not easily accessible in their
has since been published by Simone Michel, Peter Zazoff,
original publications, plus a full bibliography (283 items) of
and Hilde Zazoff (Magische Gemmen im British Museum,
his writings (vol. 2, pp. 257–277) as well as “In Memoriam
2001).
Morton Smith” (vol. 2, pp. 279–285) by the editor.
While Smith’s fame (or notoriety) was based on his un-
Stroumsa, Guy G. “Comments on Charles Hedrick’s Article: A
conventional and, to many, uncomfortable ideas, the ques-
Testimony.” Journal of Early Christian Studies 11, no. 2
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8450
SMITH, WILFRED CANTWELL
(2003): 147–153. Stroumsa reports on his visit to Mar Saba,
gory. This proposal was rejected, but his terms for construing
during which the manuscript published by Smith was locat-
the data—cumulative tradition and personal faith—were
ed and transferred to Jerusalem. Stroumsa is also preparing
widely adopted. The former can be studied by any observer;
the first edition of Smith’s correspondence with Scholem, in
the latter requires participation in the evolution of a tra-
which the issue of the Secret Gospel of Mark and its implica-
dition.
tions for the study of Jesus and early Christianity was raised
on a number of occasions beginning in 1959.
Smith’s typical method was to analyze the changing
meanings of key words, illustrating lost nuances by citing
JOSEPH SIEVERS (2005)
original senses in other languages (e.g., Arabic words for
truth) and ruminating on shifts from verb to noun and singu-
lar to plural forms. To him, singular usage of religion and
SMITH, WILFRED CANTWELL. Wilfred Cant-
scripture resists reifying phenomena. From failures to adduce
well Smith (1916–2000) was a historian of religion, a com-
universally accepted definitions of such terms, Smith con-
parative theologian, and an ordained minister of the United
cluded not that linguistic essentialism is wrong but that mis-
Church of Canada. In 1949 Smith founded the Institute of
construals show insensitivity to necessarily tentative, meta-
Islamic Studies at McGill University in Montreal, where he
phorical references to transcendence. A liberal, Smith’s
matched Muslim and Christian appointments. He later suc-
fundamentalist Calvinist upbringing was apparent in his as-
ceeded R. L. Slater as director of the Center for the Study
sumption that earlier meanings are truer, later meanings
of World Religions at Harvard University (1964–1985),
being distorted by rationalization.
quitting Harvard for Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova
A major trilogy on faith, comparative history of religion,
Scotia, to dissociate himself from U.S. militarism during the
and world theology (published in 1977, 1979, and 1981)
Vietnam War years. While at Harvard, Smith coordinated
linked early believing to beloving, denied that belief (in the
the university’s first undergraduate concentration in religious
sense of hypothetical opinion) is what religion is about, and
studies.
argued that existential trust is what relates human beings to
After majoring in oriental languages at the University
the transcendent, however named. Among Ernst Troeltsch’s
of Toronto, Smith studied theology under H. H. Farmer and
categories, Smith emphasized the mystical-poetic.
Islamics under H. A. R. Gibb in Great Britain. In 1941 he
Smith rejected as positivistic contemporary faith in
joined the faculty of Forman Christian College in Lahore (in
pseudoscience and condemned the technocrats who dis-
present-day Pakistan), then a center of multireligious dia-
missed humanizing concerns as irrelevant for decisions lead-
logue. An admirer of Jawaharlal Nehru more than Mohandas
ing to the bombing of Hiroshima. Without sacrificing the
Gandhi, Smith deplored the 1947 partition of India because
scholarly rigor of historians of religion (often criticized for
he considered nationalism to be morally bankrupt.
antiquarian fixation on texts), he emphasized living religion
As president of the Student Christian movement in
and dialogue, not just for gathering information, but as es-
Canada following the Depression era, Smith embraced John
sential to becoming true to others and oneself in plural affir-
Macmurray’s personalist philosophy and the Social Gospel
mations of transcendence.
movement. Smith’s first book (rejected for a doctorate by
Unrepentant over using Christian theological catego-
Cambridge University) stressed class-based socioeconomic
ries, Smith insisted that religious studies are about people re-
determinants in religion and politics. Stalinism, however,
sponding to God Buddhistically, Christianly, secularly, and
cured his enthusiasm for Marxist immanentism. Concluding
so on, focusing on different paradigmatic symbols. He point-
that self-criticism requires a transhistorical referent, Smith
ed out that the Muslim homologue to Jesus is not
linked issues of justice to a prophetic sense of transcendence.
Muh:ammad but the QurDa¯n. His final major work, written
Thereafter, he vehemently challenged the practice of restrict-
with his wife Muriel, was a study of scriptural dialogue
ing the humanities and religious studies to a social science
through texts.
orientation.
Dubbed an “experiential-expressivist,” Smith consid-
A Princeton University doctorate (1948) led to publica-
ered himself primarily a historian in the global tradition of
tions on Islamic modernism, in which Smith juxtaposed “ob-
Arnold Joseph Toynbee, appealing to knowable but not fully
jective” cultural history and “subjective” faith. He noted the
describable “facts” of human relationship. In Smith’s view,
conflict in Islam between secularly educated professionals,
comparative, personal data are intuitively grasped and cogent
who are needed to run a state, and traditionalists, who define
if expressible in terms derived from two or more starkly con-
statehood according to conservative interpretations of
trasting traditions, such as Hinduism and Islam in India.
shar¯ı Eah (theocratic law).
Against academic fragmentation, he essayed a world history
Islamic insistence on divine transcendence and its ban
of religion as the cultural product of humanizing faith, of
on idolatry reinforced Smith’s polemic against reifying con-
which the faithful are the final arbiters. According to Smith,
ceptions in and of religion. He gained international attention
true relationships are only validated by participant observers
with a call to abandon the word religion as an academic cate-
through “colloquy.” Beyond both objective and subjective
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SMITH, W. ROBERTSON
8451
approximations is the truth and goodness, which the “critical
to Semitic religion and thereby pioneered the comparative
corporate self-consciousness” (Smith, 1997, p.123) of spiri-
study of religion. Whereas others viewed ancient religion
tual and intellectual peers discerns.
from the standpoint of the individual, Smith approached it
Critics among philosophers of religion (e.g., John Hick,
from the standpoint of the group and thereby helped pioneer
Ninian Smart) and later deconstructionists challenged the
the sociology of religion.
insider-outsider dichotomy intrinsic to Smith’s conception
As an original theorist of religion, Smith asserted that
of faith and tradition and his privileging of insiders. His her-
ancient religion was centrally a matter of ritual, not creed.
meneutic of recovery rather than suspicion obscured how
Practice, not belief, counted most. Religion was initially
radical his insistence was that truth is dialogical. In global
communion between god and humans, not a prescientific ex-
politics, Smith expected Muslims, Christians, humanistic
planation of the world. As an equally original theorist of
atheists, and others to converge on the truth that matters.
myth, Smith similarly maintained that myth was initially an
Mark Heim argues that, theologically, this was not pluralism,
explanation of ritual, not of the world. Since Smith’s time,
as Hick and Smith supposed, but ecumenical inclusivism,
the ritualist theory of myth has found adherents not only in
which wrongly assumes that religious ends are the same for
biblical studies but also in classics, anthropology, and
all. In theology, Smith was more Muslim-Methodist than
literature.
Trinitarian, foregrounding Jesus’ humanity, not claims con-
cerning his divinity.
Smith was educated at home by his father, a minister
of the breakaway Free Church of Scotland. Intellectually pre-
cocious, Smith was as brilliant in science and mathematics
BIBLIOGRAPHY
as in classics and Hebrew. He studied divinity at the Univer-
Bae, Kuk-Won. Homo Fidei: A Critical Understanding of Faith in
the Writings of Wilfred Cantwell Smith and Its Implications for
sity of Edinburgh, where he excelled. In 1870, at the young
the Study of Religion. New York, 2003.
age of twenty-three, he was appointed to the professorship
of Old Testament at the College of the Free Church in Aber-
Cracknell, Kenneth, comp. William Cantwell Smith: A Reader.
deen. He began teaching a day after his ordination as a minis-
Oxford, 2001.
ter in the Free Church.
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. Islam in Modern History. Princeton,
1957.
Smith’s professional troubles began with the publication
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. The Meaning and End of Religion: A
in 1875 of the article “Bible” for the ninth edition of the En-
New Approach to the Religious Traditions of Mankind. New
cyclopaedia Britannica, then published in Scotland. On the
York, 1963.
basis of that article, he was in 1876 formally charged with
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. Religious Diversity, edited by Willard G.
heresy. The main issue concerned the authorship of the Book
Oxtoby. New York, 1976.
of Deuteronomy, which Smith, following the older, continen-
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. Belief and History. Charlottesville, Va.,
tal scholars with whom he had become acquainted, deemed
1977.
not Moses’ farewell address to Israel but instead a work com-
posed long after Moses’ time. Smith’s Free Church critics as-
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. Faith and Belief. Princeton, 1979.
sumed that in denying Mosaic authorship, Smith was deny-
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. Towards a World Theology: Faith and the
ing the divine authority of the Bible. On the contrary, argued
Comparative History of Religion. Philadelphia, 1981.
Smith, revelation itself was gradual and progressive, so that
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. What Is Scripture? A Comparative Ap-
the denial of Mosaic authorship was simply the denial that
proach. Minneapolis, 1993.
the advanced, prophetic views expressed in Deuteronomy had
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. Modern Culture from a Comparative Per-
been revealed to Moses himself. After four years, during
spective, edited by John W. Burbidge. Albany, N.Y., 1997.
which Smith was suspended from his chair, he won his case
Whaling, Frank, ed. The World’s Religious Traditions: Current Per-
and was reinstated. But the appearance of subsequent articles
spectives in Religious Studies, Essays in Honour of Wilfred Cant-
reopened the charge, and though never convicted of heresy,
well Smith. New York, 1984.
he was in 1881 removed from his professorship.
PETER SLATER (2005)
Embittered but undeterred, Smith had already begun to
offer public lectures on his views to huge audiences in Edin-
burgh and Glasgow. From these lectures came his first two
SMITH, W. ROBERTSON.
books, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church (1881) and
William Robertson
The Prophets of Israel and Their Place in History to the Close
Smith (1846–1894) was a celebrated Scottish biblical critic
of the Eighth Century (1882).
and a theorist of both religion and myth. Smith’s accom-
plishments were multiple. He brought higher biblical criti-
While still a minister (as he had not been convicted of
cism from Germany to the English-speaking world and then
heresy), Smith sought no pastoral post. Instead, to support
developed it far beyond its continental origins. Although his
himself he became coeditor and eventually sole editor of the
German mentors reconstructed the history of Israelite reli-
same edition of the Britannica that had caused his undoing.
gion from the Bible itself, Smith ventured beyond the Bible
He enlisted J. G. Frazer (1854–1941) to write the entries
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SMITH, W. ROBERTSON
that began the transformation of Frazer from stuffy classicist
In place of creed in ancient and primitive religion there
to pioneering anthropologist.
was myth. Whereas in modern religion creed prescribes ritu-
al, in ancient religion myth explained ritual. Unlike the prac-
In 1883 Smith was appointed lord’s almoner reader in
tice of ritual, the belief in myth was not obligatory. In con-
Arabic at Cambridge University. In 1885 he was elected a
necting myth to ritual, Smith was again revolutionary.
fellow of Christ’s College. In 1889 he became Sir Thomas
Whereas others viewed myth as an explanation of the world,
Adams Professor of Arabic at Cambridge. He utilized his
he proposed myth as an explanation of ritual. But here too
knowledge of Arabic to root Israelite religion in the religion
he stops short. Myth for him plays a minor role, arising only
and culture of ancient Arabia, where for him lay the origin
after the original reason for a ritual has somehow been lost.
of Semitic culture. His studies culminated in his final and
The importance wrongly attributed to mythology is for him
fullest work, Lectures on the Religion of the Semites, which was
part of the importance that is wrongly accorded to belief.
delivered as three series of Burnett Lectures at the University
Since Smith’s time other myth-ritualists have given myth far
of Aberdeen from 1888 to 1891.
more significance. For Frazer, myth is indispensable to ritual
Smith had been a sickly child, but in adulthood he be-
from the start, providing the script for the magical ritual.
came remarkably fit for prolonged periods. Still, like other
family members, he eventually succumbed to tuberculosis.
To drive home the point that in primitive and ancient
He died in Cambridge at the age of forty-seven. He proved
religion ritual precedes belief, Smith compares religion with
well enough to publish only the first series of the Burnett
politics and indeed makes religion a part of politics. Reli-
Lectures (in 1889). Only in the last decade of the twentieth
gious duty was civic duty. But “so long as the prescribed
century were the notes of the second and third series of lec-
forms [of practice] were duly observed, a man was recognised
tures discovered and published.
as truly pious, and no one asked how his religion was rooted
in his heart or affected his reason” (Smith, 1894, p. 21).
Whereas Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), in The Ele-
Practice alone counted.
mentary Forms of the Religious Life (1912), focused on Austra-
lian Aborigines as the most primitive and therefore presum-
Once again Smith was revolutionary—here in seeing
ably clearest case of religion per se, Smith in the Lectures
ancient and primitive religion as collective rather than indi-
turned to “heathen Arabia” as the earliest and therefore pre-
vidual. Because Smith takes for granted that modern religion
sumably clearest case of Semitic religion. Smith’s fundamen-
really is a matter of the individual, his bold approach once
tal assumption is that the Semites were initially at a “primi-
again stops abruptly. Where notably Durkheim argues that
tive” stage of culture, so that the key to understanding them
religion by definition is collective, Smith’s “sociologizing” is
is to see them as akin to primitives worldwide. He thus uses
confined to ancient and primitive religion.
the terms primitive and ancient (or antique) almost inter-
Another equally fundamental difference for Smith is
changeably. Unlike Frazer, who was concerned with only the
that whereas modern religion is spiritual, primitive and an-
similarities among primitives the world over, Smith was con-
cient religion is materialist. God is conceived of as the biolog-
cerned with the differences as well as the similarities between
ical father of worshippers. That conception of God has moral
early Semites and other primitives, just as he was concerned
consequences as well, with “the parent protecting and nour-
with the differences as well as the similarities between early
ishing the child, while the child owes obedience and service
Semites and later ones. But it was his focus on the similarities
to his parents” (Smith, 1894, p. 41). Yet again Smith was
that was revolutionary and controversial.
original—this time in placing morality within rather than
The basic religious divide for Smith is that between
outside primitive religion.
primitives and moderns. Whereas the heart of modern reli-
For Smith, the key relationship between god and his or
gion is its beliefs, the heart of primitive religion is its rituals.
her worshippers in any religion is that of communication.
Smith’s focus on practice rather than belief as the core of
Therefore the key function of the key ritual, sacrifice, is as
primitive and ancient religion was revolutionary. Yet on ritu-
a “means of converse between God and man” (Smith, 1894,
al, as on other aspects of religion, his revolution stops abrupt-
p. 216). Sacrifice constitutes not “a gift made over to the
ly short. He does not propose that modern religion likewise
god”—the conventional view of his time—but “an act of
be looked at from the side of ritual foremost. He draws a
communion, in which the god and his worshippers unite by
rigid hiatus between primitive and modern religion. Modern
partaking together of the flesh and blood of a sacred victim”
religion he approaches no differently from others of his day.
(Smith, 1894, pp. 226–227). Sacrifice as gift comes only
It is creedal first and ritualistic second—no doubt a reflection
later. A gift is intended to alleviate guilt and to secure forgive-
of Smith’s antiritualistic, Protestant viewpoint. Whereas
ness, but originally there is no guilt to be alleviated or for-
twentieth-century theorists of religion tend to stress the simi-
giveness to be secured, for worshippers have in no way fallen
larities between primitive and modern religion, Smith stress-
short.
es the differences. If on the one hand Smith gives equal atten-
tion to the differences and the similarities between primitives
In primitive religion misfortunes like plague and famine
and early Semites, on the other hand he emphasizes the dif-
were initially attributed to the weakening of the bond be-
ferences between both of them and modern Christianity.
tween god and the community. Sacrifice served to restore the
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bond. Only eventually was the weakening attributed to sin.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sacrifice then came to be taken as atonement. Nevertheless
Bediako, Gillian M. Primal Religion and the Bible: William Robert-
the ultimate aim of even atonement was the restoration of
son Smith and His Heritage. Sheffield, U.K., 1995.
the bond between god and community.
Beidelman, T. O. W. Robertson Smith and the Sociological Study
of Religion. Chicago, 1974.
In its fullest, Christian form, God sacrifices himself to
Black, John Sutherland, and George Chrystal. The Life of William
atone for the sins of the worldwide community, though
Robertson Smith. London, 1912.
Jesus’ death still serves primarily to restore the fellowship be-
Durkheim, Émile. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life.
tween God and humanity. Indeed Smith increasingly down-
Translated by Joseph Ward Swain. New York, 1965. Origi-
plays the atoning aspect of Jesus’ death, for which he never
nal publication of this translation was in 1915.
found a satisfactory place in his irenic characterization of
Johnstone, William, ed. William Robertson Smith: Essays in Reas-
Christianity. The ineluctable link between atonement and
sessment. Sheffield, U.K., 1995.
fear, in contrast to that between communion and love, could
not but push religion based on fear in the direction of, by
Jones, Robert Alun. “Robertson Smith, Durkheim, and Sacrifice:
An Historical Context for The Elementary Forms of the Reli-
Smith’s own criteria, magic rather than religion. Frazer attri-
gious Life.” Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 17
buted Smith’s reluctance to acknowledge the place of fear in
(1981): 184–205.
religion to his own belief in a God of love rather than of fear.
Jones, Robert Alun. “Robertson Smith and James Frazer on Reli-
Despite Smith’s insistence on the presence of both com-
gion: Two Traditions in British Social Anthropology.” In
munion and atonement in primitive and higher religion
Functionalism Historicized, edited by George W. Stocking Jr.,
alike, the gulf between these stages of religion remains wide
pp. 31–58. Madison, Wis., 1984.
because primitive religion still conceives of both materially,
Riesen, Richard A. Criticism and Faith in Late Victorian Scotland.
whereas higher religion conceives of both spiritually. In
Lanham, Md., 1985.
primitive religion the goal is physical contact with god—
Rogerson, John. Old Testament Criticism in the Nineteenth Centu-
achieved through the shared eating of a sacrifice, which in
ry. London, 1984. See particularly chap. 20.
its earliest form is the eating of the totemic god itself. At first
Rogerson, John. The Bible and Criticism in Victorian Britain. Shef-
little attention is paid to the cause of the separation from god
field, U.K., 1995. See particularly chaps. 4–10.
or to the justification for it. The materialist conception of
Smith, William Robertson. “Bible.” In Encyclopaedia Britannica,
religion clouds the recognition of spiritual concepts like eth-
9th ed., vol. 3. Edinburgh, 1875.
ics, sin, and atonement.
Smith, William Robertson. The Old Testament in the Jewish
Church. London, 1881.
Consequently “to free the spiritual truth from the husk
was the great task that lay before the ancient religions”
Smith, William Robertson. The Prophets of Israel and Their Place
(Smith, 1894, p. 439). The Prophets were the first to sever
in History to the Close of the Eighth Century. 1st ed. London,
1882; 2d ed., London, 1892; reprint of 2d ed. with new in-
communion from material sacrifice—Smith taking the
troduction by Robert Alun Jones, New Brunswick, N.J.,
Prophets as uniformly antiritualistic. Once communion with
2002.
God came to be conceived of spiritually, separation from
God came to be conceived of ethically, as a matter of the jus-
Smith, William Robertson. Lectures on the Religion of the Semites.
1st ser. Edinburgh, 1889; 2d ed., London, 1894; reprint of
tification for the separation and of the amends needed for
2d ed. with new introduction by Robert A. Segal, New
overcoming it. But the subsequent, postexilic restoration of
Brunswick, N.J., 2002.
material sacrifice conflated anew the spiritual with the mate-
Smith, William Robertson. Lectures on the Religion of the Semites.
rial. Only with Christianity was the spiritual fully disentan-
2d and 3d ser. Edited by John Day. Sheffield, U.K., 1995.
gled from the material.
T. O. BEIDELMAN (1987)
To explain the evolution of sacrifice, Smith appeals to
ROBERT A. SEGAL (2005)
God. Israelites and Christians on their own could never have
made the leap from a material conception of sacrifice to a
spiritual one. Only God’s intercession, undertaken indirectly
through inspiration, can account for the jump.
SMOKING. Plants whose properties when consumed
place the user in an unusual state have always been looked
Smith is rightly viewed as a pioneering, perhaps even the
upon as being endowed with supernatural power. Such
pioneering sociologist of religion. He shifted the focus of the
plants play an important part in both religious ceremonies
study of primitive and ancient religion from beliefs to insti-
and in healing. In such a context, these plants have been ei-
tutions and from the individual to the group. For him, the
ther used as symbols or consumed in different forms, includ-
function of primitive and ancient religion is the preservation
ing smoking. The one plant that has consistently maintained
of the group, even if he does not, like the more relentlessly
such religious association is tobacco, a New World contribu-
sociological Durkheim, make group experience the origin of
tion to the world’s flora. Other plant products that can be
religion, let alone make the group the object of worship.
smoked, such as hashish and opium, both of which originat-
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SMOKING
ed in the Near East, have never had significant functions in
an-speaking groups, who became sole owners of the sacred
religious ritual, although most recently some midwestern
material and compelled all other tribes to buy the stone from
sects in the United States claim hashish smoking as part of
them.
their religious rituals.
Bowl and stem of the ritual pipe were carried separately
The genus Nicotiana (tobacco) consists of seventy-four
when not in use. Apart, the instruments had no supernatural
species, all but two of which are native to the North Ameri-
power. In many tribes women carved or decorated the stems,
can continent. The latter two, N. fragrans and N. suaveolens,
which had male attributes, and men fashioned the bowls,
grow wild in Australia but were not used for smoking before
which were considered to have female attributes. The Plains
the arrival of the white people. The most popular species are
Indians undertook no ceremony or ritual act without smok-
N. rustica and N. tabacum. Several others, such as N. bigelovii
ing pipes, which were kept in their medicine bundles. When
and N. attenuata, grow wild in the western Unites States. In-
an Indian died, his tobacco and pipe were placed with him
dian tribes of California, the northern Plains, and the North-
in his burial place.
west Coast are known to have planted these as their only agri-
Kinnikinnick was the native name for the smoked mate-
cultural effort.
rial. This term means “mixture” to the Algonquin. They
Ancient Native American and European reports de-
mixed their tobacco with different plant materials, such as
scribe tobacco as a strong and addictive herb smoked with
sumac, bearberry, manzanilla, and dogwood bark. Though
apparent hallucinogenic effects. Tobacco as it is known
they used plants other than tobacco for smoking, none had
today produces no such effects. The indigenous people of the
the sacred nature attributed to tobacco.
American continent may have been using more potent ad-
The Indians of the Northwest Coast were introduced
mixtures, or tobacco may have only induced a state that al-
to smoking by Western explorers, who found them chewing
lowed its user to ease into altered states of consciousness.
their tobacco with lime. These tribes limited tobacco to im-
It is possible that the use of tobacco was at first confined
portant rituals, especially to commemorative feasts for the
to shamans, priests, and medicine men. Data indicate that
dead. Their pipes were carved out of wood or ivory and deco-
the tobacco plant and products derived from it were held in
rated with pictures of animals or mythological scenes. The
high esteem and those who grew or could obtain the plant
shamans smoked pipes primarily to communicate with their
used it as a precious offering to both worldly and supernatu-
guardian spirits and also during healing ceremonies. For
ral rulers. Later, due to the interchange of ritual customs, the
them, tobacco was the symbol of the equilibrium of the
abundance of tobacco in some areas, and European influ-
universe and of divine benevolence from generation to gener-
ence, tobacco smoking became a worldwide custom; but its
ation.
sacrosanct character among the natives of the Americas
SOUTH AMERICA. Both N. tabacum and N. rustica were
survived.
modified by selection or by hybridization in South America,
NORTH AMERICA. Tobacco initially grew wild. Gathered as
probably in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and northern Argentina.
a cultivated plant, it made its appearance with maize in
Even today, tobacco is used by many native tribes, but is
North America. The two primary modes of tobacco con-
rarely smoked by them. The preferable form of consumption
sumption were smoking pipes and cigarettes and chewing.
is chewing or drinking in the form of a syrupy juice. Tobacco
Tobacco pipes have been found in archaeological excavations
juice is taken either by mouth or through the nostrils, or ad-
of basket making culture sites (some as early as 2500 BCE)
ministered as an enema. The last method has been docu-
in the Southwest.
mented for the Inca and Tihuanaco of the pre-Conquest
periods.
The Plains Indians developed considerable skill and in-
genuity, as well as aesthetic sensitivity and care in making
Smoking tobacco for the purpose of divination was
pipes. As Peter T. Furst points out,
practiced by Venezuelan tribes, who also offered tobacco as
a gift to their gods. The Guajiro of Colombia, the Kumaná
No object, no matter how splendidly proportioned or
of the Orinoco River, and the Warao and the Shipibo-
complex in iconography, can convey the enormous
depth of feeling, ritual and belief, the very conception
Conibo on the Ucayali River also celebrate healing ceremo-
of the universe and how it came to be, the mutuality
nies by smoking, or smoke in preparation for other drug use.
and interdependence of the sexes, and, indeed the
The Piro and the Machiganga of Peru inhale tobacco snuff
whole relationship of human beings to the holy earth
through tubes made of bird bones as medicine against colds.
and sky, which are embodied in these traditional Native
This old remedy was adopted by Europeans in the sixteenth
American smoking instruments. (Furst, 1982)
century.
The famous Plains pipes are made of catlinite, thought to
MESOAMERICA. The most extensive depictions of smoking
represent the flesh and blood of dead ancestors and dead buf-
and the oldest and most abundant data on the pre-
falo, poured together and turned to stone. Catlinite had been
Columbian use of tobacco (mostly in the form of cigars) are
mined in southwestern Minnesota by the Oto and Iowa
found in Maya art. The word cigar is Maya in origin; the
tribes, who were replaced in the seventeenth century by Siou-
word tobacco might be derived from an Arawak word for
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8455
“cigar.” The Maya also depicted cigarette smoking, for which
earth. Tobacco smoking also has an important role in a num-
there are no early records elsewhere. Pipe smoking did not
ber of milpa (corn patch) ceremonies.
appear in Maya art, and it is doubtful that it was a custom.
The Tzeltal Maya of Oxchuc offer thirteen calabashes
Early Spanish reports describe the coating of cigars with a
of tobacco in their celebration of the New Year. The Tzotzil
varnish of clay, which was then decorated, and the stuffing
tribe attributes magical power to tobacco and uses it as a de-
of small tubes of cane, clay, and other materials with shred-
fense against evil forces, such as Pucuh, the demon of death.
ded tobacco, which was either smoked or used to blow
Tobacco in all its forms is considered by most Maya tribes
smoke.
as the most effective agent against the numerous underworld
Besides smoking, the Maya also chewed, licked, ate, and
threats, evil spirits, demons, and any form of witchcraft that
drank tobacco, social customs reported frequently from Con-
may cause illness or death. The healing shaman uses tobacco
quest times to the present day. Tobacco as a form of incense,
to divine the exact cause of the illness and to find out how
however, had an exclusive and important role in ceremonial
to help the patient. Maya travelers protect themselves from
healing. The Maya attributed most diseases to supernatural
evil influences by chewing tobacco and by carrying gourds
intervention, and native healing was, and still is, a predomi-
filled with tobacco. In many of the Mesoamerican areas, to-
nantly religious act of communication with supernatural
bacco and smoking paraphernalia are placed in graves to ac-
forces in which religion and medicine remain inseparable.
company the spirit of the dead as a protection during the
journey to the underworld and as a gift the dead can offer
The pre-Columbian Maya often depicted their divine
to the gods.
rulers, nobles, and gods smoking. Among the deities, god L
appears to be a heavy smoker; the death god, the rain god,
The main body of data on tobacco use among the Aztec
god D of the creation, and the ancestral god N could be char-
comes from observations and reports by Europeans. Torque-
acterized as only occasional indulgers. God K not only
mada (1615) wrote that the old earth goddess, Cihuacoatl,
smokes on occasion but he is shown with a smoking cigar
female warrior and creator of humankind, had a body com-
stuck through his forehead. Some of the mythological ani-
posed of tobacco, and she was the incarnation of the plant.
mals, usually representing gods, are also shown smoking:
Hernando Ruiz de Alarcón (1629) described rites to honor
Monkeys have a strong lead, with jaguars second, and frogs
the war god, Huitzilopochtli, to whom an offering of tobacco
or toads third. All of these animals are also patron deities of
is as pleasing as one composed of other drugs. Fray Diego
days or months.
Durán (c. 1581) reported that the fire god, Xiuhtecuhtli, re-
ceived tobacco, incense, and pulque daily, sprinkled onto the
Noble Maya lords were also frequently shown smoking
fire in his temple. The priests who prepared victims for sacri-
or handling cigars or cigarettes either alone or in the compa-
fice to the goddess Toci (old earth or moon goddess, patron
ny of others. Apparently no women participated in these rit-
of the day named Jaguar) wore small tobacco gourds on their
uals, although they are sometimes shown on ancient paint-
backs, as did the priests serving Tezcatlipoca, the counterpart
ings and monuments in proximity to smokers. The context
to the Maya god K. Both in the Codex Mendoza and in the
of these scenes is varied and not always clear. There are pro-
Codex Florentine several of the figures participating in sacri-
cessional scenes with supernaturals and their impersonators,
ficial rites are pictured carrying tobacco gourds (yetecomatl)
and there are scenes with offerings of human victims or other
and pouches (yequachtli) or incense ladles (tlemaitl), the in-
sacrifices. Other smoking scenes commemorate ancestors
signia of Aztec priesthood. Tobacco was carried in powder
and still others show smoking to be one of several ways to
form or shaped into balls and used as a form of incense.
achieve a state of trance.
When actually smoked it was mixed with other herbs, among
The Lacandon, a few hundred Maya Indians still living
them jimsonweed (Datura stramonium). During a beautiful
in the Chiapas rain forest, continue to cultivate tobacco in
ceremony called Dance of Flowers, the vegetation goddess
the ancient ways. They believe that the Nohoch Yum Cha-
Xochiquetzal invited other gods to sit with her; they smoked
cob, the white-haired, bearded servants of the god of rain and
together and were entertained by her court.
thunder, live in the second highest level of the heavens and
Among the Mexicans tobacco was a protection against
smoke cigars. Comets or meteorites are thought to be the
witchcraft or wild animals, but it could also be used to cast
glowing butts they throw away. Until recently the Lacandon
spells. Fray Bernardino de Sahagún (1569–1582) described
placed cigars as offering to their gods in the holy area. There
a hunt for snakes, which were enfeebled and stunned when
is a special ceremony of thanksgiving during their tobacco
powdered tobacco was hurled at them.
harvest: Thanksgiving is offered to the deity depicted on a
The Totonac of Papantla de Olarte believed that tobac-
“god pot,” who is usually smoking, seated on the hieroglyph
co protected them not only against snakes but also against
for “earth.”
the dead, and they offered it to the supernatural rulers of the
The Maya of Yucatán believe that the Balams, the gods
forest. The Cuicatec used wild tobacco in rituals conducted
of wind and the four directions, are heavy cigar smokers.
on hilltops or in caves. Among the Mazatec the healer used
When the gods light the cigars by pounding heavy rocks to-
a paste of powdered tobacco and lime to render pregnant
gether to create a spark, there is thunder and lightning on
women invulnerable to witchcraft. The Tlaxcalan offered to-
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SNAKES
bacco to their war god Camaxtli. Bowls of tobacco, eagle
tening beauty, and the venom of some species have given
feathers, and two bloodstained arrows were sent to the
them a place apart in the animal world. Their supposedly sin-
enemy camp by the cacique of Michoacán to announce the
ister character and dangerousness cause fear; their enigmatic
outbreak of war. The Huichol regarded tobacco as a prized
and ambivalent nature has led human beings to contradicto-
possession of Grandfather Fire. They made small tobacco
ry assessments of them: On the one hand, they are thought
balls, touched them with feathers, and wrapped them in corn
of as evil and as a cause of death; on the other, they are be-
husks. During pilgrimages, these “cigarettes” were carried in
lieved to embody beneficial and even divine powers. As a re-
small gourds tied to their quivers to symbolize the birth of
sult, in some religions they may be both accursed and wor-
tobacco. After completion of the pilgrimage, they burned
shiped. The serpent Apophis was regarded by the ancient
and smoked tobacco in honor of Grandfather Fire.
Egyptians as the worst enemy of Re, the sun god; yet Re is
These ancient and recent reports show that tobacco was
also protected by the serpent Mehen on his journey through
used by the Aztec and numerous tribes living between the
the underworld. In the Bible the scaly reptile can be a symbol
Maya and North American Indians in the form of incense,
both of death (the fall of humanity, Gn. 3) and of life (the
as a drink, or by smoking. Smoking of the sacred herb was
brazen serpent, Nm. 21:6–8). In Indian mythology Ka¯liya,
also practiced by the gods. Tobacco in all its forms and
the prince of serpents, is the embodiment of evil and is over-
modes of consumption was regarded as a substance of per-
come by Kr:s:n:a; yet the serpent S´es:a is companion and couch
vading holiness, a gift from the gods, an offering to the su-
for Vis:n:u.
pernatural forces of the heavens and the underworld, and a
THE SERPENT AND ORIGINS. In the mythology of many peo-
means to communicate with them.
ples a serpent is linked to the origin of the world and to cre-
ation; it is the primordial material or the primordial being.
SEE ALSO Tobacco.
According to an ancient tradition of the druids (priests
among the Celtic peoples) the world originated from an egg
BIBLIOGRAPHY
that came from the mouth of a serpent. Various of the oldest
Arents, George. Tobacco. 5 vols. Edited by Jerome E. Brooks. New
Egyptian gods were thought of as serpents: as, for example,
York, 1937–1952.
Atum before he ascended from the primeval ocean, and
Durán, Diego. Los dioses y ritos and El calendario (c. 1581). Trans-
Amun of Thebes, who was also called Kematef (“he who has
lated by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden as Book of
fulfilled his time”). In the philosophical speculations of the
the Gods and The Ancient Calendar. Norman, Okla., 1971.
ancient Near East on creation, serpents and dragons symbol-
Furst, Peter T. Hallucinogens and Culture. San Francisco, 1976.
ized that which had not yet been made manifest: the still un-
Furst, Peter T., and Jill L. Furst. North American Indian Art. New
divided unity that held sway before the creation of the world.
York, 1982.
Only after the Babylonian god Marduk had overcome the
Harner, Michael J., ed. Hallucinogens and Shamanism. Oxford,
dragonlike monster Tiamat could he form heaven and earth
1973.
from the latter’s body. In the Old Testament one frequently
Robicsek, Francis. The Smoking Gods. Norman, Okla., 1978.
finds the motif of God’s struggle against the serpentlike or
Ruiz de Alarcón, Hernando. Tratado de las supersticiones de natu-
dragonlike monster of chaos that lives in the water; it is with
rales de esta Neuve España (1629). Translated and edited by
the victory over Rahab that the mighty waters of the primeval
J. Richard Andrews and Ross Hassig as Treatise on the Hea-
deep are dried up (Is. 51:9–10). Indra’s victory over the mon-
then Superstitions That Today Live among the Indians Native
ster Vr:tra, who has neither feet nor hands, is a cosmogonic
to This New Spain, 1629. Norman, Okla., 1985.
act by which water and light are liberated from the embrace
Sahagún, Bernardino de. Historia general de las cosas de la Nueva
of the forces of chaos. Also among the Indian sagas of cre-
España (compiled 1569–1582; first published 1820). Trans-
ation is the story of Va¯suki, the world serpent, who is pulled
lated by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble as
this way and that by the gods and demons (asuras) so that
Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain,
Mandara, the world mountain that stands in the ocean of
13 vols. (Santa Fe, N. Mex., 1950–1982).
milk, is set in motion like a creative whisk. According to a
Torquemada, Juan de. De los veinte y un libros rituales y monarquía
myth of the Nahuatl (ancient Mexico), in primordial times
indiana (1615). 3d ed. Mexico City, 1975.
there existed a formless mass of water in which a great female
Tozzer, A. M. A Comparative Study of the Mayas and the Lacan-
monster lived; the gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca trans-
dones. New York, 1907.
formed themselves into serpents, tore the monster into two
parts, and from these formed heaven and earth. Ceremonies
FRANCIS ROBICSEK (1987)
carried out by American Indian tribes of the Northwest
Coast (Kwakiutl, Haida) in the winter, when there is little
sunlight, commemorate the primordial time when the sun
SNAKES. Because of their shape and their relation to the
was imprisoned by the powers of darkness and water, which
environment, snakes play an important role in the beliefs of
are symbolized by the serpent Sisiul. The inhabitants of Ros-
various peoples. Their swiftness and peculiar locomotion,
sel Island (Louisiade archipelago, Melanesia) used to believe
along with the periodical sloughing of their skin, their glis-
that Wonajö, who had the form of a serpent, created their
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8457
island and the stars. Among the Ungarinyin (Aborigines of
earth and its forces. In the Alpine regions, for example, there
northwestern Australia), the primeval serpent Ungud is
is a familiar tale of a serpent with a golden crown; as long
linked to the origin of the earth; from its eggs emerged the
as the serpent is treated well, it brings happiness to the house
Wandjina, the ancestors of humans.
and its inhabitants. Finns regard the ring snake as a sacred
domestic animal and give it food; they believe that if it
THE SERPENT, ANCESTORS, AND SOULS. It is likely that rep-
should be killed, the death of the family’s best cow or even
resentations of serpents on monoliths from the Neolithic age
of the stockbreeder himself will follow. In Sweden a white
in France were connected with the veneration of ancestors.
snake is treated as a beneficent protector of the home and
A belief in the Mediterranean world is that a snake that lives
cared for with reverent awe. Among the ancient Prussians (a
in the house embodies the soul of the family’s first ancestor;
Baltic people), at a certain season of the year, food was set
among the Romans, the serpent embodied the paterfamilias.
out for serpents living in the house; it was a bad omen if they
Thus the Roman poet Vergil (Aeneid 5.83ff.) tells how Aene-
did not take the food. In India even poisonous snakes were
as visits the tomb of his father, Anchises, and how the sacrifi-
fed as protective spirits; there are areas even in modern times
cial foods offered to Anchises are accepted by a speckled ser-
where every house has had a protective serpent (va¯stusarpa).
pent. Many murals at Pompeii show vipers protectively
Among the Suk and Bari of East Africa, who live as nomadic
surrounding an altar as symbols of the genius loci, or tutelary
shepherds, the serpent is called “child of God,” fed with
deity of the place. In Greece, ancestors such as Kekrops and
milk, and looked upon as a bringer of good fortune. Ser-
Erechtheus, who had been transformed into heroes, were
venerated in the form of serpents. A serpent and a vessel on
pents, dragons, and toads are widely considered to be protec-
ancient Greek tombstones depicts a libation to the dead. The
tors and bearers of treasures and riches. In central Europe
ancient Scythians who lived north of the Black Sea regarded
there are still place-names (e.g., Drachenfels, “dragon-rock”)
themselves as descendants of Targitaus, a son of the god of
that allude to local sagas built around the idea of a Lindwurm
heaven and of the half-human, half-snakelike daughter of
(from the Old Norse linn-ormr, “serpent-dragon”) who pro-
Dnieper, the river god. In some gnostic writings of the Helle-
tects a treasure; Fáfnir, who guarded the treasure of the Nibe-
nistic period there is the notion that the first human beings
lungs, was such a dragon. In the cultural orbit of India the
crawled on the ground like snakes. In New Guinea and the
na¯gas are the guardians and givers of the vital forces stored
Admiralty Islands there is a legend that the first human be-
up in springs and wells and of the coral and pearls deposited
ings were born of a serpent. Among the Australian Aborigi-
in the sea. The Buddhist Ja¯taka tales tell of a Na¯ga prince
nes the moon is regarded as ancestor of the tribe; his totem
who possesses a pearl that grants his every wish. The charita-
is a serpent. Many chieftains among the Paiwan (east coast
ble Chinese dragon that brings good fortune is said to have
of Taiwan) claim descent from the “hundred-step serpent.”
the head of a horse or a camel and the body of a serpent,
The Zulu (South Africa) look upon certain snakes as divi-
while his beard often contains a pearl. In the cults and cus-
nized ancestors who have the power to return to earth in this
toms of the Ivory Coast (West Africa) the snake is regarded
form. In Southwest Asia a serpent-princess is supposed to
as a bringer of wealth and fame; in Benin the python in par-
have been the founder of particular dynasties.
ticular is a symbol of happiness and prosperity. In Melanesia
the snake plays the part of culture hero; in many sagas he
In Africa, Asia, and Oceania the snake is often associated
gives human beings the edible plants, fire, and frequently
with the soul. According to the beliefs of the Maasai (East
simple tools like the shell knife and stone ax as well.
Africa) the souls of chieftains and medicine men turn into
WISDOM AND POWER. The serpent knows all mysteries; if
snakes after death and live on in this form. The Melanesians
a person eats its flesh (or the heart of a dragon, as the Ger-
identify their ancestors with this reptile, and it is frequently
manic hero Siegfried did), many things are revealed to him;
found as a totem, in New Britain and New Ireland, for exam-
in particular, he can understand the speech of the birds. In
ple. In Chinese fairy tales the dead may reappear as serpents.
Greek myths if a serpent licks the ears of a human being, the
In Europe, too, one finds the idea that the soul can leave the
human will understand the languages of animals (cf., e.g., the
body in the form of a serpent, not only after death but even
story of Melampus and the sons of Laocoön). The children
in dreams (cf. the saga of Guntram, the Frankish king). Vari-
of Hecuba, queen of Troy, were licked by a serpent and re-
ous Slavic peoples believe that the souls of deceased ancestors
ceived the gift of prophecy. Snakes were associated with
dwell in snakes, which guard the homes of their human de-
Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, and in the Middle
scendants.
Ages with Prudentia, the personification of prudence or prac-
PROTECTOR OF THE HOUSE AND BESTOWER OF HAPPINESS.
tical wisdom. Then there is the well-known saying of Jesus:
According to widespread popular belief, snakes should not
“Be wise as serpents” (Mt. 10:16). The serpent represented
be killed, because they protect the house and bring good for-
on the croziers of Coptic and Byzantine bishops symbolizes
tune; if they are supplied with milk, they bring health and
the prudence with which the faithful are to be guided. The
prosperity. In fairy tales the toad may replace the serpent in
Aztec god Quetzalcoatl (“feathered serpent”) was the founder
this role; both animals are accounted to be of chthonic origin
of the body of priestly wisdom; high priests bore the title
and are numbered among the life-giving powers that contrib-
“Prince of Serpents.” Animals that were superior to human
ute to the welfare of those who maintain contact with the
beings in certain abilities became symbols of power: Thus the
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8458
SNAKES
prophet Isaiah (Is. 27:1) describes the great powers threaten-
Kongo) believes that the moon at one time lived on earth as
ing the people of God as a leviathan (Babylon?) and a dragon
a python. Also to be interpreted in lunar terms is the horned
(Egypt?). The representation of an asp known as the uraeus
serpent of the pre-Columbian Nazca culture (Peru); the horn
that the pharaohs wore on their foreheads was a symbol of
is a widespread symbol of power. The double serpent—one
their sovereignty; the uraeus was also worn by Horus, the
with a head at each end—can simultaneously symbolize both
royal god; the serpent on the brow of Re, the sun god, was
moon and sun, as among the Kwakiutl tribe of Indians. In
said to annihilate all enemies. The horned serpent on the
addition to Quetzalcoatl, the serpent of the nocturnal sky,
seals of scrolls from ancient Mesopotamia is probably a sign
the Aztec believed in a turquoise serpent of the diurnal sky,
of divine power; it is sacred to the god Ningishzida, the
which was associated with the solar god Huitzilopochtli. The
guardian at the door of heaven. Among more primitive peo-
Egyptian uraeus, like the serpent that is equated with Helios
ples, too, the serpent can be a symbol of power and sover-
in Greek magical papyri, was certainly solar in character.
eignty; thus it is part of the decoration on the festive garb
D
of the Paiwan chieftains of Taiwan. Iconographically related
EATH AND THE UNDERWORLD. Serpents frequently play
an important role in religious conceptions about the origins
to the serpent is the dragon—it was the emperor’s sign in
of sin. A striking parallel to the story in the Book of Genesis
China, and the Anglo-Saxons painted it on royal banners.
of the fall of Adam and Eve is to be found in a myth of the
The power inherent in the serpent was also thought to be
Basari (northern Togo); here the serpent misleads the first
apotropaic; thus the serpent protected temples (Egypt),
human beings into eating certain fruits that until then only
tombs (classical antiquity), and the thresholds of homes
God (Unumbotte) had eaten. According to a story of the
(Sweden).
Dusun (northern Borneo), Kenharingen, the creator, said
REPRESENTATIVES OF COSMIC POWERS. In classical antiqui-
that those who shed their skins would not die; human beings
ty the serpent Uroboros, which swallows its own tail, is able
paid no heed and are therefore snatched away by death, but
to embrace the entire universe. Various Indian paintings and
snakes remain alive forever because they listened to God and
sculptures show the dancing god Siva inside a cosmic ring
shed their skins. After the Babylonian hero Gilgamesh at last
that is clearly recognizable as the body of a serpent with a
found the plant of immortality, he was robbed of it by a ser-
head at each end. In Germanic mythology the Miðgarðsormr
pent while he was bathing, thus forfeiting eternal life to the
(“world serpent”), with which Þórr (Thor) does battle, is
snake. Persian tradition tells of a plant called haoma that be-
wound like a belt around the world. In some mythologies,
stowed immortality; but Ahura Mazda¯’s adversary, Ahriman,
the struggle between the storm god and a serpent symbolizes
created a serpent to harm the miraculous plant.
the antagonism between the uranian powers above and the
chthonic powers below; this is true, for instance, of the battle
The figure of the serpent also stands for the threatening
between the Hittite storm god and Illuyanka. In the conflict
forces that bring death. In the Finnic concept of the next
between the two principles of being (between good and evil
world, the traveler into the realm of the dead is threatened
at the ethical level) the place of the divinity may be taken by
by an ever-vigilant serpent. The Norse Edda tells of a hall
an eagle. The enmity between the divine bird and the snake
in the kingdom of the dead that has walls made of the bodies
is a theme in the mythology and art of many peoples: It is
of serpents; poison drips from its roof. Etruscan iconography
found on seals from ancient Mesopotamia; in Homer’s Iliad;
displays various demons of the underworld accompanied by
in India, where the bird Garuda is known as “the serpent-
serpents. Bronze Age statuettes found in Crete show a female
slayer” (na¯ga¯ntaka); and in Christian contexts, where the
figure with a serpent in each elevated hand and two serpents
eagle is a symbol of Christ and the serpent, dragon, and basi-
rearing up at her breasts; these statuettes are probably con-
lisk are demonic animals.
nected with the chthonic cult of the goddess of the earth and
of the dead. The Erinyes (Furies) of Greek mythology are
The serpent belongs not only to the water and the earth;
subterranean goddesses of vengeance; heads covered with
it can also be associated with the heavens. In Melanesian,
writhing snakes, they pursue all evildoers. The Hindu god-
Finnic, and Aztec mythologies, snakes represent the light-
dess Ka¯l¯ı, the great “devourer” who destroys life, has as her
ning; among the Babylonians, in India, and in ancient Mexi-
attributes skulls and serpents. In Aztec lore the earth goddess
co the Milky Way was associated with a serpent. The motif
Coatlicue, the “Lady with the Skirt of Serpents,” is also the
of the rainbow as a snake is found in Oceania and tropical
goddess of death; in Mictlen (the realm of the dead) poison-
Africa; the Dogon of West Africa, for example, think of the
ous snakes serve as food. The Egyptians believed the under-
rainbow as the serpent of the water god Nommo. Australian
world to be inhabited by, among other things, fire-breathing
tribes regard the rainbow snake, under the name of Yulung-
serpents armed with knives; some sayings in the Book of
gul, as a creative divinity and bestower of culture. Above all,
Going Forth by Day are meant as protection against them
however, the serpent has a lunar significance; Mircea Eliade
(7.33–35). In Christianity the serpent is often associated
speaks of it as “an epiphany of the moon” (Patterns in Com-
with sin, death, and the Prince of Darkness who rules over
parative Religion, New York, 1958, p. 165). Like the moon
the damned.
that is gradually diminished and then gradually renews itself,
so the serpent sheds and renews its skin and becomes a sym-
LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. The serpent has possession of the
bol of death and resurrection. The Ngala tribe (central
plant of immortal life (Epic of Gilgamesh); in various fairy
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SNAKES
8459
tales and in some Greek sagas (Glaucus, Tylon) snakes re-
Mithra as having the head of a wolf and a body entwined
store the dead to life by means of a plant known only to
by serpents is usually interpreted as representing Aion, the
them. In Melanesian and South American traditions the
god of time. The cobra was sacred to Uto, the regional god-
snake gives human beings the knowledge of edible plants; in
dess of Lower Egypt. The Hindu snake goddess Manasa is
ancient Egypt, Renenutet, “mistress of the fertile land” (the
invoked even today against snakebite. One of the terrifying
goddess of agriculture), was worshiped in the form of a ser-
divinities of Buddhism is Bhutadamara, who combats de-
pent. The serpent is closely associated with the fruit of life
mons: His adornment consists of eight serpents. In the Kald-
and the water of life; in Southwest Asia and in China it is
erash gypsy tribe (France) there are still traces of a cult of ser-
considered to be the giver of rain. Among the Hopi Indians
pents that reaches back to ancient India; thus in the spring
(Arizona) a feast of serpents is celebrated in August in order
the tribe celebrates the day of the snake or divine serpent.
to obtain rain; during the dancing at this celebration the par-
An explicit worship of snakes was practiced by the Lombards
ticipants carry live rattlesnakes between their teeth. The
(sixth to eighth centuries in Italy) and by the Lithuanians;
(East) Indian na¯gas are givers of fertility; sacrifices associated
but in this context mention must be made of various sects
with the na¯gakal (a cobra idol of stone) erected in Indian vil-
of gnostics in late antiquity generally grouped together under
lages are supplications for the birth of children. Snakes have
the name of Ophites: They adored the godhead in the form
phallic significance in the most varied of cultures: classical
of a serpent. The cult of snakes indigenous to West Africa
antiquity, the ancient Near East, India, and Melanesia; some
(especially Dahomey) came to America with the slaves and
American Indian cultures employ the double symbol of the
acquired a new form in the magical and religious Voodoo
serpent (phallus) and the rhombus (vulva); according to an
of Haiti.
association made in ancient Mexico (Codex Borgia) the penis
is controlled by a serpent-demon. The snake thrown into a
SEE ALSO Dragons.
cave in the worship of the Greek goddess Demeter also had
a phallic significance: The snake was expected to promote the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Important older presentations of the religious significance of ser-
powers of growth present in the earth. Many peoples have
pents were for the most part devoted to particular cultures.
believed that the snake obtained long life and even immortal-
See, for example, Erich Küster’s Die Schlange in der griechisc-
ity by shedding its skin; as a result the serpent became an at-
hen Kunst und Religion (Giessen, 1933), Jean Philippe
tribute of Shadrapa (ancient Syria) and Asklepios (Greece),
Vogel’s Indian Serpent Lore or the Nagas in Hindu Legend and
who were gods of healing; the latter was taken over by the
Art (London, 1926), Gottfried Wilhelm Locher’s The Ser-
Romans as Aesculapius, and the staff of Aesculapius with
pent in Kwakiutl Religion: A Study in Primitive Culture (Lei-
snakes wound around it is still the symbol of the medical pro-
den, 1932), and Hans Ritter’s Die Schlange in der Religion
fession (the caduceus). In the Egyptian Book of Going Forth
der Melanesier (Basel, 1945). Two more recent publications
by Day transformation into a serpent will give new life to the
treating the African world may be mentioned: John Snook’s
African Snake Stories (New York, 1973) and Alfred Hauen-
dead person (chap. 87). The snake that in the mysteries of
stein’s “Le serpent dans les rites, cultes et coutumes de cer-
the Thracian-Phrygian god Sabazios was drawn across the
taines ethnies de Côte d’Ivoire,” Anthropos 73 (1978): 525–
bosom of the initiate, gave hope for the attainment of im-
560. The Rainbow Serpent: A Chromatic Piece, edited by Ira
mortality. The bronze serpent that Moses displayed on a
R. Buchler and Kenneth Maddock (The Hague, 1978),
standard became a prefiguration of the Savior’s death on the
treats Australian material before bringing in other mytholo-
cross and of redemption (Jn. 3:14f.).
gies. In Serpent Symbolism in the Old Testament: A Linguistic,
T
Archaeological, and Literary Study (Haddonfield, N.J., 1974),
HE DEMONIC AND THE DIVINE. Because of the ambiva-
lence with which they are regarded, serpents may be associat-
Karen Randolph Joines discusses biblical treatments of the
theme and their influence on Christianity. C. F. Oldham
ed either with devils or with gods. On cylinder seals from an-
supplies good basic material on the astral significance of the
cient Mesopotamia multiheaded serpents embody the forces
serpent in The Sun and the Serpent: A Contribution to the His-
hostile to the gods. Even as a small child, Apollo, the Greek
tory of Serpent-Worship (London, 1905), but some interpreta-
god of light, killed the python of Delphi, which was perse-
tions need correcting. The importance of the serpent in the
cuting his mother, Leto. In a similar manner the apocalyptic
Greek mystery cults and their influence on the Christian
serpent threatens the celestial virgin (Rv. 12:1–5). Among
world is the subject of Hans Leisegang’s “Das Mysterium der
the more generally known demonic serpents are Apophis
Schlange,” Eranos-Jahrbuch 7 (1939): 151–250. Two com-
(Egypt), the Miðgarðsormr (Germany), Kulshedra (Albania),
prehensive treatments are Balaji Mundkur’s The Cult of the
and the numerous kaia (Melanesia).
Serpent: An Interdisciplinary Survey of Its Manifestations and
Origins
(Albany, N. Y., 1983) and my Adler und Schlange:
In the belief of the ancient Greeks the Agathos Daimon,
Tiersymbolik im Glauben und Weltbild der Völker (Tübingen,
frequently thought of as a winged serpent, played the role of
1983).
a good spirit. As bringer of salvation and giver of life the ser-
New Sources
pent became a divine animal; it was associated with Anat, the
Loibl, Elisabeth. Deuses animais. Sa˜o Paulo, 1984.
goddess of war venerated at Ugarit (modern-day Shamra,
Martinek, Manuela. Wie die Schlange zum Teufel wurde: die Sym-
Syria), and, in the form of a dragon, with Marduk, the prin-
bolik in der Paradiesgeschichte von der hebräischen Bibel bis
cipal Babylonian god. The figure depicted by worshipers of
zum Koran. Wiesbaden, 1996.
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8460
SNORRI STURLUSON
Wilson, Leslie S. The Serpent Symbol in the Ancient Near East:
troduction to Norse mythology, the Gylfaginning (The de-
Nahash and Asherah: Death, Life, and Healing. Lanham, Md.,
luding of Gylfi). In this section he presents Gylfi, a fictional
2001.
Swedish king who, disguised as an old wanderer, travels to
M
Ásgard-r to find out about the ancient pagan gods and meets
ANFRED LURKER (1987)
Translated from German by Matthew J. O’Connell
Óðinn, also in disguise, who answers his questions. Óðinn
Revised Bibliography
describes the Norse mythological world from its beginning
to its end in the Ragnaro˛k (the destruction of the cosmos and
its rebirth), noting important facts about the various gods,
Valho˛ll, Yggdrasill (the cosmic tree), and more. It was pre-
SNORRI STURLUSON (1179–1241) is Iceland’s
sumably Snorri who also wrote a prologue with a euhemeris-
greatest historian. His writings include the Prose Edda and
tic derivation of the Norse gods as kings descended from
the Heimskringla, which along with the Poetic Edda are the
King Priam of Troy. As sources, Snorri used Eddic and
major primary sources for Germanic mythology and religion.
skaldic poetry and oral tradition.
Snorri was sent at a young age to a settlement in southern
Iceland called Oddi to be fostered by Jón Loptsson, grandson
Snorri then proceeded to compose the Heimskringla
of Sæmund Sigfússon and of Magnus III of Norway. Jón
(Orb of the world), his monumental history of the Norwe-
Loptsson was the most powerful chieftain in Iceland at the
gian kings from their mythical origins through Magnús V
time, and his farm was a center of learning without equal.
Erlingsson (r. 1162–1184). The first part, the Ynglingasaga,
Snorri received the best education possible; his power and
traces the origins of the kings back to their mythical ancestor
stature increased, and he was elected law speaker in 1215.
Yngvifreyr, and before him to Njo˛rd-r and ultimately Óðinn.
After one term, ending in 1218, he journeyed to Norway to
The purpose of the Ynglingasaga was to provide a meaningful
visit its rulers, the regent Earl Skúli and the young King
connection between the traditional and Christian periods
Hákon. For several years Snorri traveled widely throughout
and to provide the Norwegian kings with an illustrious an-
Norway and Sweden. He thwarted a scheme to force Iceland
cestry that confirmed their sacred right and ability to govern.
to submit to Norwegian rule and left Norway in great honor,
As a source on Norse mythology, the Ynglingasaga is the
promising to work for Norway’s cause in Iceland. Snorri was
most important of the Heimskringla sagas, though others
re-elected law speaker for three terms (1222–1232), and it
contain mythological material as well.
was during this period that he found the time to produce his
greatest writings. Ever a ruthless and opportunistic leader,
SEE ALSO Eddas; Loki; Óðinn; Sagas; Saxo Grammaticus.
Snorri was involved in many disputes, even with his own rel-
atives, and in 1241 he was murdered by one of his enemies.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Upon his return from Norway, Snorri composed the
Snorri’s Prose Edda is available in full in The Prose Edda of Snorri
Háttatál (List of Verse Forms), a poem in praise of Earl Skúli
Sturluson: Tales from the Norse Mythology (Berkeley, Calif.,
and King Hákon that became the final section of a three-part
1992), translated by Jean I. Young. See also Edda: Prolog of
handbook for skaldic poets now known as the Prose Edda.
Gylfaginning (Oxford, U.K., 1982), edited by Anthony
The Háttatál consisted of three poems in 102 stanzas dem-
Faulkes; Edda: Skáldskaparmál (2 vols., London, 1988), ed-
onstrating possible verse forms for Old Norse skaldic poetry.
ited by Anthony Faulkes; Edda: Háttartál (Oxford, U.K.,
1991), edited by Anthony Faulkes; and Snorri Sturluson,
By itself it would have been difficult for Snorri’s contempo-
Edda (London, 1987), translated by Anthony Faulkes. Heim-
raries to understand, despite its explanatory prose commen-
skringla: History of the Kings of Norway (Austin, Tex., 1964),
tary, for there were many complicated metaphors with allu-
by Snorri Sturluson, translated with introduction and notes
sions to long-forgotten mythological material. Snorri
by Lee M. Hollander, is an excellent English translation of
therefore went on to write a second part (the Skáldskaparmál)
Snorri’s work on Norwegian kings. Secondary literature in-
on poetic diction that supplied the rules for the formation
cludes Hans Fix, ed. Snorri Sturluson: Beiträge zu Werk und
of kennings (compound metaphors) and heiti (poetical
Rezeption (Berlin, 1998); Stefanie von Schnurbein “The
nouns). Many of the examples of kennings contain mytho-
Function of Loki in Snorri Sturluson’s Edda,” History of Reli-
logical information not found elsewhere. Moreover, there is
gions 40 (November 2000), 109–124; John Lindow, “Loki
an extensive introduction (the Bragarœður), according to
and Skad-i,” in Snorrastefna (Reykjavík, 1990), edited by
Úlfar Bragason; Thomas A. DuBois, Nordic Religions in the
which the god Ægir, during a visit to Valho˛ll, entertained his
Viking Age (Philadelphia, 1999); and Frederic Amory, review
table companion Bragi with old tales of the gods, including
of Skáldskaparmál: Snorri Sturluson’s Ars Poetica and Medi-
important myths, such as the theft of Id-un’s apples, the ad-
eval Theories of Language, by Margaret Clunies Ross, Scandi-
ventures of Þjazi, and the story of how Óðinn (Odin) ob-
navian Studies 62 (Summer, 1990), 331–339. In addition,
tained the poetic mead.
Marlene Ciklamini has published two useful works on Snor-
ri: Snorri Sturluson (Boston, 1978), and “Ynglinga Saga: Its
Since much of this mythological material, too, would
Function and Its Appeal,” Mediaeval Scandinavia 8 (1975):
have been unfamiliar to the readers of his time (who, like
86–99.
Snorri, were Christians in a country that two centuries earlier
had accepted the Christian faith), he prefaced it with an in-
JOHN WEINSTOCK (1987 AND 2005)
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
8461
SNOUCK HURGRONJE, CHRISTIAAN
New Sources
(1857–1936), was a Dutch Islamicist and colonial adviser.
Snouk Hurgronje, C., and P. Sj. Van Koningsveld. Minor German
At the University of Leiden, Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje
Correspondences of C. Snouck Hurgronje: From Libraries in
France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
Leiden, 1987.
studied theology and initially intended to become a minister.
His early interest in literary and historical criticism of the
DALE F. EICKELMAN (1987)
Bible, a field then still regarded as suspect by some conserva-
Revised Bibliography
tive Christians, contributed to his decision in 1878 to re-
nounce the ministry and pursue a scholarly career in Arabic
and Islamic studies. In 1880 he defended a doctoral thesis
SOCIALLY ENGAGED BUDDHISM S
on the origins of the traditional pilgrimage to Mecca. In Au-
EE
ENGAGED BUDDHISM
gust 1884 he traveled to Jidda, where he was invited by Mec-
can religious scholars and notables to visit Mecca. Although
he dressed as a Muslim and adopted a Muslim name, EAbd
al-Ghaffa¯r, Snouck Hurgronje did not conceal his identity
SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDI-
as a non-Muslim from his hosts; he remained in Mecca from
TION]. Relations between religion and society are funda-
February to August 1884. In 1889 he published, with photo-
mental to the nature of religion and, according to long-
graphs, a detailed ethnographic account of contemporary
standing intellectual claims, are intrinsic to the nature of so-
Meccan social and intellectual life, translated as Mecca in the
ciety. Indeed, societies are characterized by the values they
Latter Part of the Nineteenth Century (1931). A chapter of this
embody, the individual and collective motivations they en-
work is devoted to Mecca’s Javanese colony.
courage, the incentives they inspire and sanction, and the
Snouck Hurgronje’s interests as a historian of religions
ideals by which belief, attitude, and behavior are established
were strongly informed by ethnography. For Snouck Hur-
and secured. Accordingly, religion can hardly be identified
gronje, both historical and contemporary religious beliefs
or defined except in terms of human social relations. Reli-
and movements had to be understood in terms of the social
gion offers prescriptions for social order, individual behavior,
and political contexts in which they occurred. After his re-
and collective action. Thus, all religious traditions give ex-
turn to Europe from Mecca, he continued to lecture and
pression to the relationship between what are acknowledged
write on general themes in Islam and Islamic jurisprudence
and understood to be the most compelling objectives of
but he became increasingly interested in the Dutch East In-
human life and day-to-day conduct. To a remarkable extent,
dies (present-day Indonesia). In 1889 he was sent to Batavia
the religions of the world can be distinguished from each
(present-day Djakarta), where he served as a colonial adviser
other on the basis of their selective interpretations of this
while remaining an ethnographer and a religious scholar. In
fundamental relationship and in terms of the attitudes to-
1892 he was posted at Aceh, a region of Sumatra in frequent
ward society that they prescribe and honor. And yet, while
rebellion against Dutch rule since 1873. Living like a Mus-
the religious traditions of the world can be distinguished
lim (though again not concealing his European identity) and
from each other on these grounds, they also share some com-
reestablishing ties with Acehnese he had first met in Mecca,
mon convictions about this fundamental relationship and
his comprehensive reporting on Islamic political and reli-
what it entails.
gious movements began to shape colonial policy. He recom-
RELATIONS BETWEEN SOCIETY AND VARIOUS RELIGIOUS
mended that the government co-opt the secular chieftains,
TRADITIONS. All religious traditions seek a measure of con-
while suppressing the Islamic leaders who were the instiga-
gruence between the ideals they espouse and the societal or-
tors of the rebellion. His advice was informed by his view of
dering of life in which such ideals are meant to be expressed.
the Islamic leadership as alien agitators intent upon imposing
As a consequence, a society is known by its collective aspira-
norms and values contrary to local customs. Snouck Hur-
tions—aspirations to which religion attributes sanction.
gronje continued his role as Islamicist and colonial adviser
Similarly, all religious traditions have mechanisms to inspire
to the Dutch government from his return to Leiden in 1906
their adherents toward objectives that their societies have not
until his retirement in 1927.
yet attained. The relationship between these ideals and the
collective behavior that religion sanctions is always subject
SEE ALSO Acehnese Religion.
to correction and modification, given the more comprehen-
sive sense of the world’s well-being to which the teaching of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the world’s religions attest. All religious traditions provide
Snouck Hurgronje’s ethnography, The Acehnese, 2 vols., translated
some means by which individuals and communities can es-
by A. W. S. O’Sullivan (Leiden, 1906), remains a classic. For
tablish (or reestablish) their lives on a basis that is distinct
an analysis of his scholarship on Islam, see Jacques Waarden-
burg’s L’Islam dans le miroir de l’occident (The Hague, 1970),
from the social and cultural status quo. That is, all religious
which contains an extensive bibliography. James T. Siegal’s
traditions sanction forms of withdrawal from the world or
The Rope of God (Berkeley, Calif., 1969) contains an exten-
release from the social status quo. In so doing, they certify
sive discussion of Snouck Hurgronje’s views on Islam and
that religious ideals and the day-to-day ordering of common
Acehnese society.
life are not fully congruent, but rather are characterized by
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8462
SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
conflict and tension. The effective resolution or mediation
in the spheres of government, jurisprudence, education,
of such conflicts requires deliberate spiritual and practical
music, and the ritual life of the people. While both Daoism
strategies.
and Buddhism have had enormous impact on Chinese reli-
gion and philosophy, the fundamental cohesiveness of tradi-
Given the complex nature of their relationship to soci-
tional Chinese society can be attributed to the capacity of
ety, religious traditions often find it useful to invoke a dis-
Confucian teaching to identify compatibilities between indi-
tinction between sacred and secular, and to apply this dis-
vidual moral imperatives and the dictates of social order.
tinction in establishing the status of society. While there is
an inviolable tendency within religious consciousness to af-
Islam. The Islamic religion offers a clear example of so-
firm that all of life is sacred, there is also the recognition that
cietal order that is prescribed by religious doctrine. Indeed,
what is sacred is determined in relation to what is reckoned
within regions where Islam dominates, it is just as appropri-
to be profane. Sacred and secular are dichotomous terms that
ate to refer to Islamic states as to Islamic religion. The Islamic
can only be defined in relationship to each other. Thus, the
ideal is meant to be developed into community-states; the
intrinsic dynamism of each religious tradition issues from its
individual’s relationship with God is interdependent with re-
comprehension of how all can be sacred when sacred is
lationships among human beings in social settings. Thus,
known and perceived only in contrast to the profane. The
there are Islamic peoples, a Muslim empire, and indeed an
teachings of the religious traditions are drawn from knowl-
Islamic civilization, all of which originated from the insights
edge and experience of how individual and collective human
and teachings of the prophet Muh:ammad in Arabia in the
life ought to be ordered, and how human aspirations are to
seventh century CE. Understanding that a Muslim is identi-
be accorded privilege, in light of the complexities of this fun-
fied as one who “surrenders” to the will of God and who con-
damental relationship between the sacred and the profane.
fesses “There is no god but God and Muh:ammad is his
Consequently, the religious traditions offer tested formulas
prophet” establishes a strong basis for social and political co-
by which the boundaries and contours of the sacred can be
hesiveness. Islamic doctrine and Islamic law are conceived as
discerned in relation to the boundaries and contours of the
aspects of the same will. The characteristic Islamic ethos
profane. But all of them seek to affirm that life itself is sacred,
blends the spiritual with the temporal, the public with the
and that its societal forms and expressions can and must be
private, and individual religious aspiration with the affairs of
infused by such perceptions and convictions.
the state. Because there can be no fundamental distinction
between the religious and temporal spheres of life, Muslims
Confucianism. Confucius (552?–479 BCE) traveled
understand Islamic states to have come into being in accor-
from state to state throughout China in order to awaken the
dance with the divine will. Thus, from the beginning, the
social responsibility of the populace and to generate social
Muslim world has been populated by theocratic states. In-
and political reforms. Indeed, the teachings of Confucius are
deed, much of the tension that exists within that world today
designed to create the moral context sufficient to encourage
derives from the power of modern educational and social re-
a harmonious family life, a state that is governed equitably,
form and of increasing political democratization to upset the
and a world with sufficient spiritual resourcefulness to allow
religious and social harmony that was explicit in traditional
its inhabitants to live in peace. In Confucius’s eyes, individu-
Islamic law.
al character and a just social and political order are both con-
sequences of moral cultivation. His emphasis upon the culti-
Shinto¯. The indigenous culture and ethos of Japan,
vation of individual moral character as well as a harmonious
Shinto¯ offers an example of interdependency between spiri-
social order prompted his followers to point his teachings in
tual and temporal elements that are virtually impossible to
two directions. The first, represented by the Great Learning
distinguish. Having come to expression through the ancient
(Daxue), from the fifth century BCE, emphasized the social
folk tales, myths, and rites of the Japanese people, Shinto¯ de-
implications of Confucian teaching. The second, represented
veloped in close correspondence to the emerging and ongo-
by the Doctrine of the Mean (Zhong yong), attributed to Zisi
ing Japanese collective identity. Thus, Shinto¯ came to de-
(483–402 BCE), Confucius’s grandson, lays stress on the har-
scribe those beliefs and practices that were distinctively and
monization of emotion, temperament, and intelligence, as
inherently Japanese. It has no single founder, no authorized
the means of achieving full realization of one’s individual na-
sacred scripture, and no set of prescribed doctrines. The
ture. The Doctrine of the Mean affirms that it is through the
myths to which it lays claim are in many respects similar to
realization of individual natures that more comprehensive
those that have been found among the peoples of Southeast
forms of social and political harmony can occur. Because
Asia. Yet, the attitude to life that Shinto¯ espouses is distinc-
Confucian teaching carried this twofold capacity, to provide
tively Japanese, and its influences are to be felt in myriad
individual moral incentive while prescribing the bases for
ways throughout Japanese social and cultural life. In its en-
harmonious social and political order, it became the prevail-
counter with religious and cultural traditions whose origins
ing school of thought in China, and, in 136 BCE, was pro-
lie elsewhere—Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, in
claimed official state doctrine. Through the centuries, Con-
particular—Shinto¯ has displayed both its adaptive and resis-
fucianism has exercised a fundamental formative role
tive sides. Its presence among the people always has been as-
throughout Chinese social and cultural life, and particularly
sociated with respect for ancestors that through the centuries
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
8463
has translated into respect for the emperor and the imperial
and spiritual nurture so that aspirants, guided by the dictates
line. This connotes a devotion to the power (kami) from
of the famous Eightfold Path, might progress toward
which life flows, by which human conduct must be guided,
nirva¯n:a. Within the monastic order (sam:gha), life was to be
and by means of which the people are united.
lived simply; however, extreme ascetic practices were not
condoned. Indeed, Buddhism can be described as a monastic
Hinduism. The religion (as well as civilization) of India
religion, to be supported as well as followed by the laity.
presents a more complicated picture. Within Hindu civiliza-
Thus, Buddhism has come to influence, but not to define,
tion, religion functions much less in correspondence with
the societies within which it has become prevalent. In India,
national objectives, and much more as a way of life or mode
China, Japan, Tibet, Burma, Sri Lanka, and indeed,
of consciousness. The Hindu perception that human life
throughout Southeast and Southwest Asia, and even within
consists of an endless series of births and rebirths, together
with Hindu belief in karman—namely, that previous acts are
the United States, it has been pliable and adaptive. It teaches
factors that determine present and future circumstances—
a way of life that is exemplified by the monks, who are re-
leads to a stratification of social classes as well as to a hierar-
garded as moral leaders, and is both respected and practiced
chical ordering of religious values. Individuals are enjoined
by the laity. Buddhism specifically teaches that the response
to perform the laws and duties (dharma) that are expected
to suffering humanity should be active compassion, and the
and required of the class, or caste, to which he or she belongs.
direct result of this has been the formation of social service
Indeed, the distinctions between classes correspond to the
ministries (i.e., hospitals, schools, orphanages, and other be-
fundamentally distinguishable estates of human beings.
nevolent institutions). Compassion also dictates such indi-
Brahma¯n:as (brahmans), judged to be in the preeminent posi-
vidual virtues as generosity, morality, patience, vigor, con-
tions, are understood to be the guardians of the divine
centration in meditation, and wisdom. But these virtues
power. Ks:atriyas, the nobility, exist to protect the people.
belong to a fundamental emphasis upon the primacy of indi-
Vai´syas, members of the third estate, are obliged to do the
vidual consciousness; this is understood in stricter Therava¯da
necessary work, that is, to tend farmland, to conduct trade,
Buddhism as communion with the Buddha and in
to care for cattle, and so on. The fourth estate, that of the
Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism as the vow of the human spirit to be-
´su¯dras, a kind of servant class, is supposed “to serve meekly.”
come a Buddha.
Hindu teaching justifies social stratification insofar as it un-
Daoism. Rooted in a response to the transition from
derstands such stratification to be sanctioned by cosmic ac-
feudalism toward a new social order in sixth-century BCE
tion. The social system is a necessary complement to the
China, Daoism has had a formative influence on Chinese
power of karman, and it is through karman that individuals
culture in all of its aspects. Associated with Lao-tzu, the re-
can hope for an eventual release from the perpetual cycle of
puted author of the Dao de jing, Daoism teaches a practical
birth and rebirth. Thus, in Hindu understanding, there is a
way of life (the natural way) as well as an attitude that enables
strong duality between spirit and matter. And while the exist-
its adherents to dispose themselves peacefully in the presence
ing social matrix is acknowledged and upheld, it sustains
of the unity of the universe. It counsels harmony, simplicity,
conditions that are deplorable. But such interpretation oc-
and peacefulness, which are expressed in artistic and cultural
curs within perceptions and convictions that affirm the
forms, such as landscape painting, tea drinking, and so on.
world to be a single reality, and thus affirm religion and soci-
Although it was never raised to official governmental status,
ety to be complementary.
as was Shinto¯ in Japan, it has been the source of a collective
Buddhism. Originating from a keen perception of the
attitude toward life in traditional Chinese society and was in-
pervasiveness of suffering and spiritual ignorance in human
fluential up to 1949, when the Communist government
life, Buddhism gives expression to the relationship between
came to power.
religion and society via the conviction that worldly life can-
Judaism. Within Judaism, complexities in the basic re-
not ensure lasting or final happiness. Its founder, Siddha¯rtha
lationship of religion to society are mediated in a variety of
Gautama (c. 563?–483? BCE), counseled his hearers and fol-
ways. The Hebrew scriptures attest, for example, that cre-
lowers to resist a life of indulgence in sensual pleasure as well
ation (the world that was made by the one true God) is good
as a life of perpetual self-mortification. The “middle path”
and is intended for enjoyment. At the same time, the good-
between these two extremes was designed to encourage true
ness and sanctity of life are interpreted in light of strong and
knowledge, tranquility, and enlightenment, pursued via a
abiding convictions regarding the special status and character
process that, as in Hinduism, works through a succession of
of a people whose way of life is ordered according to precise
lives toward an ultimate goal, nirva¯n:a. This final goal is con-
and specific covenantal sanctions. In Jewish understanding,
ceived as a transcendent state in which the individual is free
the covenant promise, “If you hear my words and obey my
from craving and sorrow and over which suffering has no ef-
commands, I will be your god and you shall be my people”
fective control.
(Ex. 19:5), is not given to everyone. Thus, while Judaism af-
The deliberate character of spiritual formation, under
firms the propriety of all of life, it is particularly attentive to
Buddhism’s auspices, has required a strong monastic move-
what has been properly consecrated and sanctified. Under-
ment. The purpose of monastic life is to provide the context
standing the relation between God and his people to be de-
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
lineated through the convenant, Judaism also places great
are inherent in the basic and formative dispositions by which
emphasis upon the conditions—through laws and ritual
each of the religious traditions is motivated. Indeed, in every
practices—by which the covenant is honored and protected.
instance, one can anticipate the attitude that a religion will
The primacy of the covenant insures that those who are
take toward society by knowing how that religion portrays
bound to a sovereign deity according to its dictates possess
the human condition, what value it places on human com-
a collective identity. It also implies that this identity will dis-
munity, and how it delineates what is expected of the indi-
tinguish them from all other peoples who are not so bound.
vidual in light of its more comprehensive understanding of
Thus, the relationship between religion and society, in Jew-
the cosmic order.
ish thought and understanding, must be depicted from two
THE STUDY OF SOCIETY AND RELIGION. Though the rela-
standpoints, that is, from outside and from within the cove-
tionship between religion and society did not become an ob-
nantal relationship. In the more comprehensive sense, God
ject of concentrated study in the West until the nineteenth
established the pattern for harmonious existence between
century, the subject has formed the basis for perennial intel-
himself and all peoples when the world was created. And in
lectual exposition from the time that questions arose con-
establishing the covenant, God chose a people through
cerning the ingredients of an ideal society, as, for example,
which the redemption of that same world was to be carried
in Plato’s Republic. The way in which ethical and moral
out. From either vantage point, Judaism understands the
ideals contribute to effective social and community life are
world, and thus society, to be the environment in which di-
also explored in the writings of Aristotle (particularly in his
vine activity occurs. From both vantage points, salvation in-
Nicomachean Ethics), Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and other
volves the realization of the creator’s purpose for his creation.
Epicureans and Stoics. The subject also appears in medieval
Thus, Judaism affirms a basic compatibility between reli-
Christian literature, wherein Greek contentions and catego-
gious ideals and social reality, a compatibility that through
ries of thought are utilized to lend expression to biblical affir-
the centuries has been invested in the idea of the nation of
mations. Syntheses were formed through a combination of
Israel, a nation of both religious and political circum-
Greek formulations of the relationships of permanence to
scription.
change and of being to becoming with the Judeo-Christian
Christianity. Beginning as a movement within Juda-
understanding of the relationships between the creator and
ism, Christianity has inherited its predecessor’s emphasis
creation. Plato’s question in Timaeus, “What is that which
upon the primacy of the covenant as well as its singularly mo-
always is and has no becoming, and what is that which is al-
notheistic understanding of the nature of deity. However, in-
ways becoming and never is?” was answered in classical
formed by the life of Jesus Christ and giving a triune formu-
Christian theology in terms that described the relation be-
lation to its belief in the one true God, Christianity, even in
tween God and the world. Under such formulas, the
its initial stages of development, made appeals not only to
world—and, by extension, society—was accorded a second-
Jews but to all inhabitants of the Greco-Roman world. As
ary, subordinate, and derivative reality in contrast to God,
a consequence, adherence to the covenant was reinterpreted
the seat of all permanence, or of “that which always is and
in terms more spiritual and less juridical than otherwise pre-
has no becoming.” And the theological task for the medieval
vails in Judaism.
writers, under dictates of the relationship between sacred and
profane, was to affirm the intrinsic goodness and propriety
Indeed, the Christian revision of the understanding of
of the subordinate reality in full recognition of the fact that
the covenant required the formulation of a new covenant,
its status could only be conceived in contrast to what was ac-
which would be the basis of a revised collective identity. This
knowledged to be primary.
new covenant made it possible to conceive of Christianity in
universal terms and to identify followers of Jesus Christ.
The normative exposition of this relationship was of-
Thus, basic convictions about the goodness of the created
fered by Augustine (354–430), in his City of God, in which
order as well as the need for redemption—convictions Chris-
the temporal order was conceived in the likeness of the eter-
tianity shares with Judaism—have to be applied and under-
nal order and yet accorded an intrinsic positive status.
stood contextually. It is possible to apply such convictions
Whereas Augustine utilized Platonic philosophical categories
to mean that there should be a Christian state and to cite the
to spell out these interdependencies, Thomas Aquinas
same convictions as providing a rationale for conceiving of
(1225–1274) employed an Aristotelian mode to affirm com-
Christians as “the salt of the earth,” whose task it is to bring
patibilities between heavenly and earthly realms as well as be-
and/or discover the presence of God wherever they find
tween ecclesiastical and civil orders. At the time of the Prot-
themselves. And when these basic religious convictions are
estant Reformation, Martin Luther (1483–1546) developed
combined with insights derived in large part from Greek and
a doctrine of “two kingdoms,” as, for example, in his Chris-
Hellenistic influence, it is also possible to approach society
tian Liberty, so that both temporary and permanent obliga-
both in transcendent and ideal terms, as in the Christian un-
tions and services could be distinguished and rightly ordered.
derstanding of the kingdom of God.
And there are many examples within Christian theological
literature of attempts to create earthly or civil societies in
Thus, it can be demonstrated that particular prescrip-
close approximation to the heavenly or permanent ideal.
tions regarding the relationships between religion and society
John Calvin (1509–1564), the author of Institutes of the
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
8465
Christian Religion, wished this for his city of Geneva. The
disposition and those of a previous religious stage of intellec-
Cambridge Platform of 1648 outlines the plan of the Massa-
tual development by comparing and contrasting the mental
chusetts Bay Puritans to order their community life on bibli-
habits that lend form to knowledge in the two instances.
cal principles, supported by both divine and natural law. All
It is clear, however, that the same analytical strategy can
of these formulations conceived of the relationship of reli-
be employed for alternative purposes. Instead of simply fo-
gion to society to be modeled according to the interdepen-
cusing on the coordinated mental habits of so-called rudi-
dencies between the ideal and the actual and sought to medi-
mentary peoples for purposes of sketching a possible primi-
ate the distance between such states by exploring the
tive world of thought and experience, the scholar can
relationships between theory and practice.
decipher and describe the prevailing mental habits
Comte and Saint-Simon. The subject became an ob-
(“collective representations”) wherever they occur. This, in
ject of analytical (as distinct from theological) scholarly inter-
brief, describes the analytical intentions of Durkheim, whose
est in the nineteenth century, with the birth of the science
work illustrates a methodological shift from evolutionary to
of sociology. Auguste Comte (1798–1857), the acknowl-
organic conceptions of the relationships between religion
edged founder of sociology, built upon the influence of Cl-
and society. Indeed, it was Durkheim who first defined reli-
aude-Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon (1760–
gion as “something eminently social.” His The Elementary
1825) in developing an evolutionary conception of the
Forms of the Religious Life (1912) stands as a landmark in the
growth of intellectual consciousness. In Saint-Simon’s view,
development of both sociological theory and the academic
human sensitivity had already passed through the religious
study of religion. The study registers in both contexts be-
stages of polytheism and monotheism, as well as through the
cause Durkheim’s intention to identify “the religious nature
philosophical stage of metaphysics, and had just embarked
of man” by seeking to explain “the most primitive and simple
upon the era of positive science. Having come to this new
religion” was a part of his preoccupation with man’s relation
stage, it was man’s task to identify the conditions necessary
to society. He contended that “religious representations are
to create an effective rapprochement between intellectuals
collective representations.” That is, they give expression to
and the society as a whole. Comte, sharing Saint-Simon’s as-
the manner in which intellectual life is formed and constitut-
piration to improve social and political conditions, also ap-
ed. To be sure, knowledge is shaped by the intellect, which
proached theology as an antecedent and provisional mode of
bestows order, offers pattern, lends arrangement, and seeks
human intelligence that had been superseded by both philos-
coherence. And yet order, pattern, arrangement, and coher-
ophy and science. Each held that the theological mode iden-
ence do not derive from an isolated intellect, but from intel-
tifies humankind’s first way of coming to terms with experi-
lects in social association. The collective ideal is always social-
ence. But as human knowledge became more exact and
ly conceived and formulated. Thus religion becomes
progressively more certain, all previous stages or forms of un-
associated with the collective social vision, apart from which
derstanding became obsolete.
the social context cannot be understood.
Lévy-Bruhl and Durkheim. Comte’s views were highly
Weber. It was left to Max Weber (1864–1920) to break
respected within nineteenth and early twentieth-century
with the evolutionist model, and to place an analysis of the
French thought, specifically by Lucien Lévy-Bruhl (1857–
interdependencies between religion and society within a
1939) and Émile Durkheim (1858–1917). Lévy-Bruhl, shar-
cross-cultural framework. Weber’s primary intention was to
ing the widespread enthusiasm for “the law of three stages,”
understand how cultures are formed. Noting the self-evident
worked particularly to distinguish the mental reasoning pro-
compatibilities between Protestant-religious and capitalist-
cesses of archaic (first stage) and more civilized (third stage)
economic incentives in those nations and societies that have
human beings. In his How Natives Think (1910) and Primi-
been influenced by the Reformation, Weber worked to iden-
tive Mentality (1922), which he described as “one and the
tify the interrelationships between motivations and inten-
same work in two volumes,” he concentrated on the distinc-
tions, on the one hand, and acts and events, on the other,
tive mental habits of primitive (or rudimentary) peoples in
within whatever society came under his analytical scrutiny.
order to characterize religious consciousness. He contended
He observed that religious ideas possess independent causal
that the mode of intelligence that is exercised among archaic
significance in all systems of social action or processes of so-
human beings can be described as being mystical, prelogical,
cial change. The interdependence of Protestant theology
and pervaded by a sense of “affectational participation.” To
(motive) and capitalist economics (action) is Weber’s chief
call it mystical is to recognize that it is “at all times oriented
example of the dynamics of social integration. But the same
to occult forces.” To call it prelogical is to describe it as being
principles will apply to the place, status, and function of all
“indifferent to the laws of contradiction.” “Affectational par-
religious traditions within their respective sociocultural envi-
ticipation” is the phrase Lévy-Bruhl used to describe the way
ronments. In general terms, religion, standing as ideology
in which, in rudimentary apprehension, the data of experi-
and as conceptual system, supplies motivation within a soci-
ence tend to flow together and associate with each other in
ety. In more specific terms, the prevailing conception of deity
complex ways. His intention was to isolate fundamental dif-
within a society influences individual and collective actions
ferences between human beings of contemporary scientific
as well as the significance that is attributed to social relation-
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
ships. For example, conception of deity in Hindu religion
ples of organic coordination has been provided by Ninian
both affects and is in keeping with the socioeconomic situa-
Smart in his book The Religious Experience of Mankind
tion of Indian culture. So, too, the way in which the cosmos
(1969). Unlike Weber, however, Smart does not arrive at the
is depicted in Hindu scriptures bears causal relevance to the
religious traditions after engaging in complex theoretical
socioeconomic theory of those peoples whose life has been
analyses of the components of more comprehensive sociocul-
influenced by Hindu religious principles. Similarly, there is
tural ideological stances. Nor does he treat the religious as
sanction within the Judeo-Christian doctrine of creation to
a testing ground for more extensive methodological or cul-
make the world acceptable; this doctrine is implicit in the
tural issues. Instead, without flourish or methodological bro-
economic theory sanctioned in Judeo-Christian theology. In
cade, Smart contends that religions consist of strands of di-
all of these instances, religion can be seen to lend constitu-
mensions (John Henry Newman might have called them
tionality to the social order.
“notes”) that are present in various degrees of emphasis in
the religious traditions. Although Smart does not insist that
Weber’s influence. The method Weber devised was in-
the list be taken as exhaustive, there are six strands or dimen-
tended to be used on a cross-cultural basis and, where possi-
sions: doctrine, mythology, ethics, ritual, social institutions,
ble, comparatively. He himself was eager to test his methods
and religious experience. As noted, not all dimensions are
and theories on as many traditions as he had time and energy
present to the same degree in all religions. Indeed, not all of
to study. Weber left the way clear for others to inquire into
the dimensions are present in every religion. But some are
the social characteristics of individual religions, whether or
present in all religions, and the way in which they are present
not they wished to insert their findings into comparative cul-
and interact with society gives a religion its internal dyna-
tural contexts.
mism as well as its morphology. In The Phenomenon of Reli-
Indeed, one would expect that significant sociocultural
gion (London, 1973), Smart writes:
analyses of the major religious traditions would be inspired
by Weber’s pioneering work and would approach religion
For instance, the shape of a particular myth may be in
part determined by the exigencies of the kinship-system
and society as formative cultural elements, to be described
in the society in which it is recited. More sweepingly,
and defined in relation to one another. In this regard, the
the dominance of mother-goddesses in certain phases of
work of Gustave von Grunebaum, Wilfred Cantwell Smith,
religion might be at least partially ascribed to the emer-
and Clifford Geertz on Islam should be cited. Notable, too,
gence of agriculture. Conversely, some features of a so-
are the studies of William Theodore de Bary, James B. Pratt,
ciety may be heavily influenced by religion itself, in
and Charles Norton Eliot on the religions of India. Also sig-
which case the direction of the explanation runs the
nificant are the more specialized analyses of Melford E.
other way. (p. 44)
Spiro, Edward Conze, and Richard F. Gombrich on Bud-
In Smart’s view, such examples illustrate the “mutual dy-
dhism; Oscar Lewis’s Life in a Mexican Village (1963);
namic,” that is, the ongoing “dialectic in which a religion
Ch’ing-K’un Yang’s Religion in Chinese Society (1961); Henri
and its society help and shape one another.” It is on this basis
Frankfort’s work on the religions of Egyptian antiquity; W.
that Smart subsequently referred prominently to religion, in
E. H. Stanner’s portrayal of Aboriginal life in Australia; Vit-
its social setting, as being “worldview,” and the study of reli-
torio Lanternari’s The Religions of the Oppressed (1963),
gion “worldview analysis” (see Smart, Worldviews: Crosscul-
which analyzed religion functioning as protest movement;
tural Exploration of Human Beliefs, New York, 1983).
and Gerhard Lenski’s The Religious Factor (1961), a compre-
hensive analysis of modern American socioreligious inter-
Other contributions. The methods and insights of
action.
Durkheim and Weber were instrumental in establishing the
dominant theoretical framework to identify and clarify rela-
Weber’s interest in comparative cultural analysis was
tionships between religion and society. Yet, along the way,
forwarded by Joachim Wach (1898–1955), a German-born
there were numerous additional contributions that became
scholar who taught at the University of Chicago from 1944
accepted as belonging to the subject’s permanent intellectual
until his death. Wach is probably the first prominent histori-
legacy. In 1864, for example, N. D. Fustel de Coulanges
an of religion to approach the major religious traditions of
(1830–1889) published his seminal study, The Ancient City,
the world as instances of organic coordination, for which the
which traced the impact of religious beliefs and customs
societal element is both formative and constitutive. It was
upon the social institutions of classical Western civilization.
Wach’s conviction that religion could be studied properly
At approximately the same time, Herbert Spencer (1820–
only if ideational, cultic, and social components were ap-
1903) utilized a theory of evolution to describe the processes
proached as interdependent. He contended that it is through
by which religious ideas develop in correspondence with the
the instrumentation of religion that such elements become
development of social institutions. In 1889, W. Robertson
integrated within a culture. The comparative history of cul-
Smith, in his Lectures on the Religion of the Semites, portrayed
ture, as Weber had recommended, is the context within
Jewish worship and belief against the background of the cus-
which these integrative processes are best studied.
toms and folkways of Semitic nomads. In 1887, Ferdinand
Perhaps the most straightforward of attempts to ap-
Tönnies (1855–1936) published his Gemeinschaft und Gesel-
proach the major religious traditions of the world as exam-
lschaft (translated as Community and Society, 1957), which
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
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traced the shift from a “communal, status-based concentric
ed commentary on social-action theory as modified, tem-
society of the Middle Ages to the more individualistic, im-
pered, and extended in the work of Thorstein Veblen (1857–
personal and large-scale society of the democratic-industrial
1929); John R. Commons (1862–1945); Robert M. MacIver
period.” In so doing, Tönnies illustrated the intricate rela-
(1882–1970); Karl Mannheim (1893–1947), who is impor-
tions that religion and society have had in selected historical
tant for his treatment of the influence of utopian ideas within
periods.
selected societies; Alfred Marshall (1842–1924); Vilfredo Pa-
Focusing his Weberian sensitivities on the influence the
reto (1848–1923); and, perhaps most significantly, Talcott
Christian religion has had on Western culture, Ernst Tr-
Parsons (1902–1979). Parsons is important not only because
oeltsch (1865–1923) identified two prominent forms of so-
of his own contributions to the field—his translation of
cial organization, church and sect, in correspondence with
Weber’s Protestant Ethic (1930) may have been the single
two formative dispositional factors. In his The Social Teach-
most important event in bringing the work of the German
ing of the Christian Churches (1912), Troeltsch argued that
sociologist to the attention of the English-speaking world—
the two forms of social organization have been dominant
but, in addition, because of the remarkable influence he has
within Christianity because the religion has fostered two dis-
had on other scholars who have become leaders in the field.
tinctive and not always congruent attitudes toward the
Because of his translation of Weber’s book, Parsons is associ-
world. Churches reflect an intention to accept the social
ated with the legacy of Weber, but he must also be given
order and lend credibility to its status; sects are motivated by
credit for reviving interest in Durkheim’s view and for mak-
the desire to disassociate from the societal status quo. Tr-
ing Durkheim into something more than an analyst of primi-
oeltsch’s analyses, illustrating an application of Weberian in-
tive societies. In exploring the congruences between Weber’s
quiry to a specific religious tradition, also fostered linkages
and Durkheim’s interests, Parsons was influential, too, in es-
between sociological study and theological reflection. Bern-
tablishing associations between the German and French
hard Groethuysen, in his study of the development of the
schools of social theory. By combining Durkheim’s insight
middle class (Die Entstehung der bürgerlichen Welt- und Le-
regarding the influence of social constraints with Weber’s in-
bensanschauung in Frankreich, 1927), illustrated that the
terest in discerning the way in which religious values are
bourgeois outlook developed in eighteenth-century France
translated as social sanctions, Parsons was led to a new view
when the traditional dogma of the Roman Catholic church,
of the structure of social action. He contended that the social
removed from the formative environment of religious ritual
milieu possesses a set of conditions that are beyond the con-
and practice, had become “abstract.” Gustav Mensching,
trol of each individual, but not outside the mastery of collec-
who trained under Rudolf Otto at Marburg and became pro-
tive human agency. Interweaving Durkheim’s and Weber’s
fessor of the history of religions at Bonn, developed an ap-
insights and working to give due respect to both scholars,
proach that treated religions as instances of social coordina-
Parsons offered this summary in The Structure of Social Ac-
tion, motivated along the two distinctive dispositional lines
tion (New York, 1937):
of folk religion and universal religion (see his Die Religion,
Durkheim called attention to the importance of the re-
1959).
lation of symbolism as distinguished from that of in-
The field of anthropology contributed several studies
trinsic causality in cognitive patterns. . . . Weber inte-
that are basic to an understanding of the relations between
grated the various aspects of the role of non-empirical
religion and society. A. R. Radcliffe-Brown (1881–1955),
cognitive patterns in social action in terms of his theory
for example, portrayed religion as belonging to the complex
of the significance of the problems of meaning and the
social machinery that enables human beings to live harmoni-
corresponding cognitive structures, in a way which pre-
clude, for analytical purposes, their being assimilated to
ously and collectively. Paul Radin (1883–1959) investigated
the patterns of science. (p. 715)
the beliefs and attitudes of primitive societies in light of his
theory that religion has roots in fear and that the basis of fear
Parsons worked to give due respect to both scholars.
is insecurity; Radin’s intention was to isolate the psychologi-
cal origins of religious sensitivity. Bronislaw Malinowski
Parsons was a nestor. His reworking and fusing of We-
(1884–1942), drawing much of his evidence from analyses
berian and Durkheimian themes was so comprehensive and
of the collective behavior of the Trobriand Islanders, ap-
detailed that he inspired a host of students to take up the
proached religion as one of the primary social institutions
same or related investigatory causes. Indeed, one of the most
that is produced and shaped in response to the need for cul-
significant paths of intellectual influence within religious
tural survival. Durkheim’s nephew Marcel Mauss (1872–
studies is that initiated by Talcott Parsons and his associates
1950) saw religion as belonging to that range of entities that
at Harvard. They insisted that social thought be pursued in
deserved to be classified as “total social pheonomena.” Such
a methodologically sophisticated cross-cultural and interdis-
analyses provided corroboration of the contention that reli-
ciplinary manner.
gion and society could be approached, described, and de-
The anthropologist Clifford Geertz, one of the most in-
fined in relation to one another.
fluential of Parsons’s students, is known not only for his
Contemporary research. One direct line of succession
studies of Islamic religion and culture but also for his propos-
from Weber to present-day sociology of religion is an extend-
al that religion should be viewed as a “cultural system.” In
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
his highly regarded article “Religion as Cultural System,”
mic frame of reference” (Berger, 1967, p. 33); and, second,
first published in Anthropological Approaches to the Study of
“religion . . . serves to maintain the reality of that socially
Religion, edited by Michael Banton (New York, 1966),
constructed world within which men exist in their everyday
Geertz defined religion in organic terms:
lives” (ibid., p. 42).
Religion is (1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) es-
What Berger and Luckmann divined in theory, namely,
tablish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and
the dynamics of the interdependence of religious patterns of
motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of
meaning and the social construction of reality, Robert N.
a general order of existence and (4) clothing these con-
Bellah has disclosed as a certifiable American fact under the
ceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the
concept of civil religion. In so doing, Bellah discerns a sys-
moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.
tematic, organic form of religious understanding in the col-
The role assigned to religion befits Geertz’s conception of
lective American consciousness that he believes has existed
culture as “an historically transmitted pattern of meaning.”
since the founding of the nation:
What we have, then, from the earliest years of the re-
Similar combinations of interests are reflected in the
public is a collection of beliefs, symbols and rituals with
work of Thomas Luckmann and Peter L. Berger, who were
respect to sacred things and institutionalized in a collec-
influenced by Karl Mannheim, Robert Merton, continental
tivity. This religion—there seems no other word for
philosophical phenomenology, and, in particular, the work
it—while not antithetical to and indeed sharing much
of Alfred Schutz (1899–1959). Luckmann and Berger share
in common with Christianity, was neither sectarian nor
concerns about the fate of the individual within a “socially
in any specific sense Christian. At a time when the soci-
construed” context. In The Invisible Religion (New York,
ety was overwhelmingly Christian, it seems unlikely
1967), Luckmann identifies religion as “symbolic self-
that this lack of Christian reference was meant to spare
transcendence,” and he sketches the process by which the
the feelings of the tiny non-Christian minority. Rather,
human organism transcends its particularities by construc-
the civil religion expressed what those who set the pre-
tive objective, all-embracing, and morally binding universes
cedents felt was appropriate under the circumstances. It
reflected their private as well as their public views. Nor
of meaning. In describing the way in which this process is
was the civil religion simply “religion in general.” . . .
effected, Luckmann wrote of “the social construction of real-
because of its specificity, the civil religion was saved
ity.” For Berger, all religious propositions are “projections
from empty formalism and served as a genuine vehicle
grounded in specific infrastructures,” and religion itself is
of national religious self-understanding. (Bellah, 1967,
that “human enterprise by which a sacred cosmos is estab-
p. 9)
lished.” Without an awareness of the presence of the sacred
So far I have traced a line of inquiry, from Durkheim and
in human consciousness, according to Berger, it would likely
Weber forward, that attests that religion gains concrete ex-
not have been possible “to conceive of a cosmos in the first
pression and possesses meaning within the context of social
place.” Berger writes:
reality. This conviction can be interpreted as a refinement
It can thus be said that religion has played a strategic
and extension of Weber’s analyses of the interrelationships
part in the human enterprise of world-building. Reli-
between motives and acts in the constitution of a culture. It
gion implies the farthest reach of man’s self-
belongs to Durkheim’s more comprehensive observation that
externalization, of his infusion of reality with his own
religious conceptions always reflect prescribed patterns of so-
meanings. Religion implies that human order is project-
cial organization. But how do scholars respond when the in-
ed into the totality of being. Put differently, religion is
terrelationships are not clear or when expected correlations
the audacious attempt to conceive of the entire universe
between motivation and action are in a state of disarray?
as being humanly significant. (Berger, 1967,
Their recourse is to study the lack of correspondence as well
pp. 27–28)
as the dysfunctions that have become apparent. The term
Both Luckmann and Berger acknowledge that religion is
used to denote the ineffectiveness of religious meaning (be-
present in institutions, that is, in readily identifiable religious
cause such meaning no longer corresponds with one’s experi-
organizations such as churches, synagogues, and temples.
ence within the social reality) is secularization. Secularization
But they are unwilling to restrict the social reality of religion
means that some prior prevailing pattern of religious and
to these institutional forms. They observe that a sociology
ideological order is no longer functioning characteristically
of religion that deals only with such organizations is a sociol-
as a viable source of motivation or behavior. The work of
ogy of churches that may be concentrating upon already
Bryan Wilson, Thomas F. O’Dea, Charles Y. Glock, Rodney
“frozen” forms of religion. In the larger sense, religion (Luck-
Stark, Guy Swanson, and Harvey Cox, among others, was
mann’s “invisible religion”) legitimates the fundamental val-
directed toward making sociological and religious sense of
ues of a society by constructing symbolic universes of mean-
this pervasive development. As a consequence, scholarly anal-
ing. Berger understands the process of legitimation to require
yses of the relation between religion and society that ap-
two important steps: first, “religion legitimates social institu-
peared in the mid-1980s focused increasingly on the func-
tions by bestowing upon them an ultimately valid ontologi-
tion and status of the sacred in a secular society. I refer
cal status, that is, by locating them within a sacred and cos-
specifically to two anthologies: Mary Douglas and Steven
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
8469
Tipton’s Religion and America: Spiritual Life in a Secular Age
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(1982) and Phillip E. Hammond’s The Sacred in a Secular
Bellah, Robert N. “Religious Evolution.” American Sociological Re-
Society (1985). The ingredients are the same as they were
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when Durkheim, Weber, and the others constructed the
Bellah, Robert N. “Civil Religion in American.” Daedalus 96
dominant paradigm. But there have been significant shifts,
(Winter 1967): 1–21.
and necessary conceptual readjustments, in every chronicle
Bellah, Robert N., and Phillip E. Hammond. Varieties of Civil Re-
that has attempted to correlate analyses of the relationship
ligion. San Francisco, 1980.
between religion and society with a more extensive portrayal
Berger, Peter L. The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological The-
of the evolution or development of Western intellectual
ory of Religion. Garden City, N. Y., 1967.
history.
Cohn, Norman R. C. The Pursuit of the Millennium. 3d ed. New
RELIGION AND SOCIETY IN THE CONTEMPORARY ERA. Con-
York, 1970.
temporary discussion of the relationship between religion
Ch’en, Kenneth. Buddhism in China. Princeton, 1964.
and society is framed by widespread social and cultural
Conze, Edward. Buddhism: Its Essence and Development. Oxford,
change. Societies affected by complex processes of modern-
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ization are having difficulty deciding whether, under the new
Douglas, Mary. Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology. New
circumstances, traditional religion exercises benevolent or
York, 1970.
malevolent social influence.
Douglas, Mary. “The Effects of Modernization on Religious
In many quarters, the fundamental issue has to do with
Change.” In Religion and America: Spiritual Life in a Secular
Age
, edited by Mary Douglas and Steven Tipton,
whether traditional religious aspirations are congruent or
pp. 25–43. Boston, 1982.
compatible with Marxist political theory and practice. In
those areas of the world where Christianity has been the
Eisenstadt, Shmuel N. The Political Systems of Empires. New York,
1963.
dominant religious tradition—and where, historically, it has
been identified with the interests of colonial powers—there
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. Nuer Religion. Oxford, 1956.
is a fascination with liberation theologies that sometimes ad-
Frankfort, Henri. Kingship and the Gods (1948). Reprint, Chica-
vocate social and political revolution. Within these settings,
go, 1978.
the relations between religion and society are being shaped
Geertz, Clifford. Islam Observed. New Haven, 1968.
by the responses that the traditions are making to new for-
Hammond, Phillip E., ed. The Sacred in a Secular Age: Toward Re-
mulations of faith that are tailored to facilitate transitional
vision in the Scientific Study of Religion. Berkeley, 1985.
or revolutionary activity. The dominant responses have been
Kitagawa, Joseph M. Religion in Japanese History. New York,
of two contrasting kinds. One of these kinds of responses
1966.
condones (sometimes radical) change and appears to its ene-
Lanternari, Vittorio. The Religions of the Oppressed. New York,
mies to be in league with the very secularizing forces that tra-
1963.
ditional religions oppose. The other, fundamentalist, re-
Leach, Edmund. Dialectic in Practical Religion. Cambridge, 1968.
sponse calls for a return to the purity of the tradition at its
Lewis, Oscar. Life in a Mexican Village. Urbana, Ill., 1963.
origins and has shown itself willing at times to adopt a mili-
Lee, Robert, and Martin E. Marty, eds. Religion and Social Con-
tant, antirevolutionary stance. Within the United States, in
flict. New York, 1964.
particular, this conflict is implicit in the controversy sur-
O’Dea, Thomas F. Sociology and the Study of Religion: Theory, Re-
rounding the rise of a radical religious right. It has found ex-
search, Interpretation. New York, 1970.
pression, too, in court cases and legislative debate concerning
Pareto, Vilfredo. The Mind and Society. 4 vols. New York, 1935.
abortion, prayer in schools, and the status of public religious
observance.
Parsons, Talcott. Essays in Sociological Theory. 2d rev. ed. Glencoe,
Ill., 1954.
Yet even in the present situation, perennial ingredients
Parsons, Talcott. Structure and Process in Modern Society. Glencoe,
have been made explicit. In its social manifestations, religion
Ill., 1960.
still presents itself as the guardian of sensitivities concerning
Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. Structure and Function in Primitive Society.
distinctions between the sacred and the profane. And in its
London, 1952.
religious dimensions, society continues to be known by the
Schneider, Louis. Sociological Approach to Religion. New York,
collective aspirations to which its sanctioned activity lends
1970.
expression.
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. Islam in Modern History. Princeton,
1957.
SEE ALSO Comte, Auguste; Durkheim, Émile; Fustel de
Coulanges, N. D.; Law and Religion; Lévy-Bruhl, Lucien;
Spiro, Melford E. Buddhism and Society: A Great Tradition and its
Malinowski, Bronislaw; Marxism; Marx, Karl; Mauss, Mar-
Burmese Vicissitudes. 2d ed. Berkeley, 1982.
cel; Otto, Rudolf; Political Theology; Radcliffe-Brown,
Stark, Rodney, and William S. Bainbridge. The Future of Religion:
A. R.; Radin, Paul; Revolution; Smith, W. Robertson; Soci-
Secularization, Revival and Cult Formation. Berkeley, 1985.
ology; Spencer, Herbert; Tönnies, Ferdinand; Troeltsch,
Swanson, Guy E. Religion and Regime: A Sociological Account of the
Ernst; Varn:a and Ja¯ti; Wach, Joachim; Weber, Max.
Reformation. Ann Arbor, 1967.
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
Swanson, Guy E. Social Change. Glenview, Ill., 1971.
Strauss. His attention to systems of signs and symbols con-
Wach, Joachim. Sociology of Religion (1944). Reprint, Chicago,
tributed to the rise of semiotics, with the implication that
1962.
culture can be analyzed much like a language, with its own
distinctive codes of meaning embedded within it. Other
Walzer, Michael. The Revolution of the Saints. New York, 1965.
French scholars made significant contributions that ad-
Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
vanced a “poststructuralist” mode of analysis, especially Mi-
London, 1930.
chel Foucault, Roland Barthes, and Jacques Derrida, all of
Weber, Max. The Sociology of Religion. Boston, 1963.
whom emphasized a lack of fixed structures of meaning and
Wilson, Bryan R. Religion in Secular Society. London, 1966.
the ways in which language shapes conceptions of reality.
Bonnell and Hunt summarize the intellectual impact of
Yinger, J. Milton. Religion, Society, and the Individual. New York,
those contributions as follows:
1957.
In the poststructuralist view, language or discourse did
Yinger, J. Milton. The Scientific Study of Religion. New York,
not mirror some prior social understanding or position-
1970.
ing and it could never penetrate to the truth of exis-
Yinger, J. Milton. Sociology Looks at Religion. New York, 1963.
tence; it itself configured the expression of social mean-
ing and functioned as a kind of veil between humans
WALTER H. CAPPS (1987)
and the world around them. Despite their differences,
structuralism and poststructuralism both contributed to
the general displacement of the social in favor of culture
SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FURTHER
viewed as linguistic and representational. Social catego-
CONSIDERATIONS].
ries were to be imagined not as preceding consciousness
As Walter Capps observed in
or culture or language but as depending upon them. So-
his essay on this subject, “relations between religion and soci-
cial categories only came into being through their ex-
ety are fundamental to the nature of religion and, according
pressions or representations. (Bonnell and Hunt, 1999,
to long-standing intellectual claims, are intrinsic to the na-
p. 9)
ture of society.” There is a great deal of support for this gen-
In the United States, several scholars have made more recent
eral assumption, but defining its basic terms—society and re-
contributions to the cultural analysis of religion. Jonathan Z.
ligion—can be problematic. Contemporary theorists think of
Smith’s work on ritual (1987) merits mention in this respect.
both as constructed realities and therefore privilege the role
Rather than examine ritual in terms of its legitimating func-
of symbols, ritual, and discourse in their analyses. Religion
tion within a collectivity, Smith proposed another function
tends to be defined in terms of its relation to collective life,
of ritual that often is overlooked: provoking thoughtful re-
yet how and in what ways religion fulfills its classical task of
flection about the nature of the social order and its mainte-
binding people into a common universe of meaning, as was
nance. Ritual in this sense implies not just expressive but also
articulated early in the twentieth century in the sociologist
communicative processes involving moral obligations and
Emile Durkheim’s study of the totemic system in Australia,
the ways they form and re-form society. Robert N. Bellah,
are issues of continuing debate and discussion.
another major contributor to the study of religion, put forth
TOWARD CULTURAL ANALYSIS. At the end of the twentieth
a very general argument about the constitutive power of ritu-
century and into the twenty-first theorists moved away from
al, as suggested by the title of his essay, “The Ritual Roots
conceptions of culture as a simple set of vague and broad
of Society and Culture” (2003). He traced the beginnings of
value orientations. Today culture is viewed less as a coherent
human solidarity in language and music, arguing that they
system of signs and meanings, and more focus is placed on
are a product of ritual. In keeping with the work of Erving
its fragmented, malleable, and internally contradictory fea-
Goffman (1967) and Randall Collins (1998), Bellah regards
tures. Anthropologists, sociologists, and social historians
ritual as fundamental to understanding social action in a gen-
have lost some of their earlier confidence in explanations that
eral sense throughout society; he quotes Roy A. Rappaport
focus narrowly on social class or social structure and have at-
as saying that ritual is “humanity’s basic social act” (Rappa-
tempted instead to explore more deeply the meanings that
port, 1999, p. 107).
underlie those categories. Commentators recognize that no
More generally, others have emphasized the importance
consistent meanings can be attributed to the effects of social
of viewing culture as an expression of social behavior. Ann
position and social relationships; instead, meanings are
Swidler (1986, pp. 276–277) views culture as a “toolkit”
grounded in the acts of individuals and groups in a particular
with a “repertoire” of “strategies of action.” Robert Wuth-
time and place. Victoria E. Bonnell and Lynn Hunt under-
now (1987) and Pierre Bourdieu (1990) both privilege
score this fundamental insight when they write: “Social cate-
“practice” as a key component. Trying to establish some bal-
gories—artisans, merchants, women, Jews—turned out to
ance between culture as system and culture as practice, Wil-
vary from place to place and from epoch to epoch, sometimes
liam H. Sewell conceives culture as a “dialectic between sys-
from year to year” (Bonnell and Hunt, 1999, p. 7).
tem and practice” (1999, p. 47). Viewed in this manner,
A forerunner of this so-called cultural turn was the work
culture (and ritual in particular) is a means of organizing so-
on linguistics of the French anthropologist Claude Lévi-
cial action.
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8471
Along the same lines, Bruce Lincoln (2000) proposed
the construction of social formations has not disappeared.
a polythetic model of religion with four components:
This is true partly because as contemporary theorists such as
1. A discourse that claims that its concerns transcend the
Collins (1998) emphasize, ritual is at the core of any kind
human, temporal, and contingent while claiming for it-
of social action; hence, as Bellah says, there is “an element
self a similarly transcendent status.
of the sacred” at the very basis of social life whether or not
it is defined explicitly as such (Bellah, 2003, p. 32). Drawing
2. A set of practices informed and structured by that dis-
on Goffman’s notion of interaction ritual, Bellah elaborates
course.
further:
3. A community whose members construct their identity
In this process of ritual interaction the members of the
with reference to the discourse and its attendant prac-
group, through their shared experience, feel a sense of
tices.
membership, however fleeting, with a sense of bounda-
4. An institution that regulates discourse, practices, and
ry between those sharing the experience and those out-
community, reproducing and modifying them over
side it; they feel some sense of moral obligation to each
time while asserting their eternal validity and transcen-
other, which is symbolized by whatever they focused on
during the interaction; and, finally, they are charged
dent value.
with what Collins calls emotional energy but which he
Reminiscent of Durkheim’s classic definition, Lincoln looks
identifies with what Durkheim called moral force. (Bel-
upon all four elements—discourse, practice, community,
lah, 2003, p. 32)
and institution—as interdependent and thus constituting a
Thus at every level of social formation, from the smallest
system, though one that is always malleable and in process.
group to total societies, ritual operates, varying only in its de-
Rather than seeing religion as a fixed form, he emphasizes
gree of complexity. Whether ritual will become infused with
its variability with respect to its relationship to ethics and aes-
religious symbolization and therefore give rise to a full-blown
thetics. He makes use of the philosopher So⁄ren Kierkegaard’s
religious discourse is an open question. If one accepts Smith’s
three categories of aesthetics, ethics, and religion yet inter-
argument that ritual functions to inspire reflection on what
prets them not in a personal, subjective sense but as an inte-
people regard as common social practice, chances are that a
grated triad of interpersonal social relations. In his view cul-
more explicit religious ritual will evolve. Its capacity for tran-
ture necessarily involves the domains of aesthetics and ethics,
scending the human, temporal, and contingent meshes with
but religion as a third domain is more variable in its form
fundamental human efforts implicit in elementary ritual to
and its relationship to the other two. “Of particular interest,”
bring order and legitimacy to life. However, in the Enlight-
he writes, “is the way religion connects to the other domains
enment tradition, in which the aesthetic and ethical domains
of culture: specifically, the capacity of religious discourse to
have come to be removed from the religious, efforts at re-
articulate ethical and aesthetic positions in a uniquely sta-
structuring culture in religion’s favor often face serious chal-
bilizing fashion. What religion does—and this, I submit, is
lenges. Under these circumstances religion certainly exists
its defining characteristic—is to invest specific human pref-
and often flourishes but does so largely in a state of contesta-
erences with transcendent status by misrepresenting them as
tion with other cultural domains.
revealed truth, primordial traditions, divine command-
ments, and so forth. In this way, it insulates them against
The persisting presence of religion in relation to other
most forms of debate and critique, assisting their transmis-
aspects of culture lies in the power of myth and ritual to
sion from one generation to another as part of a sacred
stretch the human imagination in the direction of creating
canon” (Lincoln, 2000, p. 416).
and maintaining a social formation. Myth and ritual func-
Noteworthy in this conceptualization is the lack of at-
tion in human life by placing ordinary experience in an ex-
tention to personal religious experience or the response of in-
traordinary perspective and thus generate a larger narrative
dividuals to manifestations of the sacred; also, there is no
that transcends time and space. Religion is critical if for no
mention of psychological needs or drives. Instead, the focus
other reason than that, as Mack says, “the process of social
is on religion in its social formation and the way it gives tran-
formation creates and draws upon interests in and agree-
scendent status to other domains of culture. Thinking along
ments about forces and features of social experience that are
similar lines, Burton L. Mack (2000, p. 289) poses a crucial
difficult to name and locate in the daily round of activity”
question when he asks, “What might a theory of religion
(Mack, 2000, p. 290).
look like when fully integrated into the human enterprise of
Precisely because the mythic world is more encompass-
social construction?”
ing and expands the horizons of human imagination, it en-
A comprehensive theory of religion would presuppose
courages creative and unlimited responses that can be em-
that at least since the Enlightenment the power of religion
ployed for the symbolic restructuring of everyday life. Mack
to maintain hegemony over the ethical and the aesthetic has
explains this when he says, “The gap between the social
been reduced considerably. There is indeed considerable
world and the mythic panoply, and the fact that the imagi-
contestation between religion and the latter two domains in
nary world is so richly disordered, may be thought of as cre-
contemporary Western societies, yet the religious element in
ating a space for play, experimentation, thoughtful medita-
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SOCIETY AND RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
tion, cheating, winking, and/or calling one another to task”
reduced space in which the mythic imagination can operate.
(Mack, 2000, p. 291).
Commentators generally agree that religious privatization is
RELIGION AND INSTITUTIONAL DIFFERENTATION. In light
discernible particularly in Europe and the United States. At
of the fact that the creative capacity of religious symbols, dis-
the same time there are countermovements that attempt to
course, and practice is coordinated through social institu-
infuse religious and spiritual meaning into the so-called secu-
tions, it is necessary to consider the general process of social
lar spheres. This process of dedifferentiation, or attempts at
differentiation. This process often is viewed as being peculiar
reenchanting the public sphere, is evident in the holistic
to the West, yet the sociologist Peter Beyer (2003) cautions
health movement, the search for spirituality in the work-
that it would be a mistake to assume that the word religion
place, and the significance attached to meditation and prayer
has always had a distinct meaning for Europeans or that peo-
in healing within the medical establishment. The extent to
ple other parts of the world have not adopted a somewhat
which these efforts have succeeded in achieving a unity of
similar meaning of that term. Differentiated religion as it is
public and private experience or even in fulfilling what might
known today is largely a product of seventeenth- and eigh-
be called a traditional religious function is a matter of debate.
teenth-century Europe, brought on in part by the Protestant
Important in understanding the interplay between soci-
Reformation but also by the political conditions that gave
ety and religion are the differing social forms of religion.
rise to nationalism.
Those forms define the boundaries of religion’s mythic space
Nation-states within Europe came to be closely associat-
and the locus of its social formations. Among those social
ed with distinctive religious traditions, Catholic or Protes-
formations are organized religion, state religion, and move-
tant, and thus incorporated religion as a significant compo-
ment religion (Beyer, 2003). Individualistic, communal,
nent of their identity. With increased global expansion in the
popular, and transnational forms of religion are equally im-
colonizing era, Europeans encountered other peoples else-
portant but are not germane to this discussion.
where in the world whose religions and cultures were strik-
Organized religion functions, at least in modern demo-
ingly different and, by the nineteenth century, had formed
cratic societies, in a pluralistic environment of competing al-
totalizing conceptions for those entities, such as Hinduism,
ternatives. Rational-choice theorists applaud the absence of
Buddhism, Confucianism, and Islam. Also important in that
a religious monopoly with authority over society and under-
period was the growing awareness of the distinction between
score the role of competition as a source of organizational in-
religion and nonreligion. Hence, societal identities not only
novation. They argue that these conditions encourage a
are enmeshed in religious traditions but involve juxtaposi-
higher level of religious mobilization and societal engage-
tions of one religion against another and against whatever is
ment because religious organizations have a clearer notion of
presumed to be nonreligion.
their purpose: what they are and what they have to offer to
In this differentiated state religion takes on a more spec-
recruits. It seems reasonable to assume that energies arising
ified set of social functions in relation to society and to other
out of a religiously pluralistic context offer some reinforce-
institutions within society. It is driven by a logic that applies
ment of broader societal values, particularly competition and
to all institutions; that is, it is driven toward greater rational-
innovation, but rational-choice theory is limited in explain-
ization of its procedures, elaboration of its distinctive teach-
ing religious dynamics in relation to society. There are differ-
ings, and clarity about its spheres of authority and influence.
ing types of rationality, as the sociologist Max Weber under-
Religion becomes more of a symbolic world unto itself as it
stood; moreover, the way in which rationality functions
loses control over some of the historical functions it once
within religion is not uniform across societal contexts, an ob-
served. Social theorists have interpreted this trajectory of reli-
servation that led the comparative sociologist David Martin
gious change in varying and opposing ways, such as the up-
to conclude that “it is probably worth putting a question
grading of levels of autonomous personal responsibility in
mark over the presumed effects of rationalization” (Martin,
keeping with religious values (Parsons, 1963), “seculariza-
1996, p. 42). In keeping with the preceding analysis, any
tion” (Wilson, 1985), and religious privatization (Berger,
comprehensive analysis of religion and society must allow for
1967). Simply put, Parsons sees religious values as increas-
the nonutilitarian aspects of social formation, that is, the
ingly diffused within society through a process of transfor-
constitutive power of ritual, symbol, and discourse.
mation, Wilson points to the loss of significance of beliefs
State religion refers to a form of religion in which the
and values in the public arena and the resulting marginaliza-
state plays a critical role in defining or enforcing its dogma,
tion of religious organizations, and Berger argues for a shift
its practice, or both. The rise of militant religious national-
in the social location of religion away from the society as a
ism in Muslim countries and elsewhere early in the twenty-
whole and toward smaller, more limited worlds of social ex-
first century signals a fusion of state identities with particular
perience.
religions, or what has come to be called religious nationalism
However viewed, religion’s boundaries in the modern
with its highly charged symbols and mythic formulations
world are very much at issue. Privatized religion implies a
(Friedland, 2001). Milder forms of state religion are found
continuing subjective world of meaning cut off from broader
elsewhere and in varying degrees of vitality, such as in the
institutional sectors, such as the economy and politics, or a
United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries. What all
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SOCIOBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
8473
these religions have in common is that they are “top-down,”
Friedland, Roger. “Religious Nationalism and the Problem of
much in the sense of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “civil religion”
Collective Representation.” Annual Review of Sociology 27
imposed by the state with an emphasis on presumably unify-
(2001): 125–152.
ing dogmas. In contrast, as N. J. Demerath observes, civil re-
Goffman, Erving. Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face-to-Face Behav-
ligion in the United States is more a “bottom-up” phenome-
ior. New York, 1967.
non in the Durkheimian sense; in his words, “our civil
Lincoln, Bruce. “Culture.” In Guide to the Study of Religion, edited
religion is a kind of religious common denominator that
by Willi Braun and Russell T. McCutcheon, pp. 409–422.
bubbles forth from our long-standing ‘Judeo-Christian tradi-
London and New York, 2000.
tion’ and underscores the religious significance of the nation
Mack, Burton L. “Social Formation.” In Guide to the Study of Reli-
as a whole and its government. It is more of a passive cultural
gion, edited by Willi Braun and Russell T. McCutcheon,
legacy than the result of an activist political decision” (Dem-
pp. 283–296. London and New York, 2000.
erath, 2003, p. 354). The role of civil religion in integrating
Martin, David. “Religion, Secularization, and Post-Modernity.”
society is complicated, especially when, as often happens,
In Religion and Modernity: Modes of Co-Existence, edited by
there are competing interpretations of its meaning.
Pal Repstad, pp. 35–43. Stockholm, 1996.
Parsons, Talcott. “Christianity and Modern Industrial Society.”
Social movement religion, as the name implies, is the
In Sociological Theory and Modern Society, edited by Talcott
most fluid and malleable of the three social forms. Religious-
Parsons, pp. 385–421. New York, 1967.
ly based movements are common in modern societies, ad-
Rappaport, Roy A. Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity.
dressing a broad spectrum of issues across the liberal-to-
Cambridge, U.K., 1999.
conservative ideological spectrum. They funnel energies and
Roof, Wade Clark. Spiritual Marketplace: Baby Boomers and the
galvanize commitments to a variety of causes by selectively
Remaking of American Religion. Princeton, 1999.
appropriating religious symbols and teachings that serve their
Sewell, William H., Jr. “The Concept(s) of Culture.” In Beyond
particular interests. Many are special-purpose organizations
the Cultural Turn: New Directions in the Study of Society and
that attempt to convince people of the significance of a sin-
Culture, edited by Victoria A. Bonnel and Lynn Hunt,
gular moral or ethical cause in what amounts to an effort to
pp. 35–61. Berkeley, Calif., 1999.
raise levels of social consciousness. Others are more truly sec-
Smith, Jonathan Z. To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual. Chi-
tarian movements in the classical sense, aimed at reforming
cago, 1987.
established religious bodies or advancing an explicit religious
Swidler, Ann. “Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies.” Amer-
concern. Because all such movements typically seek to bring
ican Sociological Review 51 (April 1986): 273–286.
about social change through persuasion, they must strike a
Wilson, Bryan. “Secularization: The Inherited Model.” In The Sa-
delicate balance between religious and ideological purity and
cred in a Secular Age, edited by Phillip E. Hammond,
sensitivity to public values and interests. Thus, religion of
pp. 9–20. Berkeley, Calif., 1985.
this type takes on a populist, negotiated quality, and society
Wuthnow, Robert. Meaning and Moral Order: Explorations in
is likened to an arena of continuously competing movements
Cultural Analysis. Berkeley, Calif., 1987.
trying to reshape it.
WADE CLARK ROOF (2005)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bellah, Robert N. “The Ritual Roots of Society and Culture.” In
Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, edited by Michele Dil-
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS SEE QUAKERS
lon, pp. 31–44. Cambridge, U.K., 2003.
Berger, Peter. The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory
of Religion. Garden City, N.Y., 1967.
SOCIETY OF JESUS SEE JESUITS
Beyer, Peter. “Social Forms of Religion and Religions in Contem-
porary Global Society.” In Handbook of the Sociology of Reli-
gion,
edited by Michele Dillon, pp. 45–60. Cambridge,
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U.K., 2003.
Bonnell, Victoria E., and Lynn Hunt, eds. Beyond the Cultural
Turn: New Directions in the Study of Society and Culture.
SOCIOBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY
Berkeley, Calif., 1999.
PSYCHOLOGY
This entry consists of the following articles:
Bourdieu, Pierre. The Logic of Practice. Translated by Richard R.
AN OVERVIEW
Nice. Cambridge, U.K., 1990.
DARWINISM AND RELIGION
Collins, Randall. The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of
Intellectual Change. Cambridge, Mass., 1998.
SOCIOBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY
Demerath, N. J. III. “Civil Society and Civil Religion as Mutually
PSYCHOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
Dependent.” In Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, edited
Sociobiology and evolutionary psychology are related fields,
by Michele Dillon, pp. 348–358. Cambridge, U.K., 2003.
both of which claim that biology is the principal determinant
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SOCIOBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
in human affairs. Sociobiology was initially, and by some ac-
framing this behavior. After all, biologists claim that organ-
counts is entirely, the study of the genetic bases of animal
isms are quite interrelated, living in communities, eco-
behavior. Sociobiologists regularly also attempt to explain
systems, with myriad coactions, cooperations, interdepen-
human behavior. Sociobiology is, as the term suggests, the
dencies. Genes are spread around; that is the only way they
biology of animal and human society. Sociobiology preceded
can be conserved. Organisms are selected for their capacities
and developed into evolutionary psychology, which features
to leave more of their genes in the next generation, which,
mental dispositions more than genes as the evolutionary de-
if it can be thought of as the survival of the “selfish,” can as
terminants. The relationship of the two disciplines is both
easily be thought of as the survival of the “senders.” Organ-
congenial and contested.
isms are tested for their capacities to bequeath what they
Even more contested, by biologists, social scientists, and
know genetically to their offspring. Sociobiology needs also
humanists alike, is how far either discipline succeeds. Edward
to be about shared identity, kinship. William D. Hamilton
O. Wilson, the founder of sociobiology, calls it a “new ho-
in a founding paper develops the idea of “inclusive fitness”
lism,” even, with capitals, “the Modern Synthesis” (1975,
(Hamilton, 1964).
pp. 7, 4). But critics see it as genetic reductionism. Evolu-
Biologists could be committing what Alfred North
tionary psychologists claim that humans have what Jerome
Whitehead called the fallacy of misplaced concreteness
H. Barkow, Leda Cosmides, and John Tooby call an “adapt-
(Whitehead, 1967, p. 51). Selecting out one feature of a situ-
ed mind,” and call for a “conceptual integration” of all the
ation, one forgets the degree of abstraction involved from the
diverse academic disciplines studying humans, their behav-
real world, and mistakenly portrays the whole by over-
iors, minds, cultures under this biological “view of a single,
enlarging a factor of only limited relevance. An even more
universal panhuman design” (1992, pp. 4–5). Critics see this
insistent criticism is that sociobiology fails to recognize the
too as biological imperialism.
novel, nonbiological dimensions of human culture. Culture
SOCIOLOBIOLOGY. Wilson opened his 1975 Sociobiology
“denotes an historically transmitted pattern of meanings em-
with auspicious claims: “Sociobiology is defined as the sys-
bodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions ex-
tematic study of the biological basis of all social behavior. It
pressed in symbolic forms, by means of which men commu-
may not be too much to say that sociology and the other so-
nicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and
cial sciences, as well as the humanities, are the last branches
attitudes toward life” (Geertz, 1973, p. 89). Although animal
of biology waiting to be included in the Modern Synthesis”
ethologists use the word culture in reference to animals with
(p. 7). He concludes his massive study: “Scientists and hu-
capacities for communication and imitated behaviors, cul-
manists should consider together the possibility that the time
ture in the sense of ideas passing from mind to mind is pecu-
has come for ethics to be removed temporarily from the
liarly human. Human language is elevated remarkably above
hands of the philosophers and biologicized” (p. 562). A quar-
anything known in nonhuman nature; the capacities for
ter century later, the “temporary” is becoming more perma-
symbolization, abstraction, grammar, vocabulary develop-
nent. Only in a biologically based “consilience” is there any
ment, teaching, literary expression, and argument are quite
hope of “the unity of knowledge” (Wilson, 1992).
advanced. The determinants of animal and plant behavior
A frequent motif in the claims of both sociobiology and
are never anthropological, political, economic, technological,
evolutionary psychology is that the basic thrust of all life is
scientific, philosophical, ethical, or religious.
“selfish.” Richard Dawkins titles an influential book The
Humans have lived in cultures for perhaps a million
Selfish Gene, and opens: “We are survival machines—robot
years, reproducing across thousands of generations. There is
vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish mole-
every reason to expect that those humans will do best repro-
cules known as genes” (1989, p. v). Philosophers, especially
ductively who do best culturally, and, vice versa, that a geno-
ethicists, object that biologists are labeling genes with a word
type will be selected to produce a culturally congenial pheno-
borrowed from the cultural phenomenon of morality. A less
type. But the question remains whether this emergence of
pejorative theory could avoid reading back objectional fea-
culture introduces behaviors that, however much they con-
tures from culture into nature, and avoid speaking as though
tinue to require biology, also transcend it with a distinctive
animals and genes were ethical agents in conditions of only
human genius.
superficial similarity.
Sociobiologists insist that biology is dominant in
Sociobiologists reply that the words selfish and altruistic
human culture. Wilson puts this in a bold, if somewhat
as they use them in genetic biology have nothing to do with
loose, metaphor: “The genes hold culture on a leash. The
motivation, only with behavior. These replies are not always
leash is very long, but inevitably values will be constrained
convincing, because Wilson does propose to “biologicize”
in accordance with their effects on the human gene pool”
ethics, and Dawkins does begin his Selfish Gene with the in-
(1978, p. 167). This is “the general sociobiological view of
junction: “Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because
human nature, namely that the most diagnostic features of
we are born selfish” (1989, p. 3).
human behavior evolved by natural selection and are today
Critics of this selfishness at the root of sociobiology
constrained throughout the species by particular sets of
claim that there is, even in biology, more than one way of
genes” (1978, p. 43). Michael Ruse agrees: “I argue that Dar-
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winian factors inform and infuse the whole of human experi-
of software can run on it. Critics counter that the metaphor
ence, most particularly our cultural dimension. . . .
overlooks how the infant brain is synaptically unfinished and
Human culture, meaning human thought and action, is in-
is to a considerable extent “wired up” during the child’s edu-
formed and structured by biological factors. Natural selec-
cation into its culture. The evolved brain allows many sets
tion and adaptive advantage reach through to the very core
of mind: one does not have to have Plato’s genes to be a Pla-
of our being” (1986, pp. 140; 147).
tonist, Darwin’s genes to be a Darwinian, or Jesus’ genes to
be a Christian. The system of inheritance of ideas is indepen-
Earlier versions of sociobiology supposed that the genet-
dent of the system of inheritance of genes.
ic shaping of beliefs was rather direct and one way. In later
versions, more attention is given to gene-culture coevolution.
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY. Evolutionary psychology is a
The genes are still in control, however; cultural variations are
descendent of sociobiology, with more attention to mind
selected and persist only when the genes can use them the
and its cultural capacities, but retaining the underlying bio-
better to reproduce, although the detail of such innovative
logical determinants. Jerome H. Barkow realizes that there
practices will be transmitted to the next generation culturally
is a “complex psychology” in humans, with genes and culture
and nongenetically.
interacting, sometimes working together, sometimes pulling
in opposite directions. Nevertheless, it remains basically cor-
The genes build what is called an epigenetic mind. Epi-
rect “to speak of the genes anchoring the psychological pre-
genesis conveys the idea of a secondary genesis, ancillary to
dispositions that tend to pull our cultures back to fitness-
the primary genetic determinants, a sort of epiphenomenon.
enhancing orbits” (Barkow, 1989, p. 8).
Ruse and Wilson put it this way: “Human thinking is under
the influence of ‘epigenetic rules,’ genetically based processes
Humans have what John Tooby and Leda Cosmides call
of development that predispose the individual to adopt one
an “adapted mind” made up of a set of “complex adapta-
or a few forms of behaviours as opposed to others” (1986,
tions” that, over our evolutionary history, have promoted
p. 180). Humans have innate mental dispositions, such as
survival (Barkow, Cosmides, and Tooby, 1992, p. 69). These
to avoid incest, or fear strangers.
form a set of behavioral subroutines, selected for coping in
culture, by which humans maximize their offspring. The
Critics reply that human beliefs can differ radically. The
mind is more like a Swiss army knife, with tools for this and
ancient Scythian nomads in southern Siberia believed that
that, rather than a general-purpose learning device. Humans
when their chieftains die they should bury their concubines
have needed teachability, but they have also needed chan-
with them, along with their horses and other necessities for
neled reaction patterns. The adapted mind evolved a com-
the next life; modern Americans believe in women’s rights,
plex of behavior-disposition modules, each dedicated to task-
and doubt that horses ought to be treated this way. Which
specific, survival-specific functions such as obeying parents,
of these beliefs one comes to hold depends more on one’s ed-
or being suspicious of strangers, or ostracizing noncoopera-
ucation than on genes. If the new ideas are contagious
tors. In picking mates, men are disposed to select younger
enough culturally they can spread indefinitely through the
women, who are likely to be fertile. Women are disposed to
population.
select men of social status, who are likely to be good pro-
viders.
Significant cultural changes can occur within a century,
even a decade. Genetic changes can only be transmitted to
Critics find that some more or less “automatic” behavior
offspring, which disseminate slowly through a population.
is desirable. Subroutines to which we are genetically inclined
Entire cultures rise and fall in less than a thousand years, the
are shortcuts to survival, reliable modes of operating whether
minimum period of time in which biologists estimate there
or not persons have made much rational reflection over these
might be significant changes in the genetic pool of a human
behaviors. Nevertheless, the mind is not overly compartmen-
population. The millenarian genes cannot track the ephem-
talized, because behaviors interconnect. If women are prone
eral cultural changes. Individual persons can gain new infor-
to choose men of status, that requires considerable capacity
mation constantly throughout a lifetime. Cultural practices
to make judgments about what counts as status economical-
get borrowed, traded, adapted; they intermingle across ge-
ly, politically, and religiously. They will have to judge which
netic lines. When oral cultures evolve to become literate cul-
one of their suitors, who often are still relatively young, is
tures, people can transmit ideas to thousands who read books
most likely to attain status in the decades of their child rear-
a thousand miles away or a thousand years later. This acceler-
ing. Behavioral modules seem unlikely for the detail of such
ates the pace of cultural information transfer by orders of
decisions under changing cultural conditions. Capacities to
magnitude over that of genetic information transfer. It is dif-
select such a mate are perhaps somewhat “instinctive,” but
ficult to yoke horses and jet planes in coevolution and have
they are unlikely to be an adaptive mechanism isolated from
them travel anywhere together.
general intelligence and moral sensitivity.
Cultural options can operate without modifying the ge-
Any such articulated behavioral modes need to be fig-
netics. In computer imagery, the same “hardware” (biology)
ured back into a more generalized intelligence. Those who
supports diverse programs of “software” (culture). Socio-
advocate evolutionary psychology need to integrate many
biologists may reply that the hardware does limit what sorts
disciplines: evolutionary biology, cognitive science, behav-
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SOCIOBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
ioral ecology, psychology, hunter-gatherer studies, social an-
the plural behavioral routines of their “adapted mind.” Ex-
thropology, biological anthropology, primatology, and
planations should be based on “the underlying level of uni-
neurobiology. These are not disciplines in which one be-
versal evolved architecture. . . . One observes variable man-
comes expert by behavioral mechanisms using a Swiss-army-
ifest psychologies or behaviors between individuals and
knife mind. Educators, whether scientists or humanists, need
across cultures and views them as the product of a common,
broadly analytical and synoptic minds. Evolutionary psy-
underlying evolved psychology, operating under different
chologists seem to be arguing that we can and ought be able
circumstances” (Barkow, Cosmides, and Tooby, 1992,
to re-adapt by critical thought these adapted minds we
p. 45).
inherit.
Kenneth Bock complains: “Human culture histories
In overall assessment, many conclude that humans live
here emerge as fortuitous meanderings of people within
under what Robert Boyd and Peter J. Richerson call “a dual
bounds set by a human nature produced by organic evolu-
inheritance system” (1985). Humans have some dispositions
tion” (Bock, 1980, p. 118). Blacks were slaves in the south-
to which they are genetically disposed, and other dispositions
ern United States and freed in 1863 during the Civil War.
into which they are culturally educated. Their actual behav-
Long segregated, in the second half of the twentieth century
ior is an interactive resultant. Human behaviors fall within
they became quite integrated into American life, and the
an ellipse with two foci, one genetic and one cultural, and,
great-grandchildren of slaves became legislators, mayors, col-
depending on where one is within the ellipse, behaviors may
lege presidents, and military generals. A generic theory com-
be dominantly under the pull of genes, or culture, or various
mon to all Homo sapiens cannot explain the struggle from
hybrids with components of both. In the “leashing” analogy,
slavery to freedom by applying a universal theory to variant
the leashing can be of culture by nature, or nature by culture,
initial cultural conditions. The allegedly universal explana-
or each keeping the other leashed with various lengths of
tion is not robust enough to tell the particular critical stories
leash.
of the exodus from slavery to freedom. The critical difference
lies in the historically emergent ethical conviction that slav-
How individuals behave in fact is often determined by
ery is wrong and freedom is right, and that blacks are, in
their learning experiences, or by social trends. Choices de-
morally relevant respects, to be given equal opportunities and
pend on parents, teachers, peers, advertising pressures, fads
responsibilities with whites.
and fashions, social policies and institutions. Even in behav-
iors regarding biological reproduction, cultural beliefs can
These newfound convictions have little to do with self-
override any genetic dispositions to maximize offspring.
ish genes or instinctive adaptive mechanisms. Persons with
L. L. Cavalli-Sforza and M. W. Feldman (1981) show that
essentially the same genetic makeup are being converted
fertility has declined in Europe in the last century, and that
from one ethic to the other. The biological theory is not ex-
Italian women, for example, do not maximize their offspring,
plaining this cultural development.
differing in their beliefs and behavior from their mothers and
grandmothers. The fertility rate per woman in the United
BIBLIOGRAPHY
States fell from 7 in 1800 to 2.1 in 1990, in a period in which
Barkow, Jerome H. “Evolved Constraints on Cultural Evolution.”
Ethology and Sociobiology 10 (1989): 1–10.
resources rose at a rate matching the fall in fertility. The rea-
sons for the changes must be cultural, not genetic.
Barkow, Jerome H., Leda Cosmides, and John Tooby, eds. The
Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of
Richard C. Lewontin, a Harvard biologist, concludes:
Culture. New York, 1992.
“The genes, in making possible the development of human
Bock, Kenneth. Human Nature and History: A Response to Socio-
consciousness, have surrendered their power both to deter-
biology. New York, 1980.
mine the individual and its environment. They have been re-
Boyd, Robert, and Peter J. Richerson. Culture and the Evolution-
placed by an entirely new level of causation, that of social in-
ary Process. Chicago, 1985.
teraction with its own laws and its own nature” (1991,
Cavalli-Sforza, Luigi Luca, and Marcus W. Feldman. Cultural
p. 123). Marshall Sahlins, an anthropologist, concludes: “Bi-
Transmission and Evolution: A Quantitative Approach. Prince-
ology, while it is an absolutely necessary condition for cul-
ton, N.J., 1981.
ture, is equally and absolutely insufficient: it is completely
Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. New edition. New York,
unable to specify the cultural properties of human behavior
1989.
or their variations from one human group to another” (1976,
Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York, 1973.
p. xi). Biology determines some outcomes but underdeter-
Hamilton, William D. “The Genetical Evolution of Social Behav-
mines many others.
ior. Parts I and II.” Journal of Theoretical Biology 7 (1964):
Sociobiologists claim to give a scientific account of the
1–52.
“human qualities . . . insofar as they appear to be general
Lewontin, Richard C. Biology as Ideology: The Doctrine of DNA.
traits of the species,” the human “biogram” (Wilson, 1975,
New York, 1991.
p. 548). Likewise, the evolutionary psychologists, though
Rolston, Holmes, III. Genes, Genesis, and God. Cambridge, UK,
distancing themselves from too simplistic a genetic determi-
1999.
nation of culture, are hoping for “universal mechanisms” in
Ruse, Michael. Taking Darwin Seriously. Oxford, UK, 1986.
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SOCIOBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY: DARWINISM AND RELIGION
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Ruse, Michael, and Edward O. Wilson. “Moral Philosophy as Ap-
THE SCOPE OF BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF HUMAN AF-
plied Science.” Philosophy: Journal of the Royal Institute of
FAIRS. Few scholars would dispute that human beings have
Philosophy 61 (1986): 173–192.
evolved out of nature. It is also very probable that the main
Sahlins, Marshall. The Use and Abuse of Biology: An Anthropologi-
cause of evolutionary change is natural selection. But how
cal Critique of Sociobiology. Ann Arbor, Mich., 1976.
much and how far natural selection has affected and shaped
Whitehead, Alfred North. Science and the Modern World. New
human thinking, behavior, and institutions is the subject of
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a very heated debate. The defenders of evolutionary psychol-
Wilson, Edward O. Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Cambridge,
ogy say that people have seriously underestimated the extent
Mass., 1975.
to which natural selection has shaped human thought and
Wilson, Edward O. On Human Nature. Cambridge, Mass., 1978.
behavior; the critics claim that it is easy to overstate the ex-
Wilson, Edward O. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. New
tent to which evolutionary theory can give us detailed in-
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sights into human nature.
HOLMES ROLSTON III (2005)
It might therefore be helpful to think about a scale of
views about the appropriate application of evolutionary theo-
ry to humans, or about how much that can successfully be
SOCIOBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY
explained in Darwinian terms. We could then at least distin-
PSYCHOLOGY: DARWINISM AND RELIGION
guish between:
A number of scientists argue that biology has much greater
1. Anti-Darwinists who maintain that evolutionary expla-
scope of application than previously thought, and they are
nations are invalid when it comes to explaining both na-
ready to apply evolutionary theory (and other theories of bi-
ture and culture.
ology) to all aspects of human existence, and to develop a
new Darwinian social and human science. They hold that
2. Non-Darwinists who maintain that evolutionary—in
evolutionary biology can yield profound consequences for
contrast to cultural—explanations can tell us very little
our understanding of human thought and behavior. This re-
or perhaps nothing about human thought, behavior,
search program used to be called sociobiology but since the
and society.
1980s it often has been called evolutionary psychology. It is a
3. Moderate Darwinists who maintain that evolutionary ex-
disputed question whether sociobiology and evolutionary
planations can tell us important things about human
psychology are basically the same, or two different research
thought, behavior, and society, and must therefore be
programs in biology. What they do have in common is that
treated as a supplement to and a possible correction to
both attempt to demonstrate the impact of biological evolu-
cultural explanations.
tion on the human mind, behavior, and culture, including
4. Ultra-Darwinists who maintain that evolutionary—in
the phenomena of religion.
contrast to cultural—explanations can tell us very much
Evolutionary psychology seeks to apply theories of evo-
or perhaps everything we need to know about human
lutionary biology in order to understand human psychology.
thought, behavior, and society.
The basic strategy is to link evolutionary biology to psychol-
ogy and psychology to culture. The working hypothesis is
We here have a continuum, and thus there are no clear lines
that operating beneath the surface of cultural variation is a
of demarcation between these four views. Creationists exem-
human mind which contains universal, psychological mecha-
plify the first extreme, and at the other end of the scale are
nisms or species-typical information-processing programs
people such as Daniel C. Dennett, who in Darwin’s Danger-
which evolved in the Pleistocene period to solve adaptive
ous Idea (1995) maintains that Darwin’s dangerous idea
problems regularly faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestors—
(evolution by natural selection) bears “an unmistakable like-
problems that directly or indirectly affected reproduction,
ness to universal acid: it eats through just about every tradi-
such as finding mates, or problems of protecting offspring,
tional concept, and leaves in its wake a revolutionized world-
fleeing predators, communicating, and cooperating. The
view, with most of the old landmarks still recognizable, but
core idea is that if we want to understand culture, including
transformed in fundamental ways” (p. 63). Evolutionary psy-
religion, the best way to do this is to understand first that
chologists belong more or less to the ultra-Darwinian camp.
humans are not born with empty minds, a tabula rasa, or
Anthropologists, sociologists, and scholars of religion, on the
blank slate, which can be inscribed at will by society or indi-
other hand, typically could be classified as non-Darwinians.
viduals, but creatures whose minds are partly hardwired at
Evolutionary psychologists have called their view the “stan-
birth. This hardwiring probably underlies many human uni-
dard social science model” and maintained that the under-
versals, that is, forms of behavior and psychological charac-
standing of the human mind present in this model—as basi-
teristics shared by people in all cultures, such as incest avoid-
cally passive, as a basin into which the local culture is
ance, feelings of guilt, sex-role differences, and religious
gradually poured—has distorted the study of human beings
mythmaking. There is an inherent human nature driving
and culture.
human events, but it is shaped to cope with Pleistocene con-
The crucial difference is that non-Darwinists (or stan-
ditions rather than modern conditions.
dard social scientists) believe that we have now evolved to a
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state of being so much creatures of our culture that our evo-
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION. Religion con-
lutionary origins can tell us little or nothing about what we
stitutes a great challenge to evolutionary biology, because re-
are now, whereas ultra-Darwinists (or Darwinian social sci-
ligion is one of the major categories of behavior undeniably
entists) think that an understanding of the evolutionary pro-
unique to the human species. Whereas in morality we can
cess that made us what we are is essential—it provides the
find some similarities between animal behavior and moral
key—for understanding who we are and why we behave and
behavior (for instance, in respect to reciprocal cooperation),
think the way we do.
this is not true when it comes to religious behavior. There
This difference can be illustrated by focusing on, for in-
exist no prayers, religious rituals, or beliefs in God or gods
stance, male polygynous behavior—men wanting to have sex
among members of other species living on this planet.
with a lot of women. A non-Darwinian explanation of male
The standard Darwinian explanation of the existence of
philandering understands it as rooted in particular cultural
religion is that religion emerged and spread because it se-
backgrounds, which implies that in a different kind of cul-
cured the reproductive success of those of our distant ances-
tural situation the behavior would not exist. A Darwinian ex-
tors who embraced it. Tribes who developed religious beliefs,
planation understands this kind of predisposition as hard-
myths, and rituals had a better chance of surviving and repro-
wired into the male psyche, which implies that male
ducing than those tribes who failed to do so. Above all they
polygynous behavior would likely manifest itself no matter
congeal identity. Religious practice provided these individu-
what the cultural environment was like: it is genetically hard-
als living in a harsh and dangerous environment with un-
wired because such behavior increased the reproductive suc-
questioned membership in a group claiming great powers,
cess of males (but not of females) in the environment in
and by this means gave them a driving purpose in life com-
which the male psyche evolved.
patible with their self-interest. The beliefs, myths, rituals,
How strong this male polygynous predisposition (or any
and the institutional structures of different religions may dif-
other human psychological trait) is supposed to be is a point
fer greatly, but this is not crucial, because the function of all
on which evolutionary psychologists disagree. Although they
religions is ultimately the same—to protect the genes and se-
predict that most men would have a predisposition to philan-
cure the fitness of the individuals. The standard explanation
der, they might hold different views about whether males
of why religion is selectively advantageous is because it justi-
could control this desire fairly easily, or whether it is like
fies and reinforces moral precepts. Religion indirectly, and
hunger—something that must be fulfilled. Moreover, the
morality directly, secured the genetic fitness of our distant
strength of the psychological mechanisms in males for phi-
ancestors, and for Homo sapiens, it continues to do so today.
landering does not have to be the same for all males. Various
In fact, the most radical ultra-Darwinians hold that every-
aspects of our character are deep in our genes, but they can
thing in culture serves the reproductive success of individuals
vary between individuals. The extent to which a male philan-
and, ultimately, the success of their genes. Natural selection
ders depends not only on the strength of this predispostion
regulates everything of any importance in both nature and
in the individual, but also on the social environment he in-
culture.
habits, the prevailing social conventions, his attachment to
his partner, and his religious beliefs.
Some scientists such as Edward O. Wilson have con-
cluded from the fact that religion is selectively advantageous
Evolutionary psychologists, consequently, do not deny
that religion is probably an ineradicable part of human na-
that the environment or culture as well as genetic factors play
ture whose sources run much deeper than those of ordinary
roles in determining human thought and behavior. The
habits. Therefore, if people want to abandon traditional reli-
weaker the psychological trait is, the more space there is for
gions, they need to find a replacement. Wilson’s controver-
cultural influence to shape human thought and behavior.
sial suggestion is that perhaps science can become our new
But changes in society and human behavior could be very
religion—a secular religion he calls “scientific naturalism.”
difficult and take a very long time if Darwinians are right.
Others, such as Scott Atran, deny the existence of a genetic
Given that (1) human genes change very slowly, and (2) the
religious inclination and maintain that humans merely have
human brain is genetically hardwired to have a certain con-
the capacity to become religious. This difference of opinion
tent, that is, particular species-specific psychological mecha-
arises from the fact that Atran claims that religiosity is not
nisms that cause thought and behavior, it follows that (3) hu-
an adaptation and has no evolutionary function as such. An-
mans are actually adapted for living a life of the late Stone
other alternative evolutionary explanation of religion holds
Age, because that is the historical period in which our genes
that religions are a byproduct of natural selection rather than
and psychological mechanisms were formed, and conse-
a direct adaptation. Religion is not directly promoted by nat-
quently (4) we cannot with great success change certain
ural selection, but merely made possible by other features of
things in human society, because in general, biological forces
the human organism, which gives it a survival advantage.
cannot be manipulated as easily as cultural forces. The last
Human intelligence, for instance, is an adaptation, but sci-
implication provides the breeding ground for the politically
ence is not; science is rather a byproduct of a big brain.
sensitive debate about any biological explanation of human
behavior. Evolutionary psychology can have profound social,
This second explanation of religion (and of other cultur-
political, and religious implications.
al phenomena) is of course something non-Darwinians also
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SOCIOBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY: DARWINISM AND RELIGION
8479
accept. The crucial difference, however, is that evolutionary
Barkow, Jerome H.; Leda Cosmides; and John Tooby, eds. The
psychologists maintain moreover that natural selection has
Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of
framed universal human psychological mechanisms, stem-
Culture. Oxford, 1992. A highly influential book in which
ming from our long-enduring existence as hunter-gatherers,
the research program of evolutionary psychology is pres-
which impose a particular substantive content on culture, or
ented.
in this case, on religious representation. Consequently, evo-
Bowker, John. Is God a Virus? Genes, Culture, and Religion. Lon-
lutionary psychologists use evolutionary theory not only to
don, 1995. A critical response to Lumsden and Wilson’s
explain why and when religion arises but also to explain re-
Genes, Mind, and Culture by a religionist.
current patterns in religious thought and behavior. For in-
Boyer, Pascal. Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Reli-
stance, Pascal Boyer maintains that ideas about gods, spirits,
gious Thought. New York, 2001.
and ghosts pervade religions because humans are endowed
Broom, Donald M. The Evolution of Morality and Religion. Cam-
with species-typical psychological mechanisms which
bridge, U.K., 2003. An evolutionary account of the close ties
evolved in the Stone Age for reasoning about the behavior
between morality and religion.
of human agents. It is because of these structural develop-
Dawkins, Richard. River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life.
ments of the brain that ideas about supernatural agencies be-
New York, 1995. A controversial speculation from a Dar-
came and continue to be culturally widespread. Evolution by
winian and naturalist perspective about “God’s utility
natural selection gave us a particular kind of mind so that
function.”
only particular kinds of religious notions can be acquired.
Dennett, Daniel C. Darwin’s Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the
Meanings of Life. London, 1995. The ultra-Darwinian mani-
CRITICISM OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY. Evolutionary
festo.
psychology is still in its early phase, and any well-grounded
Gould, Stephen, and Richard Lewontin. “The Spandrels of San
verdict about its fruitfulness and adequacy when it comes to
Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm—A Critique of the
understanding religion will have to wait for its further devel-
Adaptationist Programme.” Proceedings of the Royal Society of
opment. Nevertheless, a variety of critical responses against
London B 205 (1979): 581–598. The classic argument pres-
evolutionary psychology have emerged from biologists such
ented against the idea that natural selection regulates every-
as Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin, philosophers
thing of any importance in evolution.
such as Holmes Rolston and Mikael Stenmark, and religion-
Hinde, Robert A. Why Gods Persist: A Scientific Approach to Reli-
ists such as John Bowker and Keith Ward. Their charges in-
gion. London, 1999. A defense of the idea that religious ob-
clude that evolutionary psychology—in some or all of its
servance results from pan-cultural human characteristics
versions—contains a naturalist-atheistic bias; that it presup-
which have shaped religious systems in all their diversity.
poses scientism (the idea that all genuine knowledge is to be
Lumsden, Charles, J., and Edward O. Wilson. Genes, Mind, and
found through science and science alone); that it is self-
Culture. Cambridge, Mass., 1981. Presents an early version
refuting; that it is unrigorous (data are skimpy); that it ne-
of evolutionary psychology, though it still was called socio-
glects alternative hypotheses; that it does not take seriously
biology.
the fact that there are many alternative evolutionary forces
Mithen, Steven. The Prehistory of the Mind: A Search for the Ori-
besides direct adaptation that affect the establishment of
gins of Art, Religion, and Science. London, 1996. An attempt
characters; and that it fails to explain religious missionary ac-
to explain the connection between the development of the
tivity, which helps to ensure the replication of genes unlike
brain and the origins of religion.
the missionaries’ own.
Pinker, Steven. The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human
Nature. London, 2002. An influential criticism of the con-
Although it would be undeniably interesting to reach a
temporary social sciences and the idea of an empty mind.
general verdict about the prospect of evolutionary psycholo-
gy, it is important to consider its merits and demerits on a
Pyysiäinen, Ilka, and Veikko Anttonen, eds. Current Approaches
in the Cognitive Science of Religion. London, 2002. A collec-
case-by-case basis. Perhaps some elements of religious
tion of articles written by evolutionary psychologists of reli-
thought and behavior can best be explained in Darwinian
gion and scholars holding similar views.
terms, whereas others require instead cultural explanations.
We should not accept evolutionary psychology because it is
Rolston, Holmes. Genes, Genesis, and God: Values and Their Ori-
gins in Natural and Human History. Cambridge, U.K., 1999.
sometimes correct, nor should we reject it because it is some-
A critical but also sympathetic response to the biologization
times mistaken. The future will tell whether evolutionary
of religion.
psychology will be of great or minor importance for the study
of religion.
Stenmark, Mikael. Scientism: Science, Ethics, and Religion. Alder-
shot, U.K., 2001. A critical philosophical discussion of evo-
lutionary theories of morality and religion.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Stenmark, Mikael. “Contemporary Darwinism and Religion” In
Atran, Scott. In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Re-
Darwinian Heresies, edited by Abigail Lustig, Robert J. Rich-
ligion. Oxford, 2002. A provocative evolutionary account of
ards, and Michael Ruse, pp. 173–191. Cambridge, U.K.,
the so-called counterintuitive and factually impossible world
2004. A presentation and analysis of different attitudes to-
of religions.
wards religion found among biologists.
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SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
Ward, Keith. God, Chance, and Necessity. Oxford, 1996. Contains
in a famous phrase, he declared it the “opium of the people.”
a response by a religionist and theologian to some of the ex-
What he meant, as the context of his essay on Hegel’s Philos-
aggerated claims of biologists about religion.
ophy of Right shows, is that in a world of human exploitation,
Wilson, David Sloan. Darwin’s Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and
religion is necessary to man; it is at once “the expression of
the Nature of Society. Chicago, 2002. Wilson explores the rel-
real distress and the protest against real distress.” Religion
evance of group selection for understanding religion and so-
would not be banished, Marx stressed, until all of the social
ciety.
conditions of religion had been removed by revolution. Frie-
Wilson, Edward O. On Human Nature. Cambridge, Mass., 1978.
drich Engels, after Marx’s death, went even further. He
The classic attempt to develop and defend a Darwinian social
found many analogies between the infant socialism of his day
and human science.
and the infant Christianity of imperial Rome. Those who
Wright, Robert. The Moral Animal: The New Science of Evolution-
wished to understand the foundations of Christianity, Engels
ary Psychology. London, 1994. A well-written presentation of
advised, needed only to look at “a local section of the Inter-
the theories of evolutionary psychology for the general
national Workingmen’s Association.” He even advanced the
public.
idea that socialism, when it eventually drove out Christiani-
MIKAEL STENMARK (2005)
ty, would itself take on some of the attributes of religion. In
this prophecy he has been proved largely right. As socialism
became a mass movement in Europe in the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries, a prominent element was the apos-
SOCIOLOGY
tasy of socialists from Judaism or Christianity and their turn-
This entry consists of the following articles:
ing to a surrogate. The longer socialism lasts in the Soviet
SOCIOLOGY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
SOCIOLOGY AND RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
Union, the more intense the reverence for Lenin and the
SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
more numerous the festivals and ceremonies in honor of
SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
great personages and events of the past.
Ludwig Feuerbach’s The Essence of Christianity (1841)
SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY AND RELIGION
must be seen (despite Marx’s assault on it) as a profoundly
[FIRST EDITION]
sociological work in its dominant theme of religion as alien-
The discipline of sociology has been closely associated with
ation and etherealization of powers belonging in man alone,
the study of religion ever since sociology emerged as a dis-
and also in the structural character of his treatment of
tinct field in the mid-nineteenth century; only psychology
dogma, liturgy, and symbol. Too often the political purpose
is similarly close. Indeed, Auguste Comte, the social philoso-
of Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic Democracy in America (2
pher who coined the word sociology, saw his new science
vols., 1835–1840) leads us to overlook the cultural and social
equally as religion and as science. In his Positive Philosophy
content of the work, especially in the second volume. Reli-
(1830–1842), and again in Positive Polity (1851–1854),
gion fascinated Tocqueville, and along with analyses of Prot-
Comte envisioned sociology (which he first named social
estantism and Roman Catholicism based upon the social-
physics) not only as the queen of the sciences but also as the
status groups to be found in each, there are treatments of the
scientific basis of the new religion of Positivism, which
patterns that spiritual fanaticism and of pantheism tend to
would gradually push all existing religions out of sight. There
take in democratic society. Frédéric Le Play’s monumental
were some excellent thinkers of the nineteenth century—
work The European Workers (1855), although directed pri-
among them Harriet Martineau and Frederick Harrison in
marily to family structures, contains a significant amount of
England—who took Comte’s religion very seriously. But the
insight into religion and the worker.
real and enduring relationship between sociology and reli-
gion was established by those, including Comte, who saw re-
The attention these early sociologists gave religion in
ligion as one of the vital constituents of the social bond and
their studies of the social order was magnified in the works
thus necessarily a matter for careful study by sociologists.
of the European sociologists at the end of the nineteenth cen-
DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISCIPLINE. A significant change in
tury who are the true founders of contemporary sociological
attitude toward religion took place from that adopted by the
theory. Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, Ferdinand Tönnies,
eighteenth-century French philosophes to that represented by
Georg Simmel, and Ernst Troeltsch all made the study of re-
the nineteenth-century founders of sociology. The critical ra-
ligion a crucial aspect of their systematic theories of society
tionalists of the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century had
and of a human’s relation to society. We shall come back to
seen religion essentially as a mental or intellectual phenome-
these seminal theorists, for they are still very much a part of
non, for the most part a tissue of superstitions, and therefore
current sociology. For the moment suffice it to say that in
capable of eradication once the truth was told the people; but
the aggregate they subjected religion to precisely the same
the sociologists from the beginning saw religion as a nearly
kind of study that went into their explorations of politics,
inseparable aspect of social organization, a necessary window
morality, science, and other major phenomena of modern so-
to understanding the past and present. Karl Marx, no lover
ciety. Durkheim’s Elementary Forms of the Religious Life
of religion in any form, was not denigrating religion when,
(1912), without question his greatest book, richly represents
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SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY AND RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
8481
the application to religion of the modern sociological con-
the nineteenth century to all of Europe and in the twentieth
cepts of community, role, social interaction, and hierarchy.
to the whole world. The growth and mechanization of the
Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
factory system, the mushrooming of villages into cities, the
(1904–1905) and, above all, his Sociology of Religion (1920–
multiplication of population, the development of more egali-
1921) demonstrated the functional role of Calvinist belief in
tarian democracies and wider electorates—all of these, to-
the seventeenth-century rise of the Protestant work ethic and
gether with some of their by-products such as science and
illuminated the interaction throughout history of major
technology, the spirit of secularism, and an ever growing po-
forms of religion and the prevailing currents of social hierar-
litical bureaucracy, were bound to have profound impact
chy and of bureaucracy. In his Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft
upon the traditional social structure of Western nations. Ev-
(Community and Society; 1887) Tönnies stressed religion as
erywhere the forces of political and economic modernism re-
well as family as crucial elements of the “community” that
sulted in the fragmentation of ancient loyalties—of nation,
he counterposed to “society,” the former close and cohesive,
community, kin, and religion. In sum, the rise and spread
the latter tending toward impersonality and anonymity. It
of sociology in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries are
was Troeltsch who, in his Social Teachings of the Christian
part and parcel of the dual revolution that overcame first the
Church (1912), made the fundamental distinction between
West, then the world.
“churches” and “sects” a fertile basis for insight into the ef-
SOCIOLOGICAL ANTINOMIES. More than any other social sci-
fects of structural characteristics in religion upon matters of
ence, sociology is the almost immediate intellectual result of
faith and dogma. Simmel, primarily interested in the social
the two revolutions. This fact is abundantly illustrated by the
elements of capitalism and also of human personality and its
broad antinomies of the new discipline, which either encom-
intimate recesses, chose to make what he called “autonomous
pass or loom over its more concrete concepts. In the socio-
religious values” central elements of all forms of social inter-
logical tradition five major antinomies arose in response to
action. Whether it is the tie between child and parent or that
the great social changes of the past two centuries; each em-
between citizen and nation, there is, Simmel declared, an in-
bodies a perspective that focuses upon a particular dialectic.
eradicable “religious key” to be found.
1. Community versus Society is the first of these antino-
A kind of symbiotic relationship existed in the nine-
mies, the opposition that Tönnies referred to as that between
teenth century between sociology and religion. It should not
Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft: the smaller, more cohesive,
be overlooked that in many areas religion, quite indepen-
communal, and durable social relationships contrasted to the
dently of currents in the social sciences, took on a strong so-
larger, looser, and more impersonal relationships of the mar-
cial consciousness, manifest in the Social Catholic tradition
ketplace and to the equally large and impersonal ties inherent
in France and Germany and in the Social Gospel of some
in the national state. From the beginning, sociologists tended
of the Protestant churches, especially in England and the
to see conflict between the two types of relationship. This
United States. Interest in the study as well as the possible re-
conflict increasingly is resolved in modern society by the tri-
lief of social problems—delinquency, family breakdown, al-
umph of the latter over the former, with consequent reduc-
coholism, and poverty—is first manifest in the United
tion in the necessary nurturing conditions of personality,
States, not in the colleges and universities, but in religious
morality, and social order.
seminaries; the study was thought by seminary leaders to be
2. Authority versus Power is the second antinomy. Au-
vital to any clergyman’s pastoral work. Many of the sociolo-
thority is the natural accompaniment of any kind of organi-
gists active in the early part of the twentieth century began
zation, whether small and informal or large and impersonal.
their careers as clergymen or seminarians. It is not at all sur-
Authority inheres in the very roles of the members of such
prising that, during its first half-century, American sociolo-
groups; in some degree it is natural to the very fabric of social
gy, lacking the kind of strong philosophical and historical in-
life. Power, however, as the term is used by the pioneering
fluences that guided sociology in Europe, chose social
sociologists, is characteristically perceived through its mani-
problems as its primary subject matter. The American public
festations in the state and in large, corporate industry. Power
may thus be forgiven for sometimes confusing sociology with
tends to be more coercive than authority; more important,
socialism. From the beginning, the character of sociology in
it is impersonal, rule-bound, office-centered, and expansive.
America was, and in some measure still is, more pragmatic,
In modern sociological writing, bureaucracy, whether in gov-
problem-oriented, and policy-directed than in Europe.
ernment, large industry, or profession, is most commonly
made the focus of power, rather than authority. Here too an
This close and reciprocal relationship between religion
intrinsic conflict is perceived, and there is a wide conviction
and sociology calls attention to another important aspect of
that in modern history the forces of bureaucratic power are
their common history. Both areas of thought, sociology and
winning out against traditional types of social and moral au-
the distinctively social cast of religion in the West, may be
thority.
profitably seen as intellectual responses to the two great revo-
lutions of modern times: the industrial and the democratic.
3. Status versus Class, the third antinomy, is a dichotomy
Beginning in England and France in the eighteenth century,
emphasized in the work of Max Weber. But, like the other
these massive disturbances of the social landscape spread in
antinomies, it is found almost everywhere in sociology. Here
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traditional systems of hierarchy such as those spawned by
has its own paths of evolution through time. Human
Western feudalism, systems characterized by an almost uni-
thought is purposive, searching for meanings, responding to
versally perceived and accepted structuring of populations
nature only through the acquired “filters” of values, norms,
into upper, middle, and lower classes, are sharply distin-
and meanings passed on from generation to generation. Our
guished from the diverse, variegated, and highly specialized
interactions are all influenced by the “pictures in our heads”
statuses held by individuals in modern society as the result
(Walter Lippman), by our “definition of the situation” (W.
of the atomization of traditional classes under the blows of
I. Thomas). We never react to others or to the environment
the two great revolutions. This antinomy, too, reflects a con-
at large in a direct, unfiltered way. No matter who or what
trast between modern society and the whole social order dev-
is before us, we perceive it as part of a larger context of mean-
astated or made largely obsolete by industrialism and democ-
ing, one that we usually have experienced before. The really
racy.
crucial episodes of symbolic interaction with other people
take place during infancy and childhood. That is when, pre-
4. Sacred versus Secular, the fourth antinomy, is where
cisely through such interactions, the individual’s self begins
religion as the subject of sociological study most obviously
to take shape. The early American sociologist Charles H.
comes to mind. From the sociological point of view, the large
Cooley referred to the self as “the looking-glass self,” mean-
trends in modern history—impersonalization of social rela-
ing that the reflection of ourselves we see in the responses
tionships, bureaucratization of authority, and the fragmenta-
of others to us has a strong influence upon what kinds of
tion of traditional classes—are accompanied by the secular-
selves—passive, aggressive, diffident, demonstrative, inward-
ization of society: the replacement of sacred values by others
or outward-turning—we are likely to be throughout our
based upon utility, pragmatism, and hedonism.
lives.
5. Membership versus Alienation is the fifth and final
Social aggregates. When we look out on the world, we
member of my list of sociological antinomies. Throughout
do not see masses of discrete individuals. We see social
sociology, especially among the pioneers from Comte to
groups, associations, and organizations—or rather, we see in-
Durkheim, there is the clear sense that modern society re-
dividuals who are nearly inseparable from such aggregates.
flects a widespread alienation of individuals from their accus-
Man, as Aristotle wrote, is a social animal. What I have noted
tomed memberships in family, community, religion, and so-
in the paragraph above about social interaction supports this
cial class. More than any other social science, sociology is
claim. Interaction not only takes place in terms of meanings
responsible for the image of “the masses,” of large aggregates
ascribed by the individuals concerned; it also tends to fix
of people wrenched from their traditional roles and made
these meanings through symbols as elements of the culture
into a standardized, homogenized, and faceless multitude.
that is transmitted through social mechanisms from one gen-
For sociology, the very essence of alienation is the estrange-
eration to the next. Social groups are composites of basic
ment of individuals from community and other primary
types of social interaction: cooperation, conflict, conformity,
forms of association—estrangement even from self.
coercion, exchange, and so forth.
CENTRAL CONCEPTS. With this historical background in
mind, it is possible to understand more clearly the patterning
A great deal of contemporary sociological theory deals
of central concepts in contemporary sociology. We shall con-
with analyses of social groups and organizations of all kinds
fine ourselves to those that have virtually universal accep-
and sizes. The reason for such analysis is not only the intrin-
tance by sociologists and that, taken together, constitute the
sic interest of the structures themselves but the variable ef-
theoretical structure of sociology today. All have been widely
fects different types of groups have upon individual behavior.
useful in understanding religion and the other major institu-
One of the most famous and by now deeply rooted typolo-
tions of society. The concepts are primarily analytical, but
gies of social aggregates was referred to above: Tönnies’s
they also take on significance as tools in social synthesis and
Gemeinschaft-Gesellschaft, or what Cooley called primary and
the making of social policy. Although these concepts origi-
secondary groups.
nated in the several great moral perspectives outlined above,
The sociological theory of groups, communities, and as-
their value to sociology and the other social sciences lies sole-
sociations has been widely applied to religion in the literature
ly in their scientific utility in the study of human behavior.
of sociology. Émile Durkheim declared that religion origi-
Social interaction. All social structures are compounds
nated in primitive man’s absolute dependence upon his com-
of certain fundamental, universal patterns of social interac-
munity and therefore his worship of it. Durkheim demon-
tion. Social interaction among human beings differs from all
strated through examples how the primitive worship of tribe
other types of interaction in nature in that it is symbolic: that
and totem has become transmuted into many of the more
is, organized around signs and symbols that carry distinct
ethereal symbols of the advanced and universal religions. Tr-
meanings to those involved in the interaction. Animals inter-
oeltsch and Simmel showed the close correlation between the
act; so do atoms and molecules; but symbolic interaction is
size of a religious organization and the type of doctrine held:
limited to human beings. They alone fashion arbitrary sym-
in small sects it is easier to insist upon a strict, undeviating
bols, reflected in language, thought, morality, religion, and
dogma and code of conduct than in the larger, more cosmo-
other spheres—all of which constitute human culture, which
politan, and relatively impersonal churches. Every belief that
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is in any way tinged by religious passion suffers in strictness
of “the disenchantment of the world,” he had in mind the
and purity as the number of its adherents grows. As Simmel
relentless supplanting of the purely spontaneous and the tra-
pointed out, the history of socialism illustrates this as well
ditional or customary by the forces of bureaucracy in the
as does that of Christianity.
modern world. A bureaucratization of the spirit as well as of
organizations takes place; sociologists following Weber have
Sociologists have recently given much attention to the
brought insights into the sheer power of bureaucracy—
reference group. This may be family, school class, church
power to bend men’s wills, power to alter the very ends of
group, or neighborhood, or it may be a street gang or other
an organization. Thus the church, the hospital, the universi-
manifestation of deviant or delinquent behavior. Whatever
ty, or the army may grow so large that the organization be-
its nature, the group is by definition the social entity—
comes its own reason for being, where devotion to organiza-
complete with values, symbols, and role models—to which
tional processes may crowd out many of the original
one tends chiefly to refer in self-appraisals. One’s assessments
motivating goals.
of one’s own actual or potential bravery, cowardice, honesty,
loyalty, team play, or betrayal are formed by observation and
The structure of authority has played an immense role
experience with one’s dominant reference group. At any
in the histories of religions. The authority of Hinduism lies
given time we may, especially in complex modern society,
chiefly in the Indian caste system, and it was revolt against
have not one or two but many reference groups of varying
caste and its forms of punishments for infractions of caste in-
importance. But generally one group is supreme at any given
violability that as much as anything inspired the Buddha’s
time: in civil life it may be one’s professional group; in war,
renunciation of Hinduism and his founding of a new religion
however, it is likely to be composed of other, comparable,
flowing directly from his charismatic being. Struggles over
soldiers.
the legitimacy of priestly and ecclesiastical authority have
Social authority. The study of authority follows from
been the substance of a great deal of Christian history: In-
the study of groups. No group, however small and informal,
deed, the Reformation was largely a challenge to the legiti-
is without some degree of authority. It may proceed from the
macy of the authority wielded by the pope and the Curia Ro-
dominant personality in the group, from ready consensus,
mana. It would be difficult to find any religion in which
from cooperation necessary to the achievement of some end,
boundless authority is not attributed to some divine being
or from mere custom and tradition. But no form of social
or principle, but as to the mediation by men on earth of that
life exists without authority, from the mother’s domination
authority, religious sects and churches, like political and eco-
of infant to the state’s sovereignty over its citizens.
nomic organizations, differ vastly, ranging from the self-
immured anchorite to an organization as huge and complex
The most famous theorist of authority is Max Weber,
as the Roman Catholic church.
who identifies three types: the charismatic, the traditional,
and the rational-bureaucratic. The first is the kind of authori-
Social roles. “All the world’s a stage,” wrote Shake-
ty that emanates directly from the great individual, whether
speare, “and all the men and women merely players. / They
a Jesus in religion, a Caesar in warfare, or a Napoleon in war
have their exits and their entrances; / and one man in his
and government. Such authority is inseparable from that in-
time plays many parts.” Natural man is a myth, although
dividual. Often, as in Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism,
that fact has not prevented people through the ages from
the charismatic authority of the founder becomes “routin-
wondering what an individual would be were he totally iso-
ized,” as Weber put it, through disciples and followers.
lated from all the social and cultural forces that shape our
Words spoken by the founder become writ, tradition,
lives and assign us our varied roles. It is as true to say that
dogma, and liturgy. Most traditional authority is the result
human beings are roles as it is to say that all roles are human
of cumulation through the centuries of certain injunctions
beings. We do not know people except in their near infinity
or admonitions or simple ways of doing things originally pre-
of roles, but on the other hand any study of roles must be
scribed by some leader of charismatic power. The third great
of individual persons.
type of authority for Weber was bureaucracy—a rationalized,
Roles are, at bottom, ways of behavior, most of which
calculated, designed structure in which the office or function
have been handed down through the ages. There is no recog-
rather than the individual is crucial. Weber and his followers
nized role that is without norms from the social order to give
see a large part of history as involving the passage of authority
it direction and meaning; nor can there be a social role that
from the charismatic to the traditional to, finally, especially
is not a part of some social union or interaction. Even Sime-
in the modern Western world, the rational-bureaucratic.
on Stylites occupied a role in the desert that, although physi-
Weber saw educational, charitable, military, and political or-
cally isolated, was nevertheless part of a religious organiza-
ganizations, as well as churches, undergoing this develop-
tion. Very strong in any role is the element of legitimacy. We
ment in time.
will accept from individuals in their role capacities as police,
Some sociologists, such as Robert K. Merton, building
physicians, clergy, teachers, and parents obligations we might
on Weber’s base, have studied the impacts upon personality
be loath to accept from others. We do not consider the most
of these types of authority, especially the traditional and the
intimate examination of our bodies offensive or immoral if
bureaucratic. When Weber, citing the poet Schiller, wrote
done by a physician, nor do we think the close observation
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of our minds disturbing if it is carried out by a priest or psy-
or high, was the crucial determinant of social behavior. But
chiatrist. Role, in short, confers legitimacy. Killing other
Max Weber, the principal architect of the contemporary so-
human beings is widely deemed immoral, but most people
ciological theory of status and stratification, realized that in
do not hold the same act as immoral when done by a soldier
modern, developed Western society, the single concept of
in fulfillment of his legitimate role.
class was inadequate to define the complexity of social life.
There is also a strong element of duty inherent in every
He thus distinguished between power (chiefly political), eco-
recognized role. To occupy the role of mother or father,
nomic level, and status—the last meaning the ranking an in-
teacher or lawyer, cleric or police officer, or any other of the
dividual may receive in society by factors independent of
multitude of roles in society means to accept the various val-
power and wealth—for example, ancestry, family, breeding,
ues and norms that define or identify these roles. When we
schooling, mental acuity, talent, and so forth. Sociologists
find ourselves saying “It is my duty to” perform certain acts
have come to realize that, in Western society, social classes
of social character, we are only acceding to the implicit de-
are not the distinct, homogeneous entities they once were.
mands inherent in every social role. To assume the role of
The forces of modernization have fragmented social classes
parent is to assume certain duties and obligations, starting
as they have kinship systems and certain religions. It is much
with the care and feeding of the infant. Roles are often recip-
more accurate today in the West to refer to minorities and
rocal and complementary. Obviously there cannot be a
elites, all of highly variable status, all dependent upon numer-
teacher without a student, a physician without a patient. Our
ous spheres of values in our complex society. The number
culture, drawn from the ages, is the source of the diverse pre-
of elites is almost beyond count, and they are to be found
scriptions for what we think of as normal role-behavior. Ill-
in sports, theater, movies, television, and even crime as well
ness may be physical in origin, but the actual roles of the
as in politics, industry, professional groups, and universities.
sick—self-regard and regard by others—are cultural and vary
The large number of roles generated by liberal democracy,
from people to people, age to age.
a highly technological society, and an increasingly secularized
and relativist moral order carry with them the inevitable
We must not overlook the phenomenon of role conflicts.
prestige-ranking that results in their being statuses, ascribed
In simple societies these are few, but they are numerous in
and achieved, as well as roles.
a society that is as filled with specializations and alternatives
as modern Western society. Essentially the feminist revolu-
Deviance and change. From its beginnings in the nine-
tion of the past century in the West has been a series of as-
teenth century, sociology has been closely concerned with
saults upon previously unchallenged roles of women. Much
the phenomena of deviance and change in human behavior.
social history is in essence the history of roles—their persis-
Few human beings live their lives in perfect accord with the
tence, their alterations, their conflicts, and their erasure by
rules and norms governing social interaction, social groups,
negative forces.
social authorities, and social roles. Always there is at least an
Nor should we overlook the history of the prestige of
infinitesimal variance between role perfection, ideally de-
given roles. Roles are statuses: any role can be evaluated by
fined, and actual role performance. When such variance be-
its rank in a social order’s scale of values. Whenever we ask
comes pronounced, we refer to it as deviant behavior, that
about anyone’s status, we are asking about his position in a
is, behavior that violates the normative rules, codes, and ste-
social hierarchy. When one is born to or achieves a given role
reotypes of a given social order. From a universal point of
in society, he also, willy-nilly, has the status of that role. A
view, relativity is the very essence of moral behavior; behavior
given role—for example, physician, businessman, scholar, or
that would be regarded as deviant in a middle-class U. S. sub-
leather worker—can be of very high or low status, depending
urb might be acceptable in an urban ghetto or in an utterly
upon the social order or age in history. But despite the rela-
foreign culture. Headhunting would be regarded as deviant,
tivity and diversity of status rankings of roles, there are cer-
to say the least, in America and most parts of the world, but
tain universal criteria of the kind of status of a given role—
it is far from being perceived as deviant in certain primitive
namely, gender, age, wealth, power, education, job, ethnici-
cultures. The same holds for cannibalism and a host of other
ty, and kinship. Thus, in Western society, a middle-aged,
practices. What defines deviant behavior is the flouting or
economically or politically powerful, Caucasian, college-
bypassing of rules and norms in a specific social order or sys-
educated, professional man of “good family” has historically
tem. Killing, robbing, arson, mutilation, and assault are al-
been accorded high status.
most universally regarded as deviant within the social order,
but they are not so regarded when they are the acts of legiti-
Social classes are coalescences of people who have low,
mate soldiers at war with external enemies.
medium, or high “amounts” of the various kinds of status
by which a society ranks its members. Karl Marx declared
Émile Durkheim is probably the preeminent pioneer in
social class to be the dominant key to the understanding of
the study of social deviance, and his most basic principles
history, and further believed that in due time the lower
continue to undergird its study and conceptualization. From
class—the proletariat or working class—would overthrow
Durkheim, especially his famous Suicide (1896), we have
the upper class by revolution, thus inaugurating socialism
learned that deviance is at one and the same time abnormal
and a classless society. For Marx, social class, whether low
and normal. Suicide, crime, desertion of family, arson, and
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the like are all abnormal in that they are recognized as viola-
There is one more preoccupation with change that has
tions of a given moral and social code and are punished or
sociological as well as ethnological or anthropological as-
deplored accordingly. But, Durkheim continued, certain in-
pects: social evolution. At the same time that anthropologists
cidences of these acts of deviance are to be expected—are to
such as E. B. Tylor, Lewis Morgan, and James G. Frazer were
be considered sociologically normal—when certain social,
constructing their patterns of social and cultural evolution,
economic, and political conditions are present. Thus, sudden
such sociologists as Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and
and high rates of urbanization, industrialization, and secular-
Lester Ward were engaged in almost identical pursuits. Inevi-
ization in a population are almost certain to induce processes
tably religion figured large in social-evolutionary schemes.
of community disorganization that in turn lead to erosions
There was search for, and wide disagreement about, the nat-
of social authority and of traditional social roles. Deviant be-
ural origin of religion: some found it in psychic states such
havior almost always increases in such circumstances.
as animism, others in ritual acts like totemism, still others
Durkheim concluded that the high rates of suicide he ob-
in awe of celestial bodies and terrestrial phenomena such as
served in the Western nations resulted from the alienation
the changes of seasons. There was similarly universal interest
of people from traditional moral values and from the ties of
among anthropologists and sociologists, and again wide dis-
close social cohesion—family, church, village, neighbor-
agreement, about the natural stages of development that reli-
hood, and so on.
gion has gone through from its origins to the development
When we consider change, we often find that it is the
of the great world religions such as Christianity and Islam.
continuation and cumulation of deviant acts that will in time
For the most part, contemporary sociology has dismissed the
lead to changes in the social groups and roles by which devi-
kind of interest in social and religious evolution that was rife
ant behavior is identified. One need think only of the
in the nineteenth century. Both unilinear and multilinear
changes that have occurred in the last century in the public
patterns of the supposed development of religion in the
definition of what is proper behavior in a “lady.” There is
human race have come under wide attack as being more
no need to list the behavior patterns now almost universally
nearly philosophical and speculative than scientific. Unlike
accepted as respectable in women that even a half century
their forebears, today’s sociologists do not foresee the demise
ago would have raised the eyebrows of the conventional. It
of religion and its succession by the scientific and secular. Re-
suffices to say that in very large degree the change in the
ligion, it is now generally believed by sociologists, answers
criteria of female respectability over many decades is the cu-
certain psychosocial needs in human beings, and until or un-
mulative consequence of a multitude of at first minor, then
less these needs become casualties of biological evolution of
major deviances from the norm.
the human species, religion in one or another form will re-
Religion is, of course, a fertile field for the study of devi-
main a persisting reality of human culture.
ance in the strict sociological sense. Many of the mainline
religions have undergone extraordinary changes in creed and
Sociological interest in religion is as great today as it ever
liturgy during the last century, and although we cannot ig-
has been during the past two centuries. Once the orientation
nore the calculated, planned nature of many of these
toward universalist schemes of religious evolution faded,
changes, we are obliged to note the small but increasingly sig-
much more concrete, empirical, and scientific studies of reli-
nificant deviations of religious people from the strict codes
gious behavior began to proliferate in all Western countries.
of their forebears.
Numerous sociological studies are to be found on such topics
But not all social change is gradual, continuous, and cu-
as the relation of religious thought and behavior to social
mulative. When we turn to the more notable historical
class, to ethnicity, and to wealth and poverty; the systems of
changes in social systems and social organizations, we are
authority, stratification, and role formations in religion; reli-
forced to deal with the discontinuous—with the major con-
gion and political ideology; and religion as a mainspring of
flict, the sporadic event, and the sudden, unforeseeable intru-
social integration, but also of social change and revolution.
sion of an alien system. Nor can we overlook the immense
These are but a few of the problems concerning religion that
force of charismatic human beings in religion, politics, sci-
present-day sociologists consider significant. The general de-
ence, or other social systems. Most change is slow and incre-
velopment and refinement of sociological methods of investi-
mental, often so slow as to be more nearly persistence and
gation—survey, case history, statistical, and mathematical,
fixity than change. But there are periods when changes are
among others—have occurred as often in inquiries into reli-
great, sudden, and explosive, inducing myriad consequences
gious behavior as in studies of other dimensions of human
in thought and action in the population. Wars such as the
existence. There is no reason to suppose that the close rela-
two great ones of the twentieth century, spectacular revolu-
tion between religion and sociology, now close to two centu-
tions such as the French and the Russian, spiritual awaken-
ries old, will dissolve soon.
ings such as that associated with John XXIII and the Second
Vatican Council, major epidemics, rapid scientific and tech-
SEE ALSO Comte, Auguste; Durkheim, Émile; Evolution,
nological advance—these and other great interruptions of
article on Evolutionism; Marxism; Modernity; Society and
the normal have to be taken into consideration when we deal
Religion; Study of Religion; Tönnies, Ferdinand; Troeltsch,
with social change.
Ernst; Weber, Max.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
the most complete source of Weber’s theory of authority,
The International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (New York,
though Politics as a Vocation (1919), translated by H. H.
1968–1979) is indispensable as a reference work for further
Gerth and C. Wright Mills (Philadelphia, 1965), is also valu-
inquiries into the nature of sociology as a discipline, its prin-
able. Georg Simmel’s study of superordination and subordi-
cipal concepts and methods, and its varied studies of reli-
nation, found in The Sociology of Georg Simmel, translated
gious life. For general histories of sociology, the following are
and edited by Kurt Wolff (Glencoe, Ill., 1964), is also highly
recommended: Howard S. Becker and Harry Elmer Barnes’s
important. See also Seymour Martin Lipset’s Political Man
Social Thought from Lore to Science, 3 vols., 3d ed. (New
(Garden City, N.Y., 1960), Robert Bierstedt’s Power and
York, 1961); Lewis A. Coser’s Masters of Sociological Thought
Progress (New York, 1974), and my own Twilight of Authori-
(New York, 1971), and my own The Sociological Tradition
ty (Oxford, 1975).
(New York, 1966), which is concerned at length with the re-
In the identification of social roles and statuses in society, the writ-
lation between the rise of sociology and the two great revolu-
ings of Simmel, Weber, Cooley, and Mead are fundamental.
tions of the modern world.
Robert K. Merton, as cited above, is invaluable for synthesis
Robert K. Merton’s Social Theory and Social Structure, rev. ed.
and summary of recent work done with respect to roles and
(New York, 1968) offers an incisive and comprehensive con-
role sets. David Riesman’s The Lonely Crowd, also cited
spectus of contemporary sociological theory. George C. Ho-
above, is notable for its differentiation of inner-directed, tra-
mans’s The Nature of Social Science (New York, 1967) is a
dition-directed, and other-directed personalities in the light
compact and penetrating statement of the conceptual appa-
of the modern variegation of roles in society. Florian Znan-
ratus of sociology; James A. Black and Dean J. Champion’s
iecki’s Social Relations and Social Roles (San Francisco, 1965)
Methods and Issues in Social Research (New York, 1976) and
is highly illuminating in its uniting of classic and contempo-
Gideon Sjoberg and Roger Nett’s A Methodology for Social
rary studies. On social class and social status, we should not
Research (New York, 1968) provide lucid surveys of the most
overlook Karl Marx’s works, commencing with The Manifes-
significant methods today employed in sociological research.
to of the Communist Party and reaching culmination in Capi-
C. Wright Mills’s The Sociological Imagination (Oxford,
tal. The writings of Max Weber, already cited, are eminently
1959) and Talcott Parsons’s The Social System (Glencoe, Ill.,
pertinent here for their criticism of Marx and their shaping
1951) offer spectacularly contrasting formulations of the ul-
of the contemporary theory of class and status. See also
timate goals of a scientific sociology. Each has proved to be
Thomas B. Bottomore’s Elites and Society (New York, 1965),
seminal in subsequent sociological thought, the first for its
John Dollard’s Caste and Class in a Southern Town, 3d ed.
emphasis upon the concrete, personal, and nonsystematic,
(Garden City, N.Y., 1957), Nathan Glazer and Daniel P.
the second for its stress upon sociology as a grand and unified
Moynihan’s Beyond the Melting Pot (Cambridge, Mass.,
structure of systematic theory.
1963), Peter I. Rose’s They and We, 2d ed. (New York,
1974), and Richard Sennett and Jonathan Cobb’s The Hid-
On social and symbolic interaction, the classic work is George H.
den Injuries of Class (New York, 1973) for diverse and sensi-
Mead’s Mind, Self, and Society (1934; reprint, Chicago,
tive insights into status and class.
1963). All of the concepts of interaction through symbols
and of the directive force of these upon the development of
On deviant behavior, Albert K. Cohen’s Delinquent Boys: The Cul-
individual personality are to be found in this work. More re-
ture of the Gang (Glencoe, Ill., 1955), Howard S. Becker’s
cent studies of social interaction are The Self in Social Interac-
Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance (New York,
tion, edited by Chad Gordon and Kenneth J. Gergen (New
1963), and Marshall B. Clinard’s Sociology of Deviant Behav-
York, 1968), and George C. Homans’s Social Behavior: Its
ior, 4th ed. (New York, 1974), are all notable in the field.
Elementary Forms (New York, 1974).
Ralph Ellison’s novel The Invisible Man (New York, 1952)
is a recognized masterpiece in the interpretation of individual
Two works are fundamental historically in the sociological theory
alienation. David Riesman’s The Lonely Crowd should be
of communities and associations. First, Ferdinand Tönnies’s
mentioned again in this context. Contemporary Social Prob-
Community and Society (1887), translated by Charles P.
lems, 4th ed., edited by Robert K. Merton and me (New
Loomis (New York, 1963), wherein the contrast between tra-
York, 1976), is probably the most sweeping and comprehen-
ditional, communal society and large-scale, impersonal soci-
sive study of the various forms of deviance.
ety is made central, and Charles H. Cooley’s Social Organiza-
tion
(1909; reprint, New York, 1962) in which the concepts
An excellent beginning in the sociology of social change is Wilbert
of the primary and the secondary groups in the social order
E. Moore’s Social Change, 2d. ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,
are advanced systematically. More recent works along this
1974). Cyril E. Black’s The Dynamics of Modernization (New
line are David Riesman’s The Lonely Crowd: A Study in the
York, 1966) details the patterns of change found in develop-
Changing American Character (New Haven, 1950), and my
ing countries, and Bryce F. Ryan’s Social and Cultural
own work, The Quest for Community: A Study in the Ethics
Change (New York, 1969) presents a comparative picture of
of Order and Freedom (Oxford, 1953). George C. Homans’s
social change in Western and non-Western societies. For
The Human Group (New York, 1950) is also valuable.
contrasting views on the relevance of social evolutionism to
the study of change in time, see Talcott Parsons’s The Evolu-
In the study of authority and power, the classic sociological writ-
tion of Societies, edited by Toby Jackson (Englewood Cliffs,
ings are those of Max Weber at the turn of the century in
N.J., 1977), and my own Social Change and History (Oxford,
which he distinguished charismatic, traditional, and rational-
1969).
bureaucratic authority. His The Theory of Social and Econom-
ic Organization
(1922), translated by Alexander Morell
Following are a few of the more notable sociological studies of reli-
Hamilton and Talcott Parsons (Oxford, 1947), is probably
gion not mentioned above in the text. Joachim Wach’s Soci-
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SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY AND RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8487
ology of Religion (1944; reprint, Chicago, 1962) and J. Mil-
is still as central a topic for sociologists generally as it once
ton Yinger’s The Scientific Study of Religion (New York,
was. Surely it is not, and surely the course of secularization
1970) are excellent presentations of the broad perspectives of
that Nisbet stresses as a preoccupation of classical sociologists
the subject. Peter L. Berger’s The Sacred Canopy: Elements of
would lead one to expect a decline in interest.
a Sociological Theory of Religion (Garden City, N.Y., 1967)
is distinctive in its command of both the theoretical and em-
CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION.
pirical aspects of the sociological study of religion. Close to
Second, while Nisbet emphasizes the continued influence of
it in importance, and giving greater scope to the methodolo-
classical sociology, he acknowledges differences between it
gies involved, is Charles Y. Glock and Rodney Stark’s Reli-
and contemporary sociology of religion. He notes that
gion and Society in Tension (Chicago, 1965). Gerhard Len-
unlike their forebears, today’s sociologists of religion do
ski’s The Religious Factor: A Sociological Study of Religion’s
not foresee the demise of religion and its succession by
Impact on Politics, Economics, and Family Life (Garden City,
the scientific and the secular. Religion, it is now gener-
N.Y., 1961) is valuable for the author’s own inquiry and also
ally believed by sociologists, answers certain psychologi-
for his wide coverage of other scholarly works. Books on reli-
cal needs in human beings, and until or unless these
gion as an integrative and stabilizing force are legion; Gu-
needs become casualties of biological evolution of the
enter Lewy, in Religion and Revolution (Oxford, 1974), em-
human species, religion in one form or another will re-
phasizes the immense role of religion as a force for social
main a persisting reality of human culture.
change since ancient times. Finally, the monumental work
of Werner Stark, The Sociology of Religion: A Study of Chris-
But is it true that contemporary sociologists, in contrast to
tendom, 5 vols. (New York, 1966–1972), must be recom-
classical ones, do not predict the end of religion? Surely there
mended strongly.
is scant census. If sociologists like Grace Davie deny the end
ROBERT NISBET (1987)
of religion, sociologists like Steve Bruce (2002) predict it.
Some critics of what is called “the secularization thesis”
maintain that religion has taken new, less institutionalized
forms—itself a challenge to the sociology of religion. Often
SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY AND RELIGION
it is said that religion, which is thereby defined as organized,
[FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
is being replaced by a more free-floating “spirituality.”
Robert Nisbet’s article is a summary of his lifelong views, ex-
Durkheim himself defined religion as organized and on that
pressed most fully in The Sociological Tradition (1966). Ac-
ground contrasted it to magic. But Durkheim, unlike
cording to Nisbet, the core of classical sociology—evinced
Weber, argued that religion would never die out. There was
in the work of Karl Marx (1818–1883), Alexis de Tocque-
then no consensus among classical sociologists either.
ville (1805–1859), Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), Max
Weber (1864–1920), Ferdinand Tönnies (1855–1936), and
Is it true that contemporary sociologists deem religion
Georg Simmel (1858–1918)—is a set of five polarities or
eternal because they attribute it to “psychosocial needs”? If
“antitheses.” Together the antitheses spell out the difference
so, has there been a shift from religion seen as serving society
between traditional and modern societies: community versus
to religion seen as serving the individual?
society, authority versus power, status versus class, sacred ver-
The classical sociologist who best fits Nisbet’s character-
sus secular, and membership versus alienation. Sociology, for
ization is indisputably Durkheim, for whom religion grandly
Nisbet, arose in response to the two great revolutions that
serves society. For Durkheim, the function, or effect, of reli-
brought about the change from tradition to modernity: the
gion is the instillment or intensification of a sense of depen-
industrial revolution, beginning in England, and the demo-
dence on society. Members of society are beholden to it for
cratic revolution, beginning in France.
everything, not least for their morality, language, tools, val-
It would be simplistic to say that for Nisbet classical so-
ues, thoughts, categories of thought, and concept of objectiv-
ciology preaches conservativism. Nisbet is aware, for exam-
ity. Knowing that none of these phenomena is their individ-
ple, of Durkheim’s liberalism and of his concern for the
ual creation, members ascribe them to something external,
rights of individuals. Nisbet notes that Engels compares
on which they are therefore dependent. Everyday life con-
modern socialism with early Christianity and with recurrent
firms their dependence, but religion, which for Durkheim
millenarian movements. Still Nisbet’s main concern is to
means above all religious gatherings, confirms it most in-
show how religion was seen by classical sociologists as a con-
tensely. Members feel “effervescent,” as if possessed. The
servative force, the loss of which, combined with the loss of
state they attribute to God in fact comes from the experience
the other bulwarks of tradition, led to the travails posed by
of the group. From dependence on God, and therefore on
modernity.
society, comes loyalty and therefore unity—the ultimate ef-
C
fect of religion. The society that prays together stays to-
ONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGICAL INTEREST IN RELIGION.
gether.
Nisbet’s article prompts three questions. First, is it truly the
case that “sociological interest in religion is as great today as
However much religion shapes society, it itself is a social
it ever has been since the past two centuries?” The question
product. The origin of religion is not individual because
is not whether there are prominent sociologists of religion
there is no individual—more precisely no innate one. In
in the early twenty-first century but whether religion itself
primitive society members are occupationally alike and
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SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY AND RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
therefore have no distinctive identity and so no individuality.
fails) as a desire to resolve that discrepancy systematically.
This relationship of members to one another Durkheim calls
That desire is for meaning.
“mechanical solidarity.” Only in modern society is there a
A sufficient explanation for the failure of magic is that
division of labor and therefore the specialization that consti-
the technique has been misapplied. But rational religion
tutes individuality. This relationship of members to one an-
must explain the failure of the gods to respond to the behav-
other Durkheim labels “organic solidarity.” But even indi-
ior they themselves have dictated. The gods have failed to
viduality is a social phenomenon: its cause is the division of
prevent or withhold suffering, so the explanation sought is
labor, and its operation requires formal recognition of the in-
a theodicy. Since all human beings for Weber recognize the
dividual by society.
discrepancy between their expectations and their experi-
Durkheim denies individuality any place in traditional
ences, all harbor the potential desire for meaning. But its
religion, which deals entirely with the mechanical, pre-
emergence depends on rational religion, the emergence of
individualistic side of social life. In modern society that side,
which itself depends on a particular kind of religious leader
and so traditional religion, will continue to diminish as or-
(a priest) whose emergence depends in turn on a particular
ganic solidarity grows. But Durkheim proposes the creation
kind of social organization (a cult). In short, the group pro-
of a religion worshiping not God but the individual. Yet by
vides the indispensable means to individual ends.
the individual he means the nonegoistic individual, who re-
Undeniably Weber, like Durkheim, is also concerned
veres rather than violates the rights of others and who there-
with the impact of religion on society. For him, that impact,
by promotes rather than threatens the group. Coinciding
or effect, is unintentional. To cite Weber’s most celebrated
with the harmonious individuality of organic solidarity,
case, the role of ascetic Protestantism in creating capitalism
Durkheim’s new, secular religion would thus serve society no
was wholly coincidental.
less fully than traditional religion has done. In short, no vari-
ety of sociology of religion could be more directed to the
For the contemporary sociologist of religion Peter Ber-
need of the group than Durkheim’s.
ger, as for Weber, a meaningful experience is a justified expe-
rience, and the experiences most requiring justification are
By contrast, the need religion serves for Max Weber,
suffering—death above all. But in contrast to Weber, for
Durkheim’s fellow great classical sociologist of religion, is
whom the need for meaning is implanted, for Berger the
that of the individual. In “primitive” religion, which for
need is innate: “Men are congenitally compelled to impose
Weber amounts to magic, the needs served are immediate
a meaningful order upon reality” (Berger, 1969/1967,
and physical, such as food and clothing. In “higher” religion
p. 22). If the need is innate, then society, hence sociology,
the need served is existential: a desire for “meaning” or
plays no part in accounting for it. Berger epitomizes the shift,
“meaningfulness.” Whether or not this need, which for
called “de-sociologizing,” that Nisbet observes (Segal, 1989,
Weber is the key one fulfilled by religion, qualifies as “psy-
pp. 109–135). Contemporary sociologists see religion as
chosocial,” it is conspicuously the need of an individual, not
much less of a social phenomenon, and therefore much less
of a group.
of a subject for sociology, than classical ones did. If the need
Yet for Weber the group remains indispensable not only
for meaning is innate and if in addition religion either best
to the fulfillment of the need for meaning but to the very
fulfills or even alone fulfills that need, then religion for con-
existence of it. A magician is like a plumber. He or she is self-
temporary sociologists is indeed eternal, as Nisbet declares.
employed and is hired anew each time. Not until there
Because religion for Berger justifies suffering, the mean-
emerges a stable clientele of worshipers—a congregation or
ing it provides constitutes, as for Weber, a theodicy. The jus-
cult—do full-time religious officials or priests come into
tifications, or “legitimations,” provided by religion are the
being. Not until priests succeed magicians does metaphysics
staunchest possible ones because they carry the unassailable
(a comprehensive explanation of the world) emerge in place
authority of divinity. In Berger’s pet terms, religion confers
of mere techniques. Likewise not until priests arise do ethics
on experience a “sacred canopy” or “plausibility structure.”
(ends achieved through obedience) emerge in place of coer-
Berger grants that religion serves not only the individual
cion (ends achieved through techniques). The combination
function of giving meaning but also the social function of
of metaphysics and ethics makes religion “rational” and con-
securing obedience. Here he is like Durkheim. But he con-
stitutes the stage of religion after magic. Finally, not until a
centrates on the individual function and, more, deems the
cult emerges does the concept of a fixed god (singular, pow-
social one a consequence of it. Unjustified suffering threatens
erful, named, personal, and involved) emerge in place of the
to trivialize even the most firmly sanctioned social life.
magical concept of multiple, weak, nameless, impersonal,
and uninvolved fleeting gods. Only with the development of
For Berger, as for both Durkheim and Weber, society
rational religion—a comprehensive explanation of the world,
is indispensable to the establishment and perpetuation of re-
a prescribed means of securing long-term rewards, and a uni-
ligion—no matter what the function of religion is. No Rob-
versal god permanently involved in human affairs—does
inson Crusoe could either invent or sustain the legitimations
there develop not so much a discrepancy between expecta-
that religion provides. Social support is, as for Durkheim,
tion and experience (there is a discrepancy whenever magic
mandatory for validating those legitimations.
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8489
In his earlier writings Robert Bellah, like Durkheim, is
lah the same as those touted by religionists like Mircea Eliade
primarily concerned with the effect of religion on society, not
(1907–1986)? For Berger and Bellah, the need for meaning,
on the individual. Like Berger, he is concerned with how reli-
even if innate, is not a need for religious meaning itself. The
gion provides meaning as a way of securing obedience rather
need is more general and is itself secular. Even if for Berger
than as an end in itself.
and Bellah religion is the best way of securing meaning, reli-
gion is still a means to an end, where for Eliade it is the end
Dealing with changing societies, Bellah investigates spe-
itself. For Eliade, human beings need contact with God be-
cifically how religion either spurs or retards modernization.
cause they need contact with God. By contrast, for Berger
Tokugawa religion, he argues, constitutes the Japanese coun-
and Bellah, humans need meaning that at most contact with
terpart to Weber’s Protestant ethic:
God best provides. The need would remain secular even if
Japanese religion never tires of stressing the importance
contact with God were the sole way of fulfilling it. In the
of diligence and frugality and of attributing religious
lingo of the field, even contemporary sociology of religion
significance to them, both in terms of carrying out one’s
remains reductionistic. Nisbet notes that classical sociologists
obligations to the sacred and in terms of purifying the
“all made the study a crucial aspect of their systematic studies
self of evil impulses and desires. That such an ethic is
of society and of man’s relation to society. . . . [T]hey sub-
profoundly favorable to economic rationalization was
jected religion to precisely the same kind of study that went
the major point of Weber’s study of Protestantism and
into their explorations of politics, morality, science, and
we must say that it seems similarly favorable in Japan.
other major phenomena of modern society.” In so doing they
(Bellah, 1957, p. 196)
and their contemporary successors have approached religion
Bellah calls his later approach to religion “symbolic realism”
antithetically from the way that it has—or had—
and distinguishes it from various other approaches. In so
traditionally been approached within religious studies.
doing he is seemingly shifting the issue from the origin and
Yet in the past few decades most scholars within reli-
function of religion to the truth of religion. As he declares:
gious studies have abandoned the rigidly antireductionistic,
“If we define religion as that symbol system that serves to
antisocial scientific stance of Eliade. Within religious studies,
evoke . . . the totality that includes subject and object and
not just outside it, religion has come to be recognized as a
provides the context in which life and action finally have
multifaceted phenomenon to be accounted for by an array
meaning, then I am prepared to claim that as Durkheim said
of disciplines. The defensiveness toward sociology and the
of society, religion is a reality sui generis. To put it bluntly,
other social sciences has diminished. One can therefore say
religion is true” (Bellah, 1970, pp. 252–253). But the truth
that religious studies and sociology have become even
of religion for Bellah is in fact its accordance with human
closer—not merely because of changes on the part of sociolo-
experience of the world, not necessarily with the nature of
gy, as Nisbet would stress, but equally because of changes on
the world itself. Because religion for Bellah makes no truth
the part of religious studies.
claims about the world itself, it is “beyond belief.” Though
Bellah refers to the “expressive” function of religion, religion
BIBLIOGRAPHY
for him functions to instill, not merely to articulate, attitudes
Bellah, Robert N. Tokugawa Religion. Glencoe, Ill., 1957.
toward the world. Religion functions primarily to give hu-
Bellah, Robert N. Beyond Belief. New York, 1970.
mans a secure, clear place in the world.
Bellah, Robert N. The Broken Covenant. New York, 1975.
Later Bellah is asserting that religion functions primarily
Bellah, Robert N. “The Revolution and Symbolic Realism.” In
to serve not society but the individual. Because he, unlike
Religion and the American Revolution, edited by Jerald C. Br-
Weber, makes the meaning-giving function of religion the
auer, pp. 55–73. Philadelphia, 1976.
function of religion from the start, he may, like Berger, be
Berger, Peter L. The Noise of Solemn Assemblies. Garden City,
deeming the need for meaning innate. In that event he too
N.Y., 1961.
would be “de-sociologizing” religion. He simply never says.
Berger, Peter L. The Precarious Vision. Garden City, N.Y., 1961.
Even so his focus on the bestowal of meaning as the chief
Berger, Peter L. The Sacred Canopy (1967). Garden City, N.Y.,
function of religion at any stage makes him akin not only to
1969.
Berger but also to other contemporary social scientists, nota-
Berger, Peter L. A Rumor of Angels (1969). Garden City, N.Y.,
bly the anthropologists Mary Douglas, Clifford Geertz, and
1970.
Victor Turner and the psychoanalyst Erik Erikson.
Berger, Peter L. The Heretical Imperative (1979). Garden City,
SOCIOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES. Third, the “close rela-
N.Y., 1981.
tion between religion and sociology” that Nisbet claims con-
Bruce, Steve. God Is Dead. Oxford, 2002.
tinues into the present is different from the relation between
Bruce, Steve, ed. Religion and Modernization. Oxford, 1992.
religious studies and sociology. Certainly it is often argued
Durkheim, Émile. The Division of Labor in Society. Translated by
that contemporary sociologists of religion like Berger and
George Simpson. New York, 1933.
Bellah are even closer to “religionists” in their approach to
Durkheim, Émile. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life.
religion than their classical predecessors were. But are they
Translated by Joseph Ward Swain. New York, 1965. Trans-
in fact? Are the individual needs stressed by Berger and Bel-
lation originally published in 1915.
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SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
Durkheim, Émile. “Individualism and the Intellectuals.” In
cism and speculation, conservative and romantic reaction,
Durkheim on Religion, edited by W. S. F. Pickering,
and modern social theory.
pp. 59–73. Translated by Jacqueline Redding and W. S. F.
Pickering. London and Boston, 1975.
TRADITIONAL SOCIAL THOUGHT. The body of thought that
was first transformed and secularized as modern sociology
Nisbet, Robert. The Sociological Tradition. New York, 1966.
began to take shape can be called traditional social thought.
Segal, Robert A. Religion and the Social Sciences. Atlanta, 1989.
Far from being a unified system of ideas, it included diver-
Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
gent and even contradictory elements: Platonic idealism, Ar-
Translated by Talcott Parsons. New York, 1958.
istotelian teleology, Stoic natural law, Augustinian social re-
Weber, Max. The Sociology of Religion. Translated by Ephraim
alism, and the various social theories of the medieval
Fischoff. Boston, 1963.
Schoolmen. What especially characterized traditional social
ROBERT A. SEGAL (2005)
thought was its synthesis of social and ethical analysis. Be-
cause society, like nature, was thought to have a goal or pur-
pose, the “is” of social analysis was not separated from the
SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION
“ought” of values in the era of traditional social thought. In
[FIRST EDITION]
Christian hands, the study of social institutions was ultimate-
The systematic and objective study of the relations between
ly subordinated to soteriological ends. Traditional social
religion and society existed long before Auguste Comte
thought stressed the cosmological and divine provenience of
(1798–1857) coined the word sociologie. Xenophanes
all rightly established social values and institutions. Regard-
(c. 560–c. 478 BCE) was already dabbling in the discipline
ing man as a social and political creature, it taught the exis-
of sociology when he noted that the gods of the Ethiopians
tence of an objectively real “common good” that could be
were black and had snub noses, while those of the Thracians
known by “right reason” and realized by goodwill. As do
had light blue eyes and red hair. Similarly, the Muslim phi-
other religions, Christianity defined this common good in
losopher Ibn Khaldu¯n (1332–1406 CE), in the Muqaddimah,
terms of a transcendent order of things that included society
or introduction (1377), to his Kita¯b al- Eibar (History of the
and the universe alike. The mainstream of traditional social
world), displayed a keen understanding of the concept of so-
thought expressed the organic unity of society in the lan-
cial solidarity ( Eas:ab¯ıyah) in his analysis of the role of religion
guage of natural law. According to this theory, institutions
in the rise and fall of the kingdoms of North Africa. In mod-
could be philosophically justified or condemned—and not
ern times, classicists, historians of religion, and “secular” his-
only legitimated mythologically—to the degree they reflect-
torians have undoubtedly written more, and probably better,
ed the law that God had given to nature itself.
studies of religion than have professional sociologists. The
true strength of sociology as a discipline seems to lie in its
Traditional social thought bequeathed to the sociology
more explicit use of models, theories, and, more recently, sta-
of religion some of its basic concepts: society, religion, obli-
tistical methods, that collectively make for a coherent ap-
gation, and the basic regularity or lawfulness of existence.
proach of broad, or even universal significance. In contrast
Transformed as a secular concept, its notion of natural law
to more idiographic modes of scholarship, the sociology of
would become the foundation of the early natural and social
religion makes its mark by treating religion and society no-
sciences.
mothetically, that is, by searching for their regularities as in-
SKEPTICISM AND SPECULATION. The lawful order of society
terrelated networks, or systems, of thought, feeling, and be-
that theorists in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance sought
havior.
was one that invited the spiritual perfection of the human
The appearance of the sociological study of religion in
race. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
modern times is closely related to the rise of capitalism, cul-
thinkers continued their search for order. But the order that
tural pluralism, religious tolerance, and the liberal state. The
now seemed to concern them was one that would explain the
discipline therefore cannot claim to be a “natural” way of
diversity of languages, mores, and religions in terms of some
looking at religion and society. On the contrary, it is a cultur-
simple, natural uniformities. The role played by reason in all
al artifact produced by unique historical developments in
of this was magnified by some, including the rationalists,
Western social thought that enabled, or compelled, research-
while it was minimized by others, especially the empiricists.
ers to distance themselves from the normative claims made
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, tradi-
by the religions and societies they studied. In effect, the soci-
tional social thought came under intellectual attack and—
ology of religion is the product of one of its own seminal con-
after the publication of Richard Hooker’s Of the Laws of Ec-
cerns, that is, the secularization of religious thought and in-
clesiastical Polity in 1600—was increasingly on the defensive.
stitutions. In contrast to the sociology of religion, the related
The challengers, who were no more united than the defend-
discipline of religious sociology has sought closer ties with
ers of tradition, included many Renaissance and Enlighten-
theology and institutional religion, primarily with the
ment thinkers: political critics such as Niccoló Machiavelli
Roman Catholic Church in France and Belgium.
and Thomas Hobbes, satirists such as Bernard Mandeville,
The history of the sociology of religion can be roughly
the Italian jurist Giovanni Battista Vico, and the philosophes
divided into four periods: traditional social thought, skepti-
(better called sociologues according to Crane Brinton) of the
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8491
French and Scottish Enlightenments. The intellectual inspi-
satire. It was broached early in the eighteenth century by Ber-
ration behind this criticism of traditional social thought was
nard Mandeville, who fondly commented on the “publick
also quite diverse. It included Isaac Newton’s mechanical
Benefits” that result from the proper cultivation of “private
philosophy, the anthropocentric epistemology of René Des-
Vices.” Later in that century, Adam Ferguson developed the
cartes, Francis Bacon’s empiricism (and his attack on teleolo-
concept still further when he described institutions that are
gy), and various speculative systems of thought that aimed
“the result of human activity, but not the execution of any
at putting both society and the economy on more “realistic”
human design.” Adam Smith explained the idea in terms that
foundations, that is, less religious or moral ones. Equally im-
would soon dominate Western social thought when he said
portant was the rise of the nation-state and the appearance
that “systems in many respects resemble machines.” As time
of the commercial or middle classes, a new element in society
went on, each of the “systems” developed by social
that would take over the writing of social and economic the-
thought—mechanical, organic, cybernetic, and, finally,
ory from the clergy.
semiotic—would be used, one after the other, in the socio-
logical analysis of religion.
Attack on Natural Law. Speaking for the bourgeoisie
and proclaiming the triumph of the commercial revolution,
Unlike his more skeptical colleagues, Smith based his
a number of seventeenth-century thinkers launched an attack
idea of economic and moral systems firmly on natural law
on the traditional concept of natural law. Hugo Grotius and
and divine providence (i.e., his famous and influential “invis-
Samuel Pufendorf, both Protestant laymen, showed that nat-
ible hand”). Together with Locke’s political philosophy,
ural law could be divorced from God. Thomas Hobbes went
Smith’s economics provided a groundwork for the unique
much further and reduced natural law to “convenient Arti-
synthesis of religious piety, political liberalism, and capital-
cles of Peace,” that is, to a simple, utilitarian device. The “na-
ism that would flourish in the Anglo-Saxon world through
ture” that interested him was not a reflection of a divine
the twentieth century. The success of this cultural synthesis
order, but the psychobiological nature of insecure, “master-
probably accounts for the fact that religious scholarship in
less men” living in a world no longer held together by tradi-
the United Kingdom and North America has been less anti-
tional bonds of loyalty and deference. Even John Locke, who
clerical and antireligious than the social thought of the conti-
seemed to have boundless respect for Hooker’s traditional-
nent.
ism, conceded that the law of nature was merely “a creature
of the understanding.” These philosophical efforts, which
Birth of sociology of religion. It was perhaps at this
often were undertaken to sanctify property rights, secularized
juncture, when “laical social science”—as twentieth-century
the idea of natural law and extended it from jurisprudence
economist Joseph A. Schumpeter terms it—began to apply
(where the Schoolmen had left it) to moral philosophy,
the idea of natural law to social and economic phenomena,
which laid the foundation for the emerging social sciences.
that the sociology of religion was born. While professing to
take an empirical approach, most studies of religion during
Throughout the eighteenth century, writers of a secular
this period concentrated on the historical or the psychologi-
or “enlightened” persuasion blamed religion and superstition
cal origins of religious belief, raising questions that could be
for many of society’s ills. Anticlericalism became a routine
answered only by speculation. Generally, the effect was to re-
feature of nearly all social criticism. Convinced that religion
duce religion to a dependent variable of some more obvious
had failed to curtail the endemic chaos of European life, a
reality such as climate, fear, ignorance, or ecclesiastical leger-
search was launched for new sources of social order. As a re-
demain. One of the most brilliant, but still speculative, essays
sult, the traditional idea that society should be constructed
in the early sociology (and social psychology) of religion was
according to the preordained blueprints of divine and natural
written by Adam Smith himself in the Wealth of Nations
law was replaced by the notion that society was, or could be,
(5.1.3). There the great economist, applying his notions of
constructed by man’s own “artifice” or “contrivance.” A sec-
economic competition and psychological approbation to the
ular, social humanism thus came into being that, in turn,
problem of sectarian rivalry, produced one of the earliest the-
would beget most of the philosophical and sociological theo-
ories of denominational pluralism.
ries of the modern world. In order to create a richer and safer
society, thinkers such as Hobbes, Mandeville, d’Holbach,
Among the more valuable contributions made by the
Helvétius, Spinoza, and Hume sought to harness or manipu-
scholarship of this period to the sociology of religion was the
late self-interest and other passions formerly repressed or
analysis of religion’s role in social control. Pioneers in this
held in check by traditional social thought.
area included figures as diverse as Montesquieu (Charles-
Louis de Secondat), who studied the relation between reli-
One of the most important results of this speculation
gion and law, and Mandeville, who was interested in religion
was the discovery of what today would be called social sys-
and social values. The most important contribution of the
tems. What fascinated thinkers of this period was the possi-
age of skepticism and speculation was probably its elabora-
bility of developing impersonal networks of interaction
tion of the idea of secularization itself. For many eighteenth-
that—without the intervention of religion, morality, or the
century writers, the decline of religion was simply a corollary
state—would “naturally” generate order and prosperity. The
of the idea of progress. Most were convinced that as science
idea of social systems owed much to literary irony and social
and enlightenment advanced, religion and superstition
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would inevitably succumb to the forces of reason. Because
the organic interrelations between community, religion, tra-
changes in religion, social institutions, science, and technolo-
dition, authority, and the individual. For conservative think-
gy were thought to be closely related, it seemed only natural
ers like Louis de Bonald (1754–1840) and François René de
that changes in one area would bring about automatic im-
Chateaubriand (1768–1848), religion was no longer just a
provements in others. Furthermore, because of the alleged
matter of dogma or faith; it was a social phenomenon. As
universality of the laws of development (denied only by
monarchists and spokesmen for the aristocracy, they rejected
J. G. Herder, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and a few others), the
the idea that self-interest, once it had been set free in the
historical progress and secularization of one nation could be
marketplace, would automatically produce social order. Bon-
taken as a paradigm for the transformation of any other.
ald, along with Friedrich Karl von Savigny (1779–1861) and
These assumptions conspired to make the process of secular-
Justus Möser (1720–1794), attacked the abstract universal-
ization appear to be as indubitable as the laws of nature itself.
ism of contemporary theories of natural law and the individ-
ualism implied by the eighteenth century’s doctrine of natu-
The thinkers of the age of skepticism and speculation
ral rights. In their eyes, these teachings were the
challenged some of the deepest convictions of traditional so-
philosophical offspring of the political and industrial revolu-
cial thought. In place of the divine origin that tradition had
tions that had deformed European civilization.
assigned to law, morality, and institutions, these thinkers
stressed society’s conventional nature. Whereas tradition had
Through their influence on Saint-Simon and
given “right reason” the task of conforming society to its nat-
Durkheim, the conservatives deeply influenced later discus-
ural or sacred patterns, David Hume argued that “reason is
sions about religion and its role in the formation of institu-
and ought to be the slave of the passions.” The teleology of
tions and individual life. Their work provided an inspiration
the common good taught by traditional thinkers was discard-
for later sociologists who stressed the integrating or stabiliz-
ed as a “wild goose chase” (as Mandeville put it), and was
ing function of religion. Their analysis of religion as a corps
finally replaced by utilitarian self-interest, Kantian individu-
intermediaire standing between the individual and the state
alism, and the faith that social and economic systems could
was a topic that would emerge again in the discussions of in-
operate “naturally”—that is, without direct governmental,
termediate associations, mediating structures, and guilds in
religious, or moral support. Skeptical philosophers of the age
the writings of sociologists from Durkheim to Peter L.
therefore sought to undo the classical synthesis of the sacred
Berger.
and the social. Their various attempts to design an autono-
M
mous, secular morality seemed to leave religion with only a
ODERN SOCIAL THEORY. The development of modern so-
cial theory has been characterized by a clearer understanding
minor—or a negative—role to play in the affairs of human-
of the secular foundations of sociology, a determination to
kind. For the first time, the office of the moralist was separat-
move research beyond mere speculation, a professionally cul-
ed from that of the moraliste, that is, the detached observer
tivated tension between empathy and detachment in field-
of social mores. The moraliste’s disengagement from religious
work, sophisticated efforts to relate religious studies to the
belief and commitment would later become a hallmark of the
models and theory-building of the social sciences in general,
social-scientific approach to religion.
and ongoing debates over materialism, reductionism, behav-
CONSERVATIVE AND ROMANTIC REACTION. Speculation ul-
iorism, positivism, evolutionism, and the hermeneutics of re-
timately ran afoul of the empiricism of the age, especially
ligious symbols. The anticlerical diatribes of the philosophes
when it resulted in futile discussions about the origin of reli-
yielded to a more or less dispassionate analysis of the role of
gion, or about man’s essential instincts in the “state of na-
religion in the maintenance of social solidarity and in the
ture.” The havoc caused by the industrial revolution and the
promotion of social change.
French Revolution (and the reign of terror that followed in
its wake) brought into question the Enlightenment’s opti-
Although modern social theory really begins in the eigh-
mistic belief that man could make or improve his society
teenth century with David Hume, Adam Ferguson, Adam
simply through his own artifice or contrivance. The conser-
Smith, and the Scottish Enlightenment, most sociologists
vative and romantic reactions that ensued significantly al-
today trace the founding of their discipline to Claude-Henri
tered attitudes toward society and religion alike.
de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon (1760–1825) and his
onetime secretary, Auguste Comte (1798–1857). Sociology
Romantics bewailed the dehumanizing effects of the in-
does indeed owe much to these two Frenchmen. In Auguste
dustrial revolution and the French Revolution on individuals
Comte’s work, especially in his evolutionary schema pur-
and communities. They also taught that religion—which
porting to trace history through its religious, metaphysical,
played a large role in their discussions of Volksgeist and Volks-
and scientific stages, sociology discovered its own mythologi-
seele (“the spirit and soul of the nation or folk”)—could no
cal charter. For both Marxist and liberal thinkers after
longer be arrogantly dismissed as a vulgar superstition of the
Comte, the demise of religion would be taken as the prereq-
past. Conservatives, on the other hand, insisted that society
uisite of progress and as an axiom of the social and natural
was not merely the artificial creation of individual contrac-
sciences. Herbert Spencer dogmatically proclaimed that
tors, but that, on the contrary, the individual was formed by
since moral injunctions were losing their sacred origins, a de-
society, and society by God. In effect, they had rediscovered
liberate secularization of morals was imperative. From the
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beginning, the controversy over secularization was couched
fear-reducing function) as did their skeptical predecessors in
in extreme terms. Some—including Weber, Marx, and later
the eighteenth century. Although widely criticized for the
Sorokin—argued that the decline of religion was inevitable.
tautological vacuousness of its implicit teleology, whereby re-
More recently, Talcott Parsons, Robert N. Bellah, Mary
ligion is nearly reduced to its own consolidating function,
Douglas, Thomas Luckmann, and others have maintained
functionalism continues to pervade the sociology of religion
that secularization is ultimately impossible. Arguing on em-
today as received wisdom, if not as explicit theory.
pirical grounds, more cautious scholars have suggested that
Influences of German scholarship. German scholar-
while religion may decline or disappear in specific areas of
ship in the history of religions (Religionsgeschichte) and the
society, “the secularization process” is not necessarily univer-
cultural sciences (Geisteswissenschaften) evolved ways of con-
sal, inevitable, or irreversible.
ceptualizing religion that went far beyond the narrow, cogni-
Contributions of Émile Durkheim. There have been
tive approach of Comte, Spencer, and E. B. Tylor. Friedrich
only two truly great figures in the sociology of religion in the
Schleiermacher (1768–1834) had insisted that religion was
modern period, Émile Durkheim and Max Weber. Between
grounded in feeling (Gefühl) rather than in the intellect.
them, they set the problems and parameters of the field, leav-
Consequently, religion must be more than a primitive at-
ing the theoretical integration of their insights to others.
tempt to “figure out” the world. Wilhelm Dilthey (1833–
Durkheim was influenced not only by Saint-Simon and
1911), working under the influence of Schleiermacher,
Comte, but by W. Robertson Smith’s writings on Semitic
pointed out the unique nature of religion and the need to
religion and by his own teacher, the classicist N. D. Fustel
understand it sympathetically, or from within (Verstehen), a
de Coulanges. Durkheim’s primary contribution to the soci-
point that would be developed in a significant way in the so-
ology of religion was his analysis of the role played by religion
ciology of religion by Max Weber.
in the generation of the conscience collective, the collective
In 1917, Rudolf Otto, in his epochal book The Idea of
moral conscience and consciousness of society. Although he
the Holy, made a frontal attack on Protestant liberalism that,
shared the common assumption of his time that religion was
since Kant, tended to reduce the religious experience to eth-
bound to play an ever-smaller role in modern life, he focused
ics. Otto showed, quite to the contrary, that the essence of
not on the demise of religion but on its transformation. He
religion was the experience of standing before the holy in
called the religion of modern societies the “cult of the indi-
dread, awe, and fascination. The holy, far from being a way
vidual.”
of “figuring out” the world, was a mysterious experience that
Durkheim’s analysis of this concept paved the way for
both attracts and repels. Otto called it the mysterium tre-
modern sociology’s interest in diffuse or parainstitutional
mendum et fascinosum. These developments in German the-
forms of religiousness, for example, Thomas Luckmann’s
ology and religious studies paved the way for a much more
“invisible religion,” Talcott Parsons’s “privatization of reli-
sophisticated and sympathetic understanding of religion
gion,” and Robert Bellah’s “civil religion.” As a “theologian
than was common in most parts of Europe at that time.
of civil religion,” as Bellah once called him, Durkheim was
In Germany, the scholars who influenced the sociology
vitally interested in using sociology to heal the wounds of the
of religion most decisively were Ernst Troeltsch (1865–
acquisitive individualism he found in modern industrial soci-
1923) and Max Weber (1864–1920). Working in philo-
ety. While his moralism, his naive faith in altruism, and his
sophical and theological traditions dominated by Immanuel
interest in guilds seem rooted in the concerns of traditional
Kant, G. W. F. Hegel, J. G. Fichte, Friedrich Schleierma-
social thought, the core of Durkheim’s doctrine was thor-
cher, and Albrecht Ritschl, Troeltsch emphasized the inter-
oughly secular. Although he held that there are no false reli-
action of spiritual and material forces in religious history. He
gions, divinity for him was never more than “society transfig-
saw in the history of Christianity a continuous dialectic be-
ured and symbolically expressed.” His analysis of religion
tween movements and institutions that are willing to com-
rested on a basic confusion between the meaning or content
promise with the world, and ones that refuse to do so. This
of religious symbols (their sacrality) and one of the functions
became the basis for his typology of church (the compromis-
of religion (the unifying of society). This confusion caused
ing religious institution), sect (the rejectionist position), and
him to underestimate the dysfunctional or disruptive capaci-
mysticism (the religious outlook of individuals concerned
ty of religion, and to overemphasize its role in the generation
more about the experience of religious ecstasy than about re-
of social solidarity.
ligious institutions per se).
The strengths and the weaknesses of Durkheim’s sociol-
This simple scheme, modified by the subsequent work
ogy of religion were inherited by the functionalist school. As
of others on denominations, cults, and parainstitutional reli-
it developed in the hands of A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, Bronis-
gions, became the basis for the taxonomy of religious affilia-
law Malinowski, and others, functionalism sought to inter-
tions in the West. Although he finally concluded that Protes-
pret religion in terms of its contribution to the total social
tantism had been more deeply affected by the modern world
system, or to the psychobiological well-being and integration
than vice versa, Troeltsch seemed to hold—with his friend
of the individual. Some functionalists speculated as freely
Weber—that there was a significant relationship between as-
about the psychosocial functions of religion (e.g., about its
cetic Calvinism and the rise of capitalism. What primarily
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set apart the writings of these distinguished scholars was
“is” and the “ought to be” that runs throughout Weber’s
Troeltsch’s historicism and Weber’s ideal-typical, sociologi-
work on religion grew out of a conviction that there could
cal approach to religion.
be no philosophical justification of values. Beneath values he
finds nothing but sheer will, prejudice and tradition. Later
Contributions of Max Weber. While Troeltsch was
twentieth-century thinkers as diverse as Herbert Marcuse, on
deeply perplexed by the theological implications of his own
the left, and Leo Strauss, on the right, have sensed in Weber’s
historicism, Weber described himself as a “religiously unmu-
work a deeply entrenched nihilism. This nihilism seems to
sical” individual primarily concerned about facing up to real-
be rooted in his romantic conviction that the secularization
ity “like a man.” His methodological divorce of facts and val-
and disenchantment of the world are the fate of Western civi-
ues (i.e., “value-free social science”) seemed to be a secular
lization.
transformation of the relationship between the Creator and
the creation, which Weber described in his study of ancient
Contributions of Karl Marx. Although he is remem-
Israel. Likewise, his emphasis on the “ethical personality”
bered for his pithy and often insightful remarks on religion,
seems to have been deeply influenced by the disenchanted
Karl Marx’s own contributions to the sociology of religion
Calvinism of his own family. Both the existentialism of his
were negligible. His real impact on the discipline has been
political commitments and his social hermeneutics call to
made indirectly through the diffusion of his theory of the in-
mind the voluntarism of the Calvinist tradition. In short, he
teraction of the superstructure and infrastructure of society.
was, in many ways, a religious thinker in spite of himself. In
Marx drew attention to the cultural and functional similari-
the sociology of religion he is known primarily for his thesis
ties between religion, law, politics, and ideology—all aspects
that ascetic Protestantism decisively influenced the rational-
of the superstructure. While insisting that superstructures are
ization of the world in general, and the rise of capitalism in
ultimately determined by the “relations of production” at
particular.
work below, Marx did seem to recognize the relative autono-
my of religious concepts, and their ability to function as in-
While others before him had pointed out that modern
dependent variables. He sought to abolish religion by actu-
capitalism developed primarily in the Protestant countries of
alizing its eschatological hopes in this world with
northern Europe, Weber provided a sociopsychological ex-
revolutionary praxis. Nevertheless, he held that the real secu-
planation for the correlation. According to Weber, the Cal-
larizing force in modern society is not the revolutionary pro-
vinist doctrine of predestination generated a deep anxiety
letariat, but a bourgeoisie that had “drowned the most heav-
among Protestants—English Puritans in particular—over
enly ecstasies of religious fervor . . . in the icy waters of
their own salvation. Believing that wealth was a sign of their
egotistical calculation.”
election, the Puritans turned to work “in their callings” as
though their souls depended on it. In other words, the Puri-
Since the Enlightenment, many thinkers have tried to
tans’ religious anxiety was the irrational goad behind their
develop a general “sociology of history,” that is, a nomothetic
rationalization and disenchantment of the world. Believing
alternative to the historian’s idiographic approach to social
that his thesis could be proven or confirmed by comparative
change. Vico, Turgot, Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson, Lord
research, Weber wrote a series of detailed studies on ancient
Kames (Henry Home), John Millar, Hegel, Herder, Tön-
Israel, India, and China. While his basic contentions have
nies, and many others sought to explain the complex transi-
been severely criticized by historians, Weber’s thesis contin-
tion from traditional society to enlightened civilization in
ues to be widely debated. Even now, it continues to inspire
terms of some basic dynamics or all-encompassing Weltplan.
sociological and historical research. Mastery of the conceptu-
Applied to religious studies, most of these schemes were
al tools he fashioned is still part of apprenticeship in the soci-
highly conjectural. This was especially true of the evolution-
ology of religion (e.g., legitimation, theodicy, charisma, rou-
ary theories of nineteenth-century writers like Herbert Spen-
tinization, and so on).
cer, John Lubbock, and E. B. Tylor. Speculative as their ideas
were, the evolutionists soon became enormously influential.
Working as contemporaries, Durkheim and Weber
Men like Durkheim, Weber, and Tönnies, who did not
made contributions to the sociology of religion that were as
openly align themselves with evolutionism, nevertheless con-
different as they were monumental. While Durkheim
ceived developmental typologies that were clearly evolu-
stressed the role of religion in the consolidation of society,
tionistic. Marx’s analysis of history was couched in terms of
Weber was interested primarily in the part it played in social
a “dialectical” process, a materialistic variation on Hegelian-
change. For Durkheim, collective “effervescence” was the
ism that turned history itself into a set of unfolding internal
fons et origo of religious concepts and power; for Weber the
relations.
concepts and power of religious systems originated in
the charisma of individual founders and prophets. Durkheim
A number of bourgeois theorists sought to discuss social
believed that sociological analysis began with “social facts”;
change without falling prey to the determinism of the Marx-
Weber held that the interpretation of social action ultimately
ists or the positivism of the historicists. Weber had an “ap-
rested on an understanding of the intentionality of individu-
proach-avoidance” reaction to the rationalization process
al actors. Durkheim sought to reunite sociology and philoso-
that, for him, was the key to historical development. While
phy; Weber insisted on their separation. The divorce of the
Weber did not share the naive optimism of most nineteenth-
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century evolutionists, behind his complex, ideal-typical anal-
(Kenneth Burke), contemporary studies in semiotics and
ysis of the rise of capitalism, one senses a kind of subtle, evo-
hermeneutics (Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur) and
lutionary movement at work. In a deliberate attempt to
phenomenology (Alfred Schutz). Edmund Husserl’s advice
counter Tönnies’s treatment of modern society (Gesellschaft)
to go back “to the things themselves” has been broadly inter-
as characterized by a weakening of social bonds, Durkheim
preted by some sociologists as a challenge to take the report-
insisted that the “organic solidarity” that holds modern soci-
ed experience of informants more seriously. Thus, phenome-
ety together is just as effective as the “mechanical solidarity”
nology seems to have inspired in some quarters a renewed
of the past. Applied to the study of religion, the nineteenth
interest in a qualitative, humanistic sociology. In religious
century’s preoccupation with conjectural schemes of devel-
studies, the term phenomenology has come to be applied quite
opment had the unfortunate effect of reducing all questions
diversely (1) to a nonconfessional, value-free approach to re-
about religion to the question of its place in evolution or
ligion; (2) to cross-cultural, comparative studies; and (3) to
history.
a descriptive, nonexplanatory orientation toward the sacred
Contributions of Talcott Parsons. In the twentieth
that “brackets” both the ultimate reality “behind” it and all
century, Talcott Parsons (1902–1979) directed the attention
influences of this world on its manifestation in society. The
of sociology to the place of religion in the general system of
phenomenological approach has often encouraged a secular
social action. In order to solve the “Hobbesian problem of
orientation to the study of religion that, in turn, has facilitat-
social order,” Parsons devised a number of encompassing sys-
ed the development of religious studies in nontheological cir-
tems that combined the insights of Durkheim, Weber,
cles. It has shown itself antithetical to a sociological orienta-
Freud, the Cambridge economist Alfred Marshall, and the
tion only when its “bracketing” puts the investigation of the
Harvard biochemist L. J. Henderson (a disciple of Vilfredo
secular and social influences on religion off-limits.
Pareto). Parsons granted to culture, and a fortiori to religion,
a place of “cybernetic” sovereignty. From its exalted place in
One of the sociologists responsible for introducing phe-
the system of action, religion could create values, shape
nomenology into religious studies is Peter L. Berger. Berger’s
norms, inform social roles, and provide overall guidance to
work has been influenced by the sociological phenomenolo-
the “systems” of society, personality, and behavior. Among
gy of Alfred Schutz and by the work of such figures as
his more important contributions to the sociology of religion
Durkheim, Weber, Marx, George Herbert Mead, and W. I.
and culture were his discussions of “value-generalization,”
Thomas. Holding with other social scientists (such as Talcott
“denominational pluralism,” “the privatization of religion,”
Parsons, Robert N. Bellah, Clifford Geertz, Thomas Luck-
“liberalism,” “fundamentalism,” and the “instrumental activ-
mann, and Arnold Gehlen) that humankind creates cul-
ism” of the neo-Calvinist tradition. In his later work, Parsons
ture—and religion—in order to compensate for the limita-
gave more attention to the structure of systems and less to
tions of its genetic patterns, Berger treats religious symbols
“action” as such. Objective factors influencing action re-
as psychosocial projections generated by a process of objecti-
ceived more attention, and the subjectivity of the actor re-
fication, reification, and internalization. Religion functions
ceived less. Under his aegis, a revised form of evolutionism
primarily as a “plausibility structure,” legitimating human
enjoyed a brief recrudescence in the social sciences. Although
existence and providing a theodicy to explain its misery. In
“neoevolutionism,” as it was called, sought to avoid the ex-
exceptional cases, such as biblical prophecy, religion may
cesses and ethnocentrism of social Darwinism, its basic cate-
even serve to delegitimate social structures. While Berger’s
gories and dynamics were quite similar: adaptation, sociocul-
theory of religion rests upon a philosophical anthropology
tural differentiation, and integration. Out of this period of
that may be more graphic than real, he has managed to put
Parsons’s work came the widely read essay by his student,
together a theoretical vocabulary that many sociologists of re-
Robert N. Bellah, entitled “Religious Evolution.”
ligion find useful.
Because of the ascendancy of religion, ideas, and values
In American sociology, community studies conducted
in Parsons’s “pattern maintenance,” many criticized him as
by William Lloyd Warner, Liston Pope, Robert and Helen
an idealist, or even as an ideological defender of the status
Lynd, and others have taught us a great deal about the rela-
quo. Ironically, some criticized his later work for its “behav-
tionships between religion and society. Until the 1940s, the
iorism” and “positivism.” Whatever the case, toward the end
guiding lights of the sociology of religion in the United
of his life Parsons began to speculate more freely about the
States were not Durkheim and Weber, but Herbert Spencer,
“ends of man,” the “telic environment,” and the “human
Lester Frank Ward, William Graham Sumner, and W. Rob-
condition.” These interests prompted some to wonder
ertson Smith; the theory that these thinkers applied to reli-
whether, like Bellah, Parsons was trying to go beyond the so-
gion was remote from a theological approach. While James
cial sciences, or whether he was about to turn into a theolo-
H. Leuba in his book The Belief in God and Immortality
gian himself. For all of his scientific (or scientistic) rigor, Par-
(1916) found that only 19 percent of the “greater sociolo-
sons—like Durkheim and Bellah—was deeply concerned
gists” believed in religion, most of the practitioners of the so-
about the perennial issues of classical social thought.
ciology of religion continued to be believers. Many of these
Contemporary influences. The sociology of religion
scholars were liberal followers of the Social Gospel move-
has received considerable stimulation from literary criticism
ment. Later on, when this movement came under attack by
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fundamentalism, neoorthodoxy, and the secular academic
In the modern period, a number of scholars have tried
world, interest in the sociology of religion itself began to
to rebuild the bridges traditional social thought had built be-
wane. (Significantly, this took place at about the same time
tween facts and values, namely, the religious engineering of
“value-free” sociology was divesting itself of social work.) H.
Saint-Simon and Comte, the secular moralism of Durkheim,
Richard Niebuhr’s The Social Sources of Denominationalism
and various practical studies of the Christian sociologists in
(1929) went nearly unnoticed by the major sociological jour-
North America or the followers of la sociologie religieuse in
nals. By the 1940s, the sociological study of religion in North
France and Belgium. Nevertheless, because of the limited
America had largely passed into the hands of the newly
cultural significance of the sociology of religion today, only
formed Catholic Sociological Society. By the mid-1980s, the
a few alienated theologians would say, with Marx, that the
Association for the Sociology of Religion had absorbed the
critique of society begins with the critique of religion.
Catholic group in a wider, ecumenical organization. Another
In order to alleviate the cynicism that seemed to attend
professional organization called the Society for the Scientific
the analysis of religion in conventional sociology, Bellah has
Study of Religion is associated with a more statistical, and
called for a more liberal suspension of disbelief (“symbolic
sometimes with a more positivistic, approach to the subject.
realism”). This, in effect, would mark a return to
CONCLUSIONS. By about 1920, the sociology and anthropol-
Durkheim’s idea that no religion is false. Unfortunately,
ogy of religion had generated the concept of culture as it is
symbolic realism seems to have led only to an uneasy and in-
known in modern social science. Because interest in this field
authentic reconciliation of the social sciences and religious
has subsequently shifted from religion to culture itself, the
faith. It is rather ironic that the prestige of the sociology of
study of religion currently plays a minor part in the sociologi-
religion has never been higher among the theological disci-
cal curriculum. Although religion made vital contributions
plines than it is currently. Theologians, biblical scholars, and
to modern social theory (providing even Karl Marx with
church historians are turning to a sociological approach to
clues for the demythologizing of exchange value), religious
their fields, though sometimes without fully digesting it or
data are now often used merely as illustrations of general the-
realizing its theoretical costs.
ories. Students of the subject spend a great deal of their ener-
Because its roots lie in such far-flung places as idealism,
gy on correlational research (“religion-and- . . .”), that is,
materialism, skepticism, literary satire, and romantic and
studying the interrelations between religion, social mobility,
conservative protest, the sociology of religion appears to be
racial prejudice, voting patterns, divorce, family planning
all things to all people. To put the best face on the fact, some
and so on. While these studies have greatly expanded our
methodologists refer to the discipline as a “multiparadigm”
knowledge of the relations between society and religion, they
field that, unlike the natural sciences, does not advance by
have seldom contributed to the building of theories as such.
sequentially isolating and falsifying disjunctive paradigms. It
Sociologists of religion have “revisited” Troeltsch,
does not confront its subject matter head-on with a proud
Weber, and the other notable theorists, refining the work of
phalanx of unified theory, but from all sides with scattered
these writers into typologies that seldom have the vigor or
guerrilla bands armed only with piecemeal models and
the historical perspective of earlier formations. Another indi-
“polymethodic” tactics. Since the sociology of religion has
cation of the impoverishment of the field is the neglect of
failed to realize the nomothetic goals it once set for itself,
comparative, cross-cultural studies. By default, the sociology
some have legitimately wondered how it differs from the hu-
of religion has become an adjunct to the study of the Chris-
manities and their idiographic approach.
tian religion, and not only in the hands of the “Christian so-
Today, widespread criticism of the positivism of con-
ciologists.” Although the discipline came to its maturity in
ventional social science, new interest in semiotics and the cy-
the richly comparative work of Durkheim, Weber, and oth-
bernetic control of shared cultural symbols, and ongoing in-
ers (who were perfectly at home in philosophy and the hu-
vestigations into the intentionality of the individual social
manities in general), historicism, positivism, and the exigen-
actor may be paving the way for some interesting changes in
cies of academic careers have conspired to reduce
the sociology of religion. These changes may bring the disci-
comparative studies in the field to a cautious manipulation
pline into closer and more fruitful relations with the humani-
of easily quantified variables. Because of this lack of historical
ties and with the history of religions. The work of Parsons,
and comparative depth, few sociologists working on religion
Bellah, Berger, and others has generated a more sophisticat-
have been able to make contributions that are of interest to
ed, less dogmatic attitude toward the theory of secularization
the rest of sociology or religious studies. The few sociologists
itself. A growing number of researchers would probably agree
who have made their mark in this field (e.g., Bellah, Berger,
with Saint-Simon that “religion cannot disappear; it can only
David A. Martin, and Bryan R. Wilson) have made abun-
be transformed.”
dant use of comparative and historical materials. While the
study of religion owes much to the social sciences in general,
SEE ALSO Anthropology, Ethnology, and Religion; Christian
currently anthropology—represented by the work of such
Social Movements; Civil Religion; Durkheim, Émile; Func-
writers as Clifford Geertz, Mary Douglas, Claude Lévi-
tionalism; Modernity; Political Theology; Politics and Reli-
Strauss, and Victor Turner—seems to have had a greater im-
gion; Psychology; Secularization; Society and Religion;
pact than sociology itself.
Structuralism; Study of Religion; Weber, Max.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
dual trends. The third trend has been the supplementing of
There are several good introductory textbooks that deal with the
an explanatory approach to religion with a hermeneutical, or
sociology of religion, including Roland Robertson’s The So-
interpretive, one. This trend is best represented by Clifford
ciological Interpretation of Religion (New York, 1970) and
Geertz. Though Geertz is, formally, an anthropologist, he
Thomas F. O’Dea’s The Sociology of Religion (Englewood
has been more influential than any sociologist in pioneering
Cliffs, N.J., 1966). Joachim Wach’s Sociology of Religion
this approach to religion and to culture as a whole. By no
(1944; Chicago, 1962) lays out the field in an encyclopedic,
coincidence his key work, The Interpretation of Cultures
but helpful, way. Among the numerous volumes dealing
(1973), won the Sorokin Award of the American Sociologi-
with the development of classical social thought and specula-
tion on religion and society in the early modern period are
cal Association.
Leo Strauss’s Natural Right and History (Chicago, 1953),
THE PROPRIETY OF RELIGION. In his earlier writings, Berger
Jacob Viner’s The Role of Providence in the Social Order
rails against the life made easy by religion (see, for example,
(Princeton, 1972), and the essays by Robert Bierstedt, Ken-
1961a, 1961b, 1967 [with Luckmann], and 1969). He de-
neth Bock, and Robert A. Nisbet in A History of Sociological
Analysis
, edited by Thomas B. Bottomore and Robert A. Nis-
nounces religion for accepting rather than challenging secu-
bet (New York, 1978). Compared with these works, Jan de
lardom. He denounces his own Christianity for supporting
Vries’s The Study of Religion: A Historical Approach (New
rather than questioning such American values, processes, and
York, 1967) deals more specifically with the analysis of reli-
institutions as financial success, class and racial divisions, the
gion itself.
Cold War, capital punishment, and the family unit: “We are
Nearly all of the major “classical” texts in the field are available
saying nothing new. We would refer the reader to Kierke-
in English. These include Émile Durkheim’s The Elementary
gaard’s attack on the ‘Christendom’ of his time or to Barth’s
Forms of the Religious Life (1915; reprint, New York, 1965)
assault on a later model of which theological liberalism was
and three works by Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic and the
the expression. . . . In the American religious-secular con-
Spirit of Capitalism (1930; reprint, London, 1974); The Soci-
tinuum of values, Christianity appears embedded in taken-
ology of Religion (Boston, 1963); and From Max Weber: Essays
for-granted reality. It does not stand out from the rest of the
in Sociology (1946; Oxford, 1967). An accurate and accessi-
culture, at least not in its middle-class Protestant forms.
ble introduction to Weber’s thought is Reinhard Bendix’s
Consequently, it can offer no challenge to all that is taken
Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait (1960; Berkeley, 1977).
for granted. As we have seen, commitment to Christianity
Ernst Troeltsch’s The Social Teaching of the Christian
thus undergoes a fatal identification with commitment to so-
Churches, 2 vols. (1931; Chicago, 1981) is still one of the fin-
est sociological treatments of historical Christianity. Many of
ciety, to respectability, to the American way of life. Under
the concerns raised by Weber and Troeltsch were further de-
these conditions, the encounter with the [true] Christian
veloped and modified by three American classics: H. Richard
message is rendered extremely difficult, to say the least”
Niebuhr’s The Social Sources of Denominationalism (New
(1961a, p. 116). Religion that seeks to justify society consti-
York, 1929), Liston Pope’s Millhands and Preachers: A Study
tutes what Berger, employing Jean-Paul Sartre’s famous
of Gastonia (1942; New Haven, 1965), and Gerhard Lenski’s
phrase, calls “bad faith.”
The Religious Factor: A Sociological Study of Religion’s Impact
on Politics
, Economics, and Family Life (Garden City, N.Y.,
The earlier Berger considers as bad faith not only the
1961). The general development of the sociology of religion
use of religion to sanction seculardom but also, reciprocally,
in the United States has been discussed by Myer S. Reed, Jr.,
the use of seculardom to justify religion. He denounces as
in “An Alliance for Progress: The Early Years of the Sociolo-
improper what Geertz, in his own analysis of religion, ironi-
gy of Religion in the United States,” Sociological Analysis 42
cally applauds as effective: the meshing of a conception of
(Spring 1981): 27–46, and in “After the Alliance: The Soci-
reality with a way of life. For Berger, when religion fits soci-
ology of Religion in the United States from 1925 to 1949,”
ety snugly, the affirmation of it requires no effort. Everybody
Sociological Analysis 43 (Fall 1982): 189–204. Robert N. Bel-
accepts it as conventional wisdom: “The religious institution
lah’s Beyond Belief: Essays on Religion in a Post-Traditional
World
(New York, 1970) is an example of the post-Parsonian
does not (perhaps one should say ‘not any longer’) generate
trend in contemporary American sociology of religion.
its own values; instead, it ratifies and sanctions the values
prevalent in the general community. There is little if any dif-
WINSTON DAVIS (1987)
ference between the values propagated by the religious insti-
tution and those of any secular institution of equivalent sta-
tus in the community (such as the school)” (1961a,
pp. 40–41).
SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION
[FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]

In his later writings, Berger stresses the shaky rather
In the late twentieth century sociology of religion has been
than solid foundation of modern religion in particular (see,
marked by three trends, all of which represent a broadening
for example, 1970, 1973 [with Berger and Kellner], and
of the field. The standard focus on the origin and function
1980). Whereas the earlier Berger emphasizes the ease with
of religion has been broadened into a concern as well with,
which religion is affirmed, the later Berger stresses the diffi-
first, the propriety of religion and, second, the truth of reli-
culty involved. The source of the difficulty is the existence
gion. Peter Berger and Robert Bellah best represent these
of competing religions, themselves in competition with secu-
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SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
lar worldviews. Competing claims to certainty render any
or affirm the truth of religion. The later Berger, beginning
claim tenuous. Bereft of certainty, one must leap unto faith:
with A Rumor of Angels (1970), reverses this position and
“Faith is no longer socially given, but must be individually
comes to view the social sciences as able to affirm the truth
achieved—be it by a wrenching act of decision along the
of religion. The earlier as well as the later Berger is intent on
lines of Pascal’s ‘wager’ or Kierkegaard’s ‘leap’—or more triv-
reconciling the social sciences with religious truth, but the
ially acquired as a ‘religious preference.’ Faith, in other
earlier Berger does so by declaring the issue of truth beyond
words, is much harder to come by in the pluralistic situation”
the social scientific ken: “[I]t is impossible within the frame
(Berger, Berger, and Kellner, 1973, p. 81). Put more mun-
of reference of scientific theorizing to make any affirmations,
danely, “It is relatively easy, sociologically speaking, to be a
positive or negative, about the ultimate ontological status of
Catholic in a social situation where one can readily limit
this alleged reality. Within this frame of reference, the reli-
one’s significant others to fellow Catholics, where indeed one
gious projections can be dealt with only as such, as products
has little choice in the matter, and where all the major insti-
of human activity and human consciousness, and rigorous
tutional forces are geared to support and confirm a Catholic
brackets have to be placed around the question as to whether
world. The story is quite different in a situation where one
these projections may not also . . . refer to something else
is compelled to rub shoulders with every conceivable variety
than the human world in which they empirically origi-
of ‘those others,’ [where one] is bombarded with communi-
nate. . . . In other words, every inquiry into religious mat-
cations that deny or ignore one’s Catholic idea, and where
ters that limits itself to the empirically available must neces-
one has a terrible time even finding some quiet Catholic cor-
sarily be based on a ‘methodological atheism’” (1969,
ners to withdraw into. It is very, very difficult to be cogni-
p. 100).
tively entre nous in modern society, especially in the area of
religion” (Berger, 1970, p. 44). Having come to accept as le-
The later Berger reconciles the social sciences with reli-
gitimate the subjective basis of religion, Berger also comes
gious truth in the opposite fashion: by arguing that the social
to see the legitimacy of the use to which religion is put: giv-
sciences can establish the existence of god, or of the transcen-
ing meaning to life.
dent. Berger has come to oppose the view that he had for-
merly espoused: that the truth of religion is beyond the social
When, in his later writings, Robert Bellah turns from
scientific ken. He thus has come to believe that the social sci-
Japan and the rest of the world to America, he changes his
ences can catalogue “signals of transcendence”: those experi-
focus from analyzing religion to preaching it. His claim that
ences of hope, humor, and above all order that entail, be-
there exists a “civil religion” in America seems a mere restate-
cause they presuppose, the existence of the transcendent.
ment of Émile Durkheim’s fundamental claim that every so-
“Thus man’s ordering propensity implies a transcendent
ciety worships itself (see Bellah, 1975, 1976). Yet Bellah is
order, and each ordering gesture is a signal of this transcen-
interested less in the social function of civil religion than in
dence” (1970, p. 57). “Man’s propensity for order is ground-
the obligation that civil religion imposes. He is not con-
ed in a faith or trust that, ultimately, reality is ‘in order,’ all
cerned, as Durkheim is, with the dependence on society that
right, ‘as it should be’” (1970, p. 54). Whereas the earlier
religion instills. Instead, he is concerned with the sense of
Berger spurns any evidence for belief as bad faith, the later
duty that religion inculcates. That duty is not to society but
Berger solicits evidence for belief.
to God. Whereas for Durkheim duty to God means duty to
Bellah calls his later approach to religion “symbolic real-
society, for Bellah duty to society means duty to God. For
ism” and distinguishes it from three other approaches: “his-
Bellah, religion does not, as it does for Durkheim, serve to
torical realism,” “consequential reductionism,” and “symbol-
weld people into a nation, at least as an end in itself. Rather,
ic reductionism.” Historical realism deems religion
it welds them as a means of fulfilling the nation’s ideals—for
cognitive, literal, and true: religion is a true explanation of
example, of peace and equality. The fulfillment of these
the physical world. Historical realists are, presumably, funda-
ideals constitutes a duty not only to the nation but even more
mentalists. Consequential reductionism considers religion
to God, whose chosen nation America believes itself to be.
cognitive, literal, but false: religion is superstition. But conse-
This duty is therefore less social than truly religious: serving
quential reductionists are concerned less with the falsity of
one’s country in order to serve God, who is the inspiration
religion than with the effect of religion on society when it
of society rather than, as for Durkheim, the projection of so-
is believed true. Consequential reductionists include social
ciety.
functionalists like Bronislaw Malinowski and A. R. Rad-
Whereas for Berger the normative question is whether
cliffe-Brown.
a religion that sanctions the proverbial status quo is proper,
Symbolic reductionism also considers religion false
for Bellah the normative question is whether a religion that
when taken cognitively and literally but considers it true
serves society alone is proper. Put another way, for the earlier
when taken noncognitively and symbolically: as the dis-
Bellah (1957) the question is what religion does do. For the
guised expression of something real within individuals, soci-
later Bellah, the question is what religion should do.
ety, or the physical world. The ranks of symbolic reduction-
THE TRUTH OF RELIGION. The earlier Berger views sociolo-
ists include many nineteenth- and early twentieth-century
gy and, in general, the social sciences as unable either to deny
social scientists—among them E. B. Tylor, J. G. Frazer, Karl
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SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
8499
Marx, Durkheim, and Sigmund Freud. One exception is
ing to a socially established code, and (5) without cognizance
Max Weber, who for Bellah is rather a consequential reduc-
of the rest of the company” (Geertz, 1973, p. 6).
tionist because he is interested less in the reduction of reli-
In the familiar senses of the terms “cause” and “mean-
gion to something underlying it than in the effect of religion
ing,” a twitch is causal, or meaningless, because it has no pur-
on society. Bellah would presumably classify his own earlier
pose. It is involuntary and therefore unintentional. It is not
self as a consequentialist, as he would at least partly his then-
inexplicable, for its cause explains it, but it is purposeless. A
mentor, Talcott Parsons.
wink is meaningful because it has a purpose as well as a
In contrast to historical realism, which also seeks the
cause—more accurately, a purpose rather than a cause. It is
meaning of religion for believers, symbolic realism deems
voluntary and therefore intentional.
that meaning symbolic rather than literal, and deems it expe-
In the more technical sense of the terms, following the
riential rather than explanatory. Religion for believers is not
usage that Geertz adopts from Ryle, a wink is meaningful
a scientific-like account of the world but an encounter with
rather than causal not just because it is purposeful, or inten-
it: “For religion is not really a kind of pseudogeology or pseu-
tional, but also because the purpose is inseparable from the
dohistory but an imaginative statement about the truth of
behavior: Winking is not caused by a prior contraction of the
the totality of human experience” (Bellah, 1970, p. 244).
eyelids; it is the intentional contraction of the eyelids. The
“These [religious] symbols are not ‘made up’ by the human
purpose cannot therefore be the cause of the behavior, for
ego or deduced by rational reflection. They are born out of
a cause must be separate from its effect. The purpose and the
the tragedy and the suffering, the joy and the victory of men
behavior are two aspects of a single action rather than, as in
struggling to make sense out of their world. They tell us
causal explanation, two actions: the cause and the effect. If
nothing at all about the universe except insofar as the uni-
the contraction were the effect of winking, winking would
verse is involved in human experience” (Bellah, 1970,
be the cause. But because the contraction is the expression
p. 95).
of winking, winking is the meaning.
Because religion for Bellah expresses humans’ experi-
To describe only the behavior would be to give what
ence of the world rather than explaining the world itself, it
Geertz, following Ryle, calls a “thin description.” To describe
is true: “If we define religion as that symbol system that
the meaning expressed by the behavior is to give what Geertz,
serves to evoke . . . the totality that includes subject and ob-
again following Ryle, calls a “thick description.” By a thick
ject and provides the context in which life and action finally
description Geertz means an interpretation.
have meaning, then I am prepared to claim that as Durkheim
said of society, religion is a reality sui generis. To put it blunt-
When the earlier Geertz asserts that humans strive to
ly, religion is true” (Bellah 1970, pp. 252–253). In this re-
make sense of life, he is arguing that that striving causes them
spect Bellah, just like Berger, goes beyond the issue of origin
to engage in religious and other sense-making activities.
and function to that of truth.
When the later Geertz makes the same assertion, he is simply
T
saying that humans engage in religious and other sense-
HE HERMENEUTICAL APPROACH TO RELIGION. Like that
of both Berger and Bellah, Clifford Geertz’s focus has shifted
making activities, which express rather than effect humani-
over time. Beginning with his first collection of essays, The
ty’s sense-making character.
Interpretation of Cultures (1973), he has turned from an ex-
If the later Geertz’s concern with the meaning rather
planatory approach to religion to an interpretive one. In-
than the cause of human behavior puts him within the inter-
spired by the philosopher Paul Ricoeur, he has come to view
pretive, or hermeneutical, tradition, his concern with the
all of culture, including religion, as akin to a literary text,
public rather than private nature of that meaning puts him
which therefore requires the equivalent of exegesis.
within the Wittgensteinian branch of that tradition: “The
generalized attack on privacy theories of meaning is, since
All interpretivists equate explanation with cause and in-
early Husserl and late Wittgenstein, so much a part of mod-
terpretation with meaning. They differ over how they distin-
ern thought that it need not be developed once more here.
guish causes from meanings. Geertz adopts not only the dis-
What is necessary is to see to it that the news of it reaches
tinction but also the example drawn by the philosopher
anthropology” (Geertz, 1973, p. 12).
Gilbert Ryle, who contrasts twitching to winking. Writes
Geertz: “The two movements are, as movements, identical;
While Geertz never cites him, he is closest to the Witt-
from an I-am-a-camera, ‘phenomenalistic’ observation of
gensteinian philosopher Peter Winch. Where other inter-
them alone, one could not tell which was twitch and which
pretivists, such as the philosophers R. G. Collingwood and
was wink, or indeed whether both or either was twitch or
William Dray, use empathy alongside evidence to recon-
wink. Yet the difference, however unphotographable, be-
struct the meanings of actors’ behavior, Winch uses a knowl-
tween a twitch and a wink is vast; as anyone unfortunate
edge of the rules of the public activities, or “forms of life,”
enough to have had the first taken for the second knows. The
in which actors participate to decipher the meanings of their
winker is communicating, and indeed communicating in a
behavior. For Winch, behavior has meaning because the ac-
quite precise and special way: (1) deliberately, (2) to someone
tivities in which actors participate have rules, which they fol-
in particular, (3) to impart a particular message, (4) accord-
low in order to achieve their ends. Rules are like the grammar
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8500
SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
of a language. Because Winch seeks meanings through public
tion, for instance, one “symptom” of revolution might be po-
rules rather than private deliberations, he employs, or would
litical protests. One source might be inequality. One
employ, fieldwork far more than empathy. His approach is
consequence might be equality. The “double task” in “diag-
far more anthropological than that of either Collingwood or
nosing” revolution would therefore be both “to uncover the
Dray and so is closer to Geertz’s.
conceptual structures [i.e., interpretive categories] that in-
form our subjects’ acts, the ‘said’ of social discourse, and to
For Geertz, as for Winch, the meaning of culture is pub-
construct a system of analysis [i.e., explanation] in whose
lic and is expressed in the rules of public activities: “culture
terms what is generic to those structures, what belongs to
is best seen not as complexes of concrete behavior patterns—
them because they are what they are, will stand out against
customs, usages, traditions, habit clusters—. . . but as a set
the other determinants [i.e., causes] of human behavior”
of control mechanisms—plans, recipes, rules, instructions
(Geertz, 1973, p. 27). One would fully have deciphered an
. . . for the governing of behavior” (Geertz, 1973, p. 44).
instance of revolution—or of religion—only by having first
“Cultural forms . . . draw their meaning from the role they
identified the phenomenon as a case of the category and then
play (Wittgenstein would say their ‘use’) in an ongoing pat-
having accounted for it.
tern of life” (Geertz, 1973, p. 17). Practice rather than belief,
ritual rather than myth, “ethos” rather than “world view” is
When Geertz follows the model of medical diagnosis,
the key to the meaning of culture, and fieldwork, not empa-
interpretive science is generalized: The doctor seeks the cate-
thy, is the key to unraveling that meaning.
gory into which the patient’s symptoms fall. But when other-
wise in “Thick Description” Geertz pits interpretation
Despite the later Geertz’s insistence on interpretation
against scientific explanation, by interpretation he means the
rather than explanation, Geertz can be read as offering either
primacy of the particular over the general. Geertz opposes
an explanation or an interpretation. When, in an essay in The
generalizations on multiple grounds. They invariably prove
Interpretation of Cultures that originally appeared in1957, he
inaccurate or tendentious. They are somehow inseparable
writes that “the drive to make sense out of experience, to give
from the particulars that yield them and, when separated,
it form and order, is evidently as real and as pressing as the
turn out to be banal or empty: “Theoretical formulations
more familiar biological needs” (Geertz, 1973, p. 140), that
[i.e., generalizations] hover so low over the [particularistic]
drive can be taken not only as the definition of religious and
interpretations they govern that they don’t make much sense
other cultural expressions but, alternatively, as the cause of
or hold much interest apart from them. . . . [S]tated inde-
religious and other cultural effects. Religion would thereby
pendently of their [particularistic] applications, they seem ei-
be, as for Max Weber, the fulfillment of a need to make sense
ther commonplace or vacant” (Geertz, 1973, p. 25).
of life rather than, as for interpretivists like Collingwood,
Dray, and Winch, one possible expression of humanity’s
Above all for Geertz, generalizations miss the distinc-
sense-making nature.
tiveness of the particulars they are derived from: “Within the
bloated categories of regime description, Feudalism or Colo-
Indeed, even in “Thick Description,” the one new essay
nialism, Late Capitalism or The World System, Neo-
in The Interpretation of Cultures and the programmatic inter-
Monarchy or Parliamentary Militarism, there is a resident
pretive statement (1973, ch. 1), Geertz declares that anthro-
suchness, deep Moroccanicity, inner Indonesianness, strug-
pology should no more be exclusively interpretive than ex-
gling to get out. Such a conception of things is usually called
clusively explanatory. Interpretation should supplement, not
nationalism. That is certainly not wrong, but, another bloat-
supplant, explanation. Anthropology should be an “interpre-
ed category, grouping the ungroupable and blurring distinc-
tive science.”
tions internally felt, it is less definite than it seems. Every
Just as Geertz’s model of pure interpretation is literary
quiddity has its own form of suchness, and no one who
criticism, so his model of interpretive science is medicine.
comes to Morocco or Indonesia to find out what goes on
According to Geertz, interpretation in medicine merely clas-
there is likely to confuse them with each other or to be satis-
sifies behavior: A medical diagnosis identifies a set of symp-
fied with elevated banalities about common humanity or a
toms as belonging to, say, the category measles. By contrast,
universal need for self-expression” (Geertz, 1995, p. 23).
according to Geertz, explanation goes beyond interpretation
For Geertz, it is in the particular and not in the general
to account for both the source and the effect of behavior:
that the significance of any cultural phenomenon lies: “The
While symptoms themselves are part of the definition of a
notion that the essence of what it means to be human is most
disease rather than either its origin or even its consequence,
clearly revealed in those features of human culture that are
a diagnosis also gives or suggests both the origin and the con-
universal rather than in those that are distinctive to this peo-
sequences of the disease. Diagnosis combines interpretation
ple or that is a prejudice we are not necessarily obliged to
with explanation, as otherwise in “Thick Description” inter-
share. Is it in grasping such general facts—that man has ev-
pretation by itself does.
erywhere some sort of ‘religion’—or in grasping the richness
Applied to anthropology, categories identified by Geertz
of this religious phenomenon or that—Balinese trance or In-
have included revolution, kinship, ethos, worldview, myth, rit-
dian ritualism, Aztec human sacrifice or Zuñi rain-
ual, religion, art, and cultural system. In the category revolu-
dancing—that we grasp him? Is the fact that ‘marriage’ is
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SOCRATES
8501
universal (if it is) as penetrating a comment on what we are
Ryle, Gilbert. Collected Papers. 2 vols. New York, 1971.
as the facts concerning Himalayan polyandry, or those fan-
Winch, Peter. The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Philos-
tastic Australian marriage rules, or the elaborate bride-price
ophy. London, 1958; rev. 2d ed., London, 1990.
systems of Bantu Africa?” (Geertz, 1973, p. 43).
ROBERT A. SEGAL (2005)
Geertz’s insistence on the superiority of the particular
to the general helped pioneer the postmodern approach to
culture, including religion, throughout the social sciences.
SOCRATES (c. 469–399 BCE) was a Greek philosopher.
Yet Geertz himself has never gone as far as his avowedly post-
Commonly regarded as the father of philosophy, Socrates’
modernist successors, who reject generalizations as but one
influence on Western thought has been huge throughout his-
part of their rejection of a scientific approach to religion and
tory. Almost every epoch saw in him a precursor of its own
the rest of culture. Geertz continues to employ general cate-
ideas and values, and a model of wisdom and morality.
gories and continues to account for them. Furthermore, he
does not dismiss the possibility of an objective analysis of re-
SOURCES. Socrates is the only Western philosopher who
ligion and culture. Most important, he does not set an inter-
wrote nothing. Hence all first-hand information on his life,
pretive, or hermeneutical, approach to religion against a sci-
personality, and thought derives from reports by those who
entific one. His advocacy of an interpretive social science
knew him personally. Among those, a special role is played
akin to medical diagnosis evinces the middle ground that he
by his friends and associates who, in a series of dialogues
seeks. He strives to make social science interpretive, not to
commonly referred to as the Sokratikoi logoi, portray him in
replace social science with interpretation.
discussion with prominent intellectuals and politicians.
These writings spread immediately after Socrates’ death, be-
B
coming a popular literary genre in the first half of the fourth
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traits of Socrates’ own philosophical thoughts. These dia-
Berger, Peter L. The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological The-
logues include Apology, Crito, Laches, Charmides, Euthyphro,
ory of Religion. Garden City, N.Y., 1967.
Hippias Minor, Ion, Republic I, and Protagoras from Plato’s
Berger, Peter L. A Rumor of Angels: Modern Society and the Redis-
first period; and Lysis, Euthydemus, Hippias Major, Menex-
covery of the Supernatural. Garden City, N.Y., 1969.
enus, Meno, and Gorgias from his second period. The middle
Berger, Peter L. The Heretical Imperative: Contemporary Possibili-
dialogues (Symposium, Cratylus, Phaedo, Republic IIX, Phae-
ties of Religious Affirmation. Garden City, N.Y., 1979.
drus, Parmenides, and Theaetetus) and the late ones (Timaeus,
Berger, Peter L., and Thomas Luckmann. The Social Construction
Critias, Sophist, Statesman, Philebus, and Laws) are much
of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Garden
closer to Plato’s own than to his master’s philosophy. Unlike
City, N.Y., 1966.
Plato, Xenophon was not present at Socrates’ trial and death
Berger, Peter L., Brigitte Berger, and Hansfried Kellner. The
and wrote his logoi many years after 399. His Socratic works
Homeless Mind: Modernization and Consciousness. New York,
are Apology, Symposium, Oeconomicus, and Memorabilia.
1973.
Other primary sources outside the Socratic circle are
Collingwood, R. G. The Idea of History, ed. T. M. Knox. New
supplied by the Attic comedy. Socrates was used as a comic
York, 1946.
character in Ameipsias’ Connus and Aristophanes’ Clouds,
Dray, William. Laws and Explanation in History. London, 1957.
two of the three comedies performed for the first time in
Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays.
Athens in 423 BCE. Of these dramatic works only Clouds sur-
New York, 1973.
vives complete, though in a revised edition. This version, like
Geertz, Clifford. Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretive
most of the evidence coming from the comedians after 423
Anthropology. New York, 1983.
BCE, gives a caricature of Socrates as an atheistic natural phi-
Geertz, Clifford. After the Fact: Two Countries, Four Decades, One
losopher who is both an ascetic moral teacher and a sophist
Anthropologist. Cambridge, Mass., 1995.
(for instance, in Aristophanes’ Birds and Frogs).
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Among the writings of authors who were not personally
thick, and his belly was huge. His appearance was thus com-
acquainted with Socrates, most important are those of Aris-
pared to that of a satyr or silenus. His physical toughness and
totle (384–322 BCE), who probably learned of him from
endurance were known to be exceptional: he was able to
Plato and others while attending the Athenian Academy. Ar-
practice extreme continence or abstemiousness as well as to
istotle’s interest in Socrates was aimed at assigning to him
outdrink anyone without ever getting drunk himself. He
a precise place in the history of philosophy, distinguishing
bathed infrequently and wore ostentatiously simple clothing,
the elements in Plato’s oeuvre actually belonging to Socrates
always went barefoot, and never became ill; he could go with-
from those constituting Platonic interpretations of Socratic
out sleep for days and sustain prolonged, trance-like spells
thought. Major evidence of this is to be found in several pas-
of intense mental concentration. During the Peloponnesian
sages of Metaphysics, Nicomachean and Eudemean Ethics, and
War (431–404 BCE) he gave proof of his bravery in the cam-
Magna Moralia.
paigns of Potidaea (432–429 BCE), where he saved the life
Since all of the later Socratic sources of antiquity rely
of Alcibiades (432 BCE); Daelium (424 BCE); and Amphipolis
on the writings of the mentioned authors or on works which
(422 BCE).
were lost, they are far less able to convey the real philosophi-
Except for these military campaigns and two other trips
cal thoughts of Socrates. But since in some cases these testi-
to Samos and the Isthmian games, Socrates stayed always in
monies contain information that is not elsewhere preserved,
Athens. Due to his extraordinary charisma he gathered
they should nevertheless be taken into account. The major
around him a circle of friends and associates, who saw in him
Socratic texts occur within a variety of literary genres:
a “truly divine and marvelous man” (Plato, Symposium
1. the philosophers (Cicero, Plutarch, and others);
219c). In 423 BCE he was a well-known personality in Ath-
ens, portrayed in Aristophanes’ Clouds as a leading represen-
2. Diogenes Laertius;
tative of a new kind of education. His fame reached even Ar-
3. the apologetic writers (Aelius Aristides, Libanius, and
chelaus of Macedonia, Scopas of Krannon, and Eurylochus
others);
of Larisa, whose invitations to their courts he declined.
4. the antiquarian writers (Aulus Gellius, Aelian,
In 406 BCE Socrates belonged to the Athenian Council
Athenaeus, and others);
of Five Hundred when the so-called trial of the Arginusae
5. the anthologists, the lexicographers, and the Suda;
took place. In it, the generals of the Athenian fleet faced
charges of neglect of duty following the naval battle of the
6. the early Christian writers.
Arginusae Islands during the Peloponnesian War. Athens
LIFE The only certain fact about Socrates’ life is the year in
won, but a storm wrecked several ships afterward, and the
which he was condemned and put to death, in 399 BCE. All
officers failed to rescue the survivors. In Socrates’ tribe the
other circumstances reported about him have no historical
assembly made the illegal proposal to condemn the generals
reliability, although in many cases their symbolic and philo-
to death collectively instead of individually, as required by
sophic meanings are of great interest.
law. Whereas the other members all accepted the proposal,
Some sources report that Socrates, of the Antiochid
Socrates refused, thus demonstrating loyalty to the laws of
tribe and the deme of Alopeke, was born on the birthday of
his city. Two years later, when the Thirty Tyrants attempted
the goddess of midwives, Artemis, the sixth Tragelion. He
to involve him in criminal political activities by securing his
was the son of the midwife Phaenarete and the statuary
complicity in the arrest of Leon of Salamis, he refused, for
Sophroniscus, with whom he worked during his youth. His
which he would have been put to death, if the Thirty had
family was likely wealthy, since he served several times in the
not been overthrown in time (Plato, Apology 32d and Xeno-
heavy infantry, where he had to provide himself weapons and
phon, Memorabilia IV, 4, 3).
armor. During his later life, however, it seems that he became
Five years later Anytus, a prominent politician of the re-
extremely poor, probably due to his absorption in philoso-
stored democracy, together with the obscure Lycus and
phy, which left him no time for attending to his personal af-
Meletus, brought the following indictment against Socrates:
fairs. It is reported that he married Xanthippe, famous for
“Socrates is guilty of not recognizing the gods which the city
her bad temper. His three sons Lamprocles, Sophroniscus,
recognizes, and of introducing other, new divinities. Further,
and Menexenus were still young at the time of his death, and
he is guilty of corrupting the young. The penalty is death”
were probably sons of another wife named Myrto, whose
(Favorinus, in Diogenes Laertius II, 40). Found guilty on
marriage to Socrates is variously described as preceding,
both counts (by votes of 280-220 and 360-140), he was sen-
following, or bigamously coinciding with his union to
tenced to death by hemlock. Having declined the alternative
Xanthippe.
penalty of exile, and the opportunity to escape from prison
Throughout the literary and the iconographic sources
(as his associates urged him to do), he was executed in 399
of antiquity Socrates is renowned for the ugliness of his phys-
BCE.
iognomy. He had a snub nose, broad nostrils, protruding
PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION. As was common in Athenian
eyes, and an overly-dimensioned mouth, with extremely
wealthy families, Socrates was educated in the traditional dis-
thick lips. Furthermore, he was bald, his neck was short and
ciplines of mousike (“education of the spirit”) and gumnastike
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8503
(“education of the body”) and in Ionian natural sciences.
human being is to “care for it” (Plato, Apology 29e and Xeno-
The sources report that he became a disciple of the physicist
phon, Memorabilia I, 2, 4–5), a task best accomplished by
Archelaus, through whom he was introduced to the theories
“purifying” it through intellectual training and elenchtic
of Anaximenes and Anaxagoras. Though he was apparently
testing.
fascinated by them, the more he deepened his studies, the
Though aimed at improving the soul, the practice of
more he became aware of the limits of natural philosophy.
elenchus is not merely destructive. Socrates’ disavowal of sci-
He noticed that this discipline was not able to obtain any cer-
entific knowledge implies that from a practical point of view
tain knowledge of the natural phenomena because of its
he knows exactly what knowledge is. As Aristotle points out,
mechanistic character—that is, its habit to explain one cause
this knowledge is of a “different kind” if compared to that
with another—without ever finding a supreme principle of
of the experts or the physiologists (Eudemean Ethics 1246b
being capable of “holding together any other thing” (Plato,
36). It has a non-epistemic character, since it is confined to
Phaedo 99c). Disappointed, he left his studies in Ionian sci-
make out what is good (agathon) for the soul in an immedi-
ence and started looking for a “second sailing” in research
ate, concrete, and practical sense. Both in Plato and Xeno-
(Plato, Phaedo 99c).
phon, Socrates identifies this good with what is beneficial
(ophelimon, chresimon). Virtue, as the real application of this
The direction of this new approach was indicated to
good, is thus founded on knowledge that is the goodness of
Socrates by a religious experience which marked a turning
the soul. Once the soul knows what is good in a given situa-
point in his life. According to Plato’s account, around 430
tion, it has the correct focus for its actions, a focus that even-
BCE Socrates’ friend Chaerephon went to the oracle of Apollo
tually turns out to be beneficial as well.
in Delphi and posed the question whether anyone was wiser
than Socrates. The oracle answered that no one was. When
Major evidence for Socrates’ firm faith in the practical
Chaerephon went back to Athens and told his friend of this
effects of the knowledge of the good is provided by his theod-
response, Socrates was puzzled, since he thought that he pos-
icy. As shown by Xenophon, Socrates believes in unwritten
sessed no expertise at all. In order to decipher the oracle’s
laws that have a divine origin (Memorabilia IV, 4, 19–25).
meaning, he set about to find someone wiser than himself
Unlike the human laws, which can be violated without nec-
among people with reputations for their wisdom. Upon
essarily incurring punishment, the unwritten laws contain
questioning them systematically he realized that they in fact
the punishment within themselves. They are a cosmic rule,
lacked the knowledge they claimed, and were therefore less
deeply rooted into the profundity of reality. This conception
occurs also in Plato’s Apology, when Socrates replies to the
wise than he, who at least knew that he knew nothing. He
menaces of his accusers by saying that “the goddess Themis
thus understood that the wisdom meant by the oracle con-
will not allow that a good man will be hurt by a worse one”
sisted exactly of this peculiar knowledge, the awareness of ig-
(30c), or when, immediately after he has been sentenced to
norance. He came also to understand that the oracle had cho-
death, he declares that “a good man cannot suffer any harm,
sen him to propagate this knowledge by showing every
neither in his life nor after his death, because the gods take
human being that his claims to substantive wisdom were un-
care of him” (41d).
founded. From that moment until the last day of his life Soc-
rates felt compelled to fulfill this “divine mission” in honor
Socrates’ conception of the divine is closely linked to his
of Apollo, the god who praises the virtues of humility and
search for the goodness of the soul. This becomes clear in the
restraint (as is evident in the famous Delphic inscription,
teleological proof of God’s existence reported by Xenophon
“Know thyself!”).
(Memorabilia I, 4, 1–19 and IV, 3, 1–18; cf. Plato, Gorgias
507e–508a): since everything that is good is beneficial, it has
This enterprise of questioning, examining, and refuting
to be necessarily the product of intelligent design; this entails
other people in order to make them aware of their ignorance
the existence of one or more intelligent designer-creators
is commonly known as the Socratic elenchus. Its most impor-
possessing the wisdom and the power necessary for produc-
tant achievement consists of understanding and in making
ing the orderly and beautiful universe; therefore, these beings
others understand the fallible, that is the human nature of
must have an entirely benevolent and caring attitude toward
wisdom (anthropine sophia), juxtaposed to the absolute wis-
the world they created, ruling it in a fashion analogous to the
dom of the gods (theia sophia), which is altogether unreach-
way the human soul rules the body. And because of its intrin-
able for humankind. To this philosophical acknowledgment
sic theoretical capacities this very soul “partakes of the di-
everyone is compelled, since “the unexamined life is not
vine” more than any other thing in the universe (Memorabil-
worth living for a human being” (Plato, Apology 38a). Elen-
ia, IV, 3, 14), and the man who practices its capacities
chus is the only possible source of intellectual and moral
through philosophy is at the same time “virtuous” and
well-being, since it improves the most valuable part of man,
“pious” (Memorabilia IV, 3, 16–18). Piety itself is strongly
the seat of all his virtue and knowledge: the soul (psuche).
connected to morality, since it is a service to the gods that
Unlike the traditional conceptions of the Orphics, the Py-
helps them to promulgate goodness in the universe (Plato,
thagoreans and the Ionians, Socrates is the first to identify
Euthyphro 14b). For Socrates there is no split between philos-
the psuche both with the entire and real self and the “Igo”
ophy, ethics, and religion; they all call for acts directed to im-
of consciousness and personality. The supreme duty of a
prove both the human soul and the universe.
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SOCRATES
The interdependence between the human and the di-
accusers; still, in the religious context of ancient Athens,
vine sphere in Socrates’ teleology was thus eminently practi-
which was extremely tolerant towards the introduction of
cal and non-epistemic. With it Socrates tried to reform reli-
new or even foreign divinities, this alone could hardly have
gion from an ethical point of view. This meant rejecting the
led to a prosecution.
moral imperfections of the Homeric gods, foremost their en-
It seems therefore probable that the reason for Socrates’
mities and lies. The chasm between human and divine ethics
conviction was merely political, since the religious accusa-
had to be eliminated, in order to restore the lost faith in the
tions were unfounded. In fact, the most serious charge
nobility of the gods and to make them thus more believable.
brought against Socrates was that of corruption of the youth.
Socrates’ anthropocentric teleology was perhaps the last at-
The practice of elenchus entailed a new education, which
tempt in Greek history to achieve this. In an epoch character-
could subvert social morality. This was evident in the Socrat-
ized by an increasing number of particular cults often in
ic circle, where men like Critias and Alcibiades were famous
open conflict with each other, he gave a new impulse to
for their antidemocratic political attitude. To the newly re-
Greek religion, establishing homogeneous criteria for mor-
stored democracy Socrates and his circle were a danger to be
tals and gods. He did this while remaining on the solid
eliminated as soon as possible. This may have been the rea-
ground of tradition: his “moralized” gods were still the gods
son why the pious Socrates, who believed in the goodness of
of the city, whom he called to witness his oaths and wor-
the gods, was eventually condemned for impiety.
shipped with prayers and sacrifices, communicating with
them through dreams, divination, and even poetic inspira-
SEE ALSO Apollo; Aristotle; Atheism; Delphi; Plato;
tion. Despite the orthodoxy of Socrates’ religious behavior,
Theodicy.
however, in 399 he was tried, convicted, and condemned to
death for impiety.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A complete bibliography of the Socratic literature from antiquity
Socrates was first accused of not recognizing the gods
until 1988 is to be found in Andreas Patzer, Bibliographia
of the city. According to Socrates’ own account of the reason
Socratica (Freiburg, Germany, 1985), and Luis E. Navia and
he was charged, this indictment was not for having moralized
Ellen L. Katz, Socrates: An Annotated Bibliography (New
the gods, but mainly because the accusers assimilated these
York, 1988).
gods to the natural elements which were studied by the Ioni-
A comprehensive survey on the most important Socratic testimo-
an physiologists during those years (Plato, Apology 18b–c,
nies in English translation is delivered by John Ferguson,
19a–d, 23c–d, 26d, and Aristophanes’ Clouds). Since few
Socrates: A Source Book (London, 1970); see also the com-
years earlier Anaxagoras had already been declared guilty of
plete editions of Xenophon, Aristophanes, and Aristotle in
the same charge due to his affiliation with the Periclean cir-
the Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, Mass.). The ancient
cle, it is likely that the accusers against Socrates also had a
sources can be divided into primary (A), that is the texts of
political rather than a religious background.
authors who knew Socrates personally or could hear from
him indirectly, and secondary (B), which consist of later
The second charge was that of introducing “new divini-
writings, mostly founded upon the primary sources.
ties” (hetera daimonia kaina: Plato, Apology 24c, and others).
(A) The major primary source are Plato’s dialogues, edited in
It is probable that the target was the daimonion of Socrates,
Greek by John Burnet (Platonis Opera, Oxford, 1900–1917;
although the use of the generic plural form daimonia may
reprinted 1976). The English translations are numerous, one
indicate that the accusers wanted to include in the charge
of the most recent being the Complete Works edited by John
also other divinities, or that they themselves did not have a
M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson (Indianapolis, Ind.,
clear idea of which gods exactly were worshipped by Socrates.
1997). The most accessible English translation of Xeno-
The daimonion ti (literally: the “daemonic something”) was
phon’s Socratic writings is that of Hugh Treddenick and
one of the most peculiar traits of Socratic religion. According
Robin Waterfield, Conversations of Socrates (London, 1990).
to the sources, Socrates regarded it as a divine “sign” or an
For a scholarly edition of Aristophanes’ Clouds see Kenneth
J. Dover, Oxford, 1968. Aristotle’s references to Socrates
“interior voice” which had been his companion since child-
have been collected by Thomas Déman, Le témoignage
hood. It gave him advice which was merely dissuasive, partic-
d’Aristote sur Socrate (Paris, 1942).
ular, personal, and practical (according to Xenophon the dai-
monion
also prescribed advice to Socrates’ friends). Since
(B) The Greek and Latin texts of all the Socratic sources except
Plato, Xenophon, and Aristophanes are to be found in the
Socrates considered the counsel of the daimonion unfailingly
Socratis et Socraticorum Reliquiae, edited by Gabriele Gian-
correct, he always followed it, even if it urged him against
nantoni (Naples, 1990).
something of which he was fully convinced. This particular
circumstance showed that in Socrates’ view the daimonion
Modern scholarship on Socrates starts with Friedrich Schleierma-
cher’s “The Worth of Socrates as a Philosopher” (1815),
could be stronger than discursive thinking, but was perfectly
translated by Connop Thirlwall, The Philological Museum 2
compatible with it: Although its advice sometimes seemed
(1833): 538–555. In this essay arises for the first time the
to contradict the elenchus, eventually it turned out to be per-
question of which sources, if any, can be reliable for a recon-
fectly rational. The privilege of Socrates’ exclusive relation-
struction of Socrates’ thought. This question, commonly re-
ship with the daimonion was likely considered suspect by his
ferred to as the “Socratic problem,” has been answered in
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SÖDERBLOM, NATHAN
8505
many different ways, spawning a vast amount of literature.
house and Nicholas D. Smith, Socrates on Trial (Oxford,
Useful guides to it are: Der historische Sokrates, edited by An-
1989), Plato’s Socrates (New York, 1994), The Philosophy of
dreas Patzer (Darmstadt, Germany, 1987), and Mario Mont-
Socrates (Boulder, Colo., 2000), and The Trial and Execution
uori, The Socratic Problem (Amsterdam, 1992). For a survey
of Socrates: Sources and Controversies (New York, 2002).
on the reception of Socrates throughout history see Herbert
See also the collections of articles: Essays on the Philosophy of Socra-
Spiegelberg, The Socratic Enigma (New York, 1964).
tes, edited by Hugh H. Benson (New York, 1992); Socratic
Classical works on Socrates are: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel,
Questions: New Essays on the Philosophy of Socrates and Its Sig-
Lectures on the History of Philosophy (1833), translated by
nificance, edited by Barry S. Gower and Michael C. Stokes
Elizabeth Sanderson Haldane (London, 1963), vol. 1:
(New York, 1992), and Does Socrates Have a Method? Re-
pp. 384–448; So⁄ren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Irony, with
thinking the Elenchus in Plato’s Dialogues and Beyond, edited
Constant Reference to Socrates (1841), translated by Lee M.
by Gary Alan Scott (University Park, Pa., 2002).
Capel (New York, 1965); George Grote, Life, Teachings, and
Studies especially dedicated to the topic of Socrates and religion
Death of Socrates (1850, reprinted, New York, 1859); Frie-
are: Robert M. Wenley, Socrates and Christ (1889, reprinted,
drich Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music
London, 2002); John Burnet, “The Socratic Doctrine of the
(1872), translated by Clifton P. Fadiman (New York, 1954);
Soul,” Proceedings of the British Academy 7 (1915–1916):
Eduard Zeller, Socrates and the Socratic Schools (1889), trans-
235–259; Greek Religious Thought, edited by Frances M.
lated by Oswald J. Reichel (New York, 1962); Karl Joël, Der
Cornford (New York, 1923): pp. 158–187; James Beckman,
echte und der xenophontische Sokrates (Berlin, 1893–1901);
The Religious Dimension of Socrates’ Thought (1943, reprinted
Heinrich Maier, Sokrates. Sein Werk und seine geschichtliche
Waterloo, Ont., 1979); Ehrland Ehnmark, “Socrates and the
Stellung (Tübingen, Germany, 1913); Guy C. Field, Socrates
Immortality of the Soul,” Eranos 14 (1946): 105–122; Anto-
and Plato (London, 1913); John Burnet, Greek Philosophy.
nio Tovar, Vida de Sócrate (Madrid, 1947); Wilhelm Nestle,
From Thales to Plato (London, 1913), pp. 102–156; Frances
“Sokrates und Delphi,” in Wilhelm Nestle, Griechische Stu-
M. Cornford, Before and after Socrates (Cambridge, 1932);
dien (Stuttgart, Germany, 1948): pp. 173–185; Francesco
Alfred E. Taylor, Varia Socratica (Oxford, 1911), and Socra-
Sarri, Socrate e la genesi storica dell’idea occidentale di anima
tes (Edinburgh, 1933); Werner Jaeger, Paideia (1933), trans-
(Rome, 1975); Socratic Piety and the Power of Reason. New
lated by Gilbert Highet (New York, 1939), vol. 2:
Essays on Socrates, edited by Eugene Kelly (Lanham, Md.,
pp. 13–75; Olof Gigon, Sokrates. Sein Bild in Dichtung und
1984); Hans-Georg Gadamer, “Sokrates’ Frömmigkeit des
Geschichte (Bern, Switzerland, 1947); Vasco de
Nichtwissens” (1990) in Hans-Georg Gadamer, Gesammelte
Magalha˜es-Vilhena, Le problème de Socrate. Le Socrate hi-
Werke, vol. 7 (Tübingen, Germany, 1991): pp. 83–117; Mi-
storique et le Socrate de Platon, and Socrate et la légende Pla-
chelle Gellrich, “Socratic Magic: Enchantment, Irony, and
tonicienne (Paris, 1952); Norman Gulley, The Philosophy of
Persuasion in Plato’s Dialogues,” Classical World 87 (1994):
Socrates (London, 1968); William Keith Chambers Guthrie,
275–307; Mark. L. McPherran, The Religion of Socrates
Socrates (London, 1971); Mario Montuori, Socrates. Physiolo-
(University Park, Pa., 1996); Robert Parker, Athenian Reli-
gy of a Myth (1974), translated by J. M. P. Langdale and M.
gion (Oxford, 1997): pp. 152–217; Paul W. Gooch, Reflec-
Langdale (Amsterdam, 1981); Gerasimos Santas, Socrates’
tions on Jesus and Socrates (New Haven, Conn., 1997); Jean-
Philosophy in Plato’s Early Dialogues (Boston, 1979); Luis E.
Joël Duhot, Socrate ou l’éveil de la conscience (Paris, 1999):
Navia, Socrates, the Man and His Philosophy (New York,
pp. 73–163; Silvia Lanzi, Theos Anaitios. Storia della teodicea
1985); Richard B. Rutherford, The Art of Plato (London,
da Omero ad Agostino (Rome, 2000): pp. 97–101; Reason and
1995), and Christopher Charles Whiston Taylor, Socrates
Religion in Socratic Philosophy, edited by Nicholas D. Smith
(New York, 1998).
and Paul B. Woodruff (New York, 2000); Ernst R. Sandvoss,
Important essays have been collected in the following volumes:
Sokrates und Jesus (Munich, 2001); and Minoura Eryo¯, “Ein
The Philosophy of Socrates: A Collection of Critical Essays, ed-
Aspekt der griechischen Religion. Z´berlegungen zur Met-
ited by Gregory Vlastos (Garden City, N.Y., 1971); The So-
hode der religionsgeschichtlichen Forschung nach Sokrates,”
cratic Movement, edited by Paul A. Van der Waerdt (Ithaca,
in Unterwegs. Neue Pfade in der Religionswissenschaft, edited
N.Y., 1994); Socrates: Critical Assessments, edited by William
by Christoph Kleine, Monika Schrimpf, and Katja Triplett
J. Prior (New York, 1996), 4 vols. More essays are to be
(Munich, 2004): pp. 197–205.
found in Der fragende Sokrates, edited by Karl Pestalozzi
ALESSANDRO STAVRU (2005)
(Stuttgart, Germany, 1999), and Sokrates, edited by Herbert
Kessler (Kusterdingen, Germany, 1993–2001), 5 vols.
A turning point in Socratic studies was settled by Gregory Vlastos
(Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher [Ithaca, N.Y., 1991],
SÖDERBLOM, NATHAN (1866–1931). Swedish
and Socratic Studies, edited by Myles Burnyeat [New York,
churchman, theologian, Luther scholar, ecumenical pioneer,
1994]). The Socrates renaissance that began in North Ameri-
and historian of religions. Lars Olaf Johnathan Söderblom
ca in 1990 owes much both to his scholarship and teaching:
was born into a deeply religious family in Trönö, Hälsing-
Charles H. Kahn, Plato and the Socratic Dialogue (New York,
land Province, Sweden. His father, a fervent evangelical
1996); George Rudebusch, Socrates, Pleasure and Value (New
York, 1999); Alexander Nehamas, Virtues of Authenticity: Es-
preacher, was pastor of the Trönö parish and led his family
says on Plato and Socrates (Princeton, N.J., 1999); Hugh H.
in a life of devotion, study, discipline, and hard work. In
Benson, Socratic Wisdom: The Model of Knowledge in Plato’s
1883 young Nathan entered the university at Uppsala as a
Early Dialogues (New York, 2000); Gary A. Scott, Plato’s Soc-
candidate in classical and Oriental languages but later
rates as Educator (Albany, N.Y., 2000); Thomas C. Brick-
changed to work for a degree in divinity. The theological fac-
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SOFER, MOSHEH
ulty in Uppsala at the time was immovably conservative and
the fighting continued, Söderblom pleaded for a conference
literalist; it had been little touched by the German theology
between Christians of the two sides. His interest in ecumeni-
reigning on the European continent. Söderblom in conse-
cal matters had begun in his student days, and it continued
quence was disappointed with his divinity studies.
through the Lambeth Conference of 1905 and the agreement
between Anglicans and Swedish Lutherans concluded in
The outstanding events of the university years for him
1922. The culmination for Söderblom was the great Stock-
were the discovery of biblical criticism, his acquaintance with
holm conference of 1925 on life and work, of which he was
the theology of Albrecht Ritschl, and his participation in the
a principal mover. His work among the combatants in
Student Missionary Society. The new biblical criticism posed
World War I and his efforts toward Christian unity were the
an acute crisis for Söderblom; while he enthusiastically wel-
principal bases for the award of the Nobel Peace Prize that
comed its methods and insights, it threatened the conserva-
he received in 1930. The last of many honors bestowed on
tive Swedish view of the Bible as a literal revelation. Söder-
him was the Gifford lectureship for 1931–1932. He deliv-
blom resolved his difficulties through Ritschl’s broad view
ered the lectures for 1931, published as The Living God
of a dynamic revelation not confined to the literal words of
(1933; reprint, 1962), but he died before he could complete
the book. His attitudes in these matters earned him a reputa-
the series.
tion as a dangerous liberal, an accusation that would plague
him all his life and that probably accounts for his failure to
The central element in Söderblom’s thought, as appar-
become a docent upon graduation. It was his participation
ent in his work both as theologian and as historian of reli-
in the Student Missionary Society and a consuming concern
gions, was the concept of revelation. He held that revelation
for Christian missions that first stimulated Söderblom’s in-
is dynamic, not confined to the words of the Bible but also
terest in non-Christian religious experience and laid the basis
to be seen in nature, history, and genius. Neither is it the ex-
for his work as historian of religions.
clusive possession of Christianity, for he believed there to be
revelation wherever genuine religion is found. Nevertheless,
In 1893 Söderblom was ordained and served for a time
he also held to the inherent religious superiority of Christian-
as chaplain in the Uppsala mental hospital, but in 1894 he
ity over other traditions and believed that he could prove this
accepted an appointment as pastor to the Swedish legation
superiority through purely disinterested and scientific study
in Paris. In addition to pastoral duties, Söderblom cemented
of the history of religions. His effort was thus to gain a con-
a close relationship with the Protestant Theological Faculty
crete grasp of the world’s religions in all their historical diver-
of the Sorbonne. Auguste Sabatier, A. and J. Réville, and
sity and richness but also to demonstrate the merits of Chris-
Léon Marillier in particular exerted strong influence on his
tianity as the climax of the revelation of the living God to
thinking, and he continued the study of Iranian languages
human beings.
that he had begun earlier. In 1899 he published in Paris Les
fravashis,
a short but erudite study of a type of spiritual be-
ings in ancient Iranian religion; his Sorbonne doctoral disser-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There is a full-scale biography of Söderblom by his most famous
tation, La vie future d’après le Mazdéisme, followed in 1901,
student, Tor Andrae, Nathan Söderblom (Uppsala, 1932). A
establishing him among the leading Iranologists of Europe.
short biographical account, as well as a preliminary bibliogra-
In 1901 Söderblom was invited to a professorship in
phy of Söderblom’s writings, is to be found in Nathan Söder-
Uppsala. The chair was in theology, but under Söderblom
blom in Memoriam, edited by Nils Karlström (Stockholm,
it became, practically speaking, one in the history of reli-
1931). Söderblom’s theological thought is ably expounded
in Charles J. Curtis’s Nathan Söderblom, Theologian of Reve-
gions. The strong Swedish tradition in history of religions
lation (Chicago, 1966).
had its beginning with this appointment. Söderblom was a
popular teacher who also rapidly became a decisive influence
New Sources
in the church as a leader of a general revival of religion and
Bra˚kenhielm, C.R., and G.W. Hollman. The Relevance of Theolo-
theology in Sweden. In 1912 he was appointed to the new
gy: Nathan Söderblom and the Development of an Academic
Discipline: Proceedings from a Conference held in Uppsala,

chair of the history of religions in Leipzig which he held
April 14–16, 2002. Uppsala, 2002.
jointly with that of Uppsala. His most important contribu-
tion to the theory of the nature of religion, Gudstrons Upp-
Hallencreutz, Carl F. “The American Influence on Nathan Soder-
blom and the Legacy of His Ecumenical Strategy” Svensk
komst (2d ed., Stockholm, 1914), and his books The Nature
Missionstidskrift 85, no. 1 (1997): 16–23.
of Revelation, translated by Frederic C. Pamp (Oxford,
1933), and Natürliche Theologie und allgemeine Religions-
Sharpe, E.J. Nathan Söderblom and the Study of Religion. Chapel
geschichte (Stockholm, 1913) belong to these years. The Ger-
Hill, N.C., 1990.
man connections also enabled him to carry out his work of
CHARLES J. ADAMS (1987)
reconciliation among Christians of the belligerent nations
Revised Bibliography
during World War I.
In 1914 the Swedish king chose Söderblom to replace
J. A. Ekman as archbishop of Sweden. The first four years
SOFER, MOSHEH (1762–1839), a Jewish religious
of his tenure coincided with World War I, and even while
leader, was known as the H:atam Sofer (H:asam Soyfer 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

SOHM, RUDOLF
8507
Ashkenazic pronunciation) and as Moses Schreiber in gov-
New Sources
ernmental documents. Born in Frankfurt, Mosheh Sofer
Schreiber, Aaron M. “The Hatam Sofer’s Nuanced Attitude to-
studied there under the chief rabbi, Pinh:as Horovitz, and
wards Secular Learning, Maskilim, and Reformers.” Torah
under Natan Adler, a qabbalist known for his strict and un-
U-Madda Journal 11 (2002–2003): 123–173.
usual ritual practices. When in 1782 Adler became the rabbi
STEVEN M. LOWENSTEIN (1987)
of Boskowitz, Moravia (now in the Czech Republic), Sofer
Revised Bibliography
left with him. He married in Prossnitz, Moravia, in 1787 and
later served as rabbi of Dresnitz, Moravia (1794–1798), and
of Mattersdorf, Hungary (1798–1806). From 1806 until his
SOHM, RUDOLF (1841–1917), was a German Lu-
death he was the chief rabbi of Pressburg (now Bratislava,
theran jurist and church historian. Rudolf Sohm was a mem-
Slovakia), then one of the chief cities of Hungary, where he
ber of the law faculties at Göttingen, Freiburg, Strassburg,
established a large and influential yeshivah (Talmudic acade-
and Leipzig universities and published in the fields of Roman
my). After the death of his first wife he married the daughter
and Germanic law and of canon law and church history. As
of EAqivaD Eger, one of the leading Talmudists of the age. His
a renowned jurist he entered into the controversy regarding
descendants (all by his second marriage) include a number
the character of authority and organization in the primitive
of important Talmudic scholars and Orthodox leaders.
Christian community. In 1892 he published the first volume
of his masterwork, Kirchenrecht (Canon law); the second vol-
The H:atam Sofer is generally viewed as the intellectual
ume was published posthumously in 1923. Sohm was politi-
leader of the “Old Orthodox” opposition to Reform Juda-
cally active and in 1896 he helped Friedrich Naumann found
ism. One of the last great Talmudic scholars educated in
the National-Sozial Partei (not to be confused with the later
Germany, he differed from later German Orthodoxy in that
Nazi Party).
he opposed not only all ritual and liturgical innovations but
also any changes in traditional education and style of life.
In Kirchenrecht, Sohm argued that the early church had
Coining the slogan “The Torah forbids what is new,” he ve-
no legal constitution. He claimed that “ecclesiastical law
hemently fought the Mendelssohnian Enlightenment (Has-
stands in contradiction to the nature of Ecclesia.” Legal con-
kalah), the use of German in sermons, and even the slightest
cepts, he believed, are completely inappropriate when con-
innovation in custom. He wished to retain Jewish national
sidering the early church, which was informed by a power
and cultural separateness and to strengthen the moral and co-
of a different order. This power he called “charisma” (from
ercive powers of the rabbinate and Jewish community to pre-
Gr., charis), which is “a gift of grace” imparted by the Holy
vent innovation. He viewed the legal emancipation of the
Spirit. In Paul’s view (1 Cor. 12:4–28), the gifts of grace are
Jews as a poor substitute for messianic redemption and a re-
manifest in the congregation as well as in apostles, prophets,
turn to Zion.
and teachers. The congregation had the “gift” of acknowl-
edging charismatic leaders; the community was not a democ-
A charismatic and energetic leader, the H:atam Sofer
racy but rather a “pneumatocracy.” In his interpretation
aroused both intense admiration and violent opposition. His
Sohm found that the community gave special status to the
influence in western Hungary on Orthodoxy, especially non-
teacher whose charismatic gifts were exercised in conjunction
Hasidic Orthodoxy, remained intense into the twentieth
with scripture and sacraments.
century; his example helped give Hungarian Orthodoxy its
zealous, uncompromising imprint. Outside the Hungarian
The development of a legal order within the church was
cultural area, his influence was felt mainly in the realm of tra-
a “fall” away from authenticity. This “fall” brought about the
ditional Talmudic and halakhic (religious-legal) scholarship.
heresy, or apostasy, of Roman Catholicism and of bureaucra-
Though the H:atam Sofer published very little during his life-
tized Lutheranism. The fall away from the authentic church
time, the immense corpus of his posthumous works includes
appeared in the development from the charismatic power of
almost twelve hundred responsa (legal opinions), novellae on
the individual Christian leader to the authority of the Chris-
the Talmud, sermons, biblical and liturgical commentaries,
tian official (in possession of legal and tenure rights), thence
and religious poetry.
to a Christian corporation with legal and coercive control
over individual salvation. This “fall” occurs because the unre-
S
generate “natural man” is a “born Catholic” who seeks legal
EE ALSO Orthodox Judaism.
authenticity and a guarantee of salvation and who desires
what is tangible and visible, providing pomp and circum-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
stance that appeal to the senses. This “natural man” relies
Relatively little has been written on Mosheh Sofer in English, and
upon “small faith” bound to ecclesiastical law, that is, bound
some of this work is marred by a polemical bent. A great deal
to the past. The true church is invisible and, as Martin Lu-
more is available in Hebrew, including the corpus of his own
works. Probably the most balanced assessment is Jacob Katz’s
ther asserts, is oriented to the believers’ life with God
“Contributions toward a Biography of R. Moses Sofer” (in
through Christ and the Holy Spirit, a regenerating power.
Hebrew), in Studies in Mysticism and Religion Presented to
Faith in the invisible church is a protection of the freedom
Gershom G. Scholem (Jerusalem, 1967), edited by E. E. Ur-
of the gospel and against the absolutizing of the authority of
bach and others, pp. 115–148.
the visible church.
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8508
SO
¯ KA GAKKAI
Sohm has been severely criticized for having no concept
their abilities and live a better life. After his efforts failed in
of church order, for example, by his admirer Ernst Troeltsch
a public school setting, he began to search for religious values
in Die Soziallehren der christlichen Kirchen und Gruppen
upon which he could realize his ideal form of education. The
(1912). On the other hand, Emil Brunner was considered
deaths of family members led him to Nichiren Sho¯shu¯ Bud-
Sohm’s disciple (see Brunner’s Missverständnis der Kirche,
dhism, a lay-oriented and people-centered subsect of
1951); Karl Barth spoke scornfully of Brunner as “only a fol-
Nichiren Buddhism. Makiguchi embraced the idea that the
lower of Sohm.” Sohm’s work has exercised a significant in-
nation would be saved by true Buddhism and that every per-
fluence on biblical studies and on studies in ecclesiology and
son could be a bearer of belief and could guide others to sal-
in the critique of tradition. Max Weber appropriated, gener-
vation. So¯ka Gakkai succeeded in developing a modern
alized, and secularized Sohm’s concept of charisma, thus al-
Nichiren Buddhism with the goal of enhancing the well-
most entirely transforming it.
being of people in this world through their self-reforming ef-
forts.
SEE ALSO Leadership.
Before its explosive expansion period, its predecessor
So¯ka Kyoiku Gakkai suffered severe persecution. Makiguchi
BIBLIOGRAPHY
was jailed in 1943 for refusing to venerate the symbol of the
Adams, James Luther. “Rudolf Sohm’s Theology of Law and the
Spirit.” In Religion and Culture: Essays in Honor of Paul Til-
Ise Shrine. He died in prison in 1944. Only twenty or so per-
lich, edited by Walter Leibrecht, pp. 219–235. New York,
sons attended the service for the one-year memorial of his
1959.
death in November 1945.
Haley, Peter. “Rudolf Sohm on Charisma.” Journal of Religion 60
In 1951 Toda Jo¯sei reactivated the movement under the
(1980): 185–197.
new name So¯ka Gakkai and became its second president.
Sohm, Rudolf. Outlines of Church History (1888). Boston, 1958.
The membership soon increased to five thousand. By 1956,
New Sources
Toda’s long-cherished desire to obtain 750,000 households
Köhler, Wiebke. Rezeption in der Kirche: begriffsgeschichtliche Stu-
as followers had been achieved. Toda died in 1958 and was
dien bei Sohm, Afanas’ev, Dombois und Congar. Göttingen,
succeeded in 1960 by Ikeda Daisaku (b. 1928). So¯ka Gakkai
1998.
reported that its membership had reached three million
J
households in 1962, and 7.5 million households in 1970.
AMES LUTHER ADAMS (1987)
Revised Bibliography
This period marked the peak of its growth.
The main religious practice of So¯ka Gakkai followers is
the chanting of the Daimoku, a repetition of
SO
¯ KA GAKKAI is a large religious organization that
Nam-Myo¯ho¯-renge-kyo¯” (“the Lotus Su¯tra is the important
rapidly increased its strength after World War II. Official
and superb su¯tra”), chanted while facing a holy man:d:ala
membership figures in December 2003 included approxi-
chart upon which this phrase is written. Called Gohonzon
mately 8,210,000 households in Japan and 1,502,000 indi-
(the sacred object for worship), it is believed that Nichiren
viduals in other countries. Makiguchi Tsunesaburo (1871–
designated this chart as the sacred image of the dharma.
1944), the founder of So¯ka Gakkai, was a primary school
Through this practice, followers can become united with the
teacher who sought to establish an educational movement
Buddha and live a happy life in which the eternal life of the
based on a new educational method. In 1928 Makiguchi be-
Buddha is embodied. So¯ka Gakkai changed the focus of tra-
came a follower of an exclusive subsect of the Nichiren sect
ditional Buddhism from enlightenment and salvation in an-
of Buddhism, which promoted the merger of his educational
other world to a focus that is more oriented toward this
and religious movements. In 1930 Makiguchi and Toda
world.
Jo¯sei (1900–1958), his chief disciple, published So¯ka Kyoiku-
So¯ka Gakkai emphasizes group activities and meetings
gaku Taikei (The system of value-creating pedagogy). By
ranging from small neighborhood gatherings to mass assem-
1941 the number of sympathizers had increased to approxi-
blies. During So¯ka Gakkai’s initial development period,
mately two thousand; at this time the activities of the So¯ka
small gatherings called roundtable meetings were held at fol-
Kyoiku Gakkai were inseparable from the activities of lay
lowers’ homes. At a meeting, members study the teachings
groups belonging to the Nichiren Sho¯shu¯ sect. The move-
of the leaders, report on their religiously interpreted daily
ment was disbanded in 1943 by the government, but in 1945
practices, and mutually encourage one another’s efforts. Re-
it resumed activities under a new name: So¯ka Gakkai. The
ports that an individual has succeeded in his or her life
decade of the 1930s was a period of consolidation; 1945
thanks to So¯ka Gakkai practices are praised by other mem-
marked the resumption of previous activities; and the 1950s
bers with a clapping of hands. Members discuss personal
and 1960s were decades of explosive growth.
problems and comment on their experience of having partic-
Makiguchi Tsunesaburo, while serving as a primary
ipated in a joint program. A sense of community is nurtured
school teacher and principal, sought a type of education that
in this way. So¯ka Gakkai seeks to effect a human revolution
would lead his pupils to voluntarily make efforts to develop
by enhancing individual and societal well-being.
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SO
¯ KA GAKKAI
8509
Having begun as an educational movement, So¯ka Gak-
of followers amounting to around fifty thousand. So¯ka Gak-
kai became a religious organization heavily engaged in soci-
kai, though an affiliated organization, grew in strength under
ety. Utilizing the democratic representative system of gov-
the Nichiren Sho¯shu¯ umbrella until its membership was
ernment in Japan, So¯ka Gakkai members stood for election
more than one hundred times the membership of the parent
at all levels. The traditional doctrine of Nichiren Buddhism
organization. There had earlier been serious conflicts with
included a mission to save the state and the world through
Nichiren Sho¯shu¯ over traditional doctrine and the authority
the wisdom of Buddhist Dharma. This tradition was lost
of monks after So¯ka Gakkai emphasized new styles of lay reli-
during the Edo period (1603–1867), but it was revived in
giosity and the authority of the So¯ka Gakkai president.
Japan’s modernization process and was later united with na-
Nichiren Sho¯shu¯ and So¯ka Gakkai finally split from each
tionalism.
other in 1991.
The various movements for national salvation initiated
Another difficult problem involved strong criticism
by Nichiren Buddhists in modern Japan can be summarized
from political rivals. The Liberal Democratic Party had kept
as Nichirenism. So¯ka Gakkai developed the mission of mod-
its position as the ruling party in Japan for many years and
ern Nichirenism most effectively in postwar Japan. So¯ka
sensed a potential threat from the Ko¯mei Party. Relations be-
Gakkai leaders believed that one way to save Japan would be
tween the Ko¯mei Party and So¯ka Gakkai provoked contro-
to increase So¯ka Gakkai’s influence gradually in the national
versy over whether this was a violation of the principle of sep-
parliament and local assemblies by winning many seats and
aration between politics and religion. Over time, however,
by advocating policies based on such concepts as Buddhist
the Liberal Democratic Party and the Ko¯mei Party strength-
democracy, Buddhist neutralism, the Third Civilization, and
ened ties, and in 1998 they formed a coalition government.
so on. By 1955, So¯ka Gakkai had won several seats in local
So¯ka Gakkai has been characterized by its aggressive
assemblies; three members were elected to the House of
propaganda asserting that its teachings alone are correct and
Councilors in 1956. Initially, the goal was to make Nichiren
criticizing other religions and other Buddhist sects. The
Sho¯shu¯ the national religion. However, in 1964, the Ko¯mei
Shakubuku Kyoten (Manual for forcible persuasion), first
Party (Ko¯meito¯) was established to separate the political ac-
published in 1951, clearly demonstrated So¯ka Gakkai’s ex-
tivities from the religious activities of So¯ka Gakkai. In 1970
clusiveness, and few religious organizations have had a long-
it was disclosed that So¯ka Gakkai had prevented the pro-
term friendly relationship with So¯ka Gakkai. Since the
posed publication of a book criticizing the movement. As a
1980s, however, when Ikeda Daisaku began to place value
result the group was exposed to fierce public criticism. So¯ka
on dialogue with prominent leaders of the world, more orga-
Gakkai was forced to make a public commitment to follow
nizations have shown an interest in establishing friendly rela-
the rule of “separation of politics and religion” by structurally
tions with So¯ka Gakkai. The founder, Makiguchi Tsunesa-
separating the Ko¯mei Party from the So¯ka Gakkai religious
buro, had valued people’s sense of voluntarism and self-
organization and forbidding a person from holding office in
initiative, and So¯ka Gakkai promoted democracy as one of
both organizations.
its primary values after the 1960s, directing its policy toward
As membership peaked in Japan, So¯ka Gakkai made in-
strengthening international cooperative activities. As such,
roads into other countries and saw remarkable growth out-
the organization has strengthened its capacity to adapt to a
side Japan. In the United States, an initial group was formed
pluralistic democracy.
in 1960; it developed rapidly, reporting a membership of
So¯ka Gakkai is representative of new religious organiza-
200,000 in 1970. After the 1970s, as the So¯ka Gakkai ex-
tions that developed rapidly from the 1920s to the 1960s.
panded in many regions of the world, it began to place its
In particular, the history of religions in the 1950s and 1960s
weight behind peace movements and United Nations activi-
in Japan cannot be told without referring to So¯ka Gakkai.
ties. So¯ka Gakkai was authorized as an NGO (nongovern-
Many factors contributed to this new religious organization’s
mental organization) with advisory status to the Office of the
rapid growth. Most important was perhaps the creation of
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1981
a Buddhist belief system with a modern code of behavior in
and to the United Nations Information Office in 1982. The
a time when traditional Buddhist organizations and new reli-
third president, Ikeda Daisaku (honorary president since
gious groups were competing with one another. The So¯ka
1979), impressed the public with his activities on the global
Gakkai thought system encouraged people to act on their
level. He held numerous dialogues with prominent figures
own initiative, to participate in community activities, and to
in various countries, and, utilizing various media, emerged
pursue happiness in this world.
as a charismatic spiritual leader in the contemporary world.
Through this process, the nationalistic tendencies observed
SEE ALSO New Religious Movements, article on New Reli-
in So¯ka Gakkai during the 1960s have gradually waned.
gious Movements in Japan; Nichiren; Nichirenshu¯; Nikko¯.
One of the more difficult problems for So¯ka Gakkai
BIBLIOGRAPHY
after the latter half of the 1970s was its relations with the
Dawson, Lorne L. “The Cultural Significance of New Religious
Nichiren Sho¯shu¯ sect, its parent group. Nichiren Sho¯shu¯, as
Movements: The Case of Soka Gakkai.” Sociology of Religion
one of the traditional Buddhist sects in Japan, had a body
62, no. 3 (2001): 337–364.
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8510
SO
˘ KYO˘NGDO˘K
Hammond, Phillip, and David Machacek. Soka Gakkai in Ameri-
sation the distinct forms of the beings of the phenomenal
ca: Accommodation and Conversion. Oxford, 1999.
world emerge from the Supreme Vacuity, and to it their stuff
Metraux, Daniel. The History and Theology of Soka Gakkai: A Jap-
returns at death. Thus he argued that in the strict sense there
anese New Religion. Lewiston, N.Y., 1988.
is no death, only transformation.
Shimazono Susumu. “The Expansion of Japan’s New Religions
Korean neo-Confucianism is especially known for its ex-
into Foreign Cultures.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
clusive adherence to the orthodox tradition of Chinese neo-
18, nos. 2–3 (1991): 105–132.
Confucianism derived from the thought of Zhu Xi (1130–
Shimazono Susumu. “So¯ka Gakkai and the Modern Reformation
1200). Hwadam lived at the end of Korea’s fluid appropria-
of Buddhism.” In Buddhist Spirituality: Later China, Korea,
tion period. However, his thought is bold and deviant in a
Japan and the Modern World, edited by Takeuchi Yosinori,
tradition that soon after became both more judicious and
pp. 435–454. New York, 1999.
more authoritarian. Most later scholars followed the appar-
White, James. The So¯ka Gakkai and Mass Society. Stanford, Calif.,
ent dualism of the Zhu Xi school, but, among them, one
1970.
school of thought tended to emphasize the role of material
Williams, George M. Freedom and Influence: The Role of Religion
force; this school traces its immediate ancestry to Yi I, and
in American Society (An NSA Perspective). Santa Monica,
ultimately to Hwadam. A distinctive characteristic of Korean
Calif., 1985.
neo-Confucian thought is its thorough exploration of the
implications and tensions in Zhu Xi’s dualism of principle
Wilson, Brian, and Karel Dobbelaere. A Time to Chant: The So¯ka
Gakkai Buddhists in Britain. Oxford, 1994.
(Kor., i; Chin., li) and material force. Hwadam’s philosophy
expressed a pure polar position that permanently established
SHIMAZONO SUSUMU (2005)
one of the extreme parameters of Korean neo-Confucian
thought. As such it became a constant reference point for
later generations of thinkers.
SO
˘ KYO˘NGDO˘K (1489–1546), was a leading neo-
SEE ALSO Confucianism in Korea.
Confucian philosopher of Yi-dynasty Korea (1392–1910).
In Korea he is best known by his honorific name, Hwadam.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
During the Yi dynasty, neo-Confucianism supplanted Bud-
The first book-length treatment of Korean neo-Confucianism is
dhism as Korea’s main spiritual and intellectual tradition.
The Rise of Neo-Confucianism in Korea, edited by Wm. Theo-
Among the many neo-Confucian thinkers in Korea during
dore de Bary and JaHyun Haboush (New York, 1985). It
this five-hundred-year period, three are honored above all
contains a range of articles on the major figures and facets
others: Hwadam, Yi Hwang (T’oegye, 1501–1570), and Yi
of the Korean neo-Confucian tradition by leading scholars
I (Yulgok, 1536–1584). These three philosophers are credit-
in the field. The best general history of Korea in English is
ed with bringing the Korean assimilation of the complex
Ki-baik Lee’s A New History of Korea, translated by Edward
neo-confucian system of thought to complete maturity and
W. Wagner and Edward J. Schultz (Cambridge, Mass.,
with developing a characteristic Korean problematic.
1984).
MICHAEL C. KALTON (1987)
Hwadam, the earliest of the three, is renowned as an
original and seminal thinker. He came from a relatively poor
gentry family and was largely self-educated. Although he was
repeatedly offered posts in government, he never accepted,
SOL INVICTUS. Worship of the sun god, Sol, was
choosing instead to lead an impoverished life in the moun-
known in republican Rome, but it was of minor importance.
tains or countryside, where he devoted himself entirely to
In imperial Rome, however, in the third century CE (the last
study and teaching. There are many anecdotes concerning
century of pagan Rome), the cult of the sun god became a
his inquisitiveness regarding natural phenomena, but his
major and, at times, dominant force in Roman religion. The
most serious work was devoted to fundamental metaphysical
cult of the Syrian sun god from Emesa, installed at Rome
questions and to the complex system of the Book of Changes
under the emperor Elagabalus (218–222), was short-lived,
(Kor., Yo˘kgyo˘ng; Chin., Yi jing).
but in 274 the emperor Aurelian began a vigorous campaign
Hwadam strongly proclaimed his independence of
of propaganda celebrating the sun god as the exclusive pro-
judgment and his originality; the small body of his writings
tector of Rome’s imperial might. Under the epithets oriens
that have come down to us, however, bear a marked resem-
(“the rising one”), invictus (“the invincible one”), and comes
blance to the monistic metaphysics of material force (Kor.,
Augusti (“comrade of Augustus”), Sol was hailed as “the ris-
ki; Chin., qi) developed by the early Chinese Neo-
ing sun who dispels the forces of evil,” as “invincible con-
Confucian, Zhang Zai (1020–1077). Like Zhang, he taught
queror of Rome’s enemies,” and as the “companion and
that material force was the sole component of all existence.
guardian deity of the emperor.”
In its ultimate, formless, pure condition, material force is
Numismatic iconography, the primary source for this
without beginning or end; this he referred to as the Supreme
propaganda campaign, portrayed Sol wearing the radiate
Vacuity (Kor., t’ae ho; Chin., tai xu). By a process of conden-
crown and holding the globe, symbol of world rule, in his
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SÖLLE, DOROTHEE
8511
hand, while the vanquished enemy cowered at his feet. This
religiosa dei misteri di Mithra, con particolare riferimento alle
campaign was continued with particular force by the emper-
fonti documentarie di Roma e Ostia, Roma e Ostia, 28–31
ors Probus (276–282) and Constantine (306–337). As late
marzo 1978, ed. by Ugo Bianchi, pp. 649–672. Leiden,
as 324, coins of Constantine celebrated Sol as the grantor of
1979.
imperial power to the emperor. Only thereafter, in the last
Clauss, Manfred. “Sol invictus Mithras.” Athenaeum 58 (1990):
thirteen years of Constantine’s reign, did references to Sol
423–450.
and to all other pagan divinities disappear from the coins.
Fauth, Wolfgang. Helios Megistos: Zur synkretistischen Theologie
A variety of influences contributed to the importance
der Spätantike. Leiden, 1995.
of Sol Invictus, the Invincible Sun, in imperial ideology of
Halsberghe, Gaston H. “Le culte de Deus Sol Invictus à Rome au
the third century CE. It was an age of religious syncretism and
III siècle après J.C.” In Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen
growing monotheism, when philosophers and common peo-
Welt 2.17.4, pp. 2181–2201. Berlin and New York, 1984.
ple alike increasingly viewed all divinities as emanations of
MacDowall, David W. “Sol invictus and Mithra. Some Evidence
one supreme divine force. Sol was equated with Mithra, and
from the Mint of Rome.” In Mysteria Mithrae. Atti del Semi-
as Sol Invictus Mithra was regarded as the most powerful and
nario Internazionale su La specificità storico-religiosa dei misteri
most immediate divine mediator between humans and the
di Mithra, con particolare riferimento alle fonti documentarie
invisible majesty of the supreme god. Thus Sol Invictus was
di Roma e Ostia, Roma e Ostia, 28–31 marzo 1978, edited by
the natural associate of the emperor, who ruled the earth as
Ugo Bianchi, pp. 557–569. Leiden, 1979.
the vicegerent of the supreme god. The symbolism of the
Turcan, Robert. Héliogabale et la sacre du soleil. Paris, 1985.
Pantheon built by the emperor Hadrian (117–138) had al-
Wallraff, Martin. Christus verus sol. Sonnenverehrung und Christen-
ready intimately linked the emperor and Sol as the visible
tum in der Spätantike. Münster, 2001.
manifestations of the beneficent and omnipotent supreme
J. RUFUS FEARS (1987)
god. The cult title Invictus was a natural outgrowth of this
Revised Bibliography
relationship. First attested for Sol in 158 CE, it was almost
certainly borrowed by the god from the emperor’s own pano-
ply of titles.
SÖLLE, DOROTHEE. Dorothee Nipperdey Sölle
The pervasive influence of imperial propaganda, togeth-
(1929–2003) was born in Cologne, Germany, to a bourgeois
er with the popularity of Mithraism in the third century, as-
family whose religious attitudes were formed by liberal Prot-
sured Sol Invictus an influence upon other divine formula-
estantism. She was a Lutheran and remained a member of
tions, Christian as well as pagan. A vault mosaic of the third
the Lutheran Church throughout her life. In her family, cul-
century in the tomb of the Julii under Saint Peter’s portrays
ture was defined by familiarity with German philosophers
Christ as Sol, rising in his chariot. The words of the Christ-
and poets such as Immanuel Kant and Johann Wolfgang von
mas Mass in the Missale Gothicum hail Christ as Sol Iustitiae
Goethe. Until the last year of World War II, when food be-
(“sun of justice”), while the traditional date of Christmas,
came scarce, Dorothee was preserved from the ugliness of the
first attested in the fourth century, is hardly unrelated to the
war. As an idealistic adolescent her deep sense of patriotism
fact that December 25 was celebrated as the birthday of Sol
was overwhelmed by Germany’s defeat. Following the war,
Invictus Mithra.
she began to read the existentialists, especially Martin Hei-
degger and Jean Paul Sartre and entered into a period of ni-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
hilism. At university she studied post-Enlightenment philos-
Gaston H. Halsberghe’s Cult of Sol Invictus (Leiden, 1972), edited
ophy. The works of Blaise Pascal, So⁄ren Kierkegaard, and
by Maarten J. Vermaseren as volume 23 of “Études pré-
Simone Weil led her to the study of theology, which became
liminaires aux religions orientales dans l’empire romain,” is
an uncritical collection of evidence and is to be used with
the basis of her life’s work. In 1954 she married Dietrich
caution. See my review in Byzantine Studies 2 (1975): 81–82.
Sölle. That marriage produced two children, a son and a
The significance of the cult of Sol Invictus in imperial ideolo-
daughter. After ten years, the marriage ended in divorce. In
gy is treated with great insight by Ernst H. Kantorowicz in
1969 she married a former Benedictine priest, Fulbert Stef-
his article “Oriens Augusti: Lever du Roi,” Dumbarton Oaks
fensky. That marriage produced a daughter and lasted until
Papers 17 (1963): 117–177. For a more recent discussion, see
her death in 2003.
my Princeps a Diis Electus: The Divine Election of the Emperor
as a Political Concept at Rome
(Rome, 1977), pp. 238–243,
Sölle states that Kierkegaard seduced her into religion,
281–315, and my article “The Theology of Victory at
but that she found her entrance into faith through studying
Rome,” in Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, vol.
with Rudolf Bultmann and Friedrich Gogarten. Intellectual-
2.17.2 (Berlin and New York, 1981), pp. 804–825.
ly, she was unable to leave behind the tenets of the Enlight-
enment to embrace faith, and through these two teachers she
New Sources
Chirassi Colombo, Ileana. “Sol invictus o Mithra. (Per una rilet-
discovered this was not required. From this time onward she
tura in chiave ideologica della teologia solare del mitraismo
began her personal theological development. Characteristic
nell’ambito del politeismo romano).” In Mysteria Mithrae.
of her theology was the conviction that the reading and writ-
Atti del Seminario Internazionale su La specificità storico-
ing of theology should make a practical difference not only
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SOLOMON
in an individual’s life, but also in the life of the nation, the
some of which included poetry, that addressed her liberation
hemisphere, and the planet. Symbolic of this belief was the
concerns. Among the most significant is Gott Denken (1990;
formation of an ecumenical group in Cologne (1968–1972)
Thinking about God). In this book, Sölle reveals her com-
named Political Evensong. Built upon the conviction that
mand of classical theology. She explains how theology is
every robust theology has political implications, each meet-
done within a certain paradigm or set of presuppositions and
ing was marked by information, meditation, and action. The
subsequently explicates the orthodox, liberal, and liberation
marriage of theology and political activism that was to be-
theological paradigms. Then, she demonstrates how each of
come a hallmark of Sölle’s theology was ill-received by both
the basic tenets of Christian faith is understood within each
Catholics and more conventional Protestants.
paradigm. Finally, she concludes with two chapters on her
approach to an understanding of God. In her mind, the
Initially, Sölle’s theology was deeply Christocentric. She
question “Do you believe in God?” was superficial and close
regarded Christ as God’s clearest voice. Although she never
to meaningless. Instead, she insisted, the question is “Do you
left behind this personal conviction, her later theology be-
live out God?” According to her, the answer could only be
came more theocentric. In this way, she felt she was better
derived from one’s involvement in the works of justice de-
able to embrace and include in her theology all the peoples
manded by the kingdom of God.
of the earth. In the mid-1970s, Sölle began the move from
designating her theology as political to designating it as liber-
Sölle taught religion and theology at longer or shorter
ation theology. She did this for several reasons, the primary
intervals throughout her life, beginning with a six-year peri-
one being her conviction that political theology had ambigu-
od teaching at the Gymnasium for Girls in Cologne-
ous beginnings in the works of some German ideologues.
Mulheim. Her longest engagement was as professor of sys-
Her espousal of liberation theology, however, grew from her
tematic theology at Union Theological Seminary in New
firm belief that its methodology was accurate. Theological re-
York (1975–1987).
flection upon praxis became the basic characteristic of all of
Sölle died of a heart attack in 2003 in southern Germa-
her subsequent writing.
ny at a conference at which she and her husband were key-
As Sölle continued her practice of liberation theology,
note speakers.
she concerned herself with various forms of praxis that rein-
forced the subjugation of women, that saw value in war, and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
that led to the ecological destruction of the planet. Subse-
Sölle, Dorothee. Christ the Representative: An Essay in Theology
quently, her reflection upon these practices in the light of the
after the Death of God. Translated by David Lewis. Philadel-
Gospel led her to become a feminist, a pacifist, and an eco-
phia, 1967. Sölle’s first published work describes Christ as
logical theologian. These interests led to her involvement in
representing humankind before God, as well as representing
God among humankind. It is a response to the “God is dead”
the conciliar process, the goal of which was to work for rec-
theology prominent in that decade.
onciliation in the areas of justice, peace, and the integrity of
creation.
Sölle, Dorothee. Thinking about God: An Introduction to Theology.
Translated by John Bowden. Philadelphia and London,
Sölle’s allegiance to the church did not blind her to its
1990. This work describes three theological paradigms: or-
moral inadequacies nor to the sometime ineptness of its doc-
thodox, liberal, and liberation. Within that context, Sölle
trinal proclamations. In a conversation with the Jesuit Daniel
demonstrates how the basic tenets of Christianity are under-
Berrigan, she concurred with his image of the church as an
stood within each paradigm. She concludes the books with
umbrella. It provided protection against the elements, some-
her understanding of the meaning of God.
times better protection than at other times. She argued that
Sölle, Dorothee. Against the Wind: Memoir of a Radical Christian.
the proper stance toward the church was one of affirmation
Translated by Barbara Rumscheidt and Martin Rumscheidt.
and critique. In attempting to live a radical Christianity and
Minneapolis, 1999. This memoir is an account of Sölle’s per-
in the endeavor to love God above all things, it was at times
sonal and theological journey. In it, she notes the people and
events that most influenced her development. It concludes
necessary, she contended, to distance oneself from the
with a poignant message to her children.
church and to break with certain traditional teachings, at
least as they were commonly presented. Still, the church
NANCY C. RING (2005)
played an important role in her development: it passed on
the tradition of Jesus and his “political” invitation to estab-
lish the kingdom. Sölle considered it a mistake of contempo-
SOLOMON, or, in Hebrew, Shelomoh, was the son of
raries who proposed that without tradition people are freer.
David and third king of Israel and Judah (c. 960–920 BCE).
Sölle’s entire life was marked by teaching and writing.
During Solomon’s reign the united kingdom reached its
She was a prolific writer. Her first book, Stellvertretung: ein
greatest extent and height of prosperity. The account of this
Kapitel Theologie nach dem ‘Tode Gotles’ (Christ the Represen-
reign, in 1 Kings 1–11, is in its present form a collage of vari-
tative), was published in 1965. Her final book, Gegenwind
ous historical and literary sources. Solomon’s accession to the
(Against the Wind: Memoir of a Radical Christian) was pub-
throne (1 Kgs. 1–2), portrayed as the result of palace intrigue
lished in 1999. In between, she wrote over twenty books,
and a struggle for power between two sons of David and their
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SOLOMON
8513
supporters, is part of the so-called court history of David.
tion of foreign deities into the kingdom, thereby compromis-
The hand of the Deuteronomistic historian, the author of
ing the exclusive worship of Yahveh. A more immediate
the larger history of the monarchy in Kings, may be seen in
cause of political unrest and division of the kingdom is attri-
his treatment of the theophany in 1 Kings 3:1–15 and its par-
buted to Solomon’s heavy taxation of the Israelites, from
allel in 9:1–9, in the account of the building of the Temple
which no relief was given by his successor, Rehoboam, a con-
and its dedication (chapters 5–8), and in Solomon’s failures
dition that led to Israel’s revolt (1 Kgs. 12). The Chronicler
and God’s rejection of his rule over the northern state of Isra-
refrains from any criticism of Solomon’s reign.
el (1 Kgs. 11). This historian did make use of an earlier
On the basis of the statement about Solomon’s compo-
source, the “book of the deeds of Solomon” (1 Kgs. 11:41),
sition of many proverbs and songs (1 Kgs. 5:12 [EV 4:32]),
which probably contained information on building activities
later editors of the Bible attributed to Solomon much of the
and other royal undertakings gleaned from royal inscrip-
Book of Proverbs as well as the Song of Songs. It also led to the
tions. The basic history by the Deuteronomist was also em-
composition of works in Solomon’s name. The author of Ec-
bellished by later additions having to do with the greatness
clesiastes calls himself “the son of David,” thereby suggesting
of Solomon’s reign. The treatment of Solomon in 2 Chroni-
his identity with Solomon. Two later Jewish works using Sol-
cles 1–9 depends upon Kings, with some omissions and addi-
omon’s name are the Wisdom of Solomon, written in Greek
tions. The sources cited by the Chronicler, however, namely
in Alexandria, and the Psalms of Solomon, probably written
books by the prophets Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo, are most
in Hebrew in Roman Palestine. An early Christian work as-
likely fictitious.
cribed to Solomon is the Testament of Solomon.
Solomon’s greatest achievement, according to the histo-
Both the New Testament and the QurDa¯n (su¯rah 21:78–
rian of Kings, was his building of the Temple and palace in
81) make reference to Solomon’s wisdom, but it is especially
Jerusalem (1 Kgs. 5–8). Originally the Temple was built as
in Jewish aggadah (Ginzberg, 1956) that his wisdom and ca-
a royal sanctuary, one of many temples throughout the
reer receive the fullest amplification. Solomon is made an ex-
realm, but through the centralization reform of King Josiah
pert in many fields of science as well as in occult and hidden
(2 Kgs. 22–23) it became the only legitimate cult place in the
wisdom. Many additional stories are told in the aggadah to
kingdom, and it is from this perspective that the Temple’s
illustrate Solomon’s ability to judge wisely. Special attention
significance is treated in Kings. Solomon is also credited with
is given to the building of the Temple and to Solomon’s
the construction of major fortifications at Hazor, Megiddo,
throne, which later becomes a prize of war transmitted from
and Gezer for the consolidation of his realm, and this build-
one invading kingdom to another down to Roman times.
ing activity seems to be confirmed by archaeology. The Bible
The aggadic tradition also tells about a period of humiliation
also suggests that the state prospered greatly from various
that Solomon endured for his sins against the Law. During
commercial ventures, a fact attested by a marked rise in the
this time he was an outcast, and an impostor reigned in his
level of the material culture of the land as evidenced by ar-
stead until he eventually regained the throne.
chaeological finds. Nevertheless, one must be cautious in ac-
cepting all that is attributed to Solomon’s reign, for it is un-
The Solomonic tradition embraces the whole wisdom
likely that he had political control over the whole region
tradition, both in its worldly aspect and in its piety, and em-
from the Euphrates to the border of Egypt or that his court
bodies all the fantasies about the past glory of the united
and military force were as large as 1 Kings 5:1–8 (EV 4:21–
kingdom of Israel and Judah at the height of its power.
28) states.
SEE ALSO Biblical Temple.
The biblical tradition celebrates Solomon’s wisdom.
The historian of Kings tells the story (1 Kgs. 3) of how Solo-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
mon experienced a dream theophany at Gibeon in which
Treatments of the history of Solomon’s reign can be found in
God granted him his request for wisdom in order to govern
John Bright’s A History of Israel, 3d ed. (Philadelphia, 1981),
his people aright and, along with wisdom, gave him long life
and in the contribution by J. Alberto Soggin, “The Davidic-
and prosperity. This gift of wisdom is then illustrated by a
Solomonic Kingdom,” to Israelite and Judean History, edited
folktale in which Solomon makes a successful judgment be-
by John H. Hayes and J. Maxwell Miller (Philadelphia,
tween two mothers who claim the same infant. This theme
1977). A discussion of the literary tradition can be found in
Burke O. Long’s 1 Kings with an Introduction to Old Testa-
of Solomon’s wisdom is greatly expanded by later additions,
ment Historical Literature (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1984). This
including the story of the queen of Sheba’s visit and
also contains an extensive bibliography. For the aggadic tra-
other remarks about Solomon’s great wisdom and wealth
ditions, see Louis Ginzberg’s The Legends of the Bible (New
(1 Kgs. 10).
York, 1956), pp. 553–578.
The Deuteronomist regards the decline of Solomon’s
New Sources
realm and the ultimate division of the kingdom as the result
Cazeaux, Jacques. Saül, David, Salomon: la royauté et le destin
of Solomon’s marriages to many foreign wives. While these
d’Israël. Paris, 2003.
may have been diplomatic marriages made as a matter of
Knoppers, Gary N. Two Nations under God: The Deuteronomistic
state, the historian viewed them as encouraging the importa-
History of Solomon and the Dual Monarchies. Atlanta, 1993.
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8514
SOLOMON ISLANDS RELIGIONS
Torijano, Pablo A. Solomon, the Esoteric King: From King to
GHOSTS, GODS, AND SPIRITS. The pioneer student of Mela-
Magus, Development of a Tradition. Leiden and Boston,
nesian religions, R. H. Codrington, observed that Solomon
2002.
Islanders and New Hebrideans worshiped two broad catego-
J
ries of invisible beings: ancestral ghosts and spirits that were
OHN VAN SETERS (1987)
Revised Bibliography
never human. Whereas New Hebrides (Vanuatu) religions
focused on spirits, according to Codrington, those of the Sol-
omons focused on ghosts.
SOLOMON ISLANDS RELIGIONS.
If we look at the western and northern Solomons as well
Peoples of
as the southeastern islands that Codrington knew best, this
the Solomon Islands have been somewhat arbitrarily divided
generalization fades. In the New Georgia group and Choi-
by convention into “Melanesian” (Guadalcanal, Malaita, Isa-
seul, ancient beings, which Hocart (1922) and Harold Schef-
bel, San Cristobal or Makira, Gela, New Georgia, Choiseul,
fler (1965) refer to as “gods,” were accorded a central place.
Shortlands, Santa Cruz) and “Polynesian” (Rennell, Bellona,
These gods differed in their powers, nature, and mythic ori-
Tikopia, Anuta, Sikaiana, Ontong Java). The Melanesians of
gins; they were often ranked hierarchically as more or less
Bougainville and Buka, in the northern Solomons chain, are
powerful, as intervening in different ways and degrees in
often included, although they are separated by a political
human affairs, and as having introduced different customs
border and by gulfs of language (because Papuan languages,
and skills. The bangara of Choiseul and the tamasa of Simbo
as opposed to Oceanic- Austronesian languages, are mainly
are relatively well documented. From Papuan-speaking Bou-
spoken in the northern Solomons). Solomons religions may
gainville, we have Oliver’s account of the Siuai kupuna spir-
be mapped for convenience onto “Melanesian” and “Polyne-
its, some of which affected the lives of all, while others affect-
sian” features, despite modern linguistic and ethnographic
ed only local descent groups.
evidence showing close relationships between the Oceanic
languages and cultures of the Solomons and those of eastern
In all parts of the Solomons, including the areas where
Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
higher spirit beings were believed to exercise the greatest
powers, ancestral ghosts were thought to be ever-present par-
The so-called Polynesian Outliers in the Solomons have
ticipants in daily life, propitiated by, watching over, and oc-
religions of the western Polynesian type, of which Raymond
casionally chastising their living kin. The manuru ghosts of
Firth, Richard E. Feinberg, Ian Hogbin, and Torben Mon-
Choiseul and the tomate of Simbo are counterparts of the tin-
berg have given good descriptions. Firth’s detailed studies of
dalo of Gela and the akalo of Malaita.
Tikopia ritual and belief provide some of the best evidence
on traditional Polynesian religion.
Other classes of spirits, of forest and sea and sky, were
recognized by Solomon Islanders. These spirits were of non-
The Melanesian religions of the Solomons were preemi-
human origin. Some were malevolent, others, especially fe-
nently concerned with mediating relations with ancestral
male spirits, were benevolent, and others merely capricious.
ghosts and nonhuman spirit beings, soliciting and manipu-
Some were involved in human life; others were distant.
lating their support (mana) and deploying powers of magic
Snakes, birds, sharks, and other animals were often seen as
for success in fighting, feasting, gardening, fishing, curing,
messengers from or manifestations of these spirits. Represen-
and other pursuits. Through human sacrifice, sacrifice of
tations in folk art and in drawings collected by early ethnolo-
pigs and other offerings, elaborate rituals, and prayer, the liv-
gists suggest that the spirits were often conceived as having
ing sought the support and potentiation without which
(invisible) forms that combined animal and human features.
human efforts alone could not succeed.
Food taboos prevented the members of a clan from eating
For most parts of the Solomons there is limited evidence
the “totemic” plants or animals in which they grounded their
on the pre-Christian past: Christianity took early hold on
identities
Gela, Isabel, the New Georgia group, Choiseul, the Short-
SHADES, SOULS, AND ABODES OF THE DEAD. Most Melane-
lands, and most areas of Guadalcanal and San Cristobal.
sians of the Solomons recognized two or more nonphysical
Douglas L. Oliver’s important prewar study (published in
components of a human being. Commonly a distinction was
1955) of the Siuai of Bougainville gives good evidence on the
made between “breath” and “shadow” (or “reflection”) as
religion of a Papuan-speaking people, and A. M. Hocart’s
component souls. Souls of the dead were generally believed
early texts from Simbo (Eddystone) as well as C. G. Wheeler
to go to an afterlife, a land of the dead where souls lived in
(Mono-Alu, northwest Salomon) are useful in reconstructing
villages and gardened and fished in an existence parallel to
a western Solomons religious system. Some modern ethno-
corporeal life. These abodes of the dead were usually associat-
graphers of Malaita (among others, Roger Keesing, Pierre
ed with particular islands. Marapa in Marau Sound, Guadal-
Maranda and Elli Köngäs Maranda, Ben Burt, Sandra Re-
canal, and Ramos Island, between Malaita and Isabel, were
volon, and Christine Jourdan) have worked in areas where
commonly thought by peoples in surrounding areas to be
the ancestral religions are still practiced. The more recent
abodes of the dead. But whereas one soul component went
studies shed new light on old problems of the Solomon Is-
off to the village of the dead, an ancestral shade, all-seeing
lands religion.
though usually invisible, remained around the living.
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SOLOMON ISLANDS RELIGIONS
8515
A number of Malaitan myths have to do with the resur-
contemporary ethnographic studies and reexamination
rection of dead culture heroes, others belong to the Orpheus
of linguistic evidence suggest that mana as an invisible
myth category (a culture hero accessing the land of the dead
medium or substance or energy may be more a creation
to bring his wife back to life and losing her irremediably
of European than of indigenous imagination. Mana in
through his own fault upon their return home), and several
the religions of the Solomons referred to a process, re-
trospectively interpreted, and to a state or quality mani-
are variants of a “Myth of the Original Sin” (see below),
fest in results, rather than to an invisible spiritual medi-
widespread in the south Pacific, staging a snake, a woman,
um of power.
and a man, in which an end is put to the “Golden Age” by
the failure of the man to understand the true—chtonian—
However, in north Malaita at least, many landscape features
nature of his wife.
are considered to have mana (mamana) by their very nature:
imposing rocks, some majestic trees that are honored by
Dream experiences were and still are taken as the wan-
hanging shell-money spans on their branches, and the like.
derings of one’s shade among the shades of the dead and of
In Malaita, mamana also means “truth” as well as “power.”
the living: reports by those who recovered from coma were
In Ben Burt’s words, “Kwara’ae translate mamana as ‘true,’
taken as experiential evidence on the fate of the dead (in Oce-
which is quite appropriate since it entails not only reality and
anic languages, the term mate commonly refers to states of
veracity but also ‘true’ in the archaic English sense of effective
unconsciousness, coma, and death). Communication with
and faithful. For Kwara’ae traditionalists, ghosts are ‘true’ in
the dead, in the form of dreams, divination, omens, and
that they can and will actually do what is expected of them”
prayer, infused daily life with religious significance.
(1993, p. 54).
Yet although many Solomonese were deeply religious in
Evidence that mana was conceived primarily as a process
the sense that they saw everywhere the signs of ghosts, deities,
and quality, and not as a “substance,” comes both from mod-
and spirits, their concerns were pragmatic rather than theo-
ern ethnographic accounts, especially in Keesing’s studies of
logical, focused on this world rather than on the invisible
the Kwaio of Malaita, and from linguistic evidence. In the
world lying behind it. Thus, most peoples of the Solomons
Malaita languages and in Roviana in the western Solomons,
had relatively undeveloped ideas, other than those expressed
mana, when used as a noun, is marked with a nominalizing
in myths of origin or of ancient times, about the nature of
affix that shows that it is an abstract verbal noun: “mana-
the spirit world and about how spirits intervened in human
ness” or “mana-ization.” In all the Solomons languages
life. Ghosts, according to the Kwaio of Malaita, are “like the
where cognates of mana occur, we find the word used as a
wind” in manifesting their effects in many places at once and
verb (the ghosts—and female spirits or female “gods” as
in going beyond the constraints of time, space, and agency
well—“mana for” or “mana-ize” the living) and as a verbal
that bind the living. But how these spirits do whatever it is
adjective (magic is mana, that is, potent or effective), in addi-
they do is beyond human ken and even beyond human inter-
tion to its uses as a noun. Comparative evidence suggests that
est. The living are concerned not with explaining unseen
these uses of mana as a verb are ancient and basic in Oceanic-
forces but with using them to practical ends: with interpret-
Austronesian languages. Although more evidence is needed,
ing and manipulating the will of spirit beings, propitiating
it at least seems clear that in the religions of the Solomons,
them after the infringment of a taboo, enlisting their sup-
ideas about mana were not expressed in systematic theologi-
port, and deploying their magical powers (mana). Whether
cal interpretations but were concerned with controlling and
the ghosts or spirits have done their part can be discovered
retrospectively interpreting the interventions of spirits or
by divination, read in omens, or known retrospectively in the
gods in human life. Ian Hogbin noted, of his research on
outcomes of human effort: success or failure in fighting,
mana (there nanama) on Guadalcanal, that “nobody knows
feasting, and other enterprises.
how nanama works, and I gathered that the thought had
never occurred to anyone before I made inquiries” (1936,
MANA AND TABOO. Retrospective pragmatism and relative
pp. 241–274).
unconcern with theological explanation and all-embracing
cosmology are manifest in the ancient Oceanic concept of
In contrast to Hogbin’s view, it should be pointed out
mana. Interpretations from Codrington’s time onward have
that many Malaitans other than those he wrote about do
viewed mana as an invisible medium of supernaturally con-
know how mana works and how to to acquire it. According
ferred power, manifest in sacred objects. Chiefs or warriors
to them mana validates a good life, prosperity, and the like,
“had” mana by virtue of supernatural support; others gained
and one obtains it through proper social behavior and ade-
it temporarily through sacrifice or magic. Thus C. E. Fox in
quate ritual practices. Although it has been ignored by many
his The Threshold of the Pacific (1924), writing of San Cristo-
if not most anthropologists who have worked in the Solo-
bal, likened mana (there mena) to a liquid in which weapons
mons—a notable exception being Ben Burt’s documentation
or sacred objects were immersed; E. S. Craighill Handy in
of women priests (1993, pp. 58, 138, 145, 271)—it is note-
his Polynesian Religion (1927) likened mana to electricity.
worthy that the traditional religion recognized beneficient fe-
male spirits, like the ’ai ni asi or ’ai la matekwa, the “woman”
According to Roger Keesing (this encyclopedia, previ-
(or “goddess” as some Solomonese have it) “of the sea” can
ous edition),
bestow mana on people. And the same obtains with the geo
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SOLOMON ISLANDS RELIGIONS
(brush turkey, megapod), a female deity worshipped in the
cations on the Lau illustrate the close fit between hierarchies
Maliata hills, in Guadalcanal, and generally in the central
of ancestors, the structure of descent groups, and rituals fo-
province of the Solomons (Gabriel Maelaasi, from Funafou,
cused on ancestral shrines. For the western Solomons, Schef-
Lau Lagoon, north Malaita, Personal Communication, April
fler (1965) analyzes a similar close relationship between the
2004). Furthermore, in connection with the power of
propitiation of gods and spirits by descent-group congrega-
women, it is significant that when possessed by a spirit, a
tions and the social structure of the living.
woman may very effectively counter the decision of a chief
Peoples of the mountainous interiors (like the Kwaio)
and cancel all his plans.
generally had small, autonomous descent groups and rela-
On the other hand, mana is closely asssociated with
tively egalitarian social systems. Correspondingly, ritual was
what could be called its mirror image, taboo (or abu). Actual-
localized in small congregations, and cosmologies and myths
ly, someone infringing a taboo will not only lose whatever
were relatively undeveloped. Peoples with maritime orienta-
mana one has but one will also incur severe punishment un-
tions tended to have more hierarchical sociopolitical systems
less offering a generally momentous neutralizing compensa-
(with hereditary chiefs in some areas), more centralized and
tion to the spirits. In that way taboo functions as inverted
elaborate ritual systems, and more fully elaborated cosmolog-
or negative mana, depriving the person at fault of all dignity
ical beliefs and myths. Thus, the Lau of the northern Malaita
and “social truth.” In the words of Burt, who sharpens up
lagoon, with an elaborate cosmology positing a series of heav-
the converging interpretations of Keesing and of the Maran-
ens and an extensive body of myths, contrast somewhat with
das, “For tabu is ultimately about the control of power
the Baegu of the nearby mountains, despite the cultural heri-
[mana], a way of socializing the ‘strength’ of both spiritual
tage they clearly share.
and human beings and controlling it by the rules which
should govern relationships in society” (1993. pp. 64–66).
In none of these Melanesian societies of the Solomons
were there full-time ritual specialists. The priests referred to
An important source of taboo relates to the ontological
in the literature served as ritual officiants on behalf of their
power of women, frightening to men (Maranda and Köngäs
groups. Succession to such duties was in some places heredi-
Maranda, 1970; Burt 1993; Maranda 2001; see also
tary; but in everyday respects, these officiants lived and
www.oceanie.org, which has multimedia data on mana,
worked as other men did.
taboo, sacrifices, ancestor worship, the position of men and
women, and other topics). As a matter of fact, the life-giving
CULTS AND INDIGENOUS CHURCHES IN THE COLONIAL PE-
power of women fragilizes the cosmological status of men in
RIOD. Cargo cults of classic Melanesian type apparently
the Solomons as well as in many other societies of the South
emerged in the Solomons only in parts of Bougainville and
Pacific. Consequently, men have invented elaborate mythical
Buka, in the sphere of German and Australian influence.
and ritual scripts to try to override their culturally character-
Thus, the Lontis movement of southern Bougainville, in
ized inferiority as regards procreation. Among such strata-
1913–1914, and cargo movements in the 1930s show conti-
gems figures the role of high priests who, on behalf of all the
nuity through to the anticolonialist cultism of the Hahalis
men of their clans, act as “mothers,” giving funeral birth to
Welfare Society of Buka in the 1960s. More politically ori-
the dead—a mimicry of biological reproduction.
ented movements with millenarian overtones (Keesing,
1982) have continued into the 1980s.
The ontological power of women—their mana—stems
from their association with Mother Earth, embodied in the
On Small Malaita an early syncretic religious cult was
snake (worshiped by women priests; Burt, 1993, p. 145) of
reported in 1896, and there is some evidence of a prophetic
which woman is a daughter. And since, in Oceania, every-
cult in north-central Malaita somewhat earlier. In the 1920s
thing connected with the earth (stability, fecundity, and the
syncretic movements that combined elements of traditional
like) is female and “low,” while “high” (instability, barren-
and Christian theology and ritual were reported from the
ness, and the like) is male, and since vaginal blood flows from
same area; sporadic cult activity with anticolonial overtones
the lower part of the female torso, that fluid becomes lethal
continued in the 1930s. European reports of millenarian fan-
if it gets in contact with men. Hence the stringent taboo that
tasy notwithstanding, the Maasina Rule movement, which
surrounds the areas where women menstruate and give birth
took shape in the aftermath of the Guadalcanal campaign of
(Maranda and Köngäs Maranda, 1970; Keesing, 1982; Burt,
World War II, was solidly political—a challenge to colonial
1993; Maranda, 2001). Thus, whereas men strive to acquire
rule—although it had religious trappings.
mana from the spirits and not to lose it, women are naturally
Since the 1960s two strong indigenous movements have
endowed with a similar but extremely dangerous power, that
commanded widespread allegiance. On New Georgia a lead-
of faasua, of “defiling.”
er named Silas Eto, called the Holy Mama, created an indige-
SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND RELIGION. In tribal societies, we
nous religious movement combining elements of Methodism
can discern close structural relationships between sociopoliti-
and folk belief and ritual. The movement remained strong
cal organization and the nature, scope, and powers of super-
into the 1980s. On Guadalcanal, the Moro movement has
natural beings. For Malaita, Keesing’s (1982) account of the
institutionalized a synthesis of traditional custom, Christian-
religion of the Kwaio and the Marandas’ (1970, 2001) publi-
ity, and capitalism that has adapted successfully to 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

SOLOVEITCHIK, JOSEPH BAER
8517
and economic changes. The Remnant Church has experi-
Mono-Alu Folklore (London, 1926) and on an unfinished
enced fluctuation since the 1970s in Malaita.
and unpublished manuscript by the latter.
Figures compiled from different sources from 1997 to
Briefer modern accounts of the Solomon islands religions are
1999 (see www.adherents.com) provide an approximate dis-
given in Ian Hogbin’s Experiments in Civilization (London,
tribution of Solomon Islanders according to religion: Chris-
1939); Guadalcanal Society: The Kaoka Speakers (New York,
1964); and “Mana,” Oceania 6 (1936): 241–274; Douglas
tians would number some 93 percent; pagans (traditional)
L. Oliver’s Solomon Islands Society (Cambridge, Mass.,
some 4 to 6 percent; individuals with no religion, some 3
1955); Harold Scheffler’s Choiseul Island Social Structure
percent. The film The Lau of Malaita (Granada Television,
(Berkeley, 1965); Pierre Maranda and Elli Köngäs Maranda,
“Disappearing World” series, 1987) presents a lively account
“Le Crâne et l’utérus: Deux Théorèmes nord-malaïtains,” in
of the endeavors by pagans to keep their traditions and cul-
Echanges et communications, vol. 2, edited by J. Pouillon and
ture alive despite the unquestionable impact of Christianity.
Pierre Maranda. pp. 829–861 (Paris and The Hague, 1970);
Matthew Cooper’s “Langalanga Religion,” Oceania 43
The Christians are mostly only nominally so, which
(1972): 113–122; Harold M. Ross’s Baegu: Social and Ecolog-
Terry Brown, the Anglican bishop of Malaita recently de-
ical Organization in Malaita, Solomon Islands (Urbana, Ill.,
plored in his Bishop’s Address to the Diocese of Malaita Di-
1973); Pierre Maranda, “Mapping Historical Transforma-
ocesan Council in Auki (the capital of Malaita Province) on
tion Through the Canonical Formula: The Pagan vs. Chris-
May 22, 2003:
tian Ontological Status of Women in Malaita, Solomon Is-
lands,” in The Double Twist: From Ethnography to
Another emerging problem in ministry in the Diocese
Morphodynamics, edited by P. Maranda, pp. 97–120 (Toron-
seems to be an increase in various questionable and un-
to, 2001) and his “Mythe, métaphore, métamorphose et
critical syncretistical practices. Examples include the
marchés: l’igname chez les Lau de Malaita, îles Salomon,”
Melanesian Brothers’ blessing of piles of stones to pro-
Journal de la Société des Océanistes 114–115 (2002): 91–114.
tect villages from evil influences, persons’ revealing
Illustrative of earlier work is A. M. Hocart’s “The Cult of the
through dreams and visions those causing sickness
Dead in Eddystone of the Solomons,” Journal of the Royal
through sorcery, cargo-cult-like movements involving
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 52
stones and walking sticks, neo-Israelite movements of
(1922): 71–112.
discovering the ancient sites of the Lost Tribe of Israel
in the Malaita bush, inappropriate aenimoni payments
Solomon Islands theologian Esau Tuza gives an account of his an-
to control God’s grace, “sucking out” of evil ancestral
cestral religion in “Spirits and Powers in Melanesia,” in Pow-
blood, special holy water combinations including spe-
ers, Plumes and Piglets: Phenomena of Melanesian Religion, ed-
cial ingredients such as kerosene—the list goes on. Un-
ited by N. Habel (Bedford, Australia, 1979). A
fortunately, some clergy and Melanesian Brothers seem
reinterpretation of mana (see E. S. Craighill Handy Polyne-
to be involved in a lot of these activities. Generally I am
sian Religion (Honolulu, Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin
quite open to the integration of Christianity and Mela-
34, 1927) is given in Keesing’s “Rethinking Mana,” Journal
nesian culture (and syncretism generally) but some of
of Anthropological Research 40 (Spring 1984): 137–156. Anti-
these practices seem to go well over the line. They are
colonialist cultism is treated in the following of his articles:
dividing communities and causing people to relapse
“Politico-Religious Movements and Anticolonialism on Ma-
into magic and superstition. Unfortunately, many peo-
laita: Maasina Rule in Historical Perspective,” published in
ple seem to need these magical rites and visions and are
two parts in Oceania 48 (1978): 241–261 and 49 (1978):
unable to trust simply in God’s loving grace.
46–73; and “Kastom and Anticolonialism on Malaita: Cul-
ture as a Political Symbol,” Mankind 13 (1982): 357–373.
SEE ALSO Cargo Cults; Mana; Tikopia Religion.
ROGER M. KEESING (1987)
PIERRE MARANDA (2005)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There are six detailed accounts of religions in the Solomons: be-
sides Raymond Firth’s masterful studies of Tikopia culture
and religion, Charles E. Fox, The Threshold of the Pacific: An
SOLOVEITCHIK, JOSEPH BAER. Joseph Solo-
Account of the Social Organization, Magic and Religion of the
veitchik (1903–1993) was the most widely influential Or-
People of San Cristoval in the Solomon Islands (London,
thodox Jewish theologian of the twentieth century and one
1924), Richard E. Feinberg’s Anuta: Social Structure of a
of Orthodox Judaism’s key American religious leaders. Alone
Polynesian Island (Laie, Hawai’i, 1981), Torben Monberg’s
among the handful of major Jewish theologians of that peri-
The Concepts of Supernaturals, part 1 of The Religion of Bello-
od, Orthodox or otherwise, he combined extraordinary eru-
na Island (Copenhagen, 1966), Roger Keesing’s Kwaio Reli-
dition in the vast corpus of Talmudic literature with broad
gion: The Living and the Dead in a Solomon Island Society
and deep knowledge of Western philosophy and theology.
(New York, 1982), Ben Burt’s comprehensive survey of both
This gave him an unparalleled opportunity to interpret the
traditional and Christianized Kwara’ae (Malaita), Tradition
and Christianity: The Colonial Transformation of a Solomon

world of Jewish law, rabbinic scholars, and scholarship—so
Island Society (Harwood Academic Publishers, 1993), and
central to Judaism throughout its history—to outsiders, at
Denis Monnerie, Nitu. Les Vivants, les morts et le cosmos selon
the same time giving him the ability to interpret to insiders
la société de Mono-Alu (Iles Salomon) (Leyde, 1996), a mono-
the sophisticated elements of modern theology and religious
graph on the northwest Solomons based on G. C Wheeler’s
life.
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8518
SOLOVEITCHIK, JOSEPH BAER
LIFE AND ERA. Soloveitchik was born in Pruzhan, Poland,
wrote relatively few works in this field. In these halakhic
on February 27, 1903 to one of the most prominent rabbinic
works Soloveitchik applies and expands the innovative and
families in eastern Europe. Reversing family tradition, he left
rigorous method of Talmudic analysis first developed by his
home and rabbinical studies in 1925 to enroll at the Univer-
distinguished grandfather, Rabbi Haim Soloveitchik. How-
sity of Berlin, receiving a doctorate in philosophy six years
ever, the younger Soloveitchik did apply this methodology
later, with a dissertation on the neo-Kantian philosopher
far more fully and systematically than any of his predecessors
Hermann Cohen. Soloveitchik immigrated to the United
or contemporaries to Jewish law governing the spiritual life,
States in 1932, assuming the position of Chief Rabbi of Bos-
such as laws concerning repentance and prayer. This is an
ton, his home until his death in 1993. In 1941 he succeeded
emphasis thought to be reflective of his particularly deep
his father as the senior Talmudist at Yeshiva University,
spiritual and theological nature.
where he remained until disabled by illness in 1985. During
Beyond illuminating the world of halakha and of the
those years he taught and ordained more rabbis than any
Talmudist, as mentioned above, Soloveitchik’s theological
other Talmudist in the United States, deeply influencing
works are important for their sheer creativity and theological
American Orthodoxy in the process.
insight, as well as for their insight into Soloveitchik’s inner
In this period, leaders of American Orthodoxy were
spiritual and intellectual world. Many of his writings are
concerned that large numbers of Jewish immigrants were
highly personal and reveal the inner struggles of a man
abandoning their European roots in Orthodoxy and assimi-
caught between the cerebral life of the Talmud scholar and
lating into American society. Modern Orthodoxy saw its
the passionate life of the spirit, between the traditionalism
great challenge in adapting to the conditions of American
of his eastern European rabbinic heritage and the claims of
modernity while remaining loyal to the traditions of Ortho-
modernity.
doxy. Soloveitchik played a crucial role in making this possi-
Throughout his theological oeuvre, Soloveitchik uses a
ble by virtue of the force of his ideas, and the thousands of
typological method whereby different ideal types of persons
practicing rabbis he ordained who looked to him for ongoing
contend within each individual in dialectical tension. This
guidance.
method, derived in part from Eduard Spranger and Karl
His admirers saw in him a combination of three perso-
Barth (1886–1968), is consistent with the method of Tal-
nas: traditional halakhic authority, charismatic teacher, and
mudic analysis developed most fully by Soloveitchik’s grand-
theologian. Paradoxically perhaps, traditional halakhic au-
father. There is thus an interesting methodological similarity
thority was especially important to his success in helping Or-
between the two domains of Soloveitchik’s intellectual pur-
thodoxy adapt to America’s modernity, for authority in that
suits, the halakhic and the theological.
community rests in no small measure in the hands of its rab-
Halakhic Man and Lonely Man of Faith. Solo-
binic scholars. The traditionalist elements in Soloveitchik’s
veitchik’s reputation as a Jewish thinker was first established
ideology and life included his vigorous and influential oppo-
in 1944 with the publication of his first major work, Halakh-
sition to mixed pews in synagogues; his traditional rabbinic
ic Man, which explicates the inner world of the Talmudist.
garb and demeanor; his daily schedule revolving almost en-
Soloveitchik distinguishes here between two ideal types of
tirely around the study and teaching of rabbinic texts; and
humans, which he calls “Cognitive Man” and “Religious
his distinguished eastern European heritage—about which
Man.” Drawing heavily on neo-Kantian philosophy,
he often told nostalgic and moving stories.
Soloveitchik states that Cognitive Man is best exemplified by
The more modern elements of Soloveitchik’s ideology
the mathematician-scientist who constructs abstract, mathe-
and life included his positive orientation to secular education
matically formulated models to explain and thereby demys-
and aspects of Western culture; his spiritual leadership of
tify the cosmos. Religious Man, in contrast, cultivates that
American religious Zionism; his progressive attitude towards
mystery, and seeks to transcend the physical bonds of the
women’s education (he founded a coeducational Jewish
universe in search of God. “Halakhic Man”—the Talmudic
school in Boston in which male and female students studied
virtuoso—combines elements of both and is thus portrayed
Talmud together); and his approval of interdenominational
as the ideal type. In the key turn of this argument—and a
cooperation. Many of Soloveitchik’s most distinguished tra-
surprising one it is—Halakhic Man is most similar to the
ditionalist Orthodox rabbinic colleagues vigorously opposed
neo-Kantian hero Cognitive Man, for Halakhic Man also
some or all of these positions, and they remain controversial
constructs abstract theoretical models. But these models are
in Orthodox circles to this day. Soloveitchik’s progressivism
normative, representing halakhic concepts governing human
in these areas shaped what has come to be called “Modern
behavior. Thus, through the Law, Halakhic Man brings God
Orthodoxy,” helping prevent what some feared would be-
into a world in need of repair, whereas Religious Man travels
come the complete decline and marginalization of Ortho-
in the opposite direction, seeking refuge in God, away from
doxy in America.
this troubled world.
WRITINGS. Soloveitchik’s writings fall into two categories:
Whereas Halakhic Man draws from rationalist neo-
the halakhic and the theological. Although he spent most of
Kantian thought and focuses on the world of the Talmudist,
his daily schedule in the study and teaching of Talmud, he
Lonely Man of Faith (1965), Soloveitchik’s second major
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SOLOVEITCHIK, JOSEPH BAER
8519
published work, speaks in the language of existentialism and
revelation through the Law. The seeker oscillates between
focuses on the inner world of the religious person living in
awe and love of God, between the experience of God’s com-
the conditions of modernity. The monograph is hauntingly
manding presence as overwhelming necessity and the experi-
personal as well. Once again Soloveitchik—now working
ence of God’s presence as autonomously chosen, which can
with the two creation stories in Genesis—distinguishes be-
be fully realized only with the ultimate goal of devekut. Cru-
tween two ideal types, Adam I, or “Majestic Man,” and
cial to resolving these tensions is the halakha and the com-
Adam II, or “Covenantal Man.” Adam I, created in the
munity of its observers.
image of God, carries out the mandate to rule the world and
is functionally oriented and outer-directed, seeking to master
Halakhic Mind, the most purely philosophical of
the universe through science and technology. Adam II, on
Soloveitchik’s works, offers a sustained argument for the au-
the other hand, is submissive, inner-directed and nonutilitar-
tonomy of religion as a cognitive domain. Soloveitchik ar-
ian. Most importantly, Adam II is, in Soloveitchik’s terms,
gues that the task of philosophy of religion is to reconstruct
“ontologically lonely”: he experiences radical uniqueness as
subjective inner experiences from religion’s objectified ex-
a human being and seeks to redeem that loneliness in a cove-
pressions, which in the case of Judaism would be through
nantal community with God and fellow humans.
analysis of its halakhic material—hence the title, Halakhic
Soloveitchik argues this can only be achieved through a
Mind. This work is especially noteworthy not only for its
Kierkegaardian sacrificial gesture to God that redeems Adam
early advocacy of a form of cognitive pluralism, but also for
II from loneliness. Although Soloveitchik clearly identifies
its explicit dissociation from influential medieval and mod-
with Adam II, one of the central points of the work is that
ern Jewish philosophers, on the grounds that they failed to
both Adams are biblically mandated modes of existence.
take the full measure of halakha’s autonomy.
Each individual must live both these lives, oscillating dialec-
The Voice of My Beloved Knocks (1971) is a classic essay
tically between the submissive covenantal life of Adam II and
of religious Zionism, wherein Soloveitchik first treats the
the practical, dominating life of Adam I, between the life of
problem of evil and human suffering as it emerges from re-
prayer and the life of technological and scientific majesty.
flection about the Holocaust. He then argues that the true
Halakha, Soloveitchik maintains, sustains this dialectic
Jewish response to all tragedy is not passive speculation but
by ensuring that the prayerful person lives the practical life
vigorous action, the betterment of the human moral and reli-
so characteristic of halakha, while also ensuring the practical
gious self, and the amelioration of Jewish suffering. To
life always yields to prayer and sacrificial gesture when it
Soloveitchik, the establishment of the State of Israel repre-
must.
sents exactly such a response.
The modern condition is dominated by individuals
SEE ALSO Jewish Thought and Philosophy, article on Mod-
Soloveitchik has labeled as Adam I types. The “Man of
ern Thought; Orthodox Judaism.
Faith” is thus doubly lonely, not only for ontological reasons,
but because Adam I fails to understand the sacrificial gesture
and covenantal community so central to the Man of Faith’s
BIBLIOGRAPHY
life. Soloveitchik stresses that even modern Adam I can be
A comprehensive multilingual bibliography of works published by
religious in the decorous, synagogue- or church-going sense.
and about Soloveitchik, listing many hundreds of items, to-
But this aesthetic religiosity fails to attain the in-depth exis-
gether with a topical index, appear in Eli Turkel and Hayim
tence of true faith. Thus Soloveitchik not only affirms some
Turkel’s Mekorot Ha-Rav (Jerusalem, 2001), although more
primary and secondary material continues to be published.
of the key values of modernity, including its emphasis on sci-
An English translation of Halakhic Man by Lawrence Kaplan
ence and technology, but also attempts to provide a tren-
was published in 1983 (Philadelphia), and Halakhic Mind
chant, even postmodern critique of modernity and its reli-
was published in 1986 (New York). Lonely Man of Faith first
gious experience.
appeared in Tradition 7, no. 2 (summer 1965): 5–67, and
was later republished in book form (New York, 1992). No
Other writings. Two other important works, U-
English translation of U-Vikashtem Mi-Sham has been pub-
Vikashtem Mi-Sham (“But if you seek from there”) and
lished to date. It is widely available in Ish Halakha Galui Ve-
Halakhic Mind, appear to date back to the 1940s, although
Nistar (Jerusalem, 1979).
the former was first published in 1978 and the latter in 1985.
In U-Vikashtem Mi-Sham, Soloveitchik traces phenomeno-
Two collections of essays about Soloveitchik are worthy of note:
logically the odyssey of the “Man of God,” from the first nat-
Exploring the Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, edited
ural stirrings in contemplating the glories of universe and re-
by Marc Angel (Hoboken, N.J., 1997); and Emunah Be-
Zemanim Mishtanim
(Faith in times of change), edited by
flecting upon philosophical and spiritual experiences to the
Avi Sagi (Jerusalem, 1997). Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff has
Man of God’s ultimate attachment to God, or devekut. Al-
published a two-volume biography of Soloveitchik, The Rav:
though this quest begins with a deep feeling of human free-
The World of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (Hoboken, N.J.,
dom and competence, the seeker confronts obstacles as
1999). One of the more comprehensive critical overviews of
human initiative reaches its limits. Eventually, the seeker is
Soloveitchik’s thought and the cultural context of his life re-
overcome by the sheer power of God’s unexpected self-
mains that of Singer and Sokol, “Joseph B. Soloveitchik:
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SOLOVDEV, VLADIMIR
Lonely Man of Faith” in Modern Judaism 2, no. 3 (fall 1982):
lieving that it was Russia’s mission to incarnate the ideal of
227–272.
theocracy, in 1881 he appealed to Alexander III to spare the
M
lives of the assassins of Alexander II, the tsar’s father. The
OSHE SOKOL (2005)
tsar’s refusal convinced SolovDev that Russia was not yet a
Christian state. He resigned his teaching post, declared Rus-
sian Orthodoxy to be dead, and turned to the pope to realize
SOLOVDEV, VLADIMIR (1853–1900), Russian
his ecumenical goal—a new church that would incorporate
mystical philosopher. Born in Moscow, SolovDev was educat-
the spirituality of the East with the activism of the West and
ed at the University of Moscow and the Moscow Theological
that would encompass all aspects of life, action, and thought,
Academy where, in 1873, his master’s thesis, “The Crisis of
as well as faith. The pope did not accept SolovDev’s ideas on
Western Philosophy,” earned him immediate repute.
Sophia, nor his program for a theocratic union administered
SolovDev’s lifelong concerns were to demonstrate rationally
by tsar and pope. SolovDev, for his part, could not accept
the truth of Christianity and to inspire an activist Christiani-
Roman Catholic emphasis on obedience.
ty that would transform the world. His dedication to the
With the collapse of his theocratic hopes, Solev’ev, in
philosophical goal of synthesizing religion, philosophy, sci-
his third period, turned his attention to the practical prob-
ence, and art in a comprehensive system that he called “total-
lems of building a Christian society. In Justification of the
unity” (vse-1edinstvo) precluded his ever marrying. He is con-
Good (1895; English translation, 1918) he criticized the “ab-
sidered Russia’s first systematic philosopher.
stract moralism” of Tolstoi, the amoralism of Nietzsche, and
SolovDev conceived of God as an all-inclusive being: that
the “collective immoralism” implicit in nationalism and so-
is, as absolute reality, which is progressively united with its
cialism. In The Meaning of Love (1892–1894; English trans-
creation through the interaction of the Logos and Sophia.
lation, 1947) he argued that the purpose of sex was not pro-
The Logos is the word, reason, the active principle of cre-
creation but the overcoming of egoism through love for the
ation. Sophia is the passive principle. More a symbol than
other.
a metaphysical concept, Sophia, whom SolovDev experienced
In the last decade of his life, SolovDev became preoccu-
in three visions as a beautiful woman, also denotes, ambigu-
pied with the power of evil and had apocalyptic premoni-
ously, divine wisdom, the body of God, the universal church,
tions. His Three Conversations concerning War, Progress, and
the bride of Christ, and active love for the world and human-
the End of History, also translated as War and Christianity
ity. Although SolovDev stated explicitly that his concept of
from the Christian Point of View (1900; both English transla-
Sophia was not intended to introduce a new god into the
tions, 1915), is a discussion of the morality of militarism,
Trinity, he wrote poems to her that contain marked gnostic
power politics, and pacifism. Appended to it is “A Tale of
and erotic elements and in which she emerges almost as a fe-
Antichrist.” The Antichrist, depicted by SolovDev as a godless
male principle of divinity.
benefactor of humanity, is overcome by a revolt led by the
SolovDev regarded the incarnation of the Logos in Jesus
Jews. Evil is, at last, vanquished and the churches reunited.
Christ as the central event in history and Jesus Christ as a
SolovDev’s influence was enormous. The saintliness of
“second Adam,” a God-man, the prototype of the transfigu-
his personal life led Dostoevskii to model Aliosha in The
ration of all humankind through love. His concept of God,
Brothers Karamazov after him. His works were the fountain-
not purely Christian, is somewhat pantheistic. His theology,
head of the new spiritual, philosophical, and artistic currents
moreover, was influenced by gnosticism; qabbalistic litera-
of the Russian Silver Age (c. 1898–1917), and the Christian
ture; writers such as Jakob Boehme, Paracelsus, and Franz
idealism and political liberalism of Sergei and Evgenii Tru-
Xaver von Baader; and by philosophical Idealism, as well as
betskoi, Pavel Novgorodtsev, and others stemmed in part
by the Slavophiles, Dostoevskii, and Nikolai Fedorov. Cath-
from his thought and example. His sophiology helped shape
olics regard him as a convert; Russian Orthodox writers
the theology of Sergei Bulgakov and Pavel Florenskii, and it
argue that he remained in their faith.
inspired the poetry and prose of the Russian Symbolists. Also
SolovDev’s life and works are customarily divided into
important to Russian Symbolism was SolovDev’s view of art
three periods. These periods are characterized by philosophi-
as a theurgy and of beauty as an incarnation of the divine.
cal, theocratic, and ethical and apocalyptic concerns. In the
His apocalypticism and vision of pan-Mongolism (the rule
first period, the 1870s, he opposed abstract philosophy, criti-
of the “yellow” races over the “white”) influenced Symbolist
cized Western empiricism and rationalism as inadequate for
political thought, especially after 1904.
the discovery of truth, maintained the identity of being and
knowing, and advocated mystical intuition and integral
BIBLIOGRAPHY
knowledge as the path to God.
The collected works of SolovDev are Sobranie sochinenii Vladimira
Sergeevicha Solov Deva, 10 vols., edited by S. M. SolovDev and
In the second period, the 1880s, hoping to realize his
E. L. Radkov (Saint Petersburg, 1911–1914), reprinted with
ideal of a “free theocracy”—a Christian society united by in-
two supplementary volumes (Brussels, 1966–1969). Pis’ma
ternal and voluntary bonds—SolovDev tried to reunite the
Vladimira Sergeevicha Solov Deva, 3 vols., a collection of let-
Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches. Be-
ters, was edited by E. L. Radkov (Saint Petersburg, 1908–
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SOMA
8521
1911). His poems are published as Stikhotvoreniia S.
the soma strengthens Indra and enables him to perform the
Solov Deva (Moscow, 1915). In addition to the several English
deeds that have made, and continue to make, life possible.
translations of SolovDev’s works cited in this entry, others are
Indra drinks the soma—three lakes of soma according to
available in A Solo Dvyov Anthology, compiled by S. L. Frank
R:gveda 5.29.7—in order to strike down Vr:tra, the paragon
and translated by Nathalie A. Duddington (New York,
and paradigm of all obstacles. “Sharpened by soma” (R:gveda
1950), and V. S. Soloviev: Politics, Law, and Morality, edited
10.108.8), Indra, together with a band of priests, releases the
and translated by Vladimir Woznick (New Haven, Conn.,
cattle, the symbol of dawn and substance of prosperity in
2000). Translations of “Lectures on Godmanhood” and
“Foundations of Theoretical Philosophy” are included in
Vedic India, by breaking open the cave in which they had
Russian Philosophy, vol. 3, edited by James M. Edie and oth-
been imprisoned. Offered soma, Indra defeats the human
ers (Chicago, 1965).
and semi-demonic enemies of his worshippers.
Secondary works on SolovDev include Samuel D. Cioran’s Vladi-
Because men participate in the soma rite as both offerers
mir Solov Dev and the Knighthood of the Divine Sophia (Water-
and drinkers of soma, they too are transformed by it. A family
loo, Ont., 1977); Helmut Dahm’s Vladimir Solovyev and
lord, clanlord, or king legitimately rules because he possesses
Max Scheler (Dordrecht and Boston, 1975), especially chap-
the soma, and together with Indra, he too overcomes obsta-
ter 8, which contains translations of Soviet criticism and
cles and gains cattle and other forms of wealth. By perform-
judgment of SolovDev; Konstantin Mochul’skii’s Vladimir
ing the soma rite he becomes truly an A¯rya, a full participant
Solovev (Paris, 1936); Egbert Munzer’s Solovyev: Prophet of
in the elite culture of Vedic India, and he enlists the help of
Russian-Western Unity (London, 1956); Dmitri Stré-
mooukhoff’s Vladimir Soloviev and His Messianic Work (Bel-
the gods in overcoming all those who do not sacrifice, those
mont, Mass., 1980); V. V. Zenkovsky’s A History of Russian
who are not A¯ryas. By drinking soma, he extends his lifetime.
Philosophy, 2 vols. (New York, 1953), pp. 469–531; Vladimir
Soma “knots me together in my joints,” says the poet of
Solov Dev: Reconciler and Polemicist, edited by Wil van den
R:gveda 8.48.5. “Let the soma-drops guard me from my foot
Bercken, Manon de Courten, and Evert van der Sweer (Paris,
slipping, and let them keep me from lameness.” Soma him-
2000); and Vladimir Solov Dev: pro et contra, 2 vols., edited by
self is the “deathless” (amr:ta), and therefore those who drink
V. F. Boikov (Saint Petersburg, 2000, 2002).
the liquid become “deathless.” In the core R:gveda, this “de-
athlessness” is the prevention of premature death, although,
BERNICE GLATZER ROSENTHAL (1987 AND 2005)
in later hymns and in the succeeding tradition, deathlessness
becomes “immortality,” and soma becomes the drink that
sustains the life of ancestors in heaven.
SOMA is a Vedic god; a drink offered to the gods and
Soma the god is a warrior who is victorious in battle.
shared among ritual participants; and the plant that yields
The Pavama¯na hymns describe Soma’s descent through the
the juice for this drink. Middle and late Vedic literature de-
filter as an assault or a raid. Soma overcomes all obstacles and
scribe the classical Vedic rituals in detail, and among these
thereby wins freedom of movement. Mixing soma with milk
rituals, the soma rites are among the most prestigious and
signifies the capture of cattle, and after Soma has won all
complex. In these rites, stalks of the soma plant are soaked
such good things, he becomes the generous king who distrib-
in water and then crushed. The extracted liquid is poured
utes them. In another image of a victorious soma, these
through a filter into vessels. Left plain, or mixed with milk
hymns depict soma as a racehorse, which wins rich stakes for
and various oblations, it is then offered into the fire for the
those who prepare the drink.
gods and drunk by the priests and by the sacrificer of the rite.
During the principal day of a soma sacrifice, there are three
In the R:gveda, soma is also compared to the sun or even
rounds of soma preparation and offering, one each in the
kindles it. According to various descriptions, Soma illumi-
morning, midday, and evening.
nates the sun (R:gveda 9.37.4), begets the sun in the waters
(9.42.1), stands above like the sun (9.54.3), makes the sun
The later Vedic literature and the rites they describe
shine (9.63.7), and harnesses the steed of the sun (9.63.8).
often continue traditions already well established in the
Soma’s association with the sun reinforces its connection
R:gveda. Indeed, although it contains hymns created for vari-
with kingship and with life, for the sun rules in heaven and
ous rites, the core R:gveda is primarily a liturgical collection
represents life and freedom. At the end of the R:gvedic peri-
for soma rites. The principal collection of hymns dedicated
od, this association of soma and the sun began to shift in
to Soma in the R:gveda is book 9, which contains 114 hymns
favor of an identification of soma and the moon. According
to the Soma Pavama¯na (“Soma purifying himself”). These
to the later Veda, as the moon fills with soma, it waxes; and
hymns were chanted as the soma was pressed and poured
as the soma is depleted, it wanes. The soma in the moon sus-
through the filter into vessels.
tains gods and ancestors, and even drips down to earth where
it gives birth to plants and animals.
In the early tradition, participation in the soma rite was
essential for both gods and men—Goddesses and women
The roots of Vedic soma and the soma rite extend be-
were both excluded from drinking the liquid. Among the
yond the Veda itself. Like Indian soma, the haoma—its
gods, the principal recipient, Indra, is the dominant divinity
equivalent in the Zoroastrian ritual—is both a drink and a
in the soma rite and therefore in the R:gveda itself. Receiving
deity associated with well-being and deathlessness. Beyond
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8522
SOPHIA
the Indo-Iranian tradition, soma likely inherits Indo-
see Ulrich Schneider, Der Somaraub des Manu (Wiesbaden,
European traditions of the drink of deathlessness—
1971), and on the later development of the story, Jarl Char-
“ambrosia,” a word etymologically corresponding to amr:ta
pentier, Die Suparn:asage (Uppsala, 1920).
“deathless”—and replaces Indo-European rit/es of offering
S. S. Bhawe has published an English translation of more than half
and drinking mead. In the R:gveda, soma is termed madhu
the hymns of the Soma Pavama¯na book in The Soma-Hymns
(honey), which is etymologically equivalent to “mead.”
of the R:gveda, parts 1-3 (Baroda, 1957–1962). Karl F. Geld-
There may be a mythological link between mead and soma
ner, Der Rig-Veda, 4 volumes (Harvard Oriental Series, vols.
as well. According to one R:gvedic narrative, the soma plant
33–36: Cambridge, 1951-1957) gives German translations
grew on a mountain, protected by a hundred concentric for-
of all the soma hymns, and Louis Renou, Études védiques et
tress walls and guarded by an archer. Manu, the first sacrific-
pa¯n:inéennes, vols. 8–9 (Paris, 1961), gives French transla-
er, sends a falcon to steal the soma and bring it back to him,
tions.
so that he can offer it to Indra. The story evolved in the later
For the soma ritual, Willem Caland and Victor Henry,
Vedic and Epic traditions, according to which the eagle
L’Agnis:t:oma: Description complète de la forme normale du sac-
Garud:a steals the soma from heaven and from Indra, al-
rifice de Soma dans le culte védique, 2 vols. (Paris, 1906–
though he eventually returns it to Indra. This narrative of
1907), details the model Vedic soma rite, and Ramachandra
the theft of soma may share a common ancestor with a myth
Narayan Dandekar, S´rautako´sa, vol. 2 (English section),
parts 1 and 2 (Poona, 1973–1982), provides translations of
of the Snorra Edda, according to which Odin, taking the
Vedic ritual texts’ descriptions of that rite. For recent perfor-
form of an eagle, flies away with the mead of Suttung, hidden
mances of the Agnicayana, an elaborate form of the soma rit-
in the mountain Hnitbjorg.
ual, see Frits Staal, Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altar,
2 vols. (Berkeley, 1983) and T. M. P. Mahadevan and Frits
One of the perennial questions in the study of soma has
Staal, “The Turning-Point in a Living Tradition:
been the identity of the R:gvedic and Indo-Iranian soma
Somaya¯gam 2003” in the Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies
plant. Already in the later Vedic period, sacrificers were using
10, no. 1 (2003), available from http://users.
various plants to perform the soma rite. Such substitutions
primushost.com/~india/ejvs/.
were possible because soma is as much the product of the
On the various possibilities for the identification of the soma
words, chants, and acts of the ritual as it is the juice of a
plant, a good analysis is Jan E. M. Houben, “The Soma-
plant. The R:gveda, however, does mention a particular soma
Haoma Problem: Introductory Overview and Observations
plant (perhaps called am:´su) that grows on mountains. Of the
on the Discussions,” in the Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies
various identifications of this soma plant, ephedra has been
9, no. 1 (2003). A judicious botanical appraisal of various
an enduring candidate and has dominated much of the re-
possibilities is Harri Nyberg, “The Problem of the Aryans
cent discussion. It is a stimulant, whose effect might be sug-
and the Soma: The Botanical Evidence,” in The Indo-Aryans
gested by the description of soma as ja¯gr:vi (wakeful). Other
of Ancient South Asia, edited by George Erdosy (Berlin, 1995):
scholars, however, have argued that soma was a hallucinogen
382–406.
in part because of soma’s connection with light and possibly
JOEL P. BRERETON (2005)
with visionary experience. Numerous other possibilities have
also been suggested. Fortunately, the precise identification of
the soma plant, while interesting and significant, is not criti-
cal for the interpretation of most soma hymns and of the
SOPHIA is a Greek word that means “wisdom.” In the
soma rite.
Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament),
the name Sophia is given as a translation of H:okhmah (also
SEE ALSO Haoma.
meaning “wisdom”), the name of a figure with feminine fea-
tures. In the Greek version of the apocryphal book the Wis-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
dom of Solomon (written in Alexandria at the beginning of
Essential to the study of soma is Thomas Oberlies, Die Religion des
the common era), Sophia is said to be the emanation of
R:gveda (Vienna, 1999), which focuses particularly on the
God’s glory, the Holy Spirit, the immaculate mirror of his
role of soma in Vedic religion. Two volumes have appeared,
energy, nay, even the spouse of the Lord (Septuagint 8:3).
with one more yet to come. Volume 2 is a compositional
In the Greek rendering of Ben Sira, or Sirach, she is depicted
analysis of soma hymns. A very helpful study of the meaning
as a woman: To the wise man she is both a tender mother,
of soma is Tat’iana Elizarenkova, “The Problem of Soma in
who spoils him as if he were her favorite child, and his young
the Light of Language and Style of the R:gveda ” in Langue,
mistress, who surprises him with unexpected wildness (15:2).
style et structure dans le monde indien: Centenaire de Louis
In Proverbs (c. 300), Wisdom “standeth at the top of high
Renou, edited by Nalini Balbir and Georges-Jean Pinault
places and cries at the gates” (8:2–3; what Oriental woman
(Paris, 1996): 13–31. There is much of value in older discus-
sions of soma, and, in particular, apart from an implausible
would thus expose herself?) to proclaim that the Lord had
interpretation of R:gvedic soma as the moon, in Alfred Hilleb-
brought her forth (not “created”) before he began the cre-
randt, Vedic Mythology, vol. 1 (Delhi, 1980): 121–266 (a
ation. After he had created the world, she stood before him
translation of the second revised edition of Vedische Mytholo-
as his daily delight (8:30). This image was inspired by the
gie [Breslau, 1927]). On the narrative of the theft of soma,
pagan belief, represented on many excavated objects, that a
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SOROKIN, PITIRIM ALEKSANDROVICH
8523
goddess (either the Egyptian Maat or a Canaanite figure)
English representatives of this tradition were John Pordage
stands before the godhead to please and entertain him.
(1607–1681) and Jane Leade (1623–1704). Franz von
Baader (1764–1841), a Bohemian philosopher, regarded an-
In The Thunder, Whole Mind, one of the writings found
drogyny and Sophianology as the aim and purpose of mar-
at Nag Hammadi in 1945 and written probably during the
riage. At the time of the Holy Alliance, these ideas were ex-
first pre-Christian century by an Alexandrian Jew, Sophia
ported to Russia, where they were accepted by the
manifests herself through a series of impressive paradoxes: as
Freemasons and such brilliant Orthodox theologians as Vla-
both the wisdom of the Greeks and the gno¯sis of the barbar-
dimir SolovDev and Sergei Bulgakov.
ians, as both the saint and the whore, as the “All-Mother.”
The ideas that God is female or that he has a feminine
SEE ALSO Gnosticism; Hierodouleia; H:okhmah.
spouse lie further back still. Recently, in the Israeli Negev
and near Hebron, Hebrew inscriptions have been found dat-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ing back to the eighth century that speak about “the Lord
Benz, Ernst. Der Mythus vom Urmenschen. Munich, 1955.
and his Asherah” (Asherah, or Athirat, was a Canaanite god-
Bulgakov, Sergei. The Wisdom of God. New York, 1937.
dess of love, war, and fertility). On one jar bearing such an
Winter, Urs. Frau und Göttin. Fribourg, 1982.
inscription, YHVH seems to be represented by the Egyptian
New Sources
god Bes (possessing an enormous phallus) together with a
Casadio, Giovanni. “Donna e simboli femminili nella gnosi del
feminine figure (Athirat?). In Elephantine (near Aswan,
secondo secolo.” In La donna nel pensiero cristiano antico,
Egypt) the Jews venerated Anat Jahu, another Canaanite
pp. 305–329. Genoa, 1992.
deity, possibly as the spouse of the Lord. H:okhmah (Sophia)
Orbe, Antonio S.J., “Sophia Soror: apuntes para la teología del Es-
is the positive offprint of this photographic negative, the
píritu Santo.” In Mélanges d’histoire des religions offerts à
great goddess of the pre-Greek and pre-Hebrew Mediterra-
Henri-Charles Puech, pp. 355–363. Paris, 1974.
nean, who, variously called Anat, Athirat, or Astarte (compa-
Stead, G. C. “The Valentinian Myth of Sophia.” Journal of Theo-
rable to the later Greek Aphrodite), was considered to be a
logical Studies 20 (1969): 75–104 (reprinted in Substance and
sacred prostitute, as were her devotees, and was still venerat-
Illusion in the Christian Fathers, London 1985).
ed as dea meretrix (goddess/whore) during classical times in
Sfameni Gasparro, Giulia. “Il personaggio di Sophia nel Vangelo
the Near East.
secondo Filippo.” Vigiliae Christianae 31 (1977): 244–281
Gnosticism integrated this Jewish myth. Simon the Ma-
(reprinted in Gnostica et Hermetica. Saggi sullo gnosticismo e
gician, a first-century Samaritan (i. e., heterodox Jew), taught
sull’ermetismo, Rome, 1982, pp. 73–119).
that the spouse of the Lord, called Sophia or the Holy Spirit,
Tommasi Moreschini, Chiara O. “L’androginia di Cristo-Logos:
was actually “the first Idea of God” and had descended in
Mario Vittorino tra platonismo e gnosi.” Cassiodorus 4
order to produce the angels and powers that created the
(1998): 11–46.
world. These tyrannical powers then overwhelmed her and
Zandee, Jan. “Die Person der Sophia in der Vierten Schrift des
forced her reincarnation again and again. (A contemporary
Codex Jung.” In Le Origini dello, Gnosticismo, edited by Ugo
version of this story is She by Rider Haggard.) At last she be-
Bianchi, pp. 203–214. Leiden, 1967.
came one Helena, a prostitute in a brothel at Tyre (Phoeni-
GILLES QUISPEL (1987)
cia), whence Simon redeemed her. Here the cosmogonic So-
Revised Bibliography
phia of Hebrew lore has been combined with the Neo-
Pythagorean concept of Helena as a symbol of the fallen and
reascending heavenly soul.
SORCERY SEE MAGIC; WITCHCRAFT
In another Gnostic text, the Apocryphon of John (Alexan-
dria, first century), Sophia is the last of the spiritual entities
to come into existence. She falls into the cosmos because of
SOROKIN, PITIRIM ALEKSANDROVICH
her wantonness, but there she fights against the demiurge in
(1889–1968), became controversial among his fellow sociol-
her struggle to make man spiritually conscious. The same
ogists after it became clear in the late 1930s that his heuristic
theme is Christianized by the greatest Gnostic, Valentinus,
key into social-cultural dynamics was a metaphysical distinc-
according to whom Sophia desires to penetrate the mystery
tion between a “sensate” materialism and “ideational” super-
of ultimate being, then falls through hubris (tolma) but is
naturalism. His denunciation of the sensate materialism of
saved by Christ.
Western culture emerged from spiritual commitments forged
In the modern gno¯sis, initiated around 1600 by Jakob
in his youth.
Boehme, a similar mythology has developed. In addition to
Born in the Vologda province of northern Russia,
Christ, the German pietists discern the feminine Sophia, a
Sorokin was the son of a craftsman who restored icons in Or-
goddess (the Holy Spirit?) and bride to the wise man. To be-
thodox churches while struggling with alcoholism, and of a
come like Adam before the birth of Eve from his side, man
mother who died three years after his birth. His early years
must unite with his inner Sophia and become androgynous.
were spent helping his artisan father, who died when Sorokin
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8524
SOROKIN, PITIRIM ALEKSANDROVICH
was ten. Sorokin then supported himself making icons, read
cial. In these pivotal years at Harvard, Sorokin’s prophetic
widely in Russian literature and theology, and was influenced
style and his sweeping sociology of history constituted an un-
by nature mysticism.
welcome deviation from disciplinary focus. In 1946, after a
divisive battle with the American sociologist Talcott Parsons,
These spiritual commitments were not explicit, howev-
he was forced to step down as chair of the Department of
er, when he arrived at Harvard University in 1929 and be-
Sociology through its incorporation into the new Depart-
came founding chair of the Department of Sociology two
ment of Social Relations.
years later. Early in his career, Sorokin was identified chiefly
for his political activities. In December 1906, he was sen-
CREATIVE ALTRUISM AND THE WAYS AND POWER OF LOVE.
tenced to spend four months in a czarist prison. Released in
A new career phase began for Sorokin in 1942, with an ap-
early 1907, he became a revolutionary organizer, first in the
preciative letter from the American businessman Eli Lilly.
Volga region and then in Saint Petersburg. Admitted to the
Sorokin’s critique of materialism and his writings on the so-
University of Saint Petersburg in 1910, he studied sociology
ciology of war (1938–1944) were leading him to the study
and law, and graduated in 1914. In 1917 Sorokin became
of what he termed “creative altruism.” He was convinced
personal secretary to Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky and
that love as captured in the sermon on the mount and the
was a cabinet minister in the short-lived 1917 Russian gov-
Golden Rule, and understood scientifically, could serve as a
ernment. With the triumph of V. I. Lenin in 1918, Sorokin,
means toward a better human future. With Lilly’s support,
at the request of Kerensky, organized the brief effort to liber-
he opened the Harvard Research Center in Creative Altruism
ate Russia from the Bolshevik Communists. Lenin and the
in 1946. He became increasingly interested in investigating
Bolsheviks prevailed, and after months of hiding in the for-
scientifically the energy of love, which he understood both
ests, Sorokin turned himself over to the police. He was sen-
metaphysically and practically.
tenced to death, only to be saved after several highly placed
supporters appealed directly to Lenin on his behalf. Sorokin
In 1954 Sorokin published The Ways and Power of Love,
was freed on December 16, 1918, convinced that czarist jails
a creative study at the interface of science, religion, and
were more humane than those of the Bolsheviks. Between
other-regarding love. Here he developed a five-dimensional
1919 and 1922 he was a professor of sociology at the Univer-
measure of love. Low intensity love makes possible minor ac-
sity of Saint Petersburg.
tions, while high intensity love requires much time, energy,
and resources. Sorokin’s second dimension of love is exten-
In late 1922, Sorokin and his wife Elena left Russia
sivity: “The extensivity of love ranges from the zero point of
under political persecution. They arrived in New York in
love of oneself only, up to the love of all mankind, all living
1923. Sorokin was now an émigré scholar with growing sci-
creatures, and the whole universe” (Sorokin, 2002, p. 16).
entific credentials and an ever-deepening appreciation for the
Sorokin added the dimension of duration, which “may range
nonmaterial aspects of reality that Marxist-Leninism denied.
from the shortest possible moment to years or throughout
Sorokin published The Sociology of Revolution (1925), after
the whole life of an individual or of a group” (2002, p. 16).
which he was able to gain speaking opportunities based on
The fourth dimension of love is purity, or freedom from ego-
a growing academic reputation and his political experiences
istic motivation. Pure love—that is, love that is truly disin-
highlighting the coercive aspects of the Russian revolution.
terested and asks for no return—represents the highest form
of emotion (2002, p. 17). Finally, Sorokin included the ade-
In 1924 Sorokin was invited to join the University of
quacy of love. Adequate love achieves ennobling purposes,
Minnesota, where he spent six years. At age forty, he accept-
and is, therefore, anything but blind or unwise. Sorokin ar-
ed a position at Harvard at the personal request of its presi-
gued that the greatest lives of love and altruism approximate
dent. In 1937 he published the first three volumes of his de-
or achieve “the highest possible place, denoted by 100 in all
fining work, Social and Cultural Dynamics, the most widely
five dimensions” (2002, p. 19), while persons “neither loving
reviewed sociological work in the United States between
nor hating would occupy a position near zero” (2002,
1937 and 1942. Sorokin met with criticism from most social
p. 19). He was impressed by the love of figures such as
scientists for his critique of materialist cultures. He distin-
al-H:alla¯j, Damien the Leper, Mohandas Gandhi, Jesus of
guished ideational cultures, in which ultimate reality is
Nazareth, Dorothy Day, Simone Weil, and Teresa of Ávila.
deemed a spiritual presence and in which the sociocultural
Because these individuals were able to maintain a love at high
world is centered on the supernatural, from sensate cultures,
levels in all five dimensions, Sorokin posited their participa-
in which reality is deemed to be strictly material and the so-
tion in a love energy that defines God, or is related to what
ciocultural world centers itself accordingly. He asserted that
he termed “the Supraconscious.” Ingroup exclusivism, ar-
the sensate culture of the West was dying, and that ideational
gued Sorokin, “has brought upon mankind more suffering
culture would emerge. A New York Times review by one lead-
than any other catastrophe” (2002, p. 461).
ing sociologist described Sorokin as “a Tarter who has struck
an alliance with neo-Thomism” (quoted in Johnston, 1995,
THE LEGACY OF SOROKIN. Sorokin rose quickly in the ranks
p. 114). He was condemned by others for attacking progress
of American sociology, and fell out of favor just as dramati-
and empiricism, for doing philosophy of history under the
cally. But in the early 1960s, his work on altruism was receiv-
guise of pseudoscience, and for being prejudiced and superfi-
ing considerable attention. His lasting significance for reli-
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8525
gious studies and the global community lies in his pioneering
in life and served his novitiate at the important northern
efforts to develop a deep dialogue between science, religion,
monastery of Saint Cyril at Beloye Ozero. After a journey to
and altruistic love. His thoughts parallel those of Pierre Teil-
the monastic communities of Mount Athos and Constanti-
hard de Chardin with regard to love as the highest energy
nople, he returned to Beloye Ozero with a commitment to
for personal and social transformation (King, 2004). Al-
hesychast spirituality. In the 1470s or 1480s Nil made his
though his center at Harvard faded in the early 1960s, his
way to the deserted banks of the river Sora. His intention was
work shaped the founding of the Institute for Research on
to establish a monastic community that differed from the
Unlimited Love in 2001.
strict and complex pattern of life at his monastery of origin
and was based, instead, on the pattern of the Athonite skete:
SEE ALSO Russian Orthodox Church; Sociology.
loosely structured, sparsely populated, with silence at its core,
and with no one superior.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Johnston, Barry V. Pitirim A. Sorokin: An Intellectual Biography.
In Nil’s community the flexibility of the monastics’ ev-
Lawrence, Kans., 1995. A complete summary of Sorokin’s
eryday arrangements corresponded to the flexibility with
writings and career.
which their inner life was to be regulated. Hours of weekday
King, Ursula. “Love—A Higher Form of Human Energy in the
prayer were left to the discretion of the individual, although
Work of Teilhard de Chardin and Sorokin.” Zygon 39, no.
all were cautioned against unrelieved prayer beyond certain
1 (2004): 77–102. An insightful comparison of Teilhard de
limits. The goal was that silence (Gr., hesuchia) by which
Chardin and Sorokin.
communion with God would be fostered.
Post, Stephen G. Unlimited Love—Altruism, Compassion, Service.
Philadelphia, 2003. Builds extensively on Sorokin’s writings
Nil wrote at some length about the temptations that im-
on love.
pede prayer: avarice, anger, sadness, spiritual torpor, vanity,
Sorokin, Pitirim A. The Sociology of Revolution. Philadelphia,
and pride. To counteract these, one must infuse the mind
1925. A sociology of the causes and nature of revolution.
and heart with the awareness of God. To this end Nil com-
Sorokin, Pitirim A. Contemporary Sociological Theories: Through
mends the Jesus Prayer. With the constant use of such prayer
the First Quarter of the Twentieth Century. New York, 1928.
the monk may even anticipate what the Greek fathers had
A useful overview of the great sociologists.
described as theo¯sis—divinization, or union with God by
Sorokin, Pitirim A. Social and Cultural Dynamics. 3 vols. New
grace. Regarding his own experience, Nil’s retention of the
York, 1937. Sorokin’s great work on sensate and ideational
first person singular in his (unattributed) quotation of Sym-
cultures.
eon the New Theologian suggests that, at the very least, it
Sorokin, Pitirim A. Social and Cultural Dynamics; Vol. 4: Basic
corresponds to his own aspirations. “As I sit in the midst of
Problems, Principles, and Methods. New York, 1941.
my cell,” he wrote, “I see a light which is not of this world.
Sorokin, Pitirim A. The Crisis of Our Age: The Social and Cultural
Outlook. New York, 1941; 2d ed., 1992. Focuses on sensate
Within me I see the maker of the world. I converse with him
culture and its adverse implications.
and love him. . . . God loves me, he has received me into
Sorokin, Pitirim A. Society, Culture, and Personality: Their Struc-
his very being, and he hides me in his embrace” (Mariia S.
ture and Dynamics, a System of General Sociology. New York,
Maikova, 1912, pp. 28–29).
1947. A further analysis of sensate and ideation cultural dy-
Nil’s intention was to provide authentic teaching, and
namics.
for this purpose he borrowed from hesychast masters such
Sorokin, Pitirim A. The Reconstruction of Humanity. Boston,
as John Cassian, John Climacus, Isaac the Syrian, Gregory
1948. The human future requires more extensive “altruiza-
tion.”
of Sinai, and Symeon the New Theologian. Nil, who knew
Greek, was the first to communicate the essence of their
Sorokin, Pitirim A. Altruistic Love: A Study of American “Good
Neighbors” and Christian Saints. Boston, 1950; reprint 1968.
teachings to the Russian reader.
A study of local “good neighbors” with regard to demograph-
Nil’s integrity as editor and spiritual guide gained him
ics and other variables.
a reputation throughout the land. In 1490 he was invited to
Sorokin, Pitirim A. A Long Journey: The Autobiography of Pitirim
Moscow to debate the question of the Judaizers, the follow-
A. Sorokin. New Haven, Conn., 1963. This is Sorokin’s
ers of the contemporary Novgorod-Moscow heresy. He was
mature retrospect on his life, and on his contributions to
certainly opposed to the persecution, still more the execu-
sociology.
tion, of the heretics. Nil’s followers were to be accused of
Sorokin, Pitirim A. The Ways and Power of Love: Types, Factors,
and Techniques of Moral Transformation. Philadelphia, 2002.
sheltering, if not actually favoring, heretics in the years to
Originally published in 1954, this is Sorokin’s greatest work
follow.
on religion, love, and science.
But the most noteworthy appearance of Nil in public
STEPHEN G. POST (2005)
concerned the question of the secularization of monastic
lands. At a council convened in 1503 by Ivan III (who fa-
vored secularization), Nil apparently rose to place before it
SORSKII, NIL (1433–1508), also known as Nilus of
an unexpected proposal: that monasteries should own no vil-
Sora. Russian hesychast and saint. Nil became a monk early
lages, and that monastics should live in deserted places and
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SOTERIOLOGY
should gain their sustenance by the work of their own hands.
plicated through the primordial acts of Adam and Eve. Addi-
The proposal was to be defeated, and Russian monasteries
tionally, there are varying conceptions of how human life
continued virtually unchecked as ever more prosperous land-
works: For instance, in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as
owners until the age of Catherine the Great (1729–1796).
well as in indigenous Chinese religion and in various others,
A prerequisite for Nil’s type of spirituality was that monks
life stretches essentially from birth or conception to death,
should neither own property nor even yearn for it.
and then the question arises about the status of postmortem
Nil’s followers, the “Trans-Volgan” elders, peripheral-
existence, if any. But in the South Asian framework, the con-
ized by the Possessor establishment of the succeeding age (for
dition of living beings is sam:sa¯ra, which implies a potentially
church and state alike were to follow in the footsteps of Ivan
endless round of rebirth or reincarnation from which one es-
Sanin [Joseph of Volokolamsk] and to favor monastic ritual-
capes only through ultimate liberation, or moks:a. In Western
ism as well as land ownership), were to live out their lives
monotheisms the question is often whether there is an after-
in obscurity. In the latter half of the eighteenth century, Nil
life; in the Indian tradition the afterlife is a given, and the
acquired a remarkable heir in Paisii Velichkovskii (1722–
question is whether one can get out of it.
1794), who influenced, among others, the Russian elders of
The conception of salvation relates most clearly to the
the Optino Hermitage and through them the Russian world
idea of some ultimate value or being, nirva¯n:a, God, brah-
beyond. The nineteenth century thus revived the reputation
man, and so on. It may be thought of as an identity with such
of Nil and confirmed, unobtrusively, his cult as saint.
an ultimate state or being, or more frequently as a kind of
communion with a personal Lord in a heavenly place, that
BIBLIOGRAPHY
is, “the place of God.” Various means may be used to gain
Nil’s basic texts are edited by Mariia S. Maikova as Nila Sorskago
liberation or final communion. Where God is a personal ob-
predanie i ustav (s vstupitel Dnoi statDei), “Pamiatniki drevnei
pisDmennosti,” no. 179 (Saint Petersburg, 1912). Selections
ject of worship typically salvation has to be effected by the
are translated in G. P. Fedotov’s A Treasury of Russian Spiri-
deity, and this is where doctrines of grace and their analogues
tuality (1950; reprint, Belmont, Mass., 1975), pp. 90–113.
come in. Even here it is assumed in some way that the human
Full translations into German are provided by Fairy von Li-
being cooperates even if only by calling on the divine name
lienfeld in Nil Sorskij und seiner Schriften: Die Krise der Tra-
for help. Where there is no such personal God, the individual
dition im Russland Ivans III (Berlin, 1963), pp. 195–284.
must prepare himself, often through rigorous methods, in
The latter also contains a judicious discussion of Nil’s life
order to be in a position to gain eternal freedom. Conse-
and writings. A sound general study of Nil’s career is George
quently there are typically “self-help” and “other-help” kinds
A. Maloney’s Russian Hesychasm: The Spirituality of Nil Sor-
of religion. There are also different emphases as to whether
skij (The Hague, 1973). Both the latter works will need to
be checked against more recent publications by such Soviet
salvation is something that ultimately occurs after death, for
scholars as S. Ia. LurDe and N. A. Kazakova.
instance, by one’s being transferred to a heavenly state, or is
something attainable in this life. Thus in a number of Indian
SERGEI HACKEL (1987)
systems there is the ideal of the j¯ıvanmukta, that is, one who
has gained liberation (mukti) while still living (j¯ıvan). It is
typical of “self-help” systems to postulate this kind of libera-
SOTERIOLOGY The term soteriology means “doctrine
tion, but even in “other-help” systems there is a prefiguring
of salvation” or, more concretely, the “way of salvation,” and
of final salvation, as indicated typically by the question asked
derives from the Greek so¯t¯eria, which in turn is built on so¯t¯er,
by some Christians, Are you saved? (not, Will you be saved?).
or “savior.” The term is usually used to refer to the salvation
The usual scheme of the major religions that take the
of individuals, but it can also relate to the salvation of a
idea of individual salvation seriously is to pose the question
group. The implication of the idea is that human beings are
in terms of a finite series of alternatives: One either attains
in some kind of unfortunate condition and may achieve an
heaven or one doesn’t. At death one is either simply de-
ultimately good state either by their own efforts or through
stroyed, or one goes to a state that is the opposite of salvation,
the intervention of some divine power. Very commonly,
namely damnation, in hell. There may also be an intermedi-
there is belief in a savior God, that is, a God whose special
ate state, such as purgatory. In the Indian scheme of things,
concern is with the welfare of the human race. Examples of
with the doctrine of reincarnation, many variations become
this idea are, in the ancient world, Isis, Mithra, and Christ;
possible. Usually (though not in the Dvaita school of Madh-
in the Far East, Amida Buddha in Japan and Guanyin in
va) hells are in effect purgatories, for ultimately the individu-
China; and Kr:s:n:a and Ra¯ma in the Hindu tradition.
al rises out of them and resumes wandering through other
The notion that people need to be saved implies that
regions and states of the cosmos. Again, the rewards for meri-
a defective condition is normally prevalent, and the major
torious conduct in this life are varied, because there are many
religions have differing views as to the root of this problem.
levels of superior social or ontological status. Thus, there is
Thus many Indian systems ascribe a humanity’s ultimate
in some systems of belief, notably in Buddhism, a system of
troubles to ignorance (avidya¯). By contrast there is the Chris-
gradations of heavens, which correspond to differing levels
tian doctrine of original sin in which the human race is im-
of moral and spiritual attainment. Generally, though there
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may be places of punishment, the choice is between being
The various dimensions of religion serve to illustrate dif-
liberated from rebirth or not being so liberated and carrying
fering means of salvation. Here it is perhaps a little mislead-
on. The choice in Western religions tends to be starker, so
ing to use the word means, in that according to a number
that the alternative to heaven is often seen as hopeless:
of religions, salvation arises from God’s act rather than from
“Abandon hope all ye who enter here” was written above the
human acts, and therefore there is no way of interpreting reli-
entrance to Dante’s Hell.
gion as itself an instrument causing salvation. Still one can
In addition to the major religious traditions, there are
look to a number of themes. Note first of all that the nature
secular ideologies that have analogues to religious doctrines
of the salvation envisaged will depend on the way the reli-
of salvation. This is partly because some religions hold out
gious ultimate is viewed. In classical China the emphasis on
hopes of a renewed blessed state that is community-oriented
both Heaven and the dao as underlying cosmic and social
and located on this earth: the notion, for instance, of the mil-
harmony suggests that the elimination of disharmony is im-
lennium when humans will live in harmony and glory on the
portant; the Mahayana Buddhist emphasis on “emptiness”
earth. Such a concept is easily secularized into utopian ideals
suggests the importance of a kind of intellectual vision, paral-
considered as practical goals, such as the truly communist so-
leling the Buddha’s own enlightenment; theism of various
ciety in the Marxist picture, which is thought of as a social
kinds suggests the centrality of the right relationship to a per-
and economic system in which class contradictions and
sonal creator, and so forth. Given the differing goals, what
alienation have been overcome. What is lacking from the
are the various means?
Marxist view, however, is a precise analogue of individual sal-
Beginning with the ritual dimension of religion, one
vation that has been such a prominent idea in the religious
may note that the right performance of ritual may be central
systems. Hitler’s thousand-year Reich was also modeled after
to soteriology. Thus the early Christian view of the sacra-
millenarian expectations but was essentially tribal in orienta-
ment of baptism implied that the neophyte, on entering the
tion. Democratic capitalism has had a vaguer notion of prog-
Christian community, dies like Christ and is resurrected with
ress without any clear idea of an ultimate state of human sat-
Christ. Provided there are no problems in the rest of the per-
isfaction. On the individual level, there is no real soteriology
son’s life, he or she is assured of ultimate salvation because
in scientific humanism, except that a person may find satis-
of the ritual or sacramental union with Christ as victor over
faction retrospectively in thinking that he or she has done
sin and death. This is repeated and reinforced by the eucha-
his or her duty in this life and has made a contribution to
ristic sacrament wherein Christ’s eternal life is imparted to
the welfare of the human race. More analogous to religious
the faithful person in the bread and wine. There are similar
ideas are those of existentialism: In Heidegger’s thought indi-
motifs in the old mystery religions, for example the direct
viduals can live authentically in the face of, and conscious
participation in the ritual reenactment of the myth of Per-
of, their own deaths and thus in a sense overcome death from
sephone at Eleusis, and in the rites of Isis.
within a finite existence.
Ritual of a rather different sort is found in ancestral
The concept of “living liberation” introduces a more
cults. Here the members of the deceased’s family employ rit-
general way of looking at soteriology, namely seeing it as
ual means (e.g., proper feeding of the deceased, the right per-
concerned with the ultimate goal of the religious or spiritual
formance of funeral rites, etc.) to ensure that the departed
life. In addition to the achievement of certain states, such as
are sent on their way serenely, or at least treated with propri-
liberation from rebirth or life in heaven, there are central ex-
ety so that their afterlives are not scenes of misery and dis-
periences, such as enlightenment and gnosis, that have ulti-
placement.
mate significance. Sometimes it is the attainment of such ex-
periences that gives people a sense of having attained living
The most important soteriological function of ritual is
liberation. It is possible to have such experiences (e.g., Zen
to open up lines of communication with the god. These
satori) without thinking that they guarantee anything about
allow those who participate in the rite to tap into the living
life after death. Such a soteriology is analogous to the secular
substance of the divine and so to gain some kind of blessed
existentialist type.
or eternal life. Christian sacraments, for instance, allow the
faithful to participate in Christ’s resurrection. Such partici-
A religious act that has some relation to soteriology is
pation remains the main motif of Christian soteriology, al-
the act of healing. Indeed, the etymology of the word salva-
though many other themes are also important. These include
tion suggests “making whole,” and there are indications of
the ideas of Christ’s victory over death and Satan, his expia-
the close connection between physical and spiritual health
tory sacrifice on behalf of humanity and in recognition of
in the New Testament (e.g., the emphasis on Jesus’ healing
human sin, and his moral example.
miracles), and in many small-scale societies (e.g., in African
classical religions, and in the new religious movements in Af-
As well as the use of ritual means of gaining salvation,
rica and elsewhere). Often disease is seen as arising from
there is the importance of the mythic “score” that the ritual
some deep alienation from society as a whole, or as the result
plays out. Christians, for instance, see their own lives as pos-
of harmful religious practices (e.g., witchcraft). Healing is
sibly reflecting the life of Christ, and more generally the life
thus simultaneously the restoration of the individual’s right
of Israel. Understanding the mythic narrative means sharing
relationship with the group.
the power of the mythic dimension of the faith. This lends
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SOTERIOLOGY
a special importance to scriptures and other works, both lit-
pel, yet lead a moral and holy life and so implicitly exhibit
erary and oral, that expound the stories of religious founders,
a “desire for Christ.” One can compare this traditional idea
gods, and heroes. So the h:ad¯ıth and the QurDa¯n itself throw
with Karl Rahner’s concept of the “anonymous Christian.”
light on the life of the Prophet Muh:ammad and become ex-
On the other hand, the conception of soteriology itself
emplars of the kind of actions and attitudes expected of the
may be collective. Here the idea of God’s saving work is ap-
Muslim if he is to please God. But apart from making possi-
plied primarily to the group as a whole—for instance, the
ble the imitation of great heroes, mythic narratives also pro-
people of Israel, who have a special destiny and a crucial role
vide assurance of the divine being’s care and concern for
in the providential unfolding of history. In Judaism and its
those who worship him. The revelation to Muh:ammad pro-
offshoot, Christianity, millenarian and eschatological think-
vides the matrix for Islamic life and so gives assurance that
ing is important, though it may take on a very provisional
from within this life the faithful will gain salvation. Similarly
and concrete character, for example, the coming of the Mes-
the story of the people of Israel and of the Jewish people since
siah in traditional Judaism, leading to the restoration of Isra-
biblical times gives the Jew a sense of his election by God
el. In Sh¯ıEah Islam there is the analogous figure of the mahdi
as part of an ongoing drama of history in which both God
and the whole eschatology of the Hidden Ima¯m. While such
and the Jewish people will be vindicated. The Bhagavadg¯ıta¯
mythic themes help to maintain the communitarian aspect
gives a special view of Vis:n:u’s salvific power and assures his
of future hope, they do not always blend well with other as-
devotees of his desire to save those who turn to him in love
pects of soteriology, such as the concept of the resurrection
and bhakti. The Lotus Su¯tra tells the story of the loving
of the body and of the immortality of the soul. Sometimes
guardianship of Avalokite´svara, who acts to save those
resurrection is seen as supplying the disembodied soul with
Buddhists who turn to him (or her, in China) in faith and
a “body,” a kind of personal clothing that is in heavenly
imitation.
terms to what the physical body is in earthly terms. At other
Both ritual and the enactment or contemplation of
times it is seen as something earthly. Likewise the communal
myth help to nurture experience, and often it is a striking
aspect of faith can be pictured in heavenly terms as in the
experience that gives people a sense of being saved. In Chris-
Christian doctrine of the communion of saints, which is a
tianity, especially in the less sacramentally oriented forms of
kind of transcendent continuation of the church on earth.
Protestantism, there is emphasis upon conversion-
The ethical dimension of soteriology is sometimes un-
experiences, being “born again,” and attaining an inner illu-
derplayed insofar as it is by the grace of God rather than
mination concerning one’s own salvation. In the Indian tra-
through ethical (or ritual) efforts that one is saved. Morality
dition there is much emphasis here also. In jña¯na, or knowl-
may thus have an oblique relationship to soteriology: The
edge, one experiences an encounter with the ultimate,
good person in the Calvinist tradition, for example, may
whether this be the discrimination (viveka) of the eternal
show some symptoms of being saved, but his or her salvation
from the noneternal in Sa¯m:khya-Yoga, the attainment of the
is not because of good works. Likewise in Pure Land Bud-
higher dhya¯nas in Buddhism, or the realization of the identi-
dhism, especially in the teaching of Shinran, there is stress
ty of a¯tman and brahman in Advaita. While the doctrine of
upon simple faith and calling on the name of Amida: If the
a personal God will suggest the spontaneity of such a being
virtuous person can be saved, how much more the sinner.
“born again,” however, the more contemplative forms of In-
By contrast religions of self-help give more importance to
dian and East Asian religion, from Chan and Neo-
moral action as part of the means of gaining liberation or sal-
Confucianism to Therava¯da Buddhism and Hindu yoga,
vation. Thus virtue may at least be a precondition of study
stress the greater importance of technique (methods of medi-
of the Ultimate, as in Advaita Vedanta or it may be integral
tation, breathing exercises, etc.).
to the Path, as in Buddhism.
The institutional dimension of religion can have a dou-
Ethics may be combined with participation in the myth-
ble relevance to soteriology. On the one hand, organizations
ic career of one’s exemplar. In general, the Mahayana Bud-
may claim some kind of privilege or monopoly in relation
dhists follow the path of the bodhisattva: They model their
to salvation. In the Christian tradition this view has received
conduct on the self-sacrificial and compassionate life of the
the familiar tag, “Extra ecclesiam nulla salus” (“There is no
great Avalokite´svara, or one of the other salvation-bringing
salvation outside the church”), which stems from exclusivist
bodhisattvas. It is not that following the path will bring salva-
interpretations of the sacred myth (echoing Jesus’ “I am the
tion by itself, for it is rather by the transfer of merit from the
Way”). In Islam membership in the sacred community is
limitless store of the bodhisattva that the otherwise unworthy
vital. In Buddhism one “takes refuge” in the Buddha, the
person reaches ultimate liberation. But the mythic concep-
dharma, and the sam:gha, the latter being the monastic com-
tion holds up an ethical and religious ideal that determines
munity, with which the laity are closely connected. Such a
the follower’s ethical perceptions. The path of the imitation
doctrine of institutional exclusivity can be moderated by
of Christ in the Christian tradition has an analogous func-
other doctrines, however, for instance the “baptism of desire”
tion. Similar motifs can be found elsewhere. In Hinduism,
in Christianity, the initiation into the church in the wider
Ra¯ma, Kr:s:n:a, and other avatars serve as alternative models
sense of those non-Christians who, not having heard the gos-
of conduct. In Judaism, the reading of the Hebrew Bible pro-
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vides the pious Jew with the model of Abraham or one of
is used in a dialectical and critical way, to uproot entrenched
the other great figures of the past. In Islam there is the imita-
concepts and to subvert habitual ways of looking at the world
tion of the Prophet Muh:ammad, and so on. In the Jewish
through the screen of language. In this way it can prepare
case there is also a very close integration between ritual and
for satori or other direct experiences of the “way things are.”
ethical rules through the written and oral Torah. Such an in-
On the whole, Indian philosophy has stressed (admittedly in
tegration stresses the importance of obedience to the will of
a rather theoretical way) the importance of this practice of
God, though ultimately it is God’s action that ensures the
philosophy for moks:a, or liberation.
final welfare of the individual Jew.
The belief in rebirth makes some difference to soteriolo-
The means of salvation may be closely tied to the figure
gy. It may involve a certain elitism. In Therava¯da Buddhism
of the spiritual leader. Thus, even in self-help religious tradi-
or Jainism, for instance, there are only a few saints at any
tions or subtraditions it may be important for the individual
given time, but this does not preclude a much wider group
to receive guidance from a specialist. Meditation and yoga,
from hoping for ultimate literation in a future life. It also
for example, must be guided by a guru. In Buddhism the
raises issues about identity, especially since the concept of the
Buddha himself is important as the one who brings the
person in some systems is tied to the concept of rebirth. That
knowledge of the Way to humans, while the Sam:gha pro-
is to say, if liberation is defined as ultimate escape from the
vides the institutional framework for leading the holy life. In
round of reincarnation, then a kind of negative theology (or
small-scale societies the figure of the shaman is often impor-
more strictly negative anthropology) is applied to the liberat-
tant in serving as the expert who provides healing and reen-
ed “self.” Thus in Buddhism various ways of speaking of the
acts the death and resurrection of the person who has suf-
enlightened or liberated person after death are denied. Simi-
fered evil. In ancient Greek religion there were mystagogues
larly, in Advaita, realization of oneness with brahman implies
and leaders, such as Pythagoras and Plotinus, who served as
no more rebirth, since in that identity beyond final death
authorities and exemplars for their followers. Such figures,
there is no longer any individuality as it is understood in the
whether shaman or mystic, serve as a bridge to the mythic
empirical world. Even in Sa¯m:khya-Yoga, where there is in
idea of the savior God who helps humans by himself taking
theory a plurality of souls or purus:as surviving in a state of
on human form. Thus in Zoroastrianism can be seen the
isolated freedom, there is doubt as to whether one can speak
theme of the future savior Saoshyant, the figure of Christ in
of individuality in any meaningful sense. Moreover the ulti-
the Christian tradition, the various mediating figures in the
mate state, which is one of absence of pain, does not seem
Hindu tradition, and the saving bodhisattvas of the
to differ essentially from unconsciousness. By contrast the
Maha¯ya¯na. Since such conceptions may be held to infringe
state of liberation according to Advaita is blissful, and such
on the purity of monotheism (some, of course, do not arise
a positive evaluation of postmortem nirva¯n:a is also made.
from a theistic background in any case) this savior-god con-
Where God is believed to govern the cosmos, rebirth be-
cept cannot strictly speaking play a part in Judaism and
comes an expression of his will. So in Ra¯ma¯nuja’s theism, for
Islam. As mediators of salvation such figures can be sur-
instance, a person’s destiny is worked out over many, many
rounded by other personages who have a role in helping
lives, but in accord with God’s will. If he saves the individual
human beings towards their ultimate welfare—for instance,
it happens in one lifetime, but the fact that an individual has
the saints of the Christian tradition, above all the Virgin
reached a state where he or she calls on God is itself a sign
Mary in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, and the lesser
of previous deeds. Followers of Ra¯ma¯nuja split over the ques-
deities of the Hindu tradition.
tion of whether salvation was solely by God’s grace, or
whether surrender (prapatti) was necessary. In the latter case,
In addition to the other dimensions of religion, the doc-
a measure of human effort was necessary for salvation. Al-
trinal too can play a role in liberation, given that a faith may
though Ra¯ma¯nuja did not fully work out his doctrine of
stress the philosophical aspect, so that thinking about the
grace, he seems to have inclined more to the former view.
world along certain lines may be conducive to a kind of
Later, the dualist Madhva held to a doctrine akin to predesti-
knowledge that saves. Thus in Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism the
nation, namely that God’s sole task was to guide the cosmos
analysis of causation and the impermanence of things may
in working out the results of the karman that already flowed
be instrumental in attaining a new way of seeing the world
from the inner nature of the individual.
that recognizes its existential “emptiness.” There is a certain
analogue in ancient Greek conceptions of philosophy as cul-
Traditional cosmologies have assigned different “places”
minating in a sort of vision, as, for instance, in Plato. Like-
for salvation or damnation. Although heaven is conceived in
wise in neo-Confucianism the investigation of things has a
theistic systems as the dwelling place of God (and vivid de-
certain meditative role that yields vital, even salvific, knowl-
scriptions are given, such as in the Book of Revelation in the
edge. Doctrine and philosophy have of course, other non-
New Testament and in the QurDa¯n), there are also heavens
soteriological functions. They may, for instance, help define
that are more fully devoted to the well-being and pleasure
the community. But they are also ways of depicting reality
of the individual. Examples include the Buddhist and (to
as it is, and the vision thereof can thus be facilitated by prac-
some extent) the Hindu heavens, which are attainable by the
ticing philosophical argumentation. Sometimes philosophy
individual through rebirth but remain ultimately imperma-
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8530
SOTERIOLOGY
nent. The person goes thither as a reward for virtuous con-
ultimate judgment about individuals. Nevertheless, the
duct, but however long he dwells, this is not final salvation.
growth of modern individualism has highlighted the impor-
Some theistic forms of Hinduism postulate heavens that re-
tance of thinking about how traditional patterns of soteriolo-
flect the desires of the devotees in their longing for and ado-
gy might throw light on the symbols of judgment and ulti-
ration of God. A somewhat similar idea is found in Pure
mate meaning that remain vital in understanding the human
Land Buddhism. But such a heaven or paradise, though re-
condition.
flecting the joy of God’s presence, may also incorporate
many analogues to worldly pleasures. By contrast, hells re-
SEE ALSO Atonement; Enlightenment; Millenarianism;
flect the deep pains of alienation from God and his love.
Moks:a; Redemption.
Some systems postulate differing levels of salvation or heav-
enly existence in order to register the variety of possible
BIBLIOGRAPHY
human fates. The Bhagavadg¯ıta¯, for instance, suggests that
Brandon, S. G. F. Man and His Destiny in the Great Religions.
those who seek identity with brahman will attain it, but that
Manchester, 1962.
it is a lower level than personal coexistence with Vis:n:u in
Brandon, S. G. F., ed. The Saviour God: Comparative Studies in
Vaikunt:ha Heaven.
the Concept of Salvation Presented to Edwin Oliver James
(1963). Reprint, Westport, Conn., 1980.
Many religions conceive of release or salvation as the ul-
timate destiny of all humans (or of all living beings). In prin-
Leeuw, Gerardus van der. Phänomenologie der Religion. Tübingen,
1933. Translated as Religion in Essence and Manifestation: A
ciple this is the case with Indian religious systems, with the
Study in Phenomenology (1938; 2d ed., 2 vols., New York,
exception of Madhva’s dualism, which conceives of some
1963).
souls as destined by their very nature for eternal punishment.
But elsewhere in Buddhism and Hinduism hells are not ever-
O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger, ed. Karma and Rebirth in Classical
Indian Traditions. Berkeley, Calif., 1980.
lasting places of punishment but in effect function as purga-
tories. A similar idea is found in Zoroastrianism, where the
Toynbee, Arnold, et. al. Man’s Concern with Death. London,
sins of the unsaved are finally burned away and all can rejoice
1968.
in the victory of Ahura Mazda. But Christianity and the
New Sources
other Western theisms conceive of eternal punishment as the
Bianchi, Ugo, and Marten J. Vermaseren, ed. La soteriologia dei
fate of some (though some Christians have believed in an
culti orientali nell’Impero romano. Leiden, 1982. Proceedings
empty hell and the ultimate salvation of everyone). The em-
of an epoch-making conference which has given impetus to
phasis on divine judgment suggests the radical differentiation
the historical location of the notion of salvation. See the im-
of the saved from the sinners. Much recent Christian theolo-
portant review by Robert Turcan, Revue de l’histoire des reli-
gy, however, has emphasized a psychological or existential in-
gions 201, 2 (1984): 188–191.
terpretation of the old pictures of heaven and hell, and stress-
Doré, Josef. “Salut-Rédemption.” In Dictionnaire des religions
es the sense of alienation from God or closeness to him in
pp. 1799–1807. Paris, 1993. Theological.
the events and vicissitudes of this life. There has been a corre-
Doré, Josef. “Salvifique (dans le christianisme).” In Dictionnaire
sponding decline in belief in hell, partly through the fading
des religions, pp.1809–1812. Paris, 1993. Christian (Catho-
of the retributive view of justice. Modern cosmology has also
lic) conception vis-à-vis Buddhism.
weakened older ways of thinking of a succession of heavens
Flasche, Rainer. “Heil.” In Handbuch religionswissenschaftlicher
above and purgatories or hells below, or of a Pure Land or
Grundbegriffe, vol. 3, edited by H. Cancik, B. Gladigow, and
other paradise “to the West.” Hence there is greater emphasis
K.-H. Kohl, pp. 66–74. Stuttgart, 1993. Phenomenological.
upon salvation and its opposite as states of relationship to the
Massein, Pierre. “Salvifique (dans le boudhisme).” In Dictionnaire
Ultimate, or as states of mind. It has always been a character-
des religions, pp.1808–1809. Paris, 1993.
istic of most Indian views of ultimate release, however, that
such a condition is “beyond the heavens” and so not to be
NINIAN SMART (1987)
figured in a primarily spatial way (though there have also
Revised Bibliography
been disputes as to whether a soul is atomic or all-pervasive).
Finally it may be noted that some phases of traditions
show a lack of interest in any radical notion of soteriology.
SOUL
Classical Confucianism has a picture of the ideal person or
This entry consists of the following articles:
sage but not a doctrine of being saved from some pervasive
CONCEPTS IN INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS
evil or ignorance. In ancient Israel there was little concern
ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CONCEPTS
GREEK AND HELLENISTIC CONCEPTS
with individual salvation until later on. Some modern secular
INDIAN CONCEPTS
worldviews such as scientific humanism do not possess the
BUDDHIST CONCEPTS
idea, and others such as Marxism do so only in an analogous
CHINESE CONCEPTS
JEWISH CONCEPT
sense. Classic small-scale religions, such as those in Africa,
CHRISTIAN CONCEPTS
are typically more concerned with group welfare than with
ISLAMIC CONCEPTS
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SOUL: CONCEPTS IN INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS
8531
SOUL: CONCEPTS IN INDIGENOUS
coined the word animatism to describe the tendency of the
RELIGIONS
mind to consider inanimate objects as living and endowed
Whereas in a Christian context the human soul is thought
with feelings and a will of their own.
about and overvalued in relation to the body, in the tradi-
According to Tylor, who was one of the first to propose
tional thinking of so-called archaic societies an immanent
a theory of primitive religion, the evolution of religious sys-
power, a vital principle, an individualized dynamism, is usu-
tems had its origin in a primitive animism, defined as a belief
ally recognized to exist not only in humans but in certain
in spiritual beings. The notion of the soul arose from the fu-
other material and biological beings as well. Whatever
sion of the idea of a life principle with a double, or an impal-
moves, whatever lives, is supposed to be the abode of one or
pable phantom that could separate itself from the body it re-
many souls.
sembled. Belief in a phantom double originated in the
This article shall essentially deal with what is conceived
experience of the independent double of distant or deceased
of as the spiritual principle of the human being, the proto-
individuals appearing in nocturnal dreams and diurnal fan-
type of the “beings-forces” of nature, and not with the more
tasies.
or less anthropomorphized spirits, gods, or genies, nor with
But studies in the history of religions have not validated
powers that are supposed to have a mineral, an animal, or
Tylor’s hypotheses. His sequential interpretation (belief in
a vegetable as a continuous substratum.
a double, attribution of a soul to animals and then to objects,
The essence of the soul is power, to the extent that
ancestor and spirit cults, fetishism, idolatry, polytheism, mo-
power, soul, and life become interchangeable categories. But
notheism) has been shown to be incorrect; the importance
with regard to traditional societies one can really speak nei-
that he gave to dream-inspired revelations in the origin of
ther of the uniqueness of the soul nor of homogenous and
myth and religion has been contested; and the historical evi-
always precise concepts. The linguistic equivalents in use re-
dence proves that monotheism appeared much earlier than
main very approximate. Since the idea of the soul is rarely
Tylor thought.
the object of metaphysical discussion in these societies, it is
difficult to really know if what is designated by the aborigines
According to Lévy-Bruhl, the primitive soul must be
as “spirit of the man,” or “spirit in the man,” corresponds
seen as participating in a unique principle. All beings func-
to separate realities, to distinct functions of the same reality,
tion as the vehicles, and the diversely specified incarnations,
or to inherent potentialities of a determined substance. Nev-
of an anonymous and impersonal force that sociology has
ertheless, the fact that primitive humans think of themselves
popularized under its Melanesian name, mana. Participation
as unlimited with regard to their physical potentialities shows
in mana, which is at one and the same time substance, es-
that they examines themselves in order to seize their hidden
sence, force, and a unity of qualities, confers on things and
essence, which extends far beyond their bodies.
beings a sacred and mysterious character that animates na-
ture and maintains an interaction between all its parts. Belief
In the explanations relating to the subject, one observes
in an essence common to certain beings and objects has been
a constant concern about concrete detail and the rejection
defined as totemism. But Lévy-Bruhl also viewed souls as
of abstractions, which results in a correspondence between
variable and multiple powers, unequally located in the uni-
ontological pluralism and a plurality of phenomena; but
verse. Next to emanations-forces and powers of nature are
nothing is represented as either purely material or purely
placed the beings-forces, the personified souls, endowed both
spiritual. The quantitative character of the power of the soul
with intelligence and will.
is accentuated by this plurality of personal souls and by the
identification of the degree of force that each individual dis-
It is, however, to be emphasized that both Lévy-Bruhl
poses of in their relation to evil spirits, in their generative
and Marett erred in concluding that the primitive conceives
power, and in the influence they has on their fellow citizens,
of everything in nature as being animated, even if there is a
for example. Each of these individual powers tends to free
belief that anything can serve as a prop for an animation
itself and to exert itself in an independent way: for example,
under specific circumstances. The idea that all is soul is a the-
through the heart in courageous deeds of battle or through
oretical construction. The idea that the individual soul does
the mind in the wisdom of a palaver. The soul never appears
not exist and that it fuses either with the cosmos or with the
as a pure essence but is identified through props and manifes-
group is also erroneous, because, on the one hand, the indi-
tations. Its power can vary from individual to individual, and
viduals’s identification with the vegetable, animal, or divine
even in the same individual in the course of his or her life.
world does not exclude the differentiation of powers and, on
the other hand, among many African peoples (the Kikuyu
THEORETICAL ELABORATIONS. While most of the ethnolo-
of Kenya, for example), the collective soul (or family spirit)
gists of religion have been interested in problems relating to
is entirely different from the soul of the individual.
the soul, E. B. Tylor (Primitive Culture, 1871) and Lucien
Lévy-Bruhl (L’âme primitive, 1927) were among those who
The idea that primitive thought ignores any dualism
formulated the principal theories regarding this subject. In
separating the body and soul also lacks validation. Numerous
The Golden Bough, James Frazer remained close to Tylor’s
examples show that there exists a quite noticeable distinction
concepts. R. R. Marett, criticizing both Tylor and Frazer,
between the body element and the diversity of spiritual enti-
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8532
SOUL: CONCEPTS IN INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS
ties that one may call “souls” for the sake of convenience, en-
person after the death of its owner. Humans have to perform
tities that may have the body as a prop or that, as the double
special rites to defend themselves against the trickster-soul.
of ego, constitute what Frazer called the “external soul.”
This last example suggests what is to many theoreticians
VARIETIES OF THE SOUL. Owing to a lack of better and more
of primitive culture a fundamental distinction: that is, the
varied terms, term soul is used here, in the singular, to refer
distinction between soul-substance, which animates the body
to conceptions with greater differences than those existing
and which temporarily locates itself in the vital centers or in
between Shinto¯ and Christianity; soul often designates, for
the products relating to its force (saliva, sweat, blood, sperm,
a single living being, plural entities, distinguished by the au-
tears), and the external soul, which is also plural and whose
tochthonous peoples themselves to account for what they
different aspects correspond to various particular functions.
judge to be independent spiritual forces. As beliefs can and
Internal soul. Wilhelm Wundt called the potentialities
do contradict each other from one ethnic group to another,
of particular parts of the body (head, heart, liver, eye) “organ-
it is hardly possible to imagine a typology that could be valid
ic souls.” But if the soul is designated by the places where
for a single continent or even for a large cultural area; conse-
it shows its power, it is in the whole body that one finds the
quently, it seems more appropriate to illustrate the diversity
substance of the soul.
of souls—the complexity and ambiguity of these beliefs—
with some examples.
Among the corporal expressions of vital dynamism, a
privileged place is assigned to blood and to respiration. In
The Fang of Gabon name seven types of souls: (1) eba,
one of the myths of the Iurak of Central Asia, the world per-
a vital principle located in the brain, which disappears after
ishes from a fire caused by the death of a sacred tree; as it
death; (2) nlem, the heart, the seat of conscience, which in-
tumbles down, the tree sheds its blood, which streams over
spires the acts of men and also disappears at the time of
the earth, changing itself into fire as it flows. Thus, the dis-
death; (3) edzii, an individual name that retains a sort of indi-
animation of the center of the world produces (as a conse-
viduality after death; (4) ki (or ndem) the sign of the individ-
quence) the disanimation of all beings. Respiration is con-
ual and at the same time his or her force that perpetuates it-
ceived of as both the sign of life and its principle. Such was
self after disincarnation; (5) ngzel, the active principle of the
the power of breath among the Celts that during the Battle
soul as long as it is in the body; (6) nsissim, both shadow and
of Druin Damghaire the druid Mog Ruith, using only his
soul; and (7) khun, the disincarnated spirit, which can appear
breath, transformed his enemies into rocks.
as a ghost.
A vital spiritual force is also supposed to reside in sperm.
From this example, one can see that the soul is never
Sexual relations are the symbol and the means of the conti-
conceived of as an amorphous substance; rather, it is repre-
nuity of the vital force in humans. To say to an old African
sented through functional props (brain, heart), through im-
man that he does not have any more “force” is to tell him
ages (shadow, ghost), through symbols (name, character
to his face that, on the one hand, he is impotent, and that,
sign), or by its activities. The differentiation of souls may also
on the other, he is no longer capable of creation. Finally, it
occur in relation to ethical or sexual criteria or their modali-
is to be noted that certain extraordinary potentialities of the
ties of action.
body may be present as the result of its being possessed by
a superior power.
The Mbua of the Rio Branco territory in Brazil (the Sa˜o
Paulo littoral) believe that there exists in each individual both
External soul. This term designates the powers of the
a beneficial soul and a dangerous soul, which manifest them-
soul located outside the body. Frazer spoke at length about
selves through communication, that is to say, through speech
this in The Golden Bough. Discovering in themselves potenti-
and an impulsive process comparable to telepathy. More-
alities that appear to them to be superior to those shown by
over, there is a third type of soul called ñee, which is the ini-
their ordinary physical performance, individuals have a ten-
tial core of the personality and plays the part of the protective
dency to conceptualize this superiority more readily outside
spirit. This soul stands guard while humans sleep in the for-
than inside their own bodies.
est; but unlike the guardian angel, it is not a being distinct
Thus, what may be called external soul can leave the
from a human. If the three souls simultaneously abandon the
body during a dream or sometimes two or three years before
body, the person dies. The Mossi of Burkina Faso (Upper
physical death (Dogon, Serer, Kongo of Africa); habitually
Volta) believe that death comes from the disunion in the soul
lives in an animal double (totem), in a human double, in the
(siga) of two invisible principles, one male (hirma) and the
shadow; and expresses itself through speech and rhythm in
other female (tule).
relation to the “non-me” (the soul of communication).
Mircea Eliade has noted that the Aborigines of Australia
Thus, the indigenous peoples of the Bank’s Islands in
recognize a distinction between two souls: the real ego, which
Vanuatu fear that death will come to them if they see their
preexists individuals and survives them, perhaps through re-
reflection in the water of a cave. If a deceased person does
incarnation, as certain tribes believe; and the trickster-soul,
not have a shadow, he or she may a shadow themself and may
which manifests itself in dreams, resists its definitive separa-
frighten the person who sees them as ghosts. An individual
tion from the body, and may remain in the body of another
can attack another using a shadow acting as an intermediary.
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SOUL: CONCEPTS IN INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS
8533
The Sotho of southern Africa believe that a crocodile can
a kind of reservoir of stagnant and infantile lives where the
seize a passerby if it catches hold of the person’s shadow at
primordial mother, Bomeno, cuts clay from which to fashion
the surface of the water. But in this context the word shadow
the newborn, which she then sends into women’s wombs.
is used figuratively to designate some inner aspect that is like
The myths relating to the origin of each individual introduce
a shadow—clearly individual and separable from the person,
the notions of initial choice of their life (gbetsi), of reproduc-
but at the same time immaterial despite being represented
tion of a character type (kpoli), and of reincarnation of an
by way of material substance. This is an example of the con-
ancestor (dzoto).
ceptual expressing itself through objects accessible to the
The Bambara of Mali believe that humans possess twin
senses.
souls called ni and dya, which are given by the deity Faro.
The “double” (which is identified with the shadow in
The tere, which represents character, conscience, and force,
some cultures, distinguished from it in others) is a second
is given to humanity by the deity Pemba. Finally, it is from
self, mysteriously united to an individual. It can die with the
the deity Mousso Koroni Koundyé that each individual ob-
individual, or it can be seized and consumed by a witch,
tains their waso, a malignant force that lives in the foreskin
which action, in turn, causes a mortal sickness in the victim
or in the clitoris and disappears at the moment of circumci-
(a general belief in West Africa). On the island of Mota in
sion or clitoridectomy.
Melanesia, the term tamaniu refers to a kind of double, refer-
Among some peoples the generation of the soul is not
ring to any animal that is mystically connected to human.
the action of a divinity external to humans; rather it is
People are forbidden to eat the tamaniu. Human and animal
through traditional methods that a soul can be obtained as
protect and influence each other in profound solidarity, but
a power. Thus, during their lifetime the Jivaroan people of
here the double does not have the exact same traits as the
Ecuador try to obtain a soul they call arutam wakani, which
original.
cannot be killed by physical violence, poisoning, or sympa-
thetic magic. The search for this soul, which takes place
The fact that some human powers are represented by
around the age of six, involves a pilgrimage to a sacred water-
the hair and nails that continue to grow for a short time after
fall, fasting, and the capture of a wandering soul during a vi-
death, and that they are symbolically transported and buried
sion of large animals in combat. The individual then feels an
and become the objects around which family funerals are cel-
irrepressible desire to kill. The act of killing leads to the ac-
ebrated in the case of the death of a loved one in a foreign
quisition of the victims’ souls and thus confers cumulative
land or of an untransportable corpse (e.g., in Benin civiliza-
supernatural power. Those who have an arutam soul and are
tion), does not mean that a soul is held to live in the hair
killed by either natural or supernatural means can, at the mo-
and the nails. Rather, they are viewed in very much the same
ment of death, form a revengeful soul called muisak, which
way as the placenta, which, like them, is buried in most parts
leaves the corpse through the mouth in order to kill the mur-
of Africa—which is to say, they are thought to be relics of
derer. Each individual, regardless of sex, is supposed also to
life and power.
possess an ordinary soul (nekas wakan) that is relatively pas-
The souls of animals, like the souls of things (e.g., a stat-
sive; this soul is represented by blood, and bleeding is even
uette), may also enter into symbolic and participative rela-
believed to be a hemorrhage of the soul. But the nekas wakan
tionship with the human soul, but an animal—for example,
is only of secondary interest in relation to the arutam wakani
a bird that flies away, a fly that enters a person’s ear, a snake
and the muisak.
that kills—may also temporarily become the prop of a per-
The Yoruba of Nigeria believe that force can be ingested
son’s external soul. Sorcerers and witches are supposed to
and that this food possesses the quality of a soul. Thus the
possess, to varying degrees, this liberty to transport them-
new king of Ife had to consume the heart of his predecessor,
selves, to live in a double, to metamorphose in order to reach
once that organ had been reduced to powder, in order to in-
the people on whom they wish to act. Sometimes, the double
corporate in himself the substance of royalty.
(e.g., the aklama of the Ewe of Togo) is thought of as a sort
DESTINY OF THE SOUL. The migration of the soul is the ex-
of tutelary spirit, an adviser on matters related to the luck
treme consequence of the freedom of movement attributed
of the individual, one that suggests a good deed or the way
to spiritual entities. Indeed, most primitive peoples believe
to avoid an accident.
that a form of soul becomes detached from the body in
ORIGIN OF THE SOUL. The soul can originate from an al-
dreams, but there are some who also hope to reach a stage
mighty spirit, from Mother Earth, or from special genies; it
of personal weightlessness through ecstasy.
can also be obtained as a gift, by conquest, or by choice.
Thus the Tupi-Guaraní of Brazil believe that incessant
Among the Ewe of Togo—who use the terms luvo (the
dancing associated with strict fasting will make them become
“substance of the soul”) and gbogbo (the “breath of life”)—
so light that they will reach the “land of no evil” beyond the
the individual, before incarnation, exists as a spirit, and to-
seas, where they will remain eternally young and be free from
gether with the supreme creator Mawu-Lisa he or she
work and life’s trials.
chooses their own destiny. This choice is supposed to take
The majority of the so-called primitive societies believe
place in the field called bome, the place of prenatal existence,
that after death their ancestors live in another world that ei-
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8534
SOUL: CONCEPTS IN INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS
ther parallels the world of the living or is similar to it. The
tion, prayer for the dead, and sacrificial offerings are carried
voluntary burial of weapons and food in tombs can be traced
out. Primitive peoples speak not of an eternal life but of a
as far back as the Mousterian epoch, to the Neanderthals,
very long life, a kind of existence resembling the one the dead
and during the Upper Paleolithic period the dead were usual-
have had on earth. Behavior, good or bad, as well as the man-
ly covered with red ochre, a sign of life and perhaps resurrec-
ner of death, largely determines the posthumous power.
tion.
Among the Fon of Dahomey, the individual whose death
was caused by lightning, drowning, or leprosy can never
Many African peoples believe that an ancestor identified
achieve ancestorhood, and among the Tongans of Polynesia
either by divination or by some distinguishing traits, al-
only the nobles are totally immortal. Among other peoples,
though living in the country of spirits, can be reincarnated
some ancestors can ascend to the heights of divinity.
in a newborn child, and sometimes even in several newborns,
especially twins.
Here, mutilation prevents the soul of a dead human
from performing harmful acts (Bering Inuit); there, the nox-
When detached from the body after death, certain souls
ious powers of a sorcerer’s soul are destroyed through the
can disappear, and others can reach various worlds beyond.
burning of the body (Ganda of Uganda). While continuing
For example, one soul makes its way to the place where its
a life in the other world, the dead person can be present else-
ancestors live; another is transmitted as a vital force to its de-
where; as a specter or a ghost (Raketta of New Guinea) or
scendants, usually to its grandsons. The ghost remains as a
in the form of an animal (lizard among the Samoans, python
double next to the corpse or appears to the living while they
among the Kamba of East Africa). Although invisible, the
sleep.
souls of the dead can appear in dreams or to those specialists
Regarding forms of life after death, an example from the
who know their desires and so can intercept their messages.
Dakota is illustrative. The sky god Skan attributes to each
SUMMARY. In the religions of primitive societies, the soul is
person at birth four types of souls. (1) Nagi, the spirit that
not necessarily the particularized form of a general and un-
controls the actions of human beings until their death, when
differentiated supernatural force; it is neither the genie living
it leaves the body to await Skan’s judgment. If nagi is deserv-
in a material reality nor the unique prototype of the ego or
ing, it joins the world of spirits (wanagi tamakoce); if not, it
of the person considered as a moral and judicial entity. Many
is condemned to wander endlessly. (2) Niya, the vital breath,
societies believe in the existence of several souls in the same
which though immaterial, is visible whenever it wills. It gives
individual, each of them having a distinct function. General-
vitality to the body, making it understand what is good and
ly, greater importance is given to the power of animation
bad, and it helps the body to influence people. The niya can
(anima) than to the faculty of representation (animus). And
leave the body of the human being, and if the nagi abandons
the notion that some spiritual element of the person survives
the body at the same time, it means death. After death, the
after death is quasi-general.
niya gives testimony on the role of the nagi, which helps in
the judgment of the latter. (3) Nagiya, the shadow, the exter-
SEE ALSO Afterlife; Animism and Animatism; Blood; Breath
nal double, responsible for supernatural actions. A man pos-
and Breathing; Cannibalism; Death; Preanimism; Spittle
sessed by the nagiya of a bear, for example, will have the na-
and Spitting; Tears.
ture of a bear. The nagiya also allows communication
between animals and humans. (4) Sicun, the guardian spirit.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
It is never visible and is sent forth by the wakan kin
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. La notion de person-
(“superior spirits”) to make humans react differently from
ne en Afrique noire. 2d ed. Paris, 1981.
animals. After death, it goes back to where it came from.
Crawley, A. E. The Idea of the Soul. London, 1909.
Almost everywhere, the voyage of the soul after death
Frazer, James G. The Golden Bough. 12 vols. 3d ed., rev. & enl.
implies a gradual purification through a series of trials (e.g.,
London, 1911–1915. Abridged and edited by Theodor H.
crossing a stream, climbing to the sky by means of a rope).
Gaster as The New Golden Bough (New York, 1959).
The ultimate destination is the land of the soul, depicted as
Hamayon, Roberte. Le chasse à l’âme. Esquisse d’une théorie du cha-
a celestial space or an underground place, a glade or a desert,
manisme sibérien. Nanterre, 1990.
or a place devoid of all tangible character. In the Solomon
Leeuw, Gerardus van der. Phänomenologie der Religion. Tübingen,
Islands, the beyond is said to be both a distant country and
1933. Translated as Religion in Essence and Manifestation
a nearby cave. The idea of the dead resting in the west where
(1938; 2d ed., 2 vols., New York, 1963).
the sun sets, or underground, or in marshes does not contra-
dict the idea of their close invisible presence.
Lévy-Bruhl, Lucien. L’âme primitive. Paris, 1927. Translated as
The “Soul” of the Primitive (New York, 1928).
That the individual continues to exist in a new condi-
Marett, R. R. The Threshold of Religion. 3d ed. London, 1915.
tion does not mean that the soul is conceived of as being im-
mortal. Life can have a circular and cyclical movement that
Tylor, E. B. Primitive Culture (1871). 2 vols. New York, 1970.
death does not interrupt, provided that the correct rites relat-
CLAUDE RIVIÈRE (1987 AND 2005)
ing to burial (cremation in the Solomon Islands), lamenta-
Translated from French by G. P. Silverman-Proust
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SOUL: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CONCEPTS
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SOUL: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CONCEPTS
by W. G. Lambert and A. R. Millard at Oxford in 1969:
Neither Sumerian nor Assyro-Babylonian cuneiform sources
Atram-hasis. The Babylonian Story of the Flood) this source of
have left any account, however incomplete, of their psycho-
information was not used because of its hermeneutic word-
logical ideas, probably because, for these ancient peoples,
play technique, which added to the difficulty inherent in
such ideas were considered self-evident and did not need to
such a poetic text and which was therefore only more clearly
be set down in writing. Scholars are thus faced with a diffi-
explained years later.
cult situation, which is made still more difficult by the schol-
In order to create humankind, the gods killed a god with
ars themselves projecting their own cultures onto the subject
whose flesh and blood they mixed clay to form the new crea-
they are studying, namely their own ideas concerning the
ture. Henceforth, as Bottéro has shown (1982), all the terms
body and the soul (in this context see, for example, the title
employed allow extensive wordplay, providing an interpreta-
of this article, which is not particularly appropriate to deal
tive key to the nature of humankind.
with the cultural attitudes of the ancient peoples described
here).
The ghost. Abusch (1998), developing these initial
ideas, has shown a relationship between the flesh of the god
Using the meager information provided by the texts, the
and the ghost (et:emmu), which remained in the underworld
issue was initially dealt with by Oppenheim and—albeit in
for a certain time after the death of an individual. This was
a less general manner—by von Soden, both in 1964 (Oppen-
the period of time for which the ghost retained its individual
heim, 1964; revised 1977, pp. 198–206; von Soden, 1964)
identity and that corresponded to the memory those who
but it remained a peripheral research subject for a long peri-
were still alive had of the dead person. It would clearly be
od, with the notable exception of Saggs (1974) and Jacobsen
difficult for this to last for more than three generations, that
(1976, pp. 155–164). In the 1980s important studies finally
is, to concern older relatives known personally (cf. van der
appeared that dealt with the key aspects of the question and
Toorn, 1996, p. 54; Abusch, 1995, revised 2002, p. 272;
formed the basis for the subsequent systematic treatment
more generally Abusch, 1998, pp. 372–373); other than
(Klein, 1982; Groneberg, 1985; Jacobsen, 1989) in the years
grandparents (or in exceptional cases, great-grandparents),
that followed.
there remained only the vague memory of ancestors per-
MESOPOTAMIA. There are three obvious sources of informa-
ceived as an indistinguishable single group. The et:emmu has
tion on Mesopotamian psychological ideas: (1) the anthro-
been the subject of various articles: see Abusch, Etemmu, in
pogeny of the Atrahasis poem and an analysis of this com-
van der Toorn, Becking, and van der Horst, 1999,
pared to other myths of the same sort; (2) details from
pp. 309–312. It should be pointed out that many scholars,
exorcist rituals to banish or remove evil spirits or funerary
by imposing their own cultural experiences and philosophy,
rites; (3) the “personal god” and the literature dealing with
have identified in the et:emmu an idea very like the European
this.
one of the “soul,” disregarding the whole range of beings de-
The Atrahasis poem draws upon traditional themes dealt
scribed to scholars since 1964 by Oppenheim (1964). Final-
with elsewhere (Kikawada, 1983) and may be dated to the
ly, in this line of thinking, European in outlook, for the sake
Old Babylonian period (twentieth–sixteenth centuries BCE).
of completeness we should mention the work of Chiodi
It tells the story of the revolt of the lesser gods, who are tired
(1994), a work that is inadequate in terms of the conclusions
of the heavy burden of work, and the resulting creation of
it draws as well as limited in terms of the selective nature of
the human race to take their place in performing this task,
the sources it uses, and the work of Spronk (1986,
leaving them free to remain with the greater gods. The rapid
pp. 96–125), wider in scope but with critical weaknesses.
growth of this new creature, which—like the gods—could
Other terms occur repeatedly in the anthropogeny, al-
not die from old age or sickness, resulted in a disruption of
ways linked by puns: the human intellect (t:¯emu, cf. puns with
the order of the cosmos and provoked the anger of the king
damu and et:emmu), which stems from the blood (damu) of
of the gods, Enlil, who tried to wipe out the human race with
the god, while the bodily element comes from the clay. Thus,
the universal flood. Ziusudra/Utanapishtim, the archetype of
the flesh of the god (ˇsiru) does not produce the human body.
the biblical Noah, is saved in the ark, which floated upon the
Developing the ideas of Abusch further, we can understand
waters. The growth of the new human race, his descendants,
the Babylonian conception of a divine being, “a high onto-
was kept in check by old age and sickness.
logical density being,” as Bottéro has stated (2001, p. 38),
The poem’s composition centers upon puns, which are
a being that, via this “density,” was thought of as a luminous
of fundamental importance in the anthropogenic story (Bot-
splendor (melammu). This component acted as a support
téro, 1982; Abusch, 1998; Alster, 2002). It should be borne
(just as the human physical body, zumru, acted as a support
in mind that the pun was a favorite device used by the
for those elements making up psyche) drawn from the in-
schools of scribes to develop the hermeneutics of the texts,
stincts and emotions, linked to the vital forces (and this is
which the apprentice scribes and their teachers studied and
the nature of the et:emmu ghost). The body of a god thus cor-
copied (Bottéro, 1992, p. 100). This is the only literary
responded to part of the human psyche. This particular part
source to deal extensively with the origin and nature of the
of the psyche may also be found empirically in the “higher”
human being, yet for a long time (the poem was published
animals (for example, dogs, donkeys), and it is perhaps in
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SOUL: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CONCEPTS
this light that an obscure passage of commentary should be
and plan, bestowed upon humans alone among all living
interpreted (“commentaries” are notes by the scribal schools,
creatures. He refers in passing to the Babylonian proverb
which provide extremely concise explanations, mostly via
“when you plan ahead your god is yours, when you do not
puns, of myths, rituals, and divinatory or exorcistic texts), in
plan ahead your god is not yours” (1998, p. 379).
which it is stated that the et:emmu of some gods are animals
Multiple external souls. Yet the personal god repre-
(Livingstone, 1986, pp. 82–83, 88–89). In the human being
sents an even more complex set of realities. On the one hand
too this element represents the individual “animal nature.”
this includes features beyond intellectual ability, while on the
We know that the ghosts of those who have not had the
other it goes back to a system of male and female beings
chance to progress in life, to attain success and maturity, the
(with which it is contrasted, thus explaining its true signifi-
vital drives and fulfillment of those qualities belonging to an
cance), which symbolize, in the guise of discrete divine fig-
adult, those desires, loves, and emotions linked to manhood
ures, fundamental human characteristics (Oppenheim,
and motherhood (children, adolescents), are among the most
1964; revised 1977). On a higher plane, there is the couple
restless and dangerous ghosts, since this part of the human
ilu (“god”: male) and lamassu (female); they can be compared
psyche—whether because of inertia or unused energy—
with another couple, ishtaru (female: translated as “goddess,”
would wander and haunt the world of the living, generally
a name that derives from the goddess Ishtar) and ˇsédu (male).
seeking the fulfillment that premature death had made im-
To provide an explanation for the characteristics of
possible. The dangerous nature of a ghost that had not been
these beings, Oppenheim recalls the anthropolgical theory of
given proper funeral rites was probably consistent with this
“multiple external souls” through which the individual finds
idea, since these would permit the ghost to pass to the under-
fulfilment and relates to the outside world. In this respect he
world: the ultimate aim of this element of the psyche consist-
gives examples taken from the classical world, the Bible, and
ed in reaching the appropriate place, the underworld, after
the Gospels in order to show how, albeit using different for-
death.
mulae, other cultures have managed to express psychological
The ability to reason: Human intelligence. Abusch
ideas of multiple external souls, ideas no more unusual in the
(1998, p. 371) points out that the blood of the murdered god
Western than in the Mesopotamian world (Oppenheim,
had provided human beings not only with intelligence
1977, pp. 199–201). He compares the Greek eudaimon with
(t:¯emu) but also with their life force (expressed in the poem
the ilu, whose effect can be seen in a stroke of luck, in the
as the heartbeat, uppu, symbolized by the beating of drums).
unwitting avoidance of danger, thus leading to the adjective
Both the ego and the self, the origin of which, according to
ila¯nû (ilu + adjectival indicator a¯n, + adjectival genitive end-
Abusch (1998, p. 378 ff.) is again passed on to mankind
ing û) being coined to describe a lucky person. This particu-
from the blood of the god, complete the psychological pro-
lar quality is linked to the reason, although from a Western
file, fitting in with the interpretations that can be inferred
perspective it is completely different in character. The lamas-
from consideration of the personal god. The ego and the self
su, which is harder to relate to a specific aspect of the ego,
are thus parallel to the flesh of the god, which for its part pro-
may be compared to the Greek eidolon, the power that allows
vides both the physical form and the ghost (that is the “ani-
individual characteristics of every kind, including physical,
mal” element), making up the death soul. Both parts of the
to be displayed. Sˇ¯edu, the male equivalent of lamassu, is con-
murdered god, flesh and blood (respectively ˇsiru and damu),
nected with the life force and the sexual, procreative drive
thus have a part to play, within the context of his divine par-
of the individual. In this sense it may be compared with the
entage, in passing on to the new being, created by the mixing
Latin genius. Ishtaru, the counterpart of ilu, should be linked
of clay, his essential characteristics. It is known that the ex-
to ˇsimtu, a word normally rendered as “destiny, fortune,
pression ˇsiru u (u = and) damu was commonly used to indi-
fate,” all of which are in fact only rough translations. Its
cate racial or family origins (van den Toorn, 1996, p. 42;
meaning may be better understood by translating the word
Abusch, 1998, p. 370, fn. 15; Stol, 2000, p. 9), thus making
as “destiny,” in the sense of the determination of a power
even more clear to the contemporary listener the idea of the
(possibly, but not exclusively divine) to act and exert power
divine origin of mankind.
in the surrounding world; it involves the allocation of per-
sonality, necessary in order to find personal fulfillment, com-
The anthropogeny of the Atrahasis—even if restricted
pleted only with death. We should think of the daimon, as
only to certain elements, namely those that were of interest
described by James Hillmann inThe Soul’s Code (New York,
to its anonymous author—opens up the possibility of inter-
1996, chapter 1). Once again a parallel may be advanced
preting other human psychological features as well, which
with the Greek moira, but also physis, that is, “nature,” “in-
appear in other texts. Thanks to the information provided
herent quality”; iˇstaru is thus the external soul in relation to
here, the systematic treatment of those elements that the
fate, in terms of the whole range of daily events, of gifts and
modern Western world would define as relating to the soul
capabilities, tasks and duties. It is this that grants a human
or the psychological has recently become possible.
being the ˇsimtu that he will attain in his personal life (Op-
Abusch (1998, pp. 378–383) maintains, not without
penheim, 1977, pp. 201–205).
good reason, that the “personal god” (ilu) corresponds with
Arnaud (1996) has shown that the ancient Mesopota-
intelligence (t:ému), thought of as that unique ability to think
mians thought that the fetus was formed by epigenesis (that
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SOUL: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CONCEPTS
8537
is by the successive accretion of different parts) rather than
Greek charis, and the Iranian xvarenâh. Melammu is the
by germination. The soul should probably be regarded as
splendor that illuminates a god or a temple (although Gil-
being formed in the same way as the fetus. Along with the
gamesh is also lit up in this way in the Sumerian poem Gil-
instinctive and emotional element, which is centered in the
gamesh and Agga) and that envelops the person or object
ghost (et:emmu) after death, there is also the zaq¯ıqu (dream
from which it emanates: in this sense it is a manifestation not
soul: Abusch, 1998, p. 372, fn. 21; Sculock, 2002, p. 1 ff.),
only of divine power but also of life energy, understood in
which, like the ghost, resides in the physical body. Two other
terms of charm, beauty, and attraction.
substances should also be mentioned: ba¯ˇstu and du¯tu, the
“life force” (ba¯ˇstu comes from the verb ba¯ˇsu, “to feel
The nature of the Sumerian world. While it is correct
ashamed”) and “the ability to plan,” respectively (Groneberg,
that the Sumerian and Akkadian worlds may be regarded as
1985; Saggs, 1974, p. 7).
parts of the same single civilization, it is, however, beyond
question that the two peoples differ in certain respects, not
Finally we should mention the ku¯bu, “fetus,” which, de-
just synchronically but also diachronically. The ghost,
spite being physical, has certain similarities with the et:emmu.
et:emmu, is called gidim in Sumerian (from the Semitic
The ku¯bu as an unborn child lives in the underworld and in-
qa¯d¯ım, “ancestor”: the Akkadian et:emmu is also probably de-
dividually in its mother’s womb. Ku¯bu was also an under-
rived from gidim: Abusch, 1998, p. 373). It is not mentioned
world deity, a dangerous demon, although it could also be
in the anthropogeny of the Sumerian myth Enki and Nin-
benign and is linked to growth (Stol, 2000, pp. 9, 29–33).
mah, which is directly related to the anthropogeny of the
The world below, acting as a womb or as Mother Earth, ac-
Atrahasis poem—this has been studied in detail by Kikawada
cepts the dead and provides energy to those who are coming
(1983)—nor in the bilingual anthropogenic myth “KAR 4,”
into being (Abusch, 1995; revised 2002, p. 217). In a certain
in which the motif of killing of divine beings in order to
sense ku¯bu and et:emmu may be regarded as the beginning
create the human race appears (Abusch, 1998, p. 369 ff.).
and end of this process. In this respect the existence of necro-
While there may be an exact semantic overlap between
mantic rites should be noted, showing that, for witches at
et:emmu and gidim, in contrast we should examine the word
any rate, ghosts could be used for advantage (Finkel, 1983–
lil2, where the similarity with Akkadian terminology is more
1984; Tropper, 1989), since, like the ku¯bu, they also pos-
complicated. In general terms it may be stated that lil, dis-
sessed certain powers.
cussed in detail by Jacobsen (1989), is a translation of the
The manner in which names are assigned to these
Akkadian zaq¯ıqu, which, as well as signifying dream soul,
things, these “multiple external souls,” should not be regard-
also means “breeze.” The term also reappears in the name of
ed as an inflexible system of classification that did not change
the king of the gods, En- lil2, translated as “Lord wind.” His
over the millennia. In popular thinking some traits and char-
realm is the atmosphere, the intermediate element of the cos-
acteristics may have been understood differently, with cer-
mos, which at one extreme touches heaven (the home of his
tain features emphasized or played down, so that in consider-
father, An), while at its other edge touches the surface of the
ing Mesopotamian psychology, we should always allow a
earth (it is not by chance that the god is called a “trader”).
certain leeway within the elaborate structure set out here.
It permits all living beings to exist, and it is indeed the pres-
ence of a special kind of wind, the breath, that distinguishes
The melammu. The divine splendor (melammu) means
the living from the dead. Enlil is thus closely connected with
that the gods are not only similar to, but of the same nature
the movement of air, with the wind, with gusts, and with the
as, the stars (Reiner, 1995, pp. 1–24). This particular detail
breath. The god is regarded as having given life to the uni-
is significant when considering the most important divine el-
verse (life being considered as a breath, napiˇstum, Sumerian
ement within the human being. The key to interpreting this
zi). In addition, a specific exhalation of breath consists of a
lies in the maqlû, a complex ritual remedy against magic, by
word, and it is no mere chance that this is also a feature of
which a man who had been fallen under a witch’s spell could
the medium, where the spoken word makes clear to the lis-
be purified. Abusch (1995, reprinted 2002), who has provid-
tener the otherwise unattainable thought of the one with
ed the most complete and detailed interpretation of the na-
whom he is speaking. This idea relates directly to the sacred
ture, origin, and extent of this ritual, has pointed out that
nature of the word, both spoken and written, and this is what
the witch’s spell takes place during a dream and that the af-
is behind the use of puns by the scribal tradition when com-
fected individual ascends to heaven and becomes one of the
menting on the texts.
stars while taking part in the celebration of the ritual (which
may perhaps also have ecstatic significance: Abusch, 1995,
The Sumerian and Akkadian languages both use the
reprinted 2002, p. 285). The nature of melammu should be
same term for “word” as for “matter, affair” (Sumerian inim
considered in this context (Cassin, 1968). The word, along
= Akkadian awa¯tu), and this is relevant to an analysis of the
with others related to it (puluhtu, “fear [aroused by the sight
meaning of the term lil2. The comparison with tempests and
of the melammu],” namirtu, “brightness, light [that is the vis-
blasts of wind, even those that bring destruction (signs of the
ible nature of the melammu],” raˇsubbatu, “awesomeness,”
power of Enlil), and less obvious features, such as life and
ˇsalummatu, “radiance”), even if reflecting different shades of
the word, show clearly how objectification matches subjecti-
meaning, has been compared with the Hebrew ka¯bo¯d, the
fication and vice versa, an idea which both Oppenheim
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8538
SOUL: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CONCEPTS
(1964; revised 1977) and Abusch (1998, pp. 379–380) have
expressions generally used are: (Sumerian) dingir-sag-du3-ni
taken as the basis for their interpretation of personal gods as
= (Akkadian) ilum ba¯niˇsu, “his (= the individual human
objectifications of psychological realities, confirming what
being’s) creator god (= the one who begat him) = the god
Eliade (1975, vol. 1, p. 96) had stated in his description of
who created him”; (Sumerian) ama-dim2-ma-ni = (Akkadi-
the characteristic features of Mesopotamian religion. Lil2 is
an) ummu ba¯n¯ıtiˇsu, “the mother (here a goddess) who pro-
also a demon, the wind that brings sickness, developed in
duced him”; and (Sumerian) lu2-ulu3 dumu-dingir-ra-na =
two demon figures, Lilû (male) and Lilîtu (female), respec-
(Akkadian) aw¯ılu ma¯ri iliˇsu, “man, the son of his god.”
tively, incubus and succuba. These are two specters that ema-
These external objectifications provide evidence for the exis-
nate from those who have died before having the chance to
tence of a divine principle (albeit divided into two male and
enjoy sex and procreation (Wiggermann, in Stol, 2000,
female opposites) essential to the human being, evidence that
p. 227), but, in a purely internal sense, it is the mind of the
is confirmed by the information in the anthropogenic my-
sleeper, who moves in the dream while his body lies still and
thology.
comes into contact with the divine world (Jacobsen, 1989,
SYRIA-PALESTINE, ANATOLIA. The epigraphic evidence for
p. 274), where the name of the god of dreams, Sigsig, is men-
this region is much less abundant and much more fragment-
tioned (the name Sig[s]ig comes from the Akkadian
ed than that found in Mesopotamia. Even literary evidence
Ziq¯ıqu/Zaq¯ıqu, the god of the “dream soul, zephyr, breeze”;
is scarcer and less widespread, and it is therefore impossible
Oppenheim, 1964, pp. 232–237: “the winds” or “the ever
to provide a similar picture. However, both the fact that Ak-
blowing one”). The dream state, like the atmosphere, has an
kadian belonged to the group of Semitic languages spoken
intermediary nature, if another name of the god of dreams
in the region, and the geographical proximity of this region
in a text may be interpreted as “Enlil with regards to dreams”
to Mesopotamia, which tended to encourage links, lead to
(Oppenheim, 1964, p. 233). An evil demon lurking in the
the conclusion that the picture was not radically different.
night or a benign god, which externalizes a state of mind, the
It is still not possible, given the nature of the sources, to paint
dream illustrates the ambivalent nature that is also character-
a picture showing the corresponding relationship between
istic of other beings.
the “multiple external souls,” as there are only vague refer-
The literature and glyptics provide further descriptions
ences to these. These relate to the word nbˇs, used in the sense
of two protective beings, the goddess Lama and the god
of “soul” (van der Toorn, 1996, p. 232), referring to the soul
Utug. These went in front of and behind the individual,
of a Neo-Hittite king (in the eighth century BCE; del Olmo
guiding him toward sure contact with higher divine realities,
Lete, 1996, pp. 74–77), who wants to ascend to heaven and
namely toward purification and health (one example taken
feast with the gods. Nbˇs is from the same root as the Akkadi-
from an exorcism: dUdug-sig
an napiˇstum (see above), which Saggs (1974, p. 8) had previ-
5-ga dLama-sig5-ga he2-en-da-
sug
ously linked with the Hebrew nepeˇs, taken to mean “external
3- sug3-ge-eˇs, “May the good [sig5-ga] Utukku [Akkadian
for Udug] and the good [sig
soul.” Even a quite well-documented term, such as the He-
5-ga] ˇsedu [= Lama: this identifi-
cation is made in bilingual texts] go with him [the patient]).”
brew ’ob (usually taken to mean “spirit of the dead,” compa-
The goddess Lama was not simply restricted to human be-
rable to the Akkadian et:emmu), which could be compared
ings alone but others also, such as, for example, cities and
with Western Semitic material, contains ambiguities that
higher gods (Foxvog, Heimpel, and Kilmer, 1980–1983). As
make it impossible to provide a consistent interpretation
regards the Udug, this indicates a demonic, not necessarily
(Tropper, Spirit of the Dead, in van der Toorn, Becking, and
benign, being: indeed part of the exorcistic texts clearly deals
van der Horst, 1999, pp. 806–809). In the silence of the
with the casting out of the Udug-hul (hul, “evil”), although
sources it is nonetheless possible to discern a change in the
it should be remembered that there is also a dingir-hul (dingir
relation between body and soul (meaning by this simply
= Akkadian ilu, “god”).
the part of the human being that is not the physical body).
During the second and third millennium BCE the distinction
Particular attention should be paid to the personal god
between these two elements was emphasized. In Mesopota-
and goddess who are portrayed as divine parents. Klein
mia this was clearly illustrated by the Atrahasis poem, when
(1982) has shown how the choice of words clearly distin-
the two elements are mixed together, the divine ingredient,
guishes these two beings from natural parents. The “personal
that is, the flesh and blood of the god, with the clay. This
god” (Klein correctly expresses reservations as to whether this
distinction is part of the common cultural heritage of the
is a suitable term to use for the situation to which it refers)
Near East region. The theory concerning this has been stated
is the principle from which humanity originates, to whom
by del Olmo Lete (1996, pp. 53–80) in the context of a study
he should refer during the course of life. This being should
investigating the continuity between Syrian culture of the
not be thought of as clearly defined, if, as Klein demonstrates
second millennium and the Western Semitic world of the
(1982, p. 303, fn. 3), the same ruler can call upon different
first millennium. In this study the particular features of
gods as his “parents.” Even allowing for the fact that the posi-
the Western Semitic world of the second millennium, as set
tion of rulers may represent a very special case, that of a king,
out in the texts from Ugarit, are compared with the psycho-
it should be pointed out that the whole idea may not have
logical ideas of the Syria-Palestinian culture (and its Punic
been so very different as regards the ordinary individual. The
offshoot in the Mediterranean) in the first millennium.
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SOUL: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CONCEPTS
8539
To identify its distinctive important features, we should
zaroli has managed to find the forerunner of Saint George
examine the Ugaritic mythological series “Baal and Anat”
confronting the dragon (Fronzaroli, 1997a, 1997b; on the
(del Olmo Lete, 1995). This is the broad story of the struggle
closeness of the two divine figures, Hadda, main character
between life and chaos (considered as death), which has ech-
in the texts examined by Fronzaroli, and Baal, see W. Her-
oes in Mesopotamian mythology, even if they are very dis-
mann, Baal, in van der Toorn, Becking, and van der Horst,
tinct and distant, such as the poems concerning the conflict
1999, p. 132). Besides, Baal is also a mlk (Ugaritic = malik)
of the god Ninurta against the demon Asakku in Sumerian
chief “adviser” (del Olmo Lete, 1996, p. 56), leader of a
(called lugal-e) and Akkadian, and the Akkadian poem,
group of chthonic beings called the mlkm (= Akkadian
which is derived from this, on the apotheosis of Marduk, the
ma¯liku¯, plural). When the king dies, he becomes a mlk and,
Enuma elish. It consists of three poems: “The Battle of the
as such, becomes one of the group of mlkm. The Old Babylo-
God Baal with the God Yam,” “The Palace of Baal,” and
nian ritual kispu from Mari, a city on the Euphrates, refers
“The Battle between the god Baal and the God Mot.” The
to the ma¯liku¯ and is consistent with the Ugaritic cultural pas-
mythological series as a whole is the story of the changing
sages in this regard. The mythological pattern in the story
rule of the universe. In the first instance the three sons of the
of the descent to the underworld and resurrection of Baal,
supreme god El, Baal, Yam, and Mot, divide up the three
the relationship of this god with both the kings and the rpum
tiers of the cosmos, namely the earth, the sea, and the under-
and mlkm too, when the kings themselves are also included
world. But the peace is short-lived. The first poem describes
in these last two groups, provides the outline of a Western
the victory of Baal over the god of the sea, Yam, who repre-
Semitic idea that is clearly apparent in the Ugarit texts and
sents primordial chaos, like the goddess Tiamat in the
with which similar information from subsequent periods
Enuma elish. The second poem concerns the challenge of
should be compared. Nor should we disregard the Hittite
Baal, who has become the king of the gods, against his enemy
concept of the kingship, summarized in the euphemistic ex-
Mot, following the construction of the palace that Baal has
pression DINGIRLIM-iˇs kiˇsari, “he has become a god,” to in-
had the god of craft, Kothar, build for him as the seat of his
dicate the death of the king. In the west, therefore, both in
rule of the cosmos. Baal is defeated in battle, goes down to
Syria and in Anatolia, the deification of the sovereign after
the underworld, and is eaten by Morte (Mot). The gods all
his death was a distinctive cultural feature, which is only par-
planned the disappearance of Baal, who on this occasion acts
tially paralleled in Mesopotamia. In the first millennium the
as a symbol of life of which he is patron—confined between
textual evidence becomes even more scarce; however, it is
the two extremes of birth and death. Since life on earth is
possible to employ both the archeological evidence as regards
struggling under the oppressive heat, his “sister” Anath goes
funerary rites, paying particular attention to the tophet of
off to look for her “brother”; he has the powers of a weather
Punic cities in the west, as well as the biblical and classical
god and can make life thrive once more. The goddess, en-
sources dealing with the molk sacrifice and the alleged sacri-
raged, confronts and defeats Mot, tearing him to pieces. Baal
fice of children (del Olmo Gete, 1996, pp. 53–61). The to-
is thus freed and able to escape from the stomach of his
phet, a graveyard area where the cremated remains of dead
enemy. But Mot also comes back to life and the two gods
children were buried, shows that passage through fire had ac-
confront each other once more. Finally the conflict is re-
quired the ability to convey to eternal life those who had not
solved by a judgment, handed down by the god El, that per-
had the time to become a part of the normal life of society.
suades Mot to return to his own realms.
The apotheosis and beatific vision of the dead kings, both
This outline of the myth clearly shows, on two levels,
the kings of Ugarit (who were not cremated in the second
the way that life alternates, both in an abstract sense, in con-
millennium) and those of the Hittites (who have handed
trast with death, and in terms of the cycle of the seasons, the
down to us texts concerning funerary cremation rites in the
alternating fertility of plant and animal life (W. Herrmann,
second millennium) and Neo-Hittites (in the first millenni-
Baal, in van der Toorn, Becking, and van der Horst, 1999,
um), were extended in the first millennium to dead children:
pp. 134–136). Yet the most dramatic adventure of the god
a socially downward shift that changed eschatology, increas-
Baal goes even further. He is given the epithet rpu (“healer”),
ing the division between the physical body (which was to be
not only because he has overcome death (Mot) but also be-
destroyed by burning) and the incorporeal part of the indi-
cause (it should not be forgotten that the word baal means
vidual, which was to be dispatched to its proper divine place
“lord”) he is the first of the rpum, the dead kings who are
(del Olmo Gete, 1996, p. 61). Yet the funeral pyres both of
the ancestors of the sovereign (W. Herrmann, Baal, and H.
Melqart (Sergio Ribichini, Melqart, in van der Toorn, Beck-
Rouillard, Rephaim, in van der Toorn, Becking, and van der
ing, and van der Horst, 1999, pp. 563–565) in particular
Horst, 1999, respectively pp. 135 and 692–700; see “King-
(Melqart, whose name, mlk qrt, means “king of the city,” is
ship in the Ancient Mediterranean World, Syria and Pales-
called “Baal of Tyre”), as well as those of Dido and Hannibal,
tine. Including Israel”). These characteristics of the god Baal
show that the fire constituted a ritual life-giving moment
are clear in the texts from Ugarit (fourteenth and thirteenth
(Melqart is called the “Herakles of Tyre” and, like the Greek
centuries BCE), but their origins may be much older: some
hero, he passes into the fire). One of the most important dif-
of the soteriological features of Baal can be traced back to
ferences related to cremation: in Mesopotamia destroying
texts from Ebla (twenty-fifth century BCE), in which Fron-
the body did serious harm and could deprive the dead person
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

8540
SOUL: GREEK AND HELLENISTIC CONCEPTS
of his identity (Abusch, 1998, pp. 372–378; but del Olmo
1992).Tzvi Abusch, “Ascent to the Stars in Mesopotamian
Gete, 1996, pp. 68–69, interprets part of the same evidence
Ritual: Social Metaphor and Religious Experience,” in
in precisely the opposite way). The Hebrew world too devel-
Death, Ecstasy, and the Other Worldly Journeys, edited by
oped differently. The Old Testament condemnation of these
J. J. Collins and M. Fishbane, pp. 15–38 (Albany, N.Y.,
ideas, which were considered an abomination, show how the
1995) (= T. Abusch, ed., Mesopotamian Witchcraft [Leiden,
Hebrew cultural environment, consistent with its monothe-
2002], pp. 271–286). Silvia Maria Chiodi, Le concezioni
dell’oltretomba presso i sumeri
(Rome, 1994). Erica Reiner, As-
ist creed, did not develop in the same way as, starting from
tral Magic in Babylonia (Philadelphia, 1995). Gregorio del
the Canaan cultural beginnings, was typical of the other peo-
Olmo Lete, “Semitas occidentales,” in Mitología y Religión
ples of the region.
del Oriente Antiguo, vol. 2/2: 45–222, edited by Gregorio del
Olmo Lete (Barcelona, Spain, 1995). Karel van der Toorn,
SEE ALSO Baal; Canaanite Religion, overview article.
Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel (Leiden, 1996).
Arnaud, D., “Le fœtus et les dieux au Proche-Orient sémi-
B
tique ancien,” Revue de l’histoire des religions 213 (1996):
IBLIOGRAPHY
123–142. Gregorio del Olmo Lete, “El continuum cultural
Since Oppenheim (1964) provided a general outline of this, the
cananeo,” Aula Orientalis Supplementa 14, Sabadell (Barcelo-
subject has not been comprehensively dealt with and scholar-
na, 1996). Pelio Fronzaroli, “Il serpente dalle sette teste a
ly research has been restricted to specialist publications. An
Ebla,” in Alle soglie della classicità il Mediterraneo tra tradiz-
extensive bibliography is therefore necessary for the reader
ione e innovazione. Studi in onore di Sabatino Moscati, edited
who wishes to assess and thoroughly examine the topics dis-
by E. Acquaro et al., pp. 1135–1144 (Pisa and Rome, 1997)
cussed here. In order to show the way in which the study of
(= 1997a). Pelio Fronzaroli, “Les combats de Hadda à Ebla,”
the subject has developed, the bibliography is given in chro-
MARI 8 (1997): 283–290 (= 1997b). Tzvi Abusch, “Ghost
nological order.
and God: Some Observations on a Babylonian Understand-
A. L. Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civili-
ing of Human Nature,” in Self, Soul and Body in Religious Ex-
zation (Chicago and London, 1964); rev. ed. completed by
perience, edited by A. I. Baumgarten, J. Assmann, and G. G.
E. Reiner 1977, pp. 198–206. W. von Soden, “Die Schutz-
Stroumsa, pp. 363–383 (Leiden, 1998). K. van der Toorn,
genien Lamassu und Schedu in der babylonisch-assyrischen
B. Becking, and P. W. van der Horst, eds., Dictionary of Dei-
Literatur,” Baghdader Mitteilungen 3 (1964): 148–156.
ties and Demons in the Bible, 2d ed. (Leiden, 1999). Marten
Elena Cassin, La splendeur divine: Introduction à l’étude de la
Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible. Its Mediterranean Set-
mentalité mésopotamienne (Paris, 1968). H. W. F. Saggs,
ting (Groningen, Netherlands, 2000). Jean Bottéro, Religion
“‘External Souls’ in the Old Testament,” Journal of Semitic
in Ancient Mesopotamia, translated by T. L. Fagan (Chicago
Studies 19 (1974): 1–12. Mircea Eliade, Storia delle credenze
and London, 2001). Bent Alster, “ilu awilum: we-e i-la,
religiose, vol. 1 (Florence, 1979); originally Histoire des croy-
‘Gods: Men’ versus ‘Man: God’—Punning and the Reversal
ances et des idées religieuses (Paris, 1975). Thorkild Jacobsen,
of Patterns in the Atrahasis Epic,” in Riches Hidden in Secret
The Treasures of Darkness (New Haven, Conn., and London,
Places: Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Memory of Thorkild Ja-
1976). D. Foxvog, W. Heimpel, and A. D. Kilmer, “Lamma/
cobsen, edited by T. Abusch, pp. 35–40 (Winona Lake, Ind.,
Lamassu,” in Reallexicon der Assyriologie, vol. 6, pp. 446–453
2002). J. Scurlock, “Soul Emplacements in Ancient Mesopo-
(Berlin and New York, 1980–1983). Irving L. Finkel, “Nec-
tamian Funerary Rituals,” in Magic and Divination in the An-
romancy in Ancient Mesopotamia,” Archiv für Orientfor-
cient World, edited by L. Ciraolo and J. Seidel, pp. 1–6 (Lei-
schung 29/30 (1983–1984): 1–17. Jacob Klein, “‘Personal
den, 2002).
God’ and Individual Prayer in Sumerian Religion,” Archiv
PIETRO MANDER (2005)
für Orientforschungen 19 (1982): 295–306. Jean Bottéro, “La
Translated from Italian by Paul Ellis
création de l’homme et sa nature dans le Poème d’Atrahasîs,”
in Societies and Languages of the Ancient Near East—Studies
in Honour of I. M. Diakonoff
, edited by M. A. Dandemayev
et al., pp. 24–32 (Warminster, U.K., 1982). I. M. Kikawada,
SOUL: GREEK AND HELLENISTIC CONCEPTS
“The Double Creation of Mankind,” in Enki and Ninmah,
The modern Western idea of the soul has both eschatological
Atrahasis I 1–351, and Genesis 1–2, Iraq 45 (1983): 43–45.
Brigitte Groneberg, “Eine Einführungsszenze in der altba-
and psychological attributes, and the presence of the Greek
bylonischen Literatur: Bemerkungen zum persönlichen
word psuch¯e, or “soul,” in concepts such as psychiatry and
Gott,” in Keilschriftlichen Literaturen, edited by K. Hecker
psychology suggests that the Greeks viewed the soul in the
and W. Sommerfeld (= XXXII Rencontre Assyriologique In-
modern way. Yet the absence of any psychological connota-
nternationale) (Berlin, 1985), pp. 93–108. Aldasir Living-
tions in the earliest extant usages of psuch¯e shows that at least
stone, Mystical and Mythological Explanatory Works of Assyri-
the early Greek concept of the soul was different from later
an and Babylonian Scholars (Oxford, 1986). Klaas Spronk,
beliefs. Taking this difference as my point of departure, I
Beatific Afterlife in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near East
shall first trace the development of the conception of the soul
(= Alter Orient und Altes Testament 219) (Neukirchen-
of the living, then look at the conception of the soul of the
Vluyn, Germany, 1986). J. Tropper, Totenbefragung im
dead, and, finally, analyze the fate of the soul according to
Altrn Orient und im Alten Testament (=Alter Orient und
Hellenistic religions.
Altes Testament 223) (Neukirche-Vluyn, Germany, 1989)
pp. 47–109. Jean Bottéro, Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning,
SOUL OF THE LIVING. The Greek conception of the soul in
and the Gods (English translation, Chicago and London,
the Archaic age (800–500 BCE) might best be characterized
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SOUL: GREEK AND HELLENISTIC CONCEPTS
8541
as multiple. Following the widely accepted terminology de-
had spread, someone said that he had just met Aristeas out-
veloped by the Scandinavian Ernst Arbman (1926, 1927),
side the town. And when the relatives came to fetch the dead
we can distinguish in the oldest literary texts—Homer’s Iliad
body from the fuller’s shop, they did not find it. After six
and Odyssey (commonly dated to the eighth and seventh cen-
years Aristeas reappeared and composed a poem, the Ari-
tury, respectively)—two types of soul. On the one hand,
maspea, in which he related a journey to the far North. A
there is the free soul, or psuch¯e, an unencumbered soul repre-
later account relates that the soul of Aristeas was seen flying
senting the individual personality. This soul is inactive (and
from his mouth in the shape of a raven.
unmentioned) when the body is active; it is located in an un-
specified part of the body. Its presence is the precondition
Aristeas’s disappearance from the shop suggests that his
for the continuation of life, but it has no connections with
“death” was in fact a deep trance during which his soul was
the physical or psychological aspects of the body. Psuch¯e
believed to leave his body. The bilocation at the moment of
manifests itself only during swoons or at death, when it
his supposed death fits into a general pattern according to
leaves the body never to return again. On the other hand,
which bilocation always takes place when the free soul leaves
there are a number of body-souls, which endow the body
the body—that is to say, during sleep, trance, or death. Ar-
with life and consciousness. The most frequently occurring
isteas’s poem apparently used the first person to describe his
form of body-soul in Homer’s epics is thumos. It is this soul
journey to the Rhipaean Mountains in the North, as do the
that both urges people on and is the seat of emotions. There
Siberian shamans when recounting their adventures during
is also menos, which is a more momentary impulse directed
trances. Those who knew Aristeas personally would have
at specific activities. At one time, menos seems to have meant
known that he experienced his adventures only in a trance;
“mind, disposition,” as appears from related verbs and the
others who knew only his poem must have concluded that
fact that the Vedic manas has all the functions of the Homer-
he had experienced his adventures while awake. These and
ic thumos. As is indicated by the related Sanskrit dhu¯mah and
similar reports have been interpreted as manifestations of a
the Latin fumus, thumos probably once meant “smoke”; it
shamanistic influence due to trade and colonization that had
later usurped most of the connotations of menos. A word em-
brought the Greeks in contact with the shamanistic culture
phasizing the intellect more than thumos and menos is nous,
of the Black Sea Scythians in the seventh century. Yet, the
which is the mind or an act of mind, a thought or a purpose.
shamanistic parallels that have been adduced are either too
In addition, there are a number of organs, such as the heart
general—ecstasy and the journey of the soul occur in too
and the lungs, which have both physical and psychological
many places to be distinguishing traits—or cannot withstand
attributes.
close scrutiny. It seems more acceptable to claim these leg-
ends as valid testimonies for the existence of the free soul in
In Homer, then, the soul of the living does not yet con-
Archaic Greece.
stitute a unity. The resemblance of this kind of belief in the
soul to that of most “primitive” peoples strongly suggests
Toward the end of the Archaic age, two important de-
that it belongs to a type of society in which the individual
velopments took place. First, the gradual breakdown of the
is not yet in need of a center of consciousness. Studies that
aristocratic hegemony in the later Archaic age had promoted
relate the structural elements of Archaic Greek society to the
a certain degree of individualization, and thus the idea of
emotional realities of that society, however, are sorely miss-
ending up in the unattractive and impersonal beyond that
ing; in fact, studies of belief in the soul never seem to investi-
was the Homeric underworld became less and less accept-
gate this question.
able. These changes promoted an “upgrading” of the psuch¯e,
which in the middle of the fifth century even came to be
In the course of the Archaic age, we hear of journeys of
called “immortal.” The philosopher Pythagoras, who lived
the soul—an important capability of the free soul that is not
in the second half of the sixth century, introduced the specu-
mentioned in Homer. Fascinating accounts tell of persons
lative doctrine of metempsychosis—a doctrine probably in-
whose souls were reputed to wander away during a trance.
fluenced by Indo-Iranian sources. Initially, the concept of
It was told, for example, about one Hermotimos of Clazo-
metempsychosis did not enter the mainstream of Classical
menae, a city on the western coast of present-day Turkey,
Greek religion and remained restricted to marginal religious
that his soul “wandering apart from the body, was absent for
movements such as Pythagoreanism and Orphism. It was not
many years, and in different places foretold events such as
above ridicule: a contemporary satirist relates that when Py-
great floods . . . while his stiff body was lying inert, and that
thagoras saw a dog being beaten, he exclaimed: “Stop! Do
the soul, after certain periods reentering the body as into a
not beat him. It is the psuch¯e of a dead friend. I recognized
sheath, aroused it” (Apollonius, Mirabilia 3). Here we have
him when I heard his whine.” However, the doctrine became
a clear case of a person lying in trance whose soul is supposed
very popular in post-Classical times.
to have left the body.
The second development of the late Archaic age was the
A similar case is reported of Aristeas of Proconnesus, an
gradual incorporation by psuch¯e of thumos, which made the
island in the Sea of Marmara. Herodotus (4.14) tells the fol-
psuch¯e the center of consciousness. This transformation has
lowing local legend. Aristeas entered a fuller’s shop in Pro-
not yet been satisfactorily explained, but it was most likely
connesus and dropped dead. But, after the story of his death
related to the growing differentiation of Greek society. Be-
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SOUL: GREEK AND HELLENISTIC CONCEPTS
cause of our limited sources, we can trace the course of this
the only mode of existence after death; the deceased was also
process only in Athens, whence, through the work of the tra-
compared to a shadow or presented as an eido¯lon (“image”),
gedians of the second half of the fifth century, we acquire a
a word that stresses the fact that for the ancient Greeks the
detailed look at the changing nature of psuch¯e. Dramatic situ-
dead looked exactly like the living.
ations present persons, especially women, whose psuch¯e sighs
The physical actions of the souls of the dead were de-
or melts in despair, suffers pangs, or is “bitten” by misfor-
scribed in two opposite ways. On the one hand, the Greeks
tune—emotions never associated with psuch¯e in Homer.
believed that the dead souls moved and spoke like the living;
Characters even address their own psuch¯e, and a particular
the image of the deceased in the memory of the living play
personality is referred to as, for example, a “mighty psu-
a major part in this activity. There is a corollary of this idea
ch¯e” or a “sweet psuch¯e.” This development evidently reflects
in the Odyssey (book 11) where Orion and Herakles are de-
the growth of the private sphere in Athenian society, which
picted as continuing their earthly activities. On the other
promoted a more delicate sensibility and a greater capacity
hand, the souls of the dead are depicted as being unable to
for tender feelings, such as we find more fully in the fourth
move or to speak properly: when the soul of Patroclus left
century.
Achilles, he disappeared squeaking (Iliad 23.101). The cir-
The culmination of the psuch¯e as the center of man’s
cumstance of death was also of some importance in the for-
inner life was the necessary precondition for the Socratic
mation of ideas about the soul of the deceased. Homer (Od-
view that a man’s most important task was to take care of
yssey 11.41) describes the warriors at the entrance to Hades
his psuch¯e. This view of the soul was taken up by Plato,
still dressed in their bloody armor. Aeschylus (Eumenides
throughout whose work concern about the psuch¯e remains
1.103) has the eido¯lon of Clytemnestra display her death
axiomatic. As Friedrich Solmsen observes, “The psyche which
wounds, and Plato elaborately explains this idea, refining it
he holds to be immortal and for whose fate after life reincar-
in a way by adding that the soul also retains the scars of its
nation offered some meaningful answer, is now the central
former existence. On vases, the souls of the dead are even reg-
organ whose vibrations respond to the individual’s sufferings
ularly shown with their wounds, sometimes still bandaged.
and emotional experiences and whose decisions initiate his
The idea of the soul of the dead in ancient Greece ap-
activities” (Solmsen, 1982, p. 474). Plato even goes so far as
pears, then, to be influenced by the image of the deceased
to include all intellectual functions in the psuch¯e as well.
in the memory of the living, by the circumstances of death,
Aristotle, on the other hand, almost completely discard-
and by the brute fact of the actual corpse. These ideas were
ed psuch¯e, but “care for the soul” and “cure of the soul” re-
never completely systematized and could occur in one and
mained important topics for the philosophical schools of the
the same description. Just after his death, for example, Patro-
Epicureans, the Stoics, and the Cynics. Pursuing the concept
clus can be described as appearing to Achilles exactly as he
of psuch¯e in these schools, however, belongs more to the area
was during his life. And as long as he has contact with Achil-
of the history of philosophy than to that of religion.
les he speaks like a normal mortal; only when the contact is
over does he leave squeaking. With the passing of time the
So far, we have been concerned only with psuch¯e as the
precise memories of a specific person fade away, and it is un-
soul of the living. However, in the second half of the sixth
derstandable that the more personal traits gradually recede
century, the philosopher Anaximenes seems to have used the
behind a more general idea of the dead as the opposite of the
term pneuma, the purely biological breath, to denote the soul
living. In time, the individual soul becomes just a member
of the cosmos in analogy to the soul of man (the testimony
of the countless number of “all souls.” The souls move in
is debated, however). The Pythagoreans also believed in an
“swarms” in the Homeric underworld and in the tragedies;
“infinite breath” (apeiron pneuma) that was “breathed in” by
the idea of the underworld found its way even into the fa-
the cosmos. And in the course of the fifth century, various
mous description in book 6 of Vergil’s Aeneid.
passages appear in which pneuma is used where we would
have expected psuch¯e. Yet pneuma never completely lost its
Earlier generations of scholars freely made inferences of
biological connection and it did not replace psuch¯e in desig-
belief in the soul from funeral rites. Nowadays we have be-
nating the eschatological soul. In Hellenistic times, pneuma
come much more careful, but the evidence from Homer and
figures notably in various philosophies, but it rises to reli-
other sources suggests that a proper funeral functioned as a
gious prominence only among Hellenistic Jewry and in early
rite of passage into afterlife for the dead. This seems to be
Christianity.
reflected, for example, in the myth of Sisyphus, who instruct-
S
ed his wife not to perform the proper funeral rites after death
OULS OF THE DEAD AND THE AFTERLIFE. The Greeks, like
so that he could persuade the queen of the underworld, Per-
many other peoples, considered the soul of the dead to be
sephone, to let him return to the land of the living.
a continuation of the free soul of the living. In the Homeric
epic it is always psuch¯e that leaves for the underworld; the
After a proper funeral the soul went to murky Hades,
dead in the afterlife are indeed often called psuchai. The
(the name is perhaps best translated as “house of invisibili-
body-souls thumos, menos, and nous end their activity at
ty”), which is ruled by the king of the same name and his
the moment of death—their connection with the body is the
wife Persephone, the daughter of the goddess Demeter. The
cause of their disappearance. The psuch¯e, however, was not
comfortless picture of Hades as “the land of no return” can
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SOUL: GREEK AND HELLENISTIC CONCEPTS
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hardly be separated from Babylonian and Semitic ideas as
chatology became highly important in the dialogues of Plato,
they appear in the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament). The
who introduced the idea that the soul, or at least its immortal
exact location of Hades remained vague; in the Iliad it was
part, returned to its original abode in the heavenly area. The
situated under the earth, in the Odyssey at the edge of the
large-scale loss of Hellenistic writings makes it difficult to
world. In the Homeric epics, the underworld was still
trace the idea of the soul in detail. However, a late oracle of
reached by just crossing the river Acheron, but in the course
Apollo at Claros, which contains Hellenistic views, declares:
of the Archaic age the transition between life and death be-
When someone asked Apollo whether the soul re-
came less “automatic” than in Homer. The new concern for
mained after death or was dissolved, he answered, “The
the soul reflected itself now in the introduction of the ferry-
soul, so long as it is subject to its bonds with the de-
man Charon and the idea of guidance by the god Hermes
structible body, while being immune to feelings, resem-
Chthonios.
bles the pains of that [the body]; but when it finds free-
dom after the mortal body dies, it is borne entire to the
Not everyone, though, went to Hades. In the Odyssey,
aether, being then forever ageless, and abides entirely
various heroes, such as Menelaus, went to the Elysian Fields.
untroubled; and this the First-born Divine Providence
Others, such as Achilles, went to the so-called Isles of the
enjoined.” (translated in MacMullen, 1981, p. 13)
Blessed, where the poet Hesiod, who lived somewhat later
than Homer, also situated part of the “heroic” race, which
In various of his writings, the philosopher Plutarch (c.
included all the Homeric heroes. From the seventh century
40–120 CE) also described the flight of the soul to the heav-
on, initiation into the mysteries of Eleusis becomes one of
ens, in particular to the moon, which became increasingly
the means for the common man to share in the happiness
popular as the final abode of the soul. These views, like me-
the heroes enjoyed. As the Homeric Hymn to Demeter
tempsychosis, remained popular among philosophers and
(1.480ff.) says of those who have seen the secret rites: “Pros-
the educated classes, but it is virtually impossible to establish
perous is that one of men upon earth who has seen them;
to what extent they were shared by the lower classes.
but he who is uninitiated and has no share in the rites never
As regards the mystery religions, which consisted of a
has a portion of like happiness when he is dead and under
mixture of Greek and native elements, it seems highly un-
the murky gloom.” Any ethical requirements are still notably
likely that the cults of Isis, the Syrian Goddess (Dea Syria),
absent from this promise of the life eternal. At the end of the
and Cybele had any specific teachings about the fate of the
sixth century, however, clear indications of a more ethical
soul; at least there are no such indications within the consid-
view of the afterlife appeared, according to which the just
erable evidence we have regarding these cults. Rather late
were rewarded and the bad penalized, views especially con-
sources relate that the mysteries of Dionysos and Sabazios
nected with the Pythagorean and Orphic movements. These
were directed to the purification of the soul, but the informa-
views also influenced ideas about the fate of Eleusinian initi-
tion is not very specific. Even the so-called Orphic Hymns
ates. However, despite the great interest in the afterlife that
do not display the otherworldly interest we might expect
can be found in the literature connected with the mysteries,
from hymns carrying the name of Orpheus. Mithraism is the
there is no specific mention of the soul or metempsychosis;
only cult about which anything more detailed is known, that
the initiates apparently expected to arrive in the underworld
being only that the soul was supposed to pass through the
in person.
seven spheres of planets after death.
On the whole, however, it must be stated that the an-
When the rhetorician Menander (third century CE)
cient Greeks displayed only a limited interest in the life here-
composed a small handbook on oratory for such customary
after. It is in keeping with this limited interest that they did
occasions as birth, marriage, and funerals, he also included
not worship their ancestors. The one festival that commemo-
some directions on how to speak about the afterlife: “for it
rated them had probably already ceased to be celebrated at
is not unsuitable,” he notes, “on these topics also to philoso-
the end of the Classical age. It is also part of this lack of inter-
phize.” He refers to Elysium,
est in the afterlife that the Greeks of the Archaic and earlier
Classical age rarely ever mentioned souls of the dead return-
where Rhadamanthus, Menelaus, Achilles, and Mem-
ing to the upperworld. Only the philosopher Plato, in the
non, reside. And perhaps, better, he [the deceased] now
lives among the gods, traversing the heavens and look-
fourth century, mentions the existence of ghosts wandering
ing down on life below. Perhaps even, he is reproaching
around tombs and graveyards. It is true that during the Athe-
those who mourn for him; for the soul is related to the
nian festival of the Anthesteria the k¯eres were believed to ap-
divine, descends thence, but longs again to mount to its
pear on earth, but is is unlikely that these were the souls of
kind—as Helen, the Dioscuri, and Heracles, they say,
the dead as earlier generations of scholars, who were strongly
belong to the gods’ community (translated in MacMul-
influenced by animistic views of Greek religion, liked to
len, 1984, p. 11).
believe.
The ambivalent view of the afterlife reflected in this pas-
HELLENISTIC RELIGIONS. Toward the end of the fifth centu-
sage is typical of Hellenistic religions. The gods of the Helle-
ry the idea developed that the body remained behind on
nistic period were generally thought of as gods effective in
earth but the soul disappeared into the air. The celestial es-
this life, just as the more traditional gods had been. Earlier
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8544
SOUL: INDIAN CONCEPTS
generations of scholars have often considered the mystery
Yengoyan, Aram A. “Whatever Happened to the Soul? A Review
cults competitors with Christianity in regard to the life here-
Essay.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 46 (April
after, but it now appears more and more clear that the inter-
2004): 411–418.
est of most people in Hellenistic times rested firmly with this
JAN N. BREMMER (1987)
life. The inscriptions that have given us innumerable epi-
Revised Bibliography
taphs display only a negligible interest in the soul or the life
eternal. It was only with Christianity that there developed
a new interest in the soul and the life hereafter, but its doc-
trine of the resurrection of the flesh always remained repug-
SOUL: INDIAN CONCEPTS
nant to the pagan world.
The scripturally based historical religions that originated in
India, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikh-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ism, hold nuanced and distinctive perspectives on the con-
The standard study, still well worth reading, has long been Erwin
cept of the soul. In a shared cultural environment, each tradi-
Rohde’s Psyche: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality
tion sought to relate itself to influential and established
among the Greeks, translated from the original German edi-
religious ideals, yet to distinguish its own position with re-
tion (1894) by W. B. Hillis (London, 1925). Ernst Arbman’s
fundamental study is “Untersuchungen zur primitiven
spect to that ideal. The soul is one such concept. All of the
Seelenvorstellung mit besonderer Rucksicht auf Indien,” pts.
traditions accept the fundamental ontological premise that
1–2, Le monde oriental 20 (1926): 85–222 and 21 (1927):
there is an animating and vital incorporeal aspect of human
1–185. My book The Early Greek Concept of the Soul (Prince-
beings, the presence of which distinguishes life from death.
ton, 1983) confronts the Greek material with the latest in-
The status of the soul with respect to bodily life and death
sights from social anthropology and folklore. David B.
is a key issue, and in the Indian traditions this implicates the
Claus’s Toward the Soul (New Haven, 1981) is a detailed, if
law of karma, which holds that actions have a residual force
conceptually limited, investigation of all the passages in
that has influence over an individual beyond the present life-
Greek literature in which the term psuch¯e appears. Valuable
time and is thus the driving force behind the cycle of birth
studies of the development of the concept of psuch¯e are three
and death (sam:sa¯ra). Notably, this residual force of karma is
by Friedrich Solmsen: “Phren, Kardia, Psyche in Greek Trag-
edy,” in Greek Poetry and Philosophy, edited by Douglas E.
never equated with the soul in Indian traditions. Liberation
Gerber (Chico, Calif., 1984), pp. 265–274; “Plato and the
from this cycle, which all the traditions define as the ultimate
Concept of the Soul (Psyche): Some Historical Perspectives,”
goal, is achieved by spiritual knowledge and practice as de-
Journal of the History of Ideas 44 (July-September 1983):
fined by each tradition.
355–367; and Kleine Schriften, vol. 3 (Hildesheim, 1982),
pp. 464–494. Fritz Graf discusses in detail the ideas of the
It is necessary to keep strictly to the notion of the soul
hereafter connected with the Eleusinian mysteries in Eleusis
as an animating and vital principle when discussing Indian
und die orphische Dichtung Athens in vorhellenistischer Zeit
traditions generally, for the spiritual meanings of the term
(Berlin, 1974). Helmut Saake’s “Pneuma,” in Paulys Realen-
from Western classical traditions, including the immortality
cyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, suppl. vol. 14
of the soul and its participation in an eternal afterlife, which
(Munich, 1974), is an up-to-date survey of notions of pneu-
are commonly understood as a functional definition of soul
ma. Arthur Darby Nock’s Essays on Religion and the Ancient
in the contemporary Western context, are not found in Indi-
World, vol. 1 (Cambridge, Mass., 1972), pp. 296–305, and
an traditions. Indian religions invest the concept of the soul
Ramsey MacMullen’s Paganism in the Roman Empire (New
as a life-force with their own distinctive meanings. For exam-
Haven, 1981) and Christianizing the Roman Empire (New
ple, a major difference between classical Indian and Western
Haven, 1984) demonstrate the lack of interest in the afterlife
traditions is the Indian traditions’ critique of the individu-
in the Hellenistic religions.
ated state in their visions of spiritual liberation. In Indian re-
New Sources
ligions, ordinary bodily embodiment is the individuated state
Adamson, Peter. “Aristotelianism and the Soul in the Arabic Ploti-
that acts and thus gives rise to karma. Since spiritual libera-
nus.” Journal of the History of Ideas 62 (January 2001): 211–
tion is defined as the cessation of karma, and thus release
232.
from the cycle of birth and rebirth, the individuated state in
Blumenthal, H. J. Aristotle and Neoplatonism in Late Antiquity: In-
which one produces karma is dissolved when spiritual libera-
terpretations of the ’De Anima. London, 1996.
tion is achieved. This means not only that the body is dis-
Durrant, Michael, ed. Aristotle’s De Anima in Focus. New York,
solved, but also the individuated state of the life-force or
1993.
soul. There is no philosophically developed idea of a personi-
Levison, John R. The Spirit in First Century Judaism. New York,
fied, individually identifiable soul that continues to exist in
1997.
an eternal afterlife in Indian religions. How the residual force
Schibli, Hermann S. “Xenocrates’ Daemons and the Irrational
of karma can influence successive lifetimes is a problem that
Soul.” Classical Quarterly 43 (1993): 143–168.
the Indian traditions address and will be discussed with re-
Steiner, Peter M. Psyche bei Platon. Göttingen, 1992.
spect to each tradition in the sections that follow. Their com-
Wagner, Ellen, ed. Essays on Plato’s Psychology. Lanham, Md.,
mon ground is that in their imagining of the achievement
2001.
of spiritual liberation, which is freedom from karma and the
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SOUL: INDIAN CONCEPTS
8545
cycle of birth and rebirth, the individuation characteristic of
CE, with later texts written up till the sixteenth century), are
ordinary embodiment is dissolved.
some of the earliest oral and written texts in Indian religious
tradition. Hinduism claims all of these texts as its own re-
The Indian traditions tend to envision the path of spiri-
vealed canon. Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism reject the
tual liberation in epistemological and devotional terms.
Vedas as a foundational scripture, but maintain dialogue
However, there is an exception to the general rule in Indian
with formative concepts, especially those articulated in the
traditions that individuality is incompatible with the
Upanis:ads.
achievement of spiritual liberation, and this approach adds
an ontological dimension. There is a special category of the
In the ritualistic world of the Vedic hymns, the main
embodied, perfected being who is spiritually liberated; this
concern is with transformations, especially those effected by
category also contrasts with Western notions, which tend to
the performance of sacrifice. An influential hymn (R:gveda
view embodiment as indicative of an imperfect state. In Indi-
10.90) portrays the creation of the universe by the primordi-
an traditions, one can be perfectly spiritually realized and yet
al, bloodless sacrifice of a Cosmic Man. This hymn may have
remain in the body, though it is understood that this is a rare
provided a cosmic precedent for the Vedic people’s central
occurrence. This is not an ordinary instance of embodiment,
ritual practice of blood sacrifice with animals, primarily goats
since perfected beings do not create karma and its effects, al-
and horses, as represented in many Vedic hymns. The hymns
though they do act in the world. Each Indian tradition has
preserve the sense of gravity and care with which the people
its own nuance in describing the nature of the perfected
approached the taking of a life, and their rationale for the
being, but they have in common the assertion that the per-
ritual involved speculation on the soul. For example, a hymn
fected being has a holistic vision of truth beyond the ordinary
on the horse sacrifice (R:gveda 1.162) proclaims that the horse
limitations of humankind. This special category of perfected,
is not really harmed by the slaughterer’s axe; instead, the
embodied being generally describes categories of religious
horse goes on pleasant paths to the realm of the gods as an
leaders in the Indian religious traditions, including the guru¯
offering, bearing the prayers of the community.
in Hinduism, the Buddha in Buddhism, the Jina in Jainism,
Other hymns deal with the subject of natural death out-
and the ten guru¯s in Sikhism.
side of the ritual context of sacrifice; in these cases the body
In addition to these major differences with Western no-
is also burned to effect a transition (R:gveda 10.14, 10.16,
tions of the soul, the Indian traditions pose distinctive philo-
10.56). The biological body (´sar¯ıra) is burned, but again it
sophical questions with respect to the concept, including
is asserted that the fire in a sense makes the body whole, un-
whether the soul is temporary or permanent; whether it is
harmed, or “cooked fully” so that the dead person or beloved
autonomous; whether it is real or not; whether it is subject
(nonsacrificial) horse can “go forth to the fathers.” The
to karma or not; and whether it is personal or universal. The
hymns seem to suggest that there is then a brief, disembodied
overwhelming evidence of profound differences between In-
stage, in which the spirit has no body, breath, or senses, be-
dian and Western ideas of the soul has led many to question
fore joining with another body. This stage, which is only very
the applicability of the term to Indian traditions, to the ex-
briefly represented in the hymns, involves the concept of
tent that the influential classical Sanskrit term a¯tman, which
tanu¯. The tanu¯ is perhaps a subtle structure that attracts vari-
is most commonly believed to correspond to the Western no-
ous cosmic forces, such as manas (mind, heart, life-force; see
tion of the soul, is no longer translated as soul by modern
R:gveda 10.58), asu (animating power), pra¯n:a (breath), and
translators of the Upanis:ad philosophical texts; they instead
mental forces to intersect and facilitate the creation of a new
translate a¯tman as “self.” The advantages of using “self ” are
body. Thus it makes individual the cosmic universal forces
as a marker of difference from Western notions, and as an
that are unborn (aja) and thus transcendental. These forces
indicator of the Indian traditions’ concern with personality,
that are unborn are represented in another famous creation
karma, and self-awareness in defining the nature of human-
hymn, the Na¯sad¯ıya (R:gveda 10.129), in which creation is
kind. The main drawback is the Western tendency to equate
a “stirring” of vital forces such as heat and breath, presenting
self with ego, which is unfortunate because Indian traditions
an important universal homology to the human microcosm.
offer a profound and consistent critique of the ego as a limit-
Another way that this universal dimension is expressed in the
ed and materialistic obstacle to true spiritual knowledge. In
Vedic hymns is through the concept of r:ta (R:gveda 7.66.12–
this light, it seems that the connotations of the available En-
13, 1.105.12), which has been translated as “truth” and “cos-
glish terms are either too transcendent or too materialistic to
mic order”; more recently, it is translated as “harmony.” R:ta
represent the Indian positions, which revel in explorations
is the subtle foundation of the universe that is distinct from,
of the gray area in between, toward developing ideas on this
yet harmonizes, all of the elements within it, thus connecting
mediating concept.
the potentially chaotic parts into a related whole.
VEDIC CONCEPTS OF THE SOUL. The Vedas, which include
These ideas concerning the levels of human and cosmic
the Vedic hymns (c. 1500–1000 BCE), the liturgical and
reality and their intersection, which were suggested but not
mythological Bra¯hman:as and A¯ran:yakas (c. 1000–800 BCE),
philosophically developed in the Vedic hymns, provided ma-
and the philosophical Upanis:ads (the earliest texts date to
terial for the central focus on metaphysical and cosmological
circa 700–400 BCE, the middle texts to circa 400 BCE–100
issues in the subsequent yet connected texts, the Upanis:ads.
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SOUL: INDIAN CONCEPTS
Interpretation of the Vedic hymns was initiated in the
worms, insects, or snakes” (Br:hada¯ran:yaka Upanis:ad 6.2.15–
Bra¯hman:as and the A¯ran:yakas, but it was the Upanis:ads that
16). The a¯tman holds together the phenomenological per-
took up the question of knowing the knower in a sustained
sonality, but it has no distinguishing marks characteristic of
fashion, to the extent that the Upanis:ads were considered to
individuality. It is thus an agent of continuity, not a mark
be the branch of the Vedas that contained salvific knowledge
of personal identity. When spiritual liberation is achieved,
(jña¯naka¯n:d:a), in contradistinction to the other branches,
the a¯tman merges with brahman; the individual marks of a
which were considered to contain information about rites
person are dissolved, both in terms of the body and personal-
(karmaka¯n:d:a).
ity structure, and in terms of the mind, as individual self-
reflective consciousness dissolves into pure, nondualistic
Upanis:ad means “hidden connection”; the texts by this
consciousness.
name purport to describe the unseen vital forces operative
in the universe, their connection to things that can be seen,
HINDU CONCEPTS OF THE SOUL. As many scholars have
including humankind, and humankind’s ability to know
noted, the Upanis:ads are the most influential texts in terms
them through a mystical as opposed to a rational knowledge.
of subsequent developments in Hinduism. Drawing on
The texts’ thesis is that through self-knowledge one can
them, several prominent philosophical schools in medieval
break through ordinary consciousness, which is most often
India developed distinctive perspectives on the nature of the
represented in the texts as dualistic perception, and in so
self, including the possibility that one could achieve spiritual
doing achieve the ultimate experience of unity with the foun-
liberation while in the state of embodiment.
dational essence of the universe.
The Advaita Veda¯nta school of S´an˙kara (c. 788–820 CE)
The Upanis:ads use the term brahman to indicate this
posits that the phenomenal world is illusory (ma¯ya¯), and is
foundational essence, which is a synthesis of the Vedic
made up of layers or sheaths (ko´sas). The subtle body
hymns’ ideas of aja (unborn) and r:ta (harmony), yet points
(su¯ks:ma ´sar¯ıra or lin˙ga ´sar¯ıra), which preserves personal
beyond them, since brahman is understood to be an ontolog-
identity and is subject to karma and transmigration, is made
ical absolute, an unchanging ground of being that supports
up of three sheaths; breath (pra¯n:ama¯ya¯), mind (manoma¯ya¯),
and pervades all things in the universe. As the primary entity,
and cognition (vijña¯nama¯ya¯). In contrast, the only reality is
brahman is an undifferentiated, subtle unity; in gradual acts
brahman and a¯tman; however, humankind does not know
of self-transformation, this subtle unity experiences a densifi-
this due to the ignorance (avidya¯) of reliance on sense percep-
cation that creates aspects of the universe. Humankind is un-
tion. Since ignorance is the source of humankind’s bondage,
derstood to be a densification of brahman. In terms of ordi-
knowledge (jña¯na) is the path to liberation; specifically,
nary perception, one cannot see the essence of brahman
knowledge of the nonduality (advaita) of reality.
within humankind, but one can infer its presence from the
While the Advaita perspective has been understood to
necessities of living, including breath (pra¯n:a), as well as the
be uncompromisingly world-rejecting, the viewpoint does
fact that one “eats food and sees what is pleasing” (Cha¯ndogya
permit the thesis that one can be liberated while embodied.
Upanis:ad 5.12–18); these are the specificities of name and
The Br:hada¯ran:yaka Upanis:ad states that “He attains brah-
form (na¯maru¯pa) and distinguishing marks (lin˙ga) of person-
man even here” (4.4.7); S´an˙kara’s commentary on this verse
al identity, and they point toward, but are not identified
understands it to mean that “He attains brahman, identity
with, the essence of brahman within.
with brahman, liberation, living in this very body.” Thus, lib-
The essence of brahman as it relates to humankind is
eration is epistemological, not ontological; it requires one to
known as the a¯tman, or self. The a¯tman is humankind’s “hid-
transcend bodily consciousness by dissociating with the
den connection” to brahman. While the a¯tman is seemingly
physical and psychological aspects of the body. A modern il-
individualized, since it exists in every human being, it is not
lustration of this approach would be the world famous fe-
stamped with the individual personality of a given person;
male guru¯, A¯nandamay¯ı Ma¯ (1896–1982), who referred to
rather, it is the agent that holds together the individual’s per-
her physical body only as “this body,” and who would not
sonality, and as such it is identical in everyone. Thus it is pos-
feed herself, but was instead fed by her devotees.
sible to see a relationship between the concept of a¯tman and
Later medieval philosophers responded to S´an˙kara’s po-
that of tanu¯ from the Vedic hymns.
sition on the nature of humankind’s relationship to brahman
The a¯tman can be thought of as a “central instance of
as well as the possibility of living liberation. These philoso-
cognition” in humankind, indicating its special connection
phers all have a theistic component to their philosophies.
to mind, for the ordinary personality is subject to karma and
Ra¯ma¯nuja (1017–1137 CE) was the chief proponent of the
transmigration until one achieves knowledge of the a¯tman’s
Vi´sis:t:a¯dvaita or Modified Nondualist school of Veda¯nta. In
identity with brahman. At death, “a person consisting of
his view, the a¯tman (or j¯ıva) is literally bound to the body
mind only” (that is, one who knows brahman) merges with
and its psychological modalities; this is not illusory as in the
brahman, never to return; in contrast, those who perform ac-
Advaita system. Though the self remains untouched by the
tions, such as sacrifices, pass into elements such as sky and
faults of humankind, it is still bound up with them, and must
wind before taking birth on earth again; and at a still lower
be liberated by exhausting the negative effects of karma.
level, “those who do not know these two paths become
Thus, while S´an˙kara tended to put the emphasis on knowl-
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8547
edge, Ra¯ma¯nuja put it on action. One is to perform duties
Hindu S´a¯kta Tantric tradition centralizes the Goddess
of a devotional, moral, and ritualistic nature with complete
in its path to spiritual liberation, understanding her to be
detachment (karma yoga) towards the results or benefits of
brahman. While accepting the monism of advaita, this form
the action. God is the focus of these activities. In Ra¯ma¯nuja’s
of Tantrism emphasizes the relationship between one and
thought, dedicated and unselfish action devoted to God
many; brahman is one but is embodied in many forms, in-
burns off bad karma and increases knowledge, so that one
cluding the a¯tman in humankind. A distinctive ritual prac-
can achieve equanimity in this life and achieve liberation
tice is to “interidentify” (nya¯sa) aspects of the microcosm
when one leaves the body upon death (videhamukti). In this
(many) with the macrocosm (one) through physical, mental,
liberated state, the self reaches God’s (Vis:n:u’s) heaven
and verbal practices, creating a set of relations between them.
(Vaikun:t:ha), where it resides in a brahman-like state in inti-
The adept then dissolves the distinctions, creating a reunifi-
mate association with God but not identical with God; thus
cation of both the spiritual and material aspects of reality.
the modified nondualism of this school’s perspective.
BUDDHIST IDEAS OF THE SELF. In early texts, the Buddha
Madhva (1238–1317) was the chief proponent of the
(c. 563–486 BCE) is represented as a teacher who places the
Dvaita or Dualist school of Veda¯nta. In his philosophy, God
greatest emphasis on the human condition as it is experi-
(Vis:n:u) is the only independent, self-existent (svatantra) real-
enced here and now. A famous example is the metaphor of
ity; all other aspects of existence are dependent (paratantra)
the wounded man from a middle-length discourse attributed
on God. This is a relational, not absolute, dualism; the indi-
to the Buddha, by which he contrasts the immediacy of the
vidualized self of humankind is a reflection of God, but this
situation with the misguided posing of contextual questions
knowledge is obscured by an ignorance that is metaphysically
that cannot be answered: “It is as if . . . a man who had been
derived from God. The self becomes deluded into identify-
wounded by an arrow thickly smeared with poison . . .
ing itself as the ego, and this creates the bond of karma. The
would say, ‘I will not have this arrow removed until I have
will of God drives the system. In an argument that was subse-
learned the name of the man [who shot him]. . .the clan to
quently controversial, Madhva suggested that it was God’s
which he belongs . . . whether he is tall or short. . . .’”
will to liberate some selves but not others, an idea that resem-
(Majjhima Nika¯ya 1, 428). It is this emphasis that informs
bles a theory of predestination. The path to liberation is
a current stream of discussion in Buddhist studies, with some
through action, including (in ascending stages) detachment
practitioners and scholars questioning the relevance of ideas
from the body, devotion to God, study and critical reflection
of metaphysical import, including karma and rebirth, to the
on the scriptures, and meditation on the attributes of God
Buddha’s original teachings. These proponents themselves
as presented in the scriptures; all of these represent indirect
acknowledge, however, that, historically, Buddhism has been
knowledge of God. The final stage is the direct and immedi-
understood by practitioners to involve these ideas, as evi-
ate vision of God, which is permitted by God’s grace. This
denced by the traditional assertion that the Buddha saw his
is living liberation, but it is not the final state of spiritual lib-
own past lives at the time of his enlightenment, and that his
foster-mother saw her past lives as she passed into nirva¯n:a
eration, for the body continues to exist through a special cat-
(Pali, nibba¯na), as well as the influential image of the “wheel
egory of residual karma (pra¯rabdha-karma). Ultimate libera-
of becoming,” which pictures both pleasant and painful
tion takes place when the self leaves the body at death and
realms of rebirth.
travels through the worlds of the gods, at last arriving at the
enjoyment (bhoga) of God, in which the liberated self com-
The Buddha used the same lexicon of religious terms in
munes with God in full and blissful consciousness.
use during his time, including those in the Upanis:ads, to dis-
tinguish his thought from others. His insistence on ana¯tman
The Tamil-language S´aiva Siddha¯nta school, which tra-
(Pali, anatta¯), meaning “no a¯tman,” is an example of this.
dition views as founded by Meykan:t:a¯r (thirteenth century)
There is no unchanging subtle essence to humanity, for ev-
and whose canonical texts date from the mid-twelfth to the
erything arises and exists in a codependent, mutable fashion
fourteenth centuries, shares many of its central concepts with
to become material phenomena, including humankind,
the Sanskrit school of the same name. S´aiva Siddha¯nta views
which is composed of the five aggregates: body (ru¯pa), sensa-
the world as composed of three irreducible realities, Lord
tion (vedana¯), perception (Skt., sam:jña¯; Pali, sañña¯), mental
(pati), soul (Tamil, uyir; Skt., pa´su), and bond (Tamil,
formations (sam:ska¯ra; samkha¯ra), and consciousness
irul:mala; Skt., pa¯´sa). As described by the most prolific au-
(vijña¯na; viñña¯n:a). Yet with humankind, karma is implicat-
thor in the tradition, Uma¯pati Civa¯ca¯rya¯r (c. 1290–1340),
ed, as the following saying attributed to the Buddha suggests:
in his canonical text, Tiruvarut:payan (The fruit of divine
“There is no ‘being’ found here [within oneself], only a heap
grace), the soul is located between Lord and bond. Through
of karmic constituents. Just as the word ‘chariot’ is used
knowledge and devotional action, the soul loosens the grip
when we come across a combination of parts, so we speak
of the aspects of the bond that are karma and ma¯ya¯; then,
conventionally of a [human] being when the Five Aggregates
through the Lord’s grace, the soul achieves the attainment
are present” (Sam:yutta Nika¯ya 1, 135).
of the Lord and experiences bliss and pure knowledge in a
relationship where “the two are as one,” which is this school’s
What, then, is the continuity that carries forth the influ-
distinctive take on the advaita theory.
ence of karma incurred on either an individual or a social
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8548
SOUL: INDIAN CONCEPTS
basis? Drawing on the early Buddhist text, the Sutta Pit:aka,
its current state of bondage (svadehaparima¯n:a), and experi-
Karel Werner (1988) has argued that there are several terms
ences the joys and sorrows of karma. For those who seriously
that suggest an idea of a personality structure in the early Pali
pursue the path of purification, ultimately the soul complete-
texts that is rather like the tanu¯ in the Vedic hymns. All of
ly releases itself from connection to matter. In the final state
them are mental, not bodily, as we saw with the a¯tman of
of liberation the soul is kevalin (possessing infinite knowl-
the Upanis:ads and Veda¯nta. One term is the “mental body”
edge), alone and autonomous, residing immobile for eternity
(na¯maka¯ya), which controls the mental aggregates and is op-
at the highest point of the universe in Jainism’s traditional
posed to the body; another is the mind (manas), the sixth
cosmology. Yet even here there is a reminder of the soul’s
sense within the perception aggregate that controls the other
journey from the body, for the soul retains the outline shape
senses; another is consciousness (viñña¯n:a), one of the aggre-
of the body, yet it is featureless.
gates and the one that is understood to give rise to the whole
person in the chain of dependent origination; and another
There are several conditions Jainism sets in terms of the
is the “collection of one’s characteristics or habits” (citta).
possibility of achieving spiritual liberation. First, it is crucial
Drawing on the abhidamma philosophy of early Buddhism,
that one has a human birth. Jains believe that animals are in
Rupert Gethin (1994) has suggested that bhavan˙ga, a form
the process of advancing through karma, which informs the
of consciousness that defines who one is, is determined for
Jains’ cardinal practice of ahim:sa¯ (nonviolence), but only
the next birth by the last full consciousness process of the
human beings can achieve spiritual liberation. Further, it is
present life. Each of these concepts denotes a way to imagine
understood that mendicants, rather than laypeople, are in a
the continuity of constantly changing elements through
position to achieve moks:a. On the macrocosmic level, Jain
death and into rebirth, as required by the karma theory.
cosmology suggests that there are only certain places and
However, any confusion of these terms with an unchanging
times when moks:a is possible; thus, one can be born and live
essence such as a¯tman was understood to represent igno-
at a time when spiritual liberation is not possible. In this case,
rance, which was suffering (dukkha). Later texts in the
making progress towards moks:a remains ethically enjoined.
Maha¯ya¯na school emphasized the doctrine of ´su¯nyata¯ (emp-
Mendicants engage in rigorous practices in order to obliter-
tiness), that everything was empty of own-being, amplifying
ate voluntary karma and even involuntary bodily actions, in
the message of the earliest texts that there is no unchanging
keeping with ideal Jain figures; for example, celebrated
essence.
monks have fasted to death, and Jinas are popularly under-
stood to have adamantine bodies. Jain laypeople focus not
JAIN CONCEPTS OF THE SOUL. Discourses attributed to the
so much on the ideology of moks:a-ma¯rg, though they do
spiritual leader (Jina) Maha¯v¯ıra (c. 599–467) demonstrate
practice five vows similar to the monks’, but on devotional
his profound concern with instructing disciples in self-
activities that produce good karma or merit, including pro-
discipline, which is primarily understood to involve the liber-
viding material support for the mendicants, endowing tem-
ation of the soul (a¯tman or j¯ıva) from the bondage of karma.
ples, performing pilgrimages, celebrating festivals, and sing-
In the Uttara¯dhyayana Su¯tra, which is believed to record the
ing praises to the Jinas; these activities foster the well-being
final lectures of Maha¯v¯ıra prior to his liberation and is thus
of individuals and the community of Jains.
one of the most important texts in the S´veta¯mbar sect’s
canon, he lists nine eternal verities that define the universe
SIKH CONCEPTS OF THE SOUL. Sikhism considers the soul
and provide the context for humankind’s striving for libera-
(a¯tman or j¯ıva) embodied in humankind to be a divine spark
tion (Uttara¯dhyayana Su¯tra 28.14): sentient soul (j¯ıva), in-
(joti): “The body belongs to the material world, but the spirit
sentient nonsoul or matter (aj¯ıva), contact of karma with the
or soul in it is the essence of God” (A¯di Granth 695). God
soul (a¯srava), bondage of the soul by karma (bandha), meri-
is known by several names in the A¯di Granth scripture (Aka¯l
torious forms of karma (pun:ya), demeritorious forms of
Purakh, the Timeless One; Ik Oan˙ka¯r, One Being Is; Sat
karma (pa¯pa), blockage of the contact of karma with the soul
Karta¯r, the True Creator); God is formless and never incar-
(sam:vara), dissociation of the soul from karma (nirjara¯), and
nates, but is spiritually manifest in all the aspects of creation.
liberation (moks:a, nirva¯n:a).
The problem for humankind is the state of haumai, in which
the person believes that he or she is independent and self-
A dualism exists at the center of Jain ontology and sote-
reliant, and is thus ignorant of God’s nature and the connec-
riology. Sentient souls are nonsubstantial and innumerable;
tion between God and soul. A corollary of haumai is ma¯ya¯,
they are characterized by consciousness, bliss, and energy. In-
by which humankind is unable to see the oneness and reality
sentient nonsouls are characterized by physical matter, space,
of God through the veil of seemingly individualized aspects
motion, rest, and time. Together they make up the universe,
of the world. These fundamental misunderstandings influ-
in a connection that is constituted by karma. Improper kar-
ence one’s karma, which in turn leads to rebirth.
mic actions are imagined to be a fine dust that sticks to the
soul. The path of liberation (moks:a-ma¯rg) is in essence the
The goal of spiritual liberation is to replace the sense of
sundering of this connection; thoughts and practices that re-
“I-am-ness” with identification with the divine will of God.
sult in detachment are encouraged, so that the soul is “dry”
A key practice is na¯m-simran or remembrance of the divine
and will not attract the dust of karma as would a “wet” or
name, which as a practice is an individual or group recitation
passionate soul. The soul is coterminous with the body in
of scriptural verses. It is understood to be more than this,
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SOUL: INDIAN CONCEPTS
8549
however, because the word (ba¯n:¯ı) of God is the one true guru¯
discussion of historical, philosophical, cultural, and gender
subsequent to the passing on of the tenth guru¯, and as such
issues on female guru¯s through an introduction, biographical
is what leads humankind toward God-consciousness on a
articles on ten guru¯s, and an afterword.
daily basis, permitting humankind to experience unity with
Prentiss, Karen Pechilis. The Embodiment of Bhakti. New York,
God through meditation on God’s word.
1999. Includes an introduction to the Tamil S´aiva Siddha¯nta
school, along with an analysis and translation of
According to Guru¯ Na¯nak’s Japuj¯ı, which opens the
Tiruvarut:payan, one of its fourteen canonical texts.
Sikh scriptures, there are five realms of consciousness in
humankind’s progression towards spiritual liberation:
Roebuck, Valerie J, trans. and ed. The Upanis:ads. New York,
Dharam khan:d:, awareness of the world and one’s actions;
2003. A new translation of thirteen principle Upanis:ads, in-
cluding the Maitr¯ı Upanis:ad. Includes a short, lucid intro-
Jña¯na khan:d:, knowledge of the greatness of God’s creation;
duction to the texts’ history, authorship, and key concepts.
Saram khan:d:, spiritual illumination; Karam khan:d:, innate
performance of moral action; and Sac khan:d:, realization of
Slaje, Walter. “Water and Salt (III): An Analysis and New Trans-
the truth of oneness with God. The emphasis in the Sikh tra-
lation of the Ya¯jñavalkya-Maitrey¯ı Dialogue.” Indo-Iranian
Journal
45, no. 3 (2002): 205–220. Important and interest-
dition is for all Sikhs to strive to become a j¯ıvanmukti, one
ing discussion of the a¯tman as a “central instance of cogni-
who experiences the fullness of God consciousness in the
tion” that represents the highest concentration of the “dis-
here and now.
tilled essence” of brahman.
Werner, Karel. “Indian Concepts of Human Personality in Rela-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tion to the Doctrine of the Soul.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Vedism and Hinduism
Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1 (1988): 73–97. Werner
Brooks, Douglas Renfrew. The Secret of the Three Cities: An Intro-
has argued forcefully and convincingly that soul as it is com-
duction to Hindu S´a¯kta Tantrism. Chicago, 1990. Beautifully
monly understood in Western tradition is not a category that
written introductory yet comprehensive discussion of Hindu
applies to Indian traditions. This article, which is a substan-
Tantric worship of the Goddess; includes translation of the
tially revised version of an earlier essay (“Personal Identity in
influential Tripura¯ Upanis:ad.
the Upanis:ads and Buddhism,” in Victor B. Hayes, ed., Iden-
Deutsch, Eliot. Advaita Veda¯nta: A Philosophical Reconstruction.
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Honolulu, 1980. A short, lucid presentation of the funda-
1986], pp. 24–33), addresses the philosophy of human per-
mental concepts of a philosophical school whose teachings
sonality in the Vedic hymns, the Upanis:ads, and the Sutta
have been influential from medieval times until the present
Pit:aka in the Pali canon of early Buddhism.
day.
Buddhism
Fort, Andrew O., and Patricia Y. Mumme, eds. Living Liberation
Anderson, Carol. Pain and Its Ending: The Four Noble Truths in
in Hindu Thought. Albany, N.Y., 1996. A meticulous and ac-
the Therava¯da Buddhist Canon. London, 1999. Revisions the
cessible edited volume exploring classical Hindu philosophi-
historicity of the four noble truths, arguing that they may not
cal and theological discussions of the soul through embodied
have been a central teaching originally, but emerged as such
spiritual liberation in Veda¯nta, Yoga, and S´aivism, with a
around the middle of the first millennium.
comparative concluding essay.
Egge, James R. Religious Giving and the Invention of Karma in
Hallstrom, Lisa Lassell. Mother of Bliss: A¯nandamay¯ı Ma¯ (1896–
Therava¯da Buddhism. London, 2002. This study provides an
1982). New York, 1999. Very engaging scholarly discussion
important historical contextualization of the development of
of a beloved and internationally famous female guru¯.
the karma theory in early India, including comparison with
Harper, Katherine Anne, and Robert L. Brown, eds. The Roots of
Brahmanical and Jain theories.
Tantra. Albany, N.Y., 2002. This important volume takes
Gethin, Rupert. “Bhavan˙ga and Rebirth According to the Abhi-
up the issue of defining Tantra and explores its meanings and
damma.” In The Buddhist Forum, vol. 3 (1991–1993), edited
practices in history, art and archaeology, and texts, including
by Tadeusz Skorupski and Ulrich Pagel, pp. 11–35. London,
comparison with the Vedas.
1994. Argues that a special form of consciousness provides
Mahony, William K. The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the
the link between birth and rebirth.
Vedic Religious Imagination. Albany, N.Y., 1998. Very acces-
McDermott, James P. “Karma and Rebirth in Early Buddhism.”
sible discussion of the philosophical and artistic imagination
In Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions, edited
as revealed in Vedic hymns and the Upanis:ads.
by Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty, pp. 165–192. Berkeley,
O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger, ed. The Rig Veda: An Anthology.
Calif., 1980. This article provides an important review of
New York, 1984. Remains the most accessible and interest-
several early Buddhist perspectives on reconciling the doc-
ing translation of key selections from this famous collection
trine of impermanence with the theory of karma and rebirth.
of hymns.
Mitchell, Donald W. Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experi-
Olivelle, Patrick. Upanis:ads. New York, 1996. Classic translation
ence. New York, 2002. An accessible and interesting single-
of twelve principle Upanis:ads, including a lucid introduction
volume scholarly introduction to early Buddhism; Buddhism
to the texts’ literary history, composition, cosmology, and
in India, Tibet, and East Asia; Buddhism in Asia today; and
theories of humanity.
Buddhism in the West.
Pechilis, Karen, ed. The Graceful Guru: Hindu Female Gurus in
Ña¯n:amoli, Bhikku, and Bhikku Bohdi, trans. The Middle-Length
India and the United States. New York, 2004. An accessible
Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

8550
SOUL: BUDDHIST CONCEPTS
Nika¯ya (Teachings of the Buddha). Somerville, Mass., 1995;
Jaini, Padmanabh S. “Karma and the Problem of Rebirth in Jain-
2d ed., 2001. Well-received translation of early sayings attri-
ism.” In Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions,
buted to the Buddha on nirva¯n:a and the four noble truths.
edited by Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty, pp. 217–238. Berke-
Includes introductory discussion and summaries of the dis-
ley, Calif., 1980. The author discusses the topics with refer-
courses.
ence to classical texts. Includes two appendixes, one a dia-
Omvelt, Gail. Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and
gram and discussion of Jain cosmology, and the other a
Caste. New Delhi, India, 2003. An accessible new reading of
speculative discussion of how the effects of karma are trans-
Buddhism in India through the lens of B. R. Ambedkar’s
ferred at rebirth.
(1891–1956) strong emphasis on the ethical and egalitarian
Kelting, M. Whitney. Singing to the Jinas: Jain Laywomen, Man:d:al:
nature of the Buddha’s thought in his critique of Hindu
Singing, and the Negotiations of Jain Devotion. New York,
metaphysics and social structure.
2001. Important fieldwork-based discussion of the participa-
Walters, Jonathan S. “Gotam¯ı’s Story.” In Buddhsim in Practice,
tion of laywomen today in Jain devotional practices and their
edited by Donald S. Lopez, pp. 113–138. Princeton, N.J.,
teaching activities therein.
1995. Translation of a popular story on the Buddha’s foster-
Sikhism
mother’s nirva¯n:a, with a lucid introduction that explains the
Cole, W. Owen, and Piara Singh Sambhi. The Sikhs: Their Reli-
significance of her recollection of her past lives for Buddhists.
gious Beliefs and Practices. London, 1978. Remains the most
Walters, Jonathan S. “Communal Karma and Karmic Communi-
accessible and comprehensive single volume that covers the
ty in Therava¯da Buddhist History.” In Constituting Commu-
history, beliefs, and practices of the Sikhs. Includes appen-
nities: Therava¯da Buddhism and the Religious Cultures of
dixes on the Sikh code of conduct, translations of key
South and Southeast Asia, edited by John Clifford Holt, Jacob
prayers, and the structure of the A¯di Granth scripture.
N. Kinnard, and Jonathan S. Walters, pp. 9–39. Albany,
McLeod, Hew. Textual Sources for the Study of Sikkhism. Chicago,
N.Y., 2003. Convincingly argues that “sociokarma” is an un-
1990. Provides translations of key texts in an accessible vol-
derrepresented topic in scholarship on Therava¯da Buddhism,
ume, including hymns to the divine name, stories of the
and provides a seven item typology, from social karma to the
guru¯s, and the Sikh Code of Conduct.
karma of institutions. The other articles in this volume offer
Singh, Dharam. Sikh Theology of Liberation. New Delhi, 1991.
diverse, relevant reflections.
Concise, engaging account of Sikh beliefs concerning the
Werner, Karel. “Indian Concepts of Human Personality in Rela-
soul.
tion to the Doctrine of the Soul.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur. The Feminine Principle in the Sikh
Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1 (1988): 73–97. See an-
Vision of the Transcendent. Cambridge, U.K., 1993. Impor-
notation in Vedism and Hinduism section.
tant feminist study of pervasive images of the feminine in
Jainism
Sikh scripture, including the image of the bride as a symbol
Cort, John E., ed. Open Boundaries: Jain Communities and Cul-
of the beauty of both soul and body.
tures in Indian History. Albany, N.Y., 1998. Eleven fascinat-
Thursby, Gene R. The Sikhs. Leiden, 1992. Concise and accessible
ing articles, the majority discussing textual materials, though
volume focusing on the history and community of the Sikhs.
a couple of articles discuss sacred space and ritual. In the in-
Illustrated with beautifully reproduced black-and-white pho-
troduction the editor intriguingly notes a parallel between
tographs with explanative captions.
Jain soteriological and social meanings of “other.”
KAREN PECHILIS (2005)
Cort, John E. Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in
India. New York, 2001. Drawing on texts and fieldwork, the
author discusses relationships between the prescriptive ideol-
ogy of the path of liberation and the experience of worldly
SOUL: BUDDHIST CONCEPTS
well-being in the lives of Jain people in Gujarat, India.
It is only slightly paradoxical to say that Buddhism has no
concepts of the soul: Its most fundamental doctrine teaches
Granoff, Phyllis. “Life as Ritual Process: Remembrance of Past
that no such thing exists and that the realization of this truth
Births in Jain Religious Narratives.” In Other Selves: Autobi-
ography and Biography in Cross-Cultural Perspective
, edited by
is enlightenment. In The Buddha and His Teachings (Colom-
Phyllis Granoff and Koichi Shinohara. Oakville, Ontario,
bo, 1957), G. P. Malalasekera, a Sinhala statesman and lay
1994. (Reprinted as “Jain Stories Inspiring Renunciation,”
Buddhist, states this position forcefully:
in Donald S. Lopez, ed., Religions of India in Practice,
In its denial of any real permanent Soul or Self, Bud-
pp. 412–417 [Princeton, N.J., 1995].) Provides a translation
dhism stands alone. This teaching presents the utmost
of Jain didactic stories illustrating humankind’s inability to
difficulty to many people and often provokes even vio-
recognize former kin in new births, and the karmic conse-
lent antagonism towards the whole religion. Yet this
quences.
doctrine of No-soul or Anatta, is the bedrock of Bud-
Jaini, Padmanabh S. The Jaina Path of Purification. Delhi, 1979.
dhism and all the other teachings of the Buddha are in-
Classic account of Jain beliefs from an analysis of authorita-
timately connected with it. The Buddha is quite cate-
tive textual materials, providing distinction between the two
gorical in its exposition and would have no
major sects in Jainism. Includes very detailed discussion of
compromise. In a famous passage He declares, “Wheth-
types of karma and stages of the soul’s path towards libera-
er Buddhas arise in this world or not, it always remains
tion. Also includes many illustrative diagrams and photo-
a fact that the constituent parts of a being are lacking
graphs, one an image of a liberated soul in the shape of a
in a Soul,” the Pali word used for “Soul” being Atta.
body.
(pp. 33–34)
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SOUL: BUDDHIST CONCEPTS
8551
Of course, one must be careful about what exactly is being
sonality (skandhas; Pali, khandhas), which are body, or mate-
denied here. The closest direct equivalent to “soul” in San-
rial form, and the four mental categories, namely feelings,
skrit or Pali is j¯ıva, from the verbal root j¯ıv, meaning “to
perceptions (or ideas), mental formations (a heterogeneous
live.” In Jainism, it denotes an individual, transmigrating,
class, most of which are volitional or dispositional), and con-
and eternal entity; and in the Veda¯nta school of Hinduism,
sciousness. Common also is a list of twelve sense-bases
the related term j¯ıva¯tman denotes the individual (but not
(yatana¯s), comprising the six senses (the usual five plus mind,
universal) form of the world soul, called a¯tman or brahman.
always regarded as a sense in Buddhism) and their six corre-
In one context, Buddhism uses this term to deny the exis-
sponding subjects or fields. There are also eighteen elements
tence of the soul. The questions whether such a j¯ıva is identi-
(dha¯tus), which are the six senses, their objects, and the six
cal to, or different from, the body are two of a list of
resultant sense-consciousnesses. The various schools of Bud-
“unanswerable questions”—unanswerable for the clear epis-
dhism went on to produce many other lists, some involving
temological reason that since no j¯ıva really exists, it cannot
quite large numbers, which develop and elaborate this basic
be identical to or different from anything. But in other con-
idea. Whatever the list, the idea behind it is explained by this
texts the word j¯ıva and the closely related term j¯ıvita are used
excerpt from the Pali commentary to a passage in the canon
uncontroversially to refer to animate life in contrast to inani-
in which the Buddha speaks of “an ignorant person”:
mate objects or dead beings. One of the “constituent parts
of a being,” as Malalasekara called them, is termed
[The Buddha] uses conventional language [here]. Bud-
dhas have two types of speech, conventional and ulti-
j¯ıvitendriya (“life faculty”), which has both physical and
mate. Thus “being,” “man,” “person,” [the proper
mental forms; its presence in a collection of such constituents
names] “Tissa,” “Naga” are used as conventional
is essential for that collection to be alive, or loosely for that
speech. “Categories,” “elements,” and “sense-bases” are
“being” to “exist.” What is denied by Buddhism is that any
used as ultimate speech. . . . The fully enlightened
such collection contains or is equivalent to a permanent in-
one, the best of speakers, declared two truths, the con-
dependent entity, whether individual or universal. The word
ventional and the ultimate; there is no third. Words
standardly used in Buddhism to refer to such a (nonexistent)
[used by] mutual agreement are true because of worldly
entity is a¯tman, or in Pali, attan (nominatives a¯tma¯ and atta¯
convention; words of ultimate meaning are true because
respectively). In Indo-Aryan languages this (or related forms)
of the existence of elements. (Saratthappaka¯sin¯ı, vol. 2,
often functions simply as the ordinary reflexive pronoun,
p. 77)
used in the masculine singular for all numbers and genders.
This analysis of personhood is nontemporal; personal conti-
But since at least the time of the Upanis:ads it has also been
nuity is accounted for by a theory of temporal atomism in
used in religious and philosophical writing to refer to an eter-
which what appears to be a continuing and identical person
nal essence of humanity. By contrast, Buddhism is referred
or self is held to be in fact a series of discrete elements in an
to as ana¯tmava¯da (“the teaching of not-self, or no-soul”).
objectively given time sequence. Each discrete temporal par-
Other terms are used to refer to that whose ultimate reality
ticle in the succession of mental and physical elements is
Buddhism denies, but they can all, like j¯ıva and a¯tman, also
called a “moment” (ks:an:a; Pali, khan:a). Each of these mo-
be used uncontroversially in other contexts. Examples are
ments is divided into phases or submoments, usually those
pudgala (puggala) or their synonyms purus:a (purisa), usually
of “arising,” “presence,” and “cessation.” There is a frequent
translated “person,” and sattva (satta), “being.” (Purus:a is the
and conscious parallel in the texts between the ordinary,
term for “soul” in the Sa¯m:khya school of Hinduism.) If Bud-
“conventional” events of birth, life, and death and the “ulti-
dhism denies, then, the existence of any ultimately real self,
mate” phases of each moment. The Buddha is alleged to have
soul, person, or being, how does it account for the existence
said, “Ultimately, as the constituents of personality are born
of human beings, their identity, continuity, and ultimate re-
and grow old, moment by moment, so you, monk, are born,
ligious goal?
grow old and die.” Estimates of the length of these moments
It is never denied that at the level of “conventional
varied, some assuming a subliminal, even infinitesimal
truth,” in the everyday transactional world, there are more
length, others seeing a moment as roughly the length of a
or less stable persons, namable and humanly recognizable. At
perception or thought (and so resembling the notion of a
the level of “ultimate truth,” however, this unity and stability
sense-datum in Western philosophy). Whatever the postulat-
of personhood is seen to be merely a matter of appearances.
ed length, these moments are seen as discrete entities that are
Ultimately (or in some schools of Buddhism, in fact, only
nevertheless held together in individual “streams” (a com-
penultimately) there exist only collections of impersonal and
mon Buddhist metaphor). This individuation is effected in
impermanent elements (dharma; Pali, dhamma) arranged
two ways. First, it is effected by the simple fact of the body.
into temporary configurations by the moral force of past
Mental moments are necessarily associated in any one
deeds (karman) and by self-fulfilling but self-ruinous desire
human lifetime with a material body (though there are in
and selfishness (both cognitive and affective). There are dif-
Buddhist mythology some nonhuman, nonmaterial worlds),
ferent ways of analyzing the person in terms of these ele-
and the body is assumed to be necessarily numerically self-
ments. One of the most ancient and frequent methods used
identical. Second, there are held to be certain kinds of condi-
is a list of five categories, aggregates, or constituents of per-
tioning relations (loosely, “causal laws”) in the process of kar-
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8552
SOUL: BUDDHIST CONCEPTS
man, which explain mental continuity both within one life-
the task was to discover it. Insofar as “soul” is taken to mean
time and over a series of rebirths. Among these conditioning
something like “that which is spiritually most valuable in
relations are such things as contiguity between adjacent mo-
human beings and which makes it possible for them to tran-
ments in a successive series and qualitative similarity between
scend their ordinary psychophysical conditions and attain
earlier and later parts of one “stream.”
the religiously ultimate goal,” this may be called a Buddhist
notion of the soul. Certainly, in some of the developments
The two closely related problems of how karmic streams
of the idea, particularly in China and Japan, where one reads
are held together and of how an act and its result are connect-
(in English) of the “Buddha mind” or “Buddha nature” in-
ed in one (and only one) series of rebirths, given the instanta-
herent in all beings, one seems—although only at first
neous arising and ceasing of momentary elements, led to a
sight—to have returned to the universal-essence view of
great deal of debate among Buddhist thinkers and to a great
a¯tman in the Upanis:ads, which the Buddha so trenchantly
deal of new theory. One school, for example, thought that
rejected.
a special element, called possession or acquisition (pra¯pti),
came into existence with each act in order to bind it to the
Many of these ideas are technical, even scholastic, de-
stream in which it occurred, while another element, nonpos-
tails, in the elaboration of basic Buddhist doctrine. But how
session or nonacquisition (apra¯pti), served to keep away ele-
does Buddhism address the question of self-consciousness,
ments and acts not belonging to the stream. Two metaphori-
the linguistic and reflexive awareness of oneself that has led
cal terms were used by most schools to depict the process of
so many traditions of thought to see humans as possessing
act and retribution: va¯sana¯ (“perfuming, trace”) and b¯ıja
a “soul” different from the rudimentary consciousness of ani-
(“seed”). These traces or seeds were deposited in the mind
mals? (In Western philosophy the classic exposition of this
by actions and remained there until their karmic result oc-
is by Descartes.) In the philosophical schools of Maha¯ya¯na,
curred. This process was called vipa¯ka (“maturation, ripen-
the conscept of svasam:vedana¯ was developed; this may be
ing”), and the result was phala (“fruit”); indeed, in Indian
translated “self consciousness” or “reflexivity,” but Buddhist
thought, b¯ıja and phala commonly mean simply cause and
thinkers held that it was not consciousness of a self, or the
effect. Sometimes particular kinds of mind, or forms of con-
self, but merely the capacity of consciousness itself. That is,
sciousness, were designated as the locus or vehicle of these
the internatl structure of consciousness is self-refelxive, but
traces or seeds. One school spoke of a subtle mind
it cannot be concluded from this that it reflects a real self or
(su¯ks:ma-citta), another of a root-consciousness (mu¯la-
soul that exists outside the momentary arising and cessation
vijña¯na), in which the seeds of karman were stored. From
of the mind. Another kind of account of this, which gives
these sorts of speculation arose a notion that was to have
more of a sense of the dynamics of Buddhist thought and
great importance in the Maha¯ya¯na tradition: that of the
practice than do the details of scholasticism or the abstract
store- or receptacle-consciousness (a¯laya-vijña¯na). Like all
arguments of philosophy, can be seen in the way in which
forms of consciousness, this was thought to be impermanent,
Buddhism supposes that one’s sense of self develops—and
momentary, and characterized as not-self, but it was also
disappears—in the progression from ordinary unenlightened
thought to be the place from which there arose not only the
human to enlightened saint. The teaching of no-soul takes
karmic results of past acts but also, in the more idealist ver-
effet in two major ways, as one loses gradually the “fetters”
sions, the (illusory) experience of an objective world. Many
that bind one to the wheel of truth.
opponents of this idea, both within and without the Bud-
First, on “entering the stream” bound for enlighten-
dhist fold, saw this idea as amounting to a soul-in-disguise.
ment, one of the fetters lost is satka¯yadr:s:t:i (Pali,
One tradition, which seems at one point to have been very
sakkayadit:t:hi). Often translated as “personality belief,” liter-
widespread in India but for which scarcely any reliable
ally it means “the view of a really existing body,” although
sources remain (it is known only, with one exception,
“body” here does not denote simply the physical body but
through the distorting lens of others’ refutations), was called
all the five constituents of personality seen as a group. “Per-
the Pudgalava¯da, the Personalist school, since it actually used
sonality belief” is the explicit view, or assumption, that what
the taboo word pudgala to denote what continues through
appears to be an individual person, the psychophysical con-
the process of rebirth.
glomerate, represents or implies a real, permanent self or
soul. It does not refer to the phenomenological or experien-
In the Ma¯ya¯yana tradition, particularly in Tibet and
tial sense of being a self, but to the use of this sense, however
China, another very important idea, which was often associ-
vaguely, as actual or potential evidence for a metaphysical
ated with the concept of the store-consciousness, was the
theory. Losing this fetter thus constitutes a conscious alle-
tatha¯gata-garbha (“embryo of the Enlightened One”). This
giance to the Buddhist denial of self as a doctrine, without
concept provided a solution not to the problem of connect-
any immediate disappearance of the underlying subjective or
ing acts and their results but to that of how a conditioned,
“self-ish” pattern of experience.
unenlightened phenomenon (or rather, a collection of phe-
nomena) such as a human could attain the unconditioned
Second, there is this underlying sense of self as the con-
enlightenment of nirva¯n:a. The embryo of the Enlightened
tinuing subject of experience and agent of action, referred to
One was said to exist, pure and untarnished, in all beings;
in Buddhist thought by the term asmima¯na, “the conceit ‘I
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SOUL: BUDDHIST CONCEPTS
8553
am.’” This fetter, which is necessarily part of consciousness
is there, but it is impossible to say exactly from where it origi-
for the unenlightened, is an experiential datum or reaction
nates (whether from petals, colors, pollen or some other
pattern that is lost at the time of enlightenment; indeed, its
source). “Although, friends, a noble disciple has put away the
loss is precisely what enlightenment is. The term is made up
five lower fetters (including personality belief), still there is
of two parts: asmi is the first-person singular of the verb to
a residue in the constituents of personality of the conceit of
be, thus “I am”; ma¯na comes from a verbal root meaning to
‘I am,’ of the desire for ‘I am,’ of the underlying tendency
think, but it regularly has the connotations of proud or con-
to ‘I am,’ which is not finally destroyed.” If one practices the
ceited thought. For this reason the translation “the conceit
life of meditation to the full, he says, these things (and with
‘I am’” is useful, since not only can it point to the fact that
them all the higher fetters) will eventually disappear. When
the experiential datum of an “I” is taken in Buddhism to be
this happens, nirva¯n:a is attained, and the teaching of no-soul
a conception, something made up by a mental act, but also
has served its purpose.
it suggests that this artificial mental construction is necessari-
ly regarded with “conceited” pride and attachment. Thus not
SEE ALSO A¯laya-vijña¯na; Buddhist Philosophy; Dharma, ar-
only is “the conceit ‘I am’” a cognitive fact, or aspect of con-
ticle on Buddhist Dharma and Dharmas; Karman, article
on Buddhist Concepts; Nirva¯n:a; Prat¯ıtya-samutpa¯da;
sciousness (for the unenlightened); it is also a moral (or rath-
Sarva¯stiva¯da; Sautra¯ntika; Tatha¯gata-garbha.
er immoral) event. The idea that the experiential datum of
an “I” is in fact the result of an act of utterance—an act per-
formed automatically and unconsciously, but still an act be-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cause it is operative in the process of karman—is embodied
Translations of Buddhist texts directly relevant to this issue were
in the term aham:ka¯ra. This is most often explained, by Indi-
mainly made into French in the first half of the century.
These will be available in specialized libraries and remain by
an tradition as well as by Western scholarship, as I-making
far the best source, since the translators provide many refer-
or I-construction—from aham, “I,” and ka¯ra (from the ver-
ences to other texts and other useful information as well as
bal root kr:), “making.” It can also, complementarily, be
giving direct access to the primary materials. Titles include
taken as “the utterance of ‘I.’” Along with mamanka¯ra, “the
Étienne Lamotte’s Le traité de l’acte de Vasubandhu,
utterance of ‘mine,’” the term describes one of the seven un-
Karma-siddhiprakaran:a (Brussels, 1936); his translation of
derlying tendencies operative in unenlightened conscious-
the Chinese text Dazhidulun, traditionally attributed to
ness. Thus, the Buddhist view is that through the act of ut-
Na¯ga¯rjuna, as Le traité de la grande vertu de sagesse, 5 vols.
tering “I” or “I am,” explicitly or implicitly, a self-positing
(Louvain, 1944–1980), is a treasury of scholarship on almost
and self-creating subjectivity is constructed, to which inevita-
every aspect of Buddhism. Louis de La Vallée Poussin trans-
lated the Chinese version of the most important work of
bly the person in whom it occurs is attached, and through
Buddhist scholasticism, L’Abhidharmakosa de Vasubandhu, 6
which all his forms of “selfishness” (conceptual and moral)
vols. (1923–1931; Brussels, 1971). The last section of this
arise.
work, a discussion of the concept of the person between an
“orthodox” Buddhist and a member of the Personalist
Two stories in the ancient texts illustrate this attitude
school, was translated from the Sanskrit and Tibetan versions
and show both the conceptual and the psychological relation
by Theodore Stcherbatsky, as The Soul Theory of the Bud-
between the ideas or utterances “I” and “I am” and the im-
dhists (1920; Va¯rana¯si, 1970). The Pali version of this debate
personal elements that are the “ultimate” constituents of the
is included in the Kath¯ıvatthu, translated by Shwe Zan Aung
human person. A king, enticed by the mellifluous sound of
and Caroline Rhys Davids as Points of Controversy (London,
a lute, asks his servant to bring him the sound. They bring
1915). Important texts of the Sanskrit and Tibetan traditions
the lute, but the king exclaims, “Away with the lute, I want
have been translated and discussed by Joe Wilson in
the sound!” The servants explain, “This thing called a lute
Chandrak¯ırti’s Sevenfold Reasoning: Meditation on the Selfless-
is made up of a great number of parts. . . . It makes a sound
ness of Persons (Dharamsala, 1980), and by Jeffrey Hopkins
[the verb is vadati, literally, ‘speaks’] because it is composed
in Meditation on Emptiness (London, 1983).
of a number of parts—that is, the box, strings. . . .” The
Secondary sources include my Selfless Persons: Imagery and
king then takes the lute, breaks it up into smaller and smaller
Thought in Theravada Buddhism (London, 1982), which dis-
pieces, and finally throws it away. The moral is drawn: “In
cusses the doctrine of anatta¯ as presented in the Pali texts;
this way, monks, a monk investigates the constituents of per-
David S. Ruegg’s La théorie du Tatha¯gatagarbha et du Gotra
(Paris, 1969), which discusses the tatha¯gata-garbha theory, as
sonality. . . . But for him there is no ‘I,’ ‘mine,’ or ‘I am.’”
presented in Sanskrit and Tibetan texts; and Paul Williams’s
The story of the elder Khemaka is similar. On hearing
Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations (London
that he “does not consider there to be a self or anything be-
and New York, 1989), which treats these and other aspects
longing to a self” in the five constituents of personality, some
of the Maha¯ya¯na tradition in its entirety. Three older works,
dated in some ways perhaps but still valuable, are Edward
other monks exclaim, “Is he not then an arhat [an enlight-
Conze’s Buddhist Thought in India (1962; Ann Arbor, 1970),
ened saint]?” Khemaka hears of this but tells them that he
Arthur Berriedale Keith’s Buddhist Philosophy in India and
is not an arhat, because “with regard to the five constituents,
Ceylon (Oxford, 1923), and E. J. Thomas’s The History of
I have a sense of ‘I am,’ but I do not see ‘this is what I am’!”
Buddhist Thought, 2d ed. (1951; New York, 1967). Buddhist
He explains by analogy with the scent of a flower: The smell
notions of the soul, along with those from a number of dif-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N

8554
SOUL: CHINESE CONCEPTS
ferent religious traditions, are discussed by the Christian
A natural consequence of the nonexclusivistic yinyang
theologian John Hick in Death and Eternal Life (London,
dichotomy is what may be referred to as the thesis of the
1976).
“continuity of being.” F. W. Mote (1971) has characterized
New Sources
the uniqueness of the indigenous Chinese cosmological
Brown, B.E. The Buddha Nature: A Study of the Tathagatagarbha
thinking as the lack of a creation myth. As Mote points out,
and Alayavijñana. Delhi, 1991.
the idea of a god who creates the cosmos ex nihilo is alien
Forman, R.K.C. The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and
to the ancient Chinese mode of thought about the universe.
Philosophy. New York, 1990.
Since there is no notion of God as a creator, let alone a no-
Hamilton, S. Early Buddhism: A New Approach: the I of the Behold-
tion of the “wholly other” that can never be comprehended
er. Richmond, 2000.
by human rationality even though it is the ultimate reason
Lopez, D. S. Buddhism in Practice. Princeton, 1995.
of human existence, the Chinese take the world as given, as
always in the process of becoming. This becoming process,
Vasubandhu, and S. Anacker. Seven Works of Vasubandhu, The
known as the “great transformation” (dahua), makes every
Buddhist Psychological Doctor. Delhi, 1984.
modality of being in the universe a dynamic change rather
Williams, P. Altruism and Reality: Studies in the Philosophy of the
than a static structure. A piece of stone, a blade of grass, a
Bodhicaryavatara. Richmond, 1998.
horse, a human being, a spirit, and Heaven all form a contin-
Williams, P. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations.
uum. They are all interconnected by the pervasive qi (vital
New York, 1989.
force, material force) that penetrates every dimension of exis-
STEVEN COLLINS (1987)
tence and functions as the constitutive element for each mo-
Revised Bibliography
dality of being.
Qi, which means both energy and matter, denotes, in
SOUL: CHINESE CONCEPTS
classical Chinese medicine, the psychophysiological strength
and power associated with blood and breath. Like the Greek
An early reference to the Chinese theory of the “soul” records
idea of pneuma, or its more intriguing Platonic formulation
an explanation on human life offered by a learned statesman
of psuch¯e, qi is the air-breath that binds the world together.
in 535 BCE: the earthly aspect of the soul (po) first comes into
Indeed, its expansion (yang) and contraction (yin), two sim-
existence as the human life begins; after po has been pro-
ple movements each containing infinite varieties of complex-
duced, the heavenly aspect of the soul (hun) emerges. As gen-
ity, generate the multiplicity of the universe. This distinctive-
erally understood, hun is the spirit of a person’s vital force
ly biological and specifically sexual interpretation makes the
that is expressed in consciousness and intelligence, and po is
the spirit of a person’s physical nature that is expressed in
Chinese explanatory model significantly different from any
bodily strength and movements. Both hun and po require the
cosmology based on physics or mechanics. To the Chinese,
nourishment of the essences of the vital forces of the cosmos
the cosmos came into being not because of the willful act of
to stay healthy. When a person dies a natural death, his or
an external creator or the initial push of a prime mover.
her hun gradually disperses in heaven, and the po, perhaps
Rather, it is through the continuous interaction of Heaven
in a similar manner, returns to earth. A violent death may
and Earth, or the mutual penetration of yin and yang, that
cause the hun and po to linger in the human world and per-
the cosmos (youzhou), an integration of time and space,
form evil and malicious acts.
emerged out of chaos, an undifferentiated wholeness. Implic-
it in the differentiating act of chaos itself are the two primary
Underlying this theory of the two souls is the yinyang
movements of qi—yin and yang. Since the cosmos is not
dichotomy, which is often associated with the Book of
fixed, there has been continuous creativity. Thus change and
Changes, one of the most ancient and philosophically sophis-
transformation are the defining characteristics of the cosmos,
ticated wisdom books in human civilization. Yin and yang
which is not a static structure but a dynamic process.
symbolize the two primordial forces of the cosmos. Yin, the
receptive, consolidating, and conserving female element, and
The “continuity of being” that exists because of the na-
yang, the active, creative, and expanding male element, give
ture of qi, the cosmic energy that animates the whole uni-
rise to the multiplicity of things through their continuous
verse from stone to Heaven, makes it impossible to imagine
and dynamic interactions. The relationship between yin and
a clear separation between spirit and matter and, by implica-
yang is competitive, complementary, and dialectic. Further-
tion, flesh and soul. Understandably, a form of animism and
more, there is always a yang element in the yin and a yin ele-
its corollary, panpsychism, are taken for granted by the Chi-
ment in the yang; the yang element in the yin also contains
nese. To the Chinese, there is anima, mana, pneuma, or
yin and the yin element in the yang also contains yang. This
psuch¯e in stones, trees, animals, human beings, spiritual be-
infinite process of mutual penetration makes an exclusivistic
ings, and Heaven. Precious stones, such as jade; rare trees,
dichotomy (such as a dichotomy between creator and crea-
such as pines more than a thousand years old; unusual ani-
ture, spirit and matter, mind and body, secular and sacred,
mals, such as the phoenix, the unicorn, and the dragon, are
consciousness and existence, or soul and flesh) inoperative
all, in a sense, spiritual beings. There is no matter devoid of
as a conceptual apparatus in Chinese cosmological thinking.
spirituality. Human beings, spiritual beings, and Heaven are,
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SOUL: CHINESE CONCEPTS
8555
in a sense, material. Totally disembodied spirit is also diffi-
complexity of the spiritual realm in Chinese religiosity. It
cult to envision.
should not prevent us from noticing an underlying pattern
that is applicable to virtually all situations.
The Problematik of soul, in the Chinese context, must
be approached by a cluster of key concepts centered around
Obviously, the negative spirit (gui) and positive spirit
the idea of qi mentioned above. If we try to find the closest
(shen) are manifestations of the two vital forces, yin and yang.
approximation of a functional equivalent of the notion of
It may not be farfetched to suggest that the negative spirit
soul in Chinese, the word ling seems to work in some cases.
is the bodily soul (po) and the positive spirit is the heavenly
After all, the modern Chinese translation of the English word
aspect of the soul (hun) in us. We as human beings, accord-
soul is ling-hun, a compound made of ling and hun, earlier
ing to the thesis of the continuity of being, are integral parts
referred to as “the heavenly aspect of the soul.” Ling is a spiri-
of Heaven and Earth and the myriad things. The two souls
tual force; the term especially refers to the inspirational con-
that are in us are microcosms of the cosmic forces. We are
tent of a spiritual force. Ling is often joined with the word
thus intimately connected with nature on the one hand and
shen, which is commonly rendered as “spirit.” In both classi-
heaven on the other. In actuality, a person is not an isolated
cal and modern Chinese, the two words are, in most cases,
individuality, but a center of relationships. It is not our own
interchangeable. Strictly speaking, however, ling is more lo-
souls that constitute what we are. There are numerous souls,
calized and suggests a more specific content. Shen can be
individual and communal, that make humans active partici-
mysterious to the extent that its functioning in the world is
pants of the cosmic process. We, the living, are not separated
totally beyond human comprehension, but the presence of
(or indeed separable) from the dead, especially from our an-
ling is likely to be sensed and felt by those around. Soul, in
cestors, those to whom we owe our lives. The biological na-
the Chinese sense, can perhaps be understood as a refined
ture of our existence is such that we do not exist as discrete
vital force that mediates between the human world and the
temporal and spatial entities. Rather, we are part of the cos-
spiritual realm.
mic flow that makes us inevitably and fruitfully linked to an
ever-expanding network of relationships. Human selfhood is
From the perspective of qi, the uniqueness of being
not an isolated system; on the contrary, it is always open to
human lies in the fact that we are endowed with the finest
the world beyond. The more we are capable of establishing
of the vital forces in the cosmos. Human beings are therefore
a spiritual communion with other modalities of being, the
the embodiments of soul. One manifestation of the human
more we are enriched as human beings.
soul is human sensitivity. Even though the idea that man is
made in the image of God is not applicable to the Chinese
Nevertheless, the power and potency of the human soul
perception of humanity, the Christian notion that humanity
is determined by a variety of factors, especially political fac-
is a form of circumscribed divinity may find a sympathetic
tors. For example, the soul of the emperor is the most exalted
echo in the Chinese concept that human beings mediate and
among the human souls; because of his high status he alone
harmonize the myriad things between Heaven and Earth. In
may offer sacrifices to Heaven and to the most sacred moun-
an anthropocosmic sense, human beings are guardians, in-
tains and rivers. The soul of an ordinary person is such that
deed co-creators, of the universe. The reason why man forms
he can only establish an intimate spiritual communion with
a trinity with Heaven and Earth is that his soul enables him
his deceased parents and grandparents. However, this bu-
to bring himself into a spiritual accord with the creative
reaucratic differentiation of the social functions of souls is
transformation of the cosmos. Strictly speaking, man is not
not rigidly fixed. It is possible for people from the lowest ech-
the measure of all things; if he should become so, it is because
elons of society to cultivate themselves so that the quality of
he has earned the right to speak and judge on behalf of Heav-
their souls can match the genuineness of Heaven, an accom-
en and Earth. Man’s ultimate concern, then, is to harmonize
plishment no worldly power, wealth, or reputation can ap-
with nature and enter into a spiritual communion with the
proximate.
cosmos.
Before the introduction of Buddhism to China, both
In the spiritual realm, the idea of soul is closely associat-
the Confucians and the Daoists had already developed indig-
ed with two related concepts, gui and shen (rendered by
enous traditions of immortality. For the Confucian, one
Wing-tsit Chan as positive and negative spiritual forces).
achieves immortality by establishing one’s moral excellence,
Shen, commonly translated as “spirit” in modern Chinese,
by performing unusual meritorious political deeds or by
etymologically conveys the sense of expansion; gui, on the
writing books of enduring value. These three forms of im-
other hand, means contraction. The soul that expands be-
mortality are deeply rooted in the historical consciousness of
longs to the yang force and is associated with heaven; the soul
the Chinese, but they also point to a transcending dimension
that contracts belongs to the yin force and is associated with
that makes morality, politics, and literature spiritual (or soul-
earth. In popular religion, shen refers to gods that are good
ful) in the Confucian tradition. The individual soul achieves
and gui refers to demons (or ghosts) that are harmful. When
immortality through active participation in the collective
the two words are joined together, they may simply refer to
communal soul of the moral, political, and literary heritage.
spiritual beings in general. In sacrifices, guishen may refer to
Soul is not only inherent in natural objects; it is also present
ancestors. The flexible use of these concepts suggests the
in cultural accomplishments.
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8556
SOUL: JEWISH CONCEPT
In the Daoist tradition, immortality is attained through
Liebenthal, Walter. “The Immortality of the Soul in Chinese
inner spiritual transformation. In a strict sense, what the
Thought.” Monumenta Nipponica 8 (1952): 327–397.
Daoist advocates is not the immortality of the soul but lon-
Loewe, Michael. Ways to Paradise: The Chinese Quest for Immortal-
gevity of the body. Yet the reason why the body can age
ity. London, 1979.
gracefully (or elevate itself to a state of agelessness) is that it
Loewe, Michael. Chinese Ideas of Life and Death. London, 1982.
has become translucent like the soul without desires or
Maspero, Henri. “Daoism in Chinese Religious Beliefs of the Six
thoughts.
Dynasties Period.” In his Daoism and Chinese Religion, trans-
The Indian notion of the transmigration of the soul that
lated by Frank A. Kierman, pp. 265–298. Amherst, 1981. A
entered East Asia with the introduction of Buddhism has
Daoist approach to immortality.
provoked heated debates in China since the fourth century.
Mote, F. W. Intellectual Foundations of China. New York, 1971.
Partly because of the Buddhist influence, the notions of kar-
Needham, Joseph. Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5, pt. 2,
man, previous lives, hells, and journeys of souls are pervasive
Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Cambridge, 1974. See
in Chinese folk religions. Fan Chen’s essay “On the Mortali-
pages 71–126.
ty of the Soul,” viewed in this perspective, may have been
Tsuda Sayukichi. “Shinmetsu fumetsu no ronso ni tsuite.” Toyo-
a successful Confucian refutation of the Buddhist belief in
gakuho 24, no. 1 (1942): 1–52 and 24, no. 2 (1942): 33–80.
the separation of body and soul; but as a rationalist-
Tu Wei-ming, “The Continuity of Being: Chinese Visions of Na-
utilitarian interpretation of the soul, its persuasive power was
ture.” In his Confucian Thought: Selfhood as Creative Trans-
greatly undermined both by sophisticated Buddhists who de-
formation, pp. 35–50. Albany, N.Y., 1985.
nied the permanence of the phenomenal self and by lay peo-
Yü Ying-shih. “Views of Life and Death in Later Han China, A.D.
ple who were under the influence of Buddhist devotional
25–220.” Thesis, Harvard University, 1962.
schools.
TU WEI-MING (1987)
Since there has been continuous interaction between the
great traditions and folk traditions in China, the folk belief
that souls are spiritual beings that float around the human
world, on the one hand, and the naturalistic, organicist inter-
SOUL: JEWISH CONCEPT
pretation of souls as expressions of the vital force, on the
Unlike the Egyptian and Akkadian terms that have been
other, are not conflicting perceptions of the same reality. In
translated as “soul” (e.g., ba, ka, khu, shimtu, shedu, ishtaru),
fact, there are enough points of convergence between them
the most important Hebrew words for this concept (nefesh,
that they can well be understood as belonging to the same
neshamah or nishmah, and ruah:) do not primarily refer to ap-
religious discourse. To the Chinese, souls are neither fig-
pearance, destiny, power, or supernatural influences, but to
ments of the mind nor wishful thoughts of the heart. They
respiration—the inner, animating element of life. While the
have a right to exist, like stones, plants, and animals, in the
Hebrew Bible distinguishes between spirit and flesh, it does
creative transformation of the cosmos. The malevolent, neg-
not accept the type of dualism of body and soul characteristic
ative souls can harm people, haunting the weak and upset-
of Greek thought. Hebrew terms for the soul usually refer
ting the harmonious state of the human community. How-
to an activity or characteristic of the body or to an entire liv-
ever, by and large, human beings benefit from the positive
ing being. To “afflict the soul” means to practice physical
aspects of the soul, for through the “soul force” they are in
self-denial (Lv. 16:29ff.).
touch with the dead and with the highest spiritual realm,
Hebrew nefesh, usually translated as “soul,” refers to the
Heaven.
breath, as does the term neshamah (or nishmah), which be-
S
came the most common word for the soul in postbiblical He-
EE ALSO Qi.
brew. The verbs formed from the roots of these words (nafash
and nasham) mean “to breathe.” The two words are found
BIBLIOGRAPHY
together in Genesis 2:7, which narrates how the first human
Balazs, Étienne. “The First Chinese Materialist.” In his Chinese
(adam) received the breath of life (nishmat h:ayyim) from God
Civilization and Bureaucracy: Variations on a Theme, edited
by Arthur F. Wright and translated by H. M. Wright,
and became a living soul (nefesh h:ayyah). Another meaning
pp. 255–276. New Haven, 1964.
of nefesh is “life,” particularly animal life. Here the soul is a
kind of material principle of vitality, which is separable from
Bodde, Derk. “The Chinese View of Immortality: Its Expression
the inert substance (basar) of the body. Neshamah, on the
by Chu Hsi and Its Relationship to Buddhist Thought.” Re-
view of Religion
6 (May 1942): 369–383.
other hand, sometimes refers particularly to conscious life or
intelligence. Nefesh also may refer to mental states, in partic-
Chan, Wing-tsit, ed. and trans. A Source Book in Chinese Philoso-
ular to strong emotions or physical cravings. At times nefesh
phy. Princeton, 1963. See pages 11–13 and 299–383.
refers to human capabilities, such as the capacity for eloquent
Fung Yu-lan. A History of Chinese Philosophy, vol. 2, The Period
speech.
of Classical Learning (1953). 2d ed. Translated by Derk
Bodde. Princeton, 1973. For a discussion of Fan Chen’s “On
The word ruah:, which is often rendered as “spirit,” re-
the Mortality of the Soul,” see pages 289–292.
fers to powers or actions outside the body and often has the
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SOUL: JEWISH CONCEPT
8557
meaning of “wind.” Ruah: is the mysterious vitality in the ma-
ments scattered through this vast literature may appear when
terial body, which is considered a divine gift. Ruah: some-
cited in isolation to be pure speculation or assertions of
times denotes forces external to the body that operate in or
dogma, but they often have a primarily polemic point in con-
through the body or the mental faculties. These forces are
text. With explicit and implicit contradictions so abundant
states of exaltation and depression beyond normal experience
in the Talmud, no fully articulated system (or systems) can
that come and go “like the wind.” (The clearest example of
be found, but it is possible to summarize majority views and
the various meanings of ruah: in a single passage is Ezekiel
influential positions.
37:1–14, the vision of the valley of dry bones.)
The close connection between soul and body character-
According to the Hebrew Bible, a dead human being re-
istic of the biblical worldview is continued in the rabbinic
mains in possession of the soul upon entering SheDol, a shad-
literature. The Palestinian Talmud (J.T., Kil. 8.4, 31c) attri-
owy place sometimes synonymous with the grave, where the
butes the origin of different portions of the physical body to
vitality and energy associated with worldly life are drastically
human parents, while the spirit, life, and soul are attributed
decreased. Since both the body and the soul enter SheDol, the
to God. This admits a greater duality than is acknowledged
later doctrine of the resurrection (as expressed in Isaiah
in the Hebrew Bible, but the soul is regarded as the active
24–27 and Daniel 12) indicates a reentry into life in both
element, and so is responsible for sin, while the body is only
aspects. The first definite appearance in Jewish thought of
its vehicle. Such an attitude is contrary to Greek views
a doctrine of personal survival of death in a general resurrec-
known in Hellenistic Judaea whereby the body is seen as a
tion of the dead comes in the literature associated with the
trap that debases or hinders the soul. According to Kauf-
Hasmonean Revolt (166–164 BCE), from which time it in-
mann Kohler and Ephraim Urbach (see, respectively, Jewish
creases in importance to become a central dogma, later a part
Theology and The Sages,) this view of the body as the source
of the basic doctrine of Christianity.
of sin and impurity is not found in rabbinic Judaism. Urbach
The work in the Hebrew canon that expresses the idea
also concluded that neither the concept of the soul’s immor-
of resurrection most explicitly is the Book of Daniel. The final
tality, separate from the body, nor the idea of its transmigra-
chapter of this Hebrew-Aramaic text of the second century
tion into other bodies, is rabbinic. The absence of early, au-
BCE expands some details of the divine judgment of the na-
thoritative pronouncements on such points allowed for
tions with a “secret” revelation wherein it is made known
widely variant speculations within later orthodox and hetero-
that at some future time many of the dead will wake to ever-
dox thought. Talmudic Judaism, as Urbach indicates, found
lasting life, while some will wake only to eternal suffering.
moral duality existing within the soul, which contains both
References to the concept of resurrection are also found in
good and evil impulses, the latter including the ambitious,
Isaiah 26, which modern scholars regard as part of a late ad-
self-centered, and envious impulses in human beings that
dition to the book. It alludes to personal resurrection, which,
must be controlled rather than extirpated. The Talmud pres-
it suggests, will be restricted to certain categories of the dead
ents the soul as a supernatural entity created and bestowed
and to the shades or refa Dim. The original nature of the
by God and joined to a terrestrial body (B.T., Ber. 60a). God
refa Dim in Canaanite mythology is the subject of continuing
takes back the soul at death, but later restores it to the dead
debate, but in biblical contexts they are usually understood
body. Similar views of the soul are elaborated elsewhere in
as impotent ghosts.
the Talmud and early midrashim, although not without op-
posing voices. Among these is the concept of the soul’s preex-
The “dew of light” mentioned in Isaiah 26, as well as
istence, which, Urbach argues, appears in rabbinic sayings
in the Pseudepigrapha (e.g., 1 Bar. 29:7, 73:2; 1 Enoch 60:7),
only after the third century centuries CE. According to some,
suggests ideas of restored fertility, and is associated in the
all human souls came into existence during creation as parts
Jewish tradition with individual resurrections as well as a
of the “wind of God,” understood here as “spirit” (B.T., EA.
general resurrection. However, the passages in Daniel and
Z. 5a, Yev. 62a; Gn. Rab. 8.1, 24.4). Unborn souls abide in
Isaiah concerning the role of the soul in resurrection are am-
a guf (“a body”; commentators suggest “promptuary”)
biguous and have allowed for extensive and often contradic-
among the treasures of the Earavot, the seventh heaven,
tory speculation. The Sadducees, in the first century CE, fol-
where also are found the souls of the righteous and the “dew
lowed a literal reading of the accepted scriptures and denied
of light” with which God will resurrect the dead (B.T., H:ag.
that the idea of a general resurrection was found there. But
12b, Yev. 62a, Shab. 152b). The Messiah will come when the
the Pharisees and their successors, the tannaim (first and sec-
supply of souls in the guf is exhausted, or, according to oth-
ond centuries CE) and the amoraim (third through fifth cen-
ers, when God has created those souls he has held in his in-
turies CE) were convinced that the scriptures, properly under-
stood in the light of an oral instruction passed down through
tention from the beginning (B.T., EA. Z. 5a, Yev. 62a, Nid.
Moses and the later prophets, were filled with hints and allu-
136; Gn. Rab. 24.4; cf. also Apocalypse of Ezra 4:35).
sions concerning the world to come.
According to one view, God compels the selected or
RABBINIC VIEWS. A synopsis of concepts of the soul in rab-
newly created soul to enter the womb at the time of concep-
binic literature may give an overly uniform appearance to
tion. Even after the soul has entered this world, it is not en-
this material, which developed over many generations. State-
tirely forgetful of its origins and is not without divine care.
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SOUL: JEWISH CONCEPT
It is accompanied by angels (B.T., Ber. 60b, end; B.T., Shab.
the body and the lower parts (or functions) of the soul, but
119a), and nightly, while the body sleeps, the soul ascends
through reason a human being is related to the suprasensual,
to heaven, from which it returns with renewed life for the
or divine, realm, to which the higher portion of the soul seeks
body (Gn. Rab. 14.9; probably implied in B.T., Ber. 60a).
to be reunited. For Philo, the religious task is to bring about
On the Sabbath the body enjoys an “additional soul,” which
the union of the individual soul with the divine Logos, tran-
is sent forth by and returns to God, as ShimEon ben Laqish
scending both the material world and the limits of the ratio-
discovered by an ingenious rendering of the word va-yinafash
nal soul.
in Exodus 31:17 (B.T., Beits. 16a, Ta Ean. 27b).
In Philo’s adaptation of Plato, there is a transcendent,
Although the soul had protested at its embodiment and
preexistent, incorporeal Logos, a direct projection of the
its birth into the world, it also protests at the death of the
ideas in the mind of God, and there is also an immanent
body. The soul hovers about the dead body for three days,
Logos, the totality of God’s powers existing in the material
hoping that life will return (Tanh:umaD, Miqets 4, Pequdei
world. The intelligible world of the transcendent Logos is the
3; cf. B.T., Shab. 152a). Ultimately the soul leaves the body
model for the human world, in which all things, including
and awaits the resurrection, when they will reunited and
individual souls, or minds, are reflections of the ideas, or im-
judged together (B.T., San. 91). Concerning the fate of the
ages, as these are mediated through the immanent Logos. Di-
soul in the meantime, one view is that the souls of the righ-
rectly below the immanent Logos in the descent from God
teous will remain with God, while the souls of the wicked
are the rational, unbodied souls, which have the nature of
wander in the air or are hurled from one end of the world
living beings. Some of these were, or will be, incarnate in
to the other by angels (B.T., Shab. 152b).
human bodies; others have not and never will be so em-
bodied. These latter beings are ranked according to their in-
Not everyone will be resurrected. The generation de-
herent level of likeness to the divine. They are found in the
stroyed in the Flood, the men of Sodom (San. 10.3) who
heavens and in the air, and are known to the Greeks as dai-
were punished by complete annihilation, and, with ironic ap-
mones, that is (following the etymology in Plato’s Cratylus
propriateness, those who denied the doctrine of resurrection
398b), “knowers,” but in Hebrew they are called mal Dakhim,
will not return to life. Attempts have been made as well to
“messengers,” because they are God’s messengers in his deal-
relate doctrines of the soul or of the resurrection to Jewish
ings with the created world. Translators of scripture have
concepts of religious duty and piety (e.g., B.T., Ket. 111b),
called them “angels,” that is, “heralds.”
a problem that was to be taken up at length by philosophers
and mystics in later centuries.
The rational, human soul, a fragment of the Logos in
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS. Philosophical speculation in Juda-
human form, is capable of achieving a separate existence at
ism arose through the desire to reconcile the Jewish tradition
a new level; the angels cannot. Without the support of God,
with contemporary intellectual discourse. In medieval Jewish
however, the rational soul would perish by dissolving into its
philosophy, the effort at reconciliation was directed at two
original, undifferentiated state. This is the fate of personal
rival forms of thought, Platonism and Aristotelianism, both
obliteration awaiting the wicked. The souls of the righteous,
of which were read under the influence of Neoplatonic com-
the wise and virtuous, will be brought close to God in pro-
mentaries and misattributed texts, such as the excerpts from
portion to their merits. Not only can some reach the level
Plotinus that circulated as the Theology of Aristotle. Isaac
of the highest angels beneath the immanent Logos, as did
Husik noted (1916) that as a group, Jewish philosophers hes-
Elijah, but some can attain the level of the ideas of the intelli-
itated between (1) the Platonic view of the soul as a distinct
gible world, as did Enoch. Moses, the most perfect man, who
entity that enters the body from a spiritual world and acts
delivered the most perfect law by which souls are disciplined
by using the body as its instrument and (2) the Aristotelian
and improved, stands above all created species and genera,
view that, as far as the lower faculties such as sense, memory,
before God himself. Philo thus attempts to link the Platonic
and imagination are concerned, the soul is merely a form of
ascent of the soul to the Platonic ideas, using the biblical con-
the physical body and perishes with it. They found biblical
cepts of prophecy and election. No place is made for a resur-
references to support both views, although the latter provid-
rection of the body reunited with the soul.
ed a clearer division between the human and the divine.
Philosophical and systematic theological writings from
Philo Judaeus (d. 45–50 CE) sought to reconcile Greek,
Jewish sources appear again later in the ninth and tenth cen-
predominantly Platonic and Stoic, philosophy with scrip-
turies in response to the philosophical schools of Islam. The
ture, particularly the Pentateuch. He accomplished this
work of Yitsh:aq YisraDeli (c. 850–950) is largely Platonic in
through a device he borrowed from the Greeks, the allegori-
origin. YisraDeli believed in the substantiality and immortali-
cal method of interpretation, which the Stoics had used for
ty of the soul, of which he distinguished three kinds in every
the Homeric epics. Philo accepted most of the Greek distinc-
human being. The first is the rational soul, which receives
tion between body and soul, including the belief that the
wisdom, discriminates between good and evil, and is subject
body and its desires were the cause of the pollution of the
to punishment for wrongdoing. The second is the animal
soul, the body being a prison from which the soul must es-
soul, which humans share with beasts. It consists of sense
cape. Humans are related to the world of the senses through
perception, and it controls motion, but has no connection
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SOUL: JEWISH CONCEPT
8559
with reality and can judge only from appearances. The third
which has been presented as an eclectic Neoplatonism, is not
is the vegetative soul, which is responsible for nutrition,
absolutely wrong in teaching men to seek communion with
growth, and reproduction; it has no sense perception or ca-
the divine by subduing the organic and emotional, or vegeta-
pacity to move. These distinctions, with major and minor
tive and animal, elements of the soul to the rational. He
variations, were to become common in Jewish as well as in
states that there is another faculty of the soul, the religious
Muslim and Christian writings.
faculty, which is capable of grasping truths and experiences
beyond the reach of reason alone, so that the immaterial sub-
Yitsh:aq YisraDeli’s younger contemporary, SaEadyah ben
stance of the higher faculties of the soul becomes indestructi-
Yosef, or SaEadyah Gaon (c. 882–942), summarized his ideas
ble and immortal by assimilating universal and eternal con-
about the soul in the sixth treatise of his Book of Beliefs and
cepts. According to ha-Levi, rabbinic Judaism is uniquely
Opinions (Arabic version, Kita¯b al-ama¯na¯t wa-al-I Etiqa¯da¯t,
able to foster this higher, religious faculty of the soul. By
completed about 933; Hebrew paraphrases and full transla-
leading a temperate and moral life the soul attains immortali-
tion as Sefer ha-emunot ve-ha-de Eot). SaEadyah follows the less
ty and closeness to God.
widely accepted of the Talmudic and Midrashic views that
the soul is formed with the completion of the body and that
The Neoplatonic approach of Shelomoh ibn Gabirol
there is a continuous creation of souls. He accepts, however,
was resumed in later decades by another Spanish poet,
the predetermined limit of the total number of souls. He de-
Mosheh ibn EEzraD (1070–1138), who was influenced, it is
fends the localization of the soul in the heart with a demon-
thought, by the S:u¯f¯ıs. Ibn EEzraD believed in the preexistence
stration of synonymous uses of the words in biblical texts,
of the individual soul and in the transmigration of souls until
as well as with ancient and medieval physiological theories
they gain sufficient wisdom to be reunited with their source
locating consciousness in the heart. Like the celestial spheres,
in the world soul. Markedly Aristotelian, in contrast, is the
the soul is perfectly transparent, so that although it perme-
work of Avraham ibn Daud (1100–1180), a Spanish histori-
ates the body through vessels leading from the heart, it is too
an and astronomer who argued that the soul is the form of
fine to be seen. When the soul leaves the body it is stored
the body, that it can grasp universal ideas and discriminate
up until the time of general retribution, when it is restored
between good and evil, and that it can survive the body. Ibn
to its own body to face God’s judgment. Because of their
Daud criticized the idea of the preexistence of the soul as il-
pure, celestial nature, the souls of the wise and just rise to
logical, arguing that if a preexistent soul died with the body
the heavenly spheres. The souls of the wicked, however, be-
their union was without purpose, while if it survived the
come turbid from the impurities of their earthly lives, and
body their temporary union was also pointless.
after death they drift aimlessly among the lower elements.
When it first leaves the body, the soul is troubled by the
In the twelfth century the dominant influence was not
thought of the disintegration of its former abode. The earth-
that of Ibn Daud, however, but of Moses Maimonides
bound souls of the wicked are greatly distressed by this cor-
(Mosheh ben Maimon, 1135/8–1204). In his major philo-
ruption, while pure souls are much less concerned by it and
sophical work, The Guide of the Perplexed (c. 1190), he bases
soon begin their ascent.
his theory of the soul on Aristotelian thought as he under-
stood it through the great Arabic commentaries of Ibn S¯ına¯
SaEadyah used the resources of Arabic philosophical
(Avicenna) and Al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı and on biblical texts interpreted
teachings to construct a rationalized exposition of some Tal-
by an elaborate theory of the meaning of scriptural language.
mudic views of the soul. The majority of his successors were
For Maimonides, the complete soul, or nefesh, is coextensive
content with more general resemblances, preferring to con-
with the physical body and is not separable from it. It has
centrate on the assurance of personal immortality and retri-
five functions, namely, (1) the nutritive, (2) the sensitive,
bution when they discussed the soul. Shelomoh ibn Gabirol
which consists of the five senses, (3) the imaginative, (4) the
(c. 1021–1058), one of the great Jewish liturgical poets of
appetitive, which manifests itself in desires and emotions,
medieval Spain, connected the soul with the nature of the
and (5) the rational. The rational function itself consists of
universe. For Ibn Gabirol, a Neoplatonist, the individual
(1) the reflective aspect, which acquires knowledge and
human soul is part of the world soul and contains a higher
makes ethical judgments, (2) the practical aspect, and (3) the
faculty than that of the rational soul, which is that of imme-
theoretical aspect, which consists of knowledge of unchang-
diate intellectual intuition. The soul contains all the forms
ing realities.
of existence in its essence and can intuit these forms. Ibn Ga-
birol separates the soul from God through an intricate series
The rational faculty is twofold. The material intellect la-
of emanations, but to many his views seemed to attribute too
tent in all human beings can be developed into the acquired
much of the divine to the human soul.
intellect by the proper use of the mind. The acquired intel-
lect is a disposition of the soul and perishes with the body.
Elaboration of the concept of soul in terms of Jewish
The acquired intellect can realize correct general concepts
thought was attempted by another Spanish poet-
about the world, and when these are realized the rational soul
philosopher, Yehudah ha-Levi (c. 1058–1141), in his Arabic
assimilates the corresponding thoughts of the Active Intel-
dialogue Al-Khazar¯ı (The book of argument and proof in de-
lect, which is the emanation through which God governs the
fense of the despised faith). Ha-Levi argues that philosophy,
material world. In this manner elements of divinity enter
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8560
SOUL: JEWISH CONCEPT
into the acquired intellect. If the soul has been directed to-
(“understanding”). The sefirot are assigned male and female
ward contemplation of the nature of God and the world, the
aspects, and the soul has its origins in a union of these male
acquired intellect is replaced by the actualized intellect,
and female archetypes and takes on masculine and feminine
which consists of these general concepts received from the
forms only in its emanations downward.
active intellect. When the body dies the lower faculties of the
After the compilation of the Zohar, two additional parts
soul are destroyed, but the actualized intellect, being of di-
of the soul were introduced, the h:ayyah and ye-h:idah (“life”
vine origin, is reunited with God through the Active Intel-
and “only one”; cf. Psalms 22:21). These were assigned
lect. Through rational contemplation, such souls are reward-
higher levels than the neshamah and could be acquired only
ed by immortality. The souls of those who indulged the
by spiritually evolved individuals. The soul of the Messiah,
senses and emotions will perish with their bodies. According
which was on the level of yehidah, had its source in the sefirah
to the Treatise on Resurrection, although Maimonides be-
Keter (“crown”), the highest of the emanations.
lieved in resurrection, he considered it a temporary condition
wherein the souls of the righteous remain before they depart
According to Qabbalah, the nefesh, ruah:, and neshamah
from the physical world entirely.
have different destinies after death. The nefesh hovers over
the body for a time; the ruah: goes to a terrestrial realm as-
The threat to traditional religious beliefs presented by
signed according to its virtue, and the neshamah returns to
Maimonidean intellectualism was not met successfully until
its home with the divine. Only the nefesh and ruah: are sub-
the late fourteenth century, in the Or Adonai (Light of the
ject to punishment.
Lord) of Hasdai Crescas. Crescas attacked the theory of the
soul as being a form coextensive with the physical body. He
In the thought of Isaac Luria (1534–1572) and his disci-
also rejected the assumption that reason is the characteristic
ples, the doctrine of metempsychosis was incorporated into
feature of the human soul. He argued that the will and the
concepts of the nature and destiny of creation and the mis-
emotions are basic parts of human nature and not merely
sion of the Jewish people. The task of tiun, that is, the resto-
bodily distractions to be discarded with the flesh, which sur-
ration or reintegration into the divine pattern of existence of
vive the death of the body and play a part in determining
the flawed material universe, is entrusted to human souls,
the ultimate condition and fate of the soul. He contended
who seek out and redeem the scattered sparks of divinity in
that religious teaching and practice are correctly directed at
the world. Most souls are given repeated chances to achieve
shaping the will and the emotions, rather than the reason.
this task, thus constituting a kind of reincarnation, which
earlier Jewish mystics had considered primarily a form of
QABBALISTIC VIEWS. According to Qabbalah, a person is a
punishment or expiation for sins. In the Lurianic system, rit-
spiritual being whose body is merely an external wrapping.
ual commandments are important for achieving tiun, both
There are three essentially different parts of the soul in qab-
for the individual soul and for the whole world.
balistic thought, designated by the Hebrew terms nefesh,
ruah
:, and neshamah. The nefesh is the vital element and en-
SEE ALSO Ascension; Jewish Thought and Philosophy, arti-
ters the body at birth; it dominates the physical and psycho-
cle on Premodern Philosophy.
logical aspects of the self. In contrast, the ruah: and neshamah
must be developed through spiritual discipline. The ruah:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
comes into being when a person can overcome the body and
For a brief discussion of the historical and theoretical background
its desires and it is thus associated with the ethical aspects of
of Jewish views of the soul, see Louis Jacobs’s A Jewish Theol-
life. The neshamah is the highest part of the soul and is pro-
ogy New York, 1973). Walther Eichrodt provides a useful
duced through study of the Torah and observation of the
treatment of Israelite views of the human personality and the
commandments. Torah study awakens the higher centers,
problem of death in Theology of the Old Testament, 2 vols.
through which the individual attains the capacity to appre-
(Philadelphia, 1961–1967); see pages 118–150 and 210–228
in volume 2. Louis Ginzberg offers an incomparable survey
hend God and the secrets of creation.
of the entire postbiblical period in The Legends of the Jews,
According to Gershom Scholem, Qabbalah took this di-
7 vols. (1909–1938; Philadelphia, 1937–1966). His survey
vision of the soul primarily from Jewish Neoplatonism and
includes the intertestamental literature and the writings of
introduced theosophic and mythic elaborations. In Qab-
the church fathers on biblical events, as well as Jewish sources
through the nineteenth century.
balah the neshamah is that part of the soul that consists of
the spark of the divine and is exclusively concerned with the
Although dated, George Foot Moore’s Judaism in the First Centu-
knowledge of God. According to the fundamental text of
ries of the Christian Era; The Age of Tannaim, 3 vols. (1927–
thirteenth-century qabbalistic literature, the Zohar, each part
1930; Cambridge, Mass., 1970), remains a classic treatment
of postbiblical sectarian Jewish literature, particularly the
of the soul originates in the world of the sefirot (the emana-
pseudopigrapha and the other Talmudic and Midrashic liter-
tions of God). Nefesh originates in the sefirah Malkhut
ature. On concepts involving the soul, see especially pages
(“kingdom”), the lowest emanation, which corresponds to
368–371, 404, and 486–489 in volume 1; pages 279–322
the Congregation of Israel. Ruah: originates in TifDeret
(“Retribution after Death”), 353, and 377–395
(“grandeur”), the central sefirah, also known as Rahamim
(“Eschatology”) in volume 2; and pages 148 (note 206),
(“mercies”). Neshamah emerges from the third sefirah, Binah
196–197, and 204–205 in volume 3. A more advanced and
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SOUL: CHRISTIAN CONCEPTS
8561
detailed work then Moore’s, and one covering a longer peri-
Tucker, Gordon. “Body and Soul in Jewish Tradition.” Proceed-
od, is E. E. Urbach’s The Sages: Their Concepts and Beliefs,
ings of the Rabbinical Assembly of America 45 (1984):
2 vols. (1969; Jerusalem, 1975). The chapter titled “Man”
141–156.
in volume 1 covers in great detail the Talmudic and Mid-
JACK BEMPORAD (1987)
rashic views on ensoulment, preexistence, and embryonic
Revised Bibliography
consciousness, as well as related concepts, and attempts to
determine the relative and absolute chronologies of state-
ments and their attribution in the sources. Notes on pages
784–800 in volume 2 and the bibliography, pages 1061–
SOUL: CHRISTIAN CONCEPTS
1062, cite many earlier secondary studies. A specialized work
The concept of the soul in Christian literature and tradition
is Shalom Spiegel’s The Last Trial: On the Legends and Lore
has a complex history. Moreover, Christian thought about
of the Command to Abraham to Offer Issac as a Sacrifice; The
its destiny is by no means uniform, nor is it always even clear.
Akedah (1950; Philadelphia, 1967), which includes a chapter
TERMINOLOGY. The New Testament word psuch¯e is rooted
on the soul’s flight from the body and the dew of resurrection
in the Hebrew nefesh, and in English both are generally trans-
in Midrashic literature.
lated “soul.” In primitive Semitic thought nefesh (Arabic,
A comprehensive survey from the perspective of philosophy is Ju-
nafs) is a fine, diminutive replica of the body. As such it can
lius Guttman’s Philosophies of Judaism: The History of Jewish
be contrasted with ruah:, an onomatopoeic word that mimics
Philosophy from Biblical Times to Franz Rosenzweig (1933;
the sound of breathing and is used to designate the spirit or
New York, 1964). Articles on the Jewish concept of the soul
principle of life that in such thought is seen in the breath,
from the Encyclopedia Judaica (Jerusalem, 1971) have been
which stands in contrast to the flesh. The New Testament
collected together with new material, in a single volume; Jew-
word psuch¯e, however, has complex overtones associated with
ish Philosophers, edited by Steven T. Katz (New York, 1975).
the concept of life, sometimes also signifying what today
On the philosophy of Philo, see Harry A. Wolfson’s Philo:
Foundations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity

would be called the self and often assuming a special conno-
and Islam, 2 vols. (Cambridge, Mass., 1947); see especially
tation as the seat of the supernatural or eternal life, the life
chapter 7, “Souls, Angels, Immortality,” in volume 1. Issac
that cannot be destroyed by the malice of humans as can the
Husik’s A History of Medieval Jewish Philosophy (1916); New
body, yet can be destroyed by God (Mt. 10:39). So valuable
York, 1969) remains a standard, detailed survey of Jewish
is the psuch¯e that not even the whole of the material universe
philosophies in the Middle Ages. For the concept of the soul
could compensate for its loss (Mt. 16:26, Mk. 8:36ff.).
during this period, a useful but rather narrowly focused vol-
When the psuch¯e is fully dedicated to God it acquires
ume is Philip David Bookstaber’s The Idea of Development
a special character (1 Pt. 1:22, 4:19), and in this dedication
of the Soul in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Philadelphia,
1950).
it can be anchored in God and be aware of possessing eternal
life, assured of salvation from all that could alienate it from
Articles by Gershom Scholem written for the Encyclopedia Judaica
that inheritance (Heb. 6:19). Such is the “soul” or “self” that
have been collected in Kabbalah (New York, 1974); see espe-
is under the care of Christ. Yet since the psuch¯e is spiritual,
cially “Man and His Soul (Psychology and Anthropology of
not material, it is not to be guarded as one guards an earthly
the Kabbalah)” and “Gilgul,” on the transmigration of souls.
mansion, nor to be placed like a precious heirloom in a safe
New Sources
deposit box, nor tended as one tends a delicate plant. On the
Arbel, Daphna V. “Forms of Spirit and Soul: Transcendent An-
contrary, Jesus urges his disciples to let go of it, abandoning
thropomorphism in the ‘Shi’ur Komah’ Traditions.” Studies
it to God’s care (Mt. 16:25, Mk. 8:35, Lk. 9:24, Jn. 12:25).
in Spirituality 12 (2002): 5–22.
Such is the paradox of self-giving, a concept that finds ex-
Baumgarten, A. I., J. Assmann, and G. G. Strousma. Self, Soul,
pression also in Hindu and Buddhist thought.
and Body in Religious Experience. Leiden and Boston, 1998,
In the New Testament then, the psuch¯e, although fun-
Blau, Yitzchak. “Body and Soul: ‘tehiyyat ha-metim’ and ‘gil-
damentally rooted in a Hebrew concept, encompasses so
gulim’ in Medieval and Modern Philosophy.” Torah
much of what is today understood as the “self” that it con-
U-Madda Journal 10 (2001): 1–19.
fronts one with many of the very complex problems to be
Eylon, Dina Ripsman. Reincarnation in Jewish Mysticism and
found in modern discussions of selfhood. Yet the term carries
Gnosticism. Jewish Studies, no. 25. Lewiston, N.Y., 2003.
also other connotations, as shall be seen later. Furthermore,
Kallus, Menachem. “Pneumatic Mystical Possession and the Es-
in its adjectival form, psuchikos, it can be used to designate
chatology of the Soul in Lurianic Kabbalah.” In Spirit Posses-
the natural, biological life of humans, as distinguished from
sion in Judaism: Cases and Contexts from the Middle Ages to
the spiritual life, which is called pneumatikos (1 Cor. 2:14,
the Present, edited by Matt Goldish, pp. 159–185, 385–413.
15:46; Jude 19). The dualistic distinction implied in this
Detroit, 2003.
usage echoes one that is familiar to readers of gnostic litera-
Newmyer, Stephen T. “Antoninus and Rabbi on the Soul: Stoic
ture. Psuch¯e, however, always refers to that dimension of hu-
Elements of a Puzzling Encounter.” Koroth 9 (1988):
manity that is of eternal value and therefore contrasted with
108–123.
the human carnal embodiment.
Rubin, Nissan. “Body and Soul in Talmudic and Mishnaic
In Ezekiel (13:17ff.) there is an echo of the primitivistic
Sources.” Koroth 9 (1988): 151–164.
belief that the nefesh can slip out of the nostrils or another
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SOUL: CHRISTIAN CONCEPTS
orifice during sleep (hence the old superstition against sleep-
well as gentle rain and sunshine. The ruah: of the Lord, how-
ing with one’s mouth open) or, in the case of violent death,
ever, is that of righteousness and love, of justice and mercy,
at the point of the assassin’s sword. Ezekiel warns his bearers
inspiring the utterances of the prophets upon whom it falls.
against women who sew frilly sleeves around their wrists,
“the better to ensnare lives.” This passage reflects both the
Behind the New Testament use of pneuma lie these ear-
old material concept of the nefesh and the ancient fear of
lier uses of ruah:. The spirit of God is given to Jesus in bap-
witches, who made a profitable business out of nocturnal ex-
tism (Mt. 3:13ff.) and from Jesus to the disciples. John the
ploits in which they stole the nefashot of unwary sleepers,
Baptist distinguishes the baptism he gives from the one Jesus
catching their souls like moths in handkerchiefs and then
is to give, which is to be by the Holy Spirit (en pneumati
selling them to families with a member who, as one might
hagio¯) and by fire (Mt. 3:11). Here John is represented as an-
say today, had “lost his mind.” The Arabs entertained similar
ticipating the experience of the disciples on the day of Pente-
views about the vulnerability of the nafs to such evil agencies.
cost, described in Acts 2 as the descent of the Spirit on the
assembly as if in “tongues of fire.” The extent to which the
SOUL AND SPIRIT. The English words soul and spirit are at-
New Testament writers accounted the Holy Spirit of God
tempts to represent the two sets of ideas found in the Bible:
a separate entity, as in the trinitarian doctrine developed in
Soul is continuous with the Hebrew nefesh and the Greek
later Christian thought, is, to say the least, obscure and need
psuch¯e, while spirit is continuous with the Hebrew ruah: and
not be of concern here. Pneuma, however, is very frequently
the Greek pneuma. The one set of ideas, however, cannot be
used, both in a somewhat pedestrian way (e.g., the disciples
entirely dissociated from the other. For example, when one
are afraid, thinking they are seeing a ghost, Lk. 24:37) and
thinks of the ideas of wind, breath, or spirit, one would prob-
in more reverential senses having the full range of Hebrew
ably attach any of them to pneuma rather than to psuch¯e; nev-
meanings along with special meanings arising out of the pen-
ertheless, one should bear in mind that the word psuch¯e has
tecostal experience. Both Paul and John make notable use of
an etymological connection with the verb psuchein (“to
the antinomy of flesh (sarx) and spirit (pneuma). What makes
breathe”), as does the Latin animus with anemos, the Greek
one righteous is circumcision not of the flesh but of the spirit
word meaning “wind.” So some study of the concept of spirit
(Rom. 2:29). Had not the psalmist noted that the Lord was
is not only relevant to but necessary for any study of the
less pleased by burnt offerings than by a humble and contrite
Christian concept of the soul.
heart (Ps. 51)? Christians do not walk according to the flesh
Ruah:, which the New Testament writers translate as
but according to the spirit (Rom. 8:13).
pneuma and which is traditionally rendered “spirit” in En-
Although Paul follows traditional usage in such matters,
glish, does not have the quasi-physical connotation that ne-
he also uses pneuma in several less expected ways, for exam-
fesh has. For although ruah: is sometimes used to signify
ple, as if he were alluding to the soul (2 Cor. 2:13) and as
“wind” or “breath” (e.g., in Job 15:30), it is not accurately
if referring to the mind as the seat of human consciousness
described as ambiguous in meaning since in Hebrew it refers
(1 Cor. 7:34). He also writes as if mystically identifying the
simply to the principle of vital activity, however manifested.
soul or conscious self of the Christian with the spiritual realm
The Hebrews did not make the sharp distinction, as does
or dimension to which it has been introduced through
Western tradition, between the physical connotations of
Christ; he writes as if the Christian were so absorbed into
“wind” and the spiritual connotations of “spirit” or “mind.”
Christ that everything he or she thought or said or did issued
So the effects of ruah: may be heard as one hears a hurricane,
thence. Paul has a tendency to express his dominant sense
or seen as one might see breath on a mirror or the dancing
of mystical union with Christ by coalescing all such distinc-
of branches of trees on a windy day. Or it may be perceived
tions as might lie between psuch¯e and pneuma, focusing upon
in more complex ways, as one perceives the resutls of God’s
what today would more readily be called a spiritual dimen-
action in human events. Since the ancients saw in breathing
sion of being, one in which the human participates in the
the evidence of life and in its absence the lack of life, breath
divine.
would seem an obvious locus for ruah:. Nevertheless, they
would so see it only as they see in the brain an obvious locus
John pointedly contrasts sarx (“flesh”) with pneuma
for mental activity, although not even the most positivistic
(“spirit”), as in John 3:5–8. Because God is a spirit, all deal-
of contemporary analytical philosophers would identify
ings with him are in the spiritual, not the carnal, dimension
mental activity simply with the three pounds of pinkish-gray
(Jn. 4:24). The words of Jesus are the revelation of God, and
tissue people carry in their heads. Ruah: is also the inner
as such they are to be recognized as spirit (pneuma) and life
strength of a man or woman, which is weakened in times of
(zo¯¯e). Spirit is symbolized by the physical act of breathing:
despondency and is revived in times of exhilaration. Short-
In John 20:22 Jesus breathes on the apostles as a symbol of
tempered people are short of ruah: (Ex. 6:9). The ruah: of God
his bestowal of the Holy Spirit (pneuma hagion). Alluding to
(Elohim) is uniquely powerful in its effects on humans, af-
the Holy Spirit, John uses the term parakl¯etos: the one who
fecting them in all sorts of ways, not all of them benevolent.
helps or pleads one’s cause. This term had been used in classi-
Since the Hebrews had no special word for nature as did the
cal Greek in much the same way as the Latin advocatus
Greeks (phusis), one word had to do service for all seemingly
(“advocate,” or the English counsel). As used by John, it
superhuman activity. God sends plagues and earthquakes as
seems to recall the notion of the spirit of truth as used in the
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Qumran literature in the sense of “helper,” where the typical-
quences for certain moral questions, notably that of abortion,
ly gnostic contrast between the spirit of light and the spirit
are clear.
of darkness is also notable. Jesus, as God pitching his tent
Traducianism is the theory that the soul is transmitted
awhile in the carnal world of humankind, is he who can me-
along with the body by the parents. Forms of this view were
diate between humans, in their mixed, carnal-spiritual state,
proposed by some of the Fathers (such as Gregory of Nyssa
and God, who is pure spirit. In the light of such modes of
and, notably, Tertullian), but in the Middle Ages it found
conceptualizing, the distinction between soul and spirit
little if any favor. Lutherans, however, tended to accept it,
tends to evanesce. The contrast is between the carnal realm
and in the early nineteenth century a modified form of it was
and the spiritual realm. The characteristics of the spirit (com-
proposed within the Roman Catholic tradition by the found-
ing “like the rushing of a mighty wind” and “blowing where
er of the Rosminians, Antonio Rosmini-Serbati.
it listeth”) become, then, descriptions of the way in which
the spiritual dimension behaves; that is, it behaves otherwise
It is widely supposed that reincarnationism (a form of
than according to the “laws” of physics or biology.
resurrection belief) is alien to Christian thought, but this
supposition is not warranted by the evidence. The doctrine
To sum up: With the translation of nefesh as psuch¯e in
of the preexistence of the soul was certainly held by Origen
the Greek version of the Bible (Septuagint), which the New
and others in the tradition of Christian Platonism. Rein-
Testament writers used, the ground is laid for the tendency
carnationism (not of course in its crude, primitivistic form,
toward the coalescence of the ideas suggested by the terms
but in an ethical one, such as is found in Plato and in Indian
psuch¯e and pneuma. For both words focus on the traditional
philosophy) has a long and interesting, albeit partly under-
Semitic preoccupation with the idea of life. What matters to
ground, tradition in Christian thought and literature from
the spiritual person is not the life measured in days or years
early times down to the present day. Christian reincarnation-
(bios) but the spiritual energy, the inner life of a person, his
ists hold that the soul passes through many embodiments in
or her zo¯¯e, which has the capacity to become everlasting. It
the process of its development and spiritual growth and is
is to this that the soul is to be resurrected, so that resurrection
judged accordingly, not on the basis of only one life of inde-
then entails an ongoing, everlasting state, which Christ has
terminate duration. The soul, in this view, has a very long
made possible even for sinful men and women. Thus the
history, with origins antedating humanity itself.
struggle in this life is not so much against flesh (sarx) as
“against the spiritual army of evil agencies” (pros ta pneuma-
DESTINY OF THE SOUL. Paul taught that because “the wages
tika tes ponerias; Eph. 6:12). By extension, then, the soul, as
of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), humans have no more entitle-
the higher part of a human, becomes indistinguishable from
ment to immortality than has any other form of life. Thanks,
the spiritual dimension of the human’s being.
however, to the power of Christ’s resurrection, every man
and woman of the Christian way who truly believes in the
Still, one cannot easily overemphasize the fact that the
power of Christ will rise with him (Phil. 3:21) in a body that
New Testament Christians were heirs of a classical Hebrew
will be like Christ’s “glorious” body (to¯ so¯mati t¯es dox¯es
view in which a human does not have a body or have a soul;
autou). The resurrection of Christ makes humans capable of
he or she is a soul-body unity. Flesh and spirit, however, are
personal resurrection, yet they can attain their own resurrec-
opposed as evil and good aspects of humanity. Recognition
tion only insofar as they appropriate the power of Christ,
of this may have opened the way to a later accommodation
which they can do through believing in its efficacy and ac-
to the Greek soul-body dualism. In Hebrew thought the soul
cepting his divine gift of salvation from death and victory
was sometimes conceived as if it were a sort of liquid in the
over the grave.
jar of the body, one that can be diminished and also replen-
ished. In Genesis 2:7 God breathed his Spirit into the very
Indeed, although notions of immortality are inextrica-
dust out of which he made humans, and the human being
bly woven into New Testament thought alongside the cen-
then “became a living soul.” This imagery haunts Hebrew
tral resurrection theme, they are dependent on the latter in
thought and the New Testament writers inherit the model
the thought of Paul and other New Testament writers. For
it fostered.
all human beings, death has always been the supreme terror,
the “final enemy”; now, Paul proclaims, it has been con-
ORIGIN OF THE SOUL. Within the development of Christian
quered, making possible the immortal life of the soul.
thought on the origin of the individual soul, three views have
been maintained: (1) creationism, (2) traducianism, and (3)
Yet one must not expect to find in the first century any
reincarnationism.
clearly formulated universal doctrine of the afterlife. The ex-
pectation of the end of the age and the imminent return of
Creationism is the doctrine that God creates a new soul
Christ (the Parousia) so governed the Christian outlook dur-
for each human being at conception. Upheld by Jerome, Hil-
ing that period as to discourage speculation about the nature
ary, and Peter Lombard, it was by far the most widely accept-
of the soul or whatever it is in humans that survives the phys-
ed view on the subject in the Middle Ages. Thomas Aquinas
ical body. Paul himself pointedly discouraged idle specula-
insisted upon it (Summa theologiae 1.118), and in the Re-
tion on the precise nature of the resurrected body (1 Cor.
formed tradition the Calvinists generally taught it. Its conse-
15:35–58). As, however, the hope of the Parousia gradually
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lost much of its urgency, the need for formulation of an an-
The concept of Gehenna as a dumping ground for the
swer to such questions pressed itself on theological minds.
incineration of the wicked originates with the “Valley of the
Since the biblical writers had left these questions so open,
son of Hinnom,” the place on the boundary between Judah
and since a variety of beliefs from throughout the Mediterra-
and Benjamin that in later Hebrew literature had an unsa-
nean world had consciously or otherwise affected those who
vory reputation as the site of a cultic shrine where human
were thinking seriously about such matters, different and
sacrifice was offered (2 Kgs. 23:10; 2 Chr. 28:3, 33:6). When
sometimes incompatible views were brought together. Even
reference is made in Isaiah 66:24 to the place where the dead
before the Christian era the Jews had been entertaining be-
bodies of those who have rebelled against the Lord shall lie,
liefs about the afterlife that had not been in the general mold
this valley is the place being alluded to. In 2 Esdras 7:6 Ge-
of their classical thought but had been picked up from for-
henna has become a furnace within sight of paradise. In Jew-
eign sources after the Exile (587/6 BCE). In the time of Jesus,
ish apocalyptic literature it was often seen as a pit of un-
for instance, some (such as the Pharisees) believed in a resur-
quenchable fire in which the wicked are destroyed, body and
rection from the dead which others (for example, the Saddu-
soul, a notion echoed in Matthew 10:28. The writer of Reve-
cees) repudiated.
lation calls this destination of the wicked “the second death”
(21:8). In this Gehenna imagery lies the origin of the popular
In classical Hebrew thought the souls of the dead went
medieval concept of hell, in which, however, the soul, being
to SheDol, the counterpart of the Hades of Greek mythology,
indestructible, cannot be extinguished by the fire but is tor-
a sort of nonworld, an underground place of darkness and
mented everlastingly.
dust so dreary that, as Homer remarked, one would rather
be a poor beggar in the land of the living than a king in the
In early Christian thought, such a background for the
land of the dead. Yet in later Hebrew thought sophia
concept of the soul and its destiny resulted in a confusion
(“wisdom”) is seen as delivering human beings from SheDol
that no appeal to scripture could possibly clear, since the
(Prov. 15:24). Unlike souls in the hell of later Christian the-
confusion was already embedded in the Bible itself. So one
ology, who have put themselves beyond God’s benevolent
finds that Tertullian, writing in his De anima (c. 210), as-
power, those in SheDol could be the objects of God’s care, for
signs to the soul a sort of corporality. This tendency is to be
his power extends even there (Dt. 32:22, Ps. 139:8). In the
found in other anti-gnostic writers of the period, including
New Testament, the concept of SheDol is sometimes replaced
his contemporary Irenaeus. By contrast, Origen (c. 185–c.
by that of death, for example in Paul’s use of the Greek than-
254) and his influential Christian school at Alexandria
atos in 1 Corinthians 15:55, quoting Hosea 13:14. However,
taught that the soul preexisted in an incorporeal state and
in Acts 2:27, quoting Psalms 16:10, the term haides is re-
was imprisoned in a physical body as a result of its former
tained.
waywardness. Origen probably also taught a form of rein-
carnationism. Gregory of Nyssa (c. 330–c. 395), Nemesius
In the rabbinical thought of the century before the ad-
(who was bishop of Emesa toward the end of the fourth cen-
vent of Christianity, she Dol came to mean a place exclusively
tury), and the Greek theologian Maximos the Confessor (c.
for the wicked. The righteous go to pardes (“paradise,” or,
580–662), all interpreted the biblical concepts of the soul
more strictly, “garden”), a late Hebrew term derived from the
along Platonic lines and in the general tradition of Origen
Greek paradeisos, the Septuagint translation for “Garden of
and his school.
Eden.” Pardes was understood as a celestial restoration of the
original, unfallen state of humanity. Sometimes, however, it
In the thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas follows the
represented an intermediate state between the death of the
doctrine of the soul presented in Aristotle’s Eudemus, teach-
righteous and the final judgment—hence Jesus’ promise to
ing that, while body and soul together constitute a unity, the
the penitent thief that they would meet that same day in
soul, as the “form” of the body, is an individual “spiritual
“paradise” (a passage that would otherwise present grave in-
substance” and as such is capable of leading a separate exis-
terpretative difficulties), and other similar usages in the New
tence after the death of the body. This medieval doctrine of
Testament.
the soul, while largely determining the official teaching of the
Roman Catholic church on the nature of the soul and its des-
Along with such developments comes the notion of Ge-
tiny, also indelibly imprinted itself on the theology of the
henna as a pit of fire into which the wicked are to be thrown
Reformation. For the classical reformers, although contem-
to be burned like trash. The symbolism of this transitional,
poraneous with the great Renaissance movement in Europe,
intertestamental period is, however, by no means consistent;
were thoroughly medieval in the mold of their theological
and the confusion is carried over into the New Testament,
thinking. The fact that Thomas described the essence of the
where both haid¯es and geenna (Mt. 18:9 and Mk. 9:43) have
pain of hell as the loss of the vision of God did little to miti-
been traditionally rendered “hell” in English, although they
gate the horror of hell in the popular mind.
have different connotations in the Greek text. Hades, al-
though it can function as a storehouse for the dead who await
In popular preaching during the Middle Ages and for
judgment (as in Rv. 20:13–14) and as a destructive power
centuries thereafter, hell was invariably depicted as a physical
like death (as in Mt. 16:18), can also be (as in Lk. 16:23) a
fire in which the souls of the damned, being somehow en-
place of punishment indistinguishable from Gehenna.
dowed with temporary bodies equipped to suffer physical
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SOUL: CHRISTIAN CONCEPTS
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pain, are eventually summoned on the Last Day to have their
ment, and growth. This theological development is adum-
original bodies returned and enabled to suffer everlasting tor-
brated in some medieval Christian literature, notably the
ture under the same conditions. The angels, however, ac-
Trattato (Dicchiarazione) of Catherine of Genoa (1447–
cording to Thomas, have no physical bodies; therefore Satan
1510).
and the other denizens of hell must be equipped in some
The souls in purgatory have generally been regarded as
other way to undergo, as they certainly must, the punish-
disembodied (or at least lacking earthly embodiment), yet ca-
ment superabundantly due to them in the place of torment
pable of the peculiar kind of pain that purgatory entails: a
over which they reign. Nor could Dante’s obviously symbol-
pain of waiting and longing. The duration of purgatory is
ic treatment and allegorical vision of hell in the Commedia
indeterminate; but it is always assumed that some who enter
have assuaged the horror of hell in the popular mind. After
it may be released comparatively soon and certainly that mul-
all, much of Dante’s genius lay in his ability to invest his
titudes are to be released long before the Day of Judgment.
great epic with an extraordinary realism that fixed itself on
What then happens to them on their release? Speculative
the minds of even those readers whose literary education had
theologians have made various proposals. According to
accustomed them to the allegorical methods so dear to the
Roman Catholic theology, each soul on its separation from
medieval mind.
the body is subjected to a “particular” judgment, as distin-
Out of confusion in the concept of the soul, then, had
guished from the final or “general” judgment. In 1336, Pope
sprung an increasing confusion in the Christian view of its
Benedict XII, in his bull Benedictus Deus, specifically de-
destiny, making eschatology the least coherent aspect of the
clared that souls, having been subjected to this particular
Christian theological tradition. For example, the soul has an
judgment, are admitted at once to the beatific vision, which
independent existence and is sometimes envisioned, in Pla-
is heaven, or proceed at once to purgatory to be cleansed and
tonic fashion, as well rid of the burden of its physical encum-
readied for the heavenly state, or are consigned to hell. This
brance. Yet in the end the whole person, body and soul, must
teaching does not merely exclude explicitly the primitive
be restored in order to enjoy the fruits of Christ’s redemp-
Christian view represented by the dormit in pace type of epi-
tion. In the first century, on account of the imminent expec-
taph; it makes nonsense of traditional Roman Catholic piety.
tation of the Parousia, Christians could plausibly see the sep-
For if purgatory be considered in any sense a state of punish-
aration of soul from body as a very temporary state of affairs,
ment, hell a state of both torment and hopelessness, and
as represented in the catacombs by such inscriptions as “Dor-
heaven one of that joyful activity that comes with the full
mit in pace” (“He sleeps in peace”) and “Dormit in Christo”
knowledge of God that is the reward of the righteous, then
(“He sleeps in Christ”). As time went on, however, such a
the traditional prayer for the dead (“Requiescant in pace”;
notion, although persisting to this day in pious epitaphs,
“May they rest in peace”) seems to express an inapposite wish
could no longer serve as a theologically satisfactory account
for any of the three categories.
of what happens to the soul during a waiting period between
That ancient prayer echoes the primitive wish that the
death and the general resurrection of the dead. For it would
souls of the dead may not be inclined, because of their trou-
suggest, if not entail, the view that heaven and hell are unin-
bled state, to haunt the living but may instead pursue their
habited until that general resurrection shall occur. Such a
business in peace and tranquillity and have no such harassing
view is not conformable to the standard vision of Christian
inclination. This primitive wish is, of course, transfigured in
piety on this subject—least of all where, as in Roman Catho-
Catholic thought and sentiment, where it is illumined by the
lic tradition, the saints are already in heaven (the Church
response “Et lux perpetua luceat eis” (“May perpetual light
Triumphant) interceding for and otherwise helping their fel-
shine upon them”), expressing a loving concern for the prog-
low Christians in the Church Militant on earth. Moreover,
ress of the souls of the dead and the belief that they are ad-
both the words of Jesus to the penitent thief (Lk. 23:43) and
vancing toward the fulfillment of their destiny. Nevertheless,
the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk. 16:19), with
at the regular Roman Catholic burial service a beautiful
their implication of a paradisial, Garden-of-Eden bliss, surely
prayer beckons the angels to come forth to meet the deceased
exclude the notion of a sleep till the Day of Judgment.
and conduct him or her “into the heavenly city, Jerusalem.”
Furthermore, out of the doctrine of the intermediate
state, which is at least foreshadowed in late Judaism and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
found in early Christian thought in a rudimentary form, was
For the Hebrew background of the New Testament view, a reli-
gradually developed the doctrine of purgatory. The concept
able source is the brief article “Soul” by Norman Porteous
of purgatory is of singular importance in the Christian doc-
in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (New York, 1962).
trine of the life of the soul. Abused though the doctrine of
Rudolf Bultmann provides abundant background for an un-
derstanding of the New Testament writers’ general outlook
purgatory was by legalistic distortions and ecclesiastical cor-
in his Theology of the New Testament, vol. 1 (New York,
ruption in late medieval practice, purgatory has gradually
1951). Oscar Cullmann has written an important essay on
come to be seen, through the influence of developments in
this topic, which was published in Immortality and Resurrec-
English Tractarian thought in the nineteenth century, as a
tion, edited by Krister Stendahl (New York, 1965). The
state not so much of punishment as of purification, refresh-
other essays in this collection, by Harry A. Wolfson, Werner
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SOUL: ISLAMIC CONCEPTS
Yaeger, and Henry J. Cadbury, also merit attention. Augus-
losophy (falsafah). It is possible to classify very broadly the
tine’s view, articulated in his On the Immortality of the Soul,
different types of such concepts under four categories: tradi-
greatly influenced both the medieval schoolmen and the re-
tional, theological, philosophical, and mystical (S:uf¯ı). Dif-
formers. Saint Thomas and the Problem of the Soul in the Thir-
ferences (as well as overlappings) abound, not only between
teenth Century (Toronto, 1934), by Anton C. Pegis, provides
these categories, but also within them. Nonetheless, the vari-
a useful introduction to the view of Thomas Aquinas as set
ous Islamic concepts of the soul all seek or claim a QurDanic
forth in the first volume of his Summa theologiae. Étienne
base. Hence, the proper starting point of any discussion of
Gilson treats the subject in his study The Spirit of Mediaeval
Philosophy
(London, 1936), and John Calvin discusses the
such concepts is the QurDa¯n. Before turning to the QurDa¯n,
origin, immortal nature, and other aspects of the soul in his
however, a few preliminary remarks on the use of the Arabic
Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols. (Philadelphia,
terms ru¯h: (“spirit”) and nafs (“soul”) are in order.
1960). For the Renaissance view of Pietro Pomponazzi, see
As in other languages, these terms relate to the ideas of
Clement C. J. Webb’s Studies in the History of Natural Theol-
ogy
(Oxford, 1915).
breath and wind. In pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, ru¯h: can mean
“wind,” “breath,” or “that which one blows” (as when kin-
The soul plays a central role in the various forms of Christian mys-
dling a fire). In post-QurDanic Arabic, the two terms are often
ticism. The notion of the “fine point” of the soul, a cell re-
used interchangeably when referring to the human soul, but
maining sensitive to God despite the fall and consequent cor-
ruption of humankind, is a common topic of such literature:
distinctions between them are also maintained within certain
For example, see The Living Flame of Love by John of the
conceptual schemes. In the QurDa¯n, in addition to the gram-
Cross. For the Salesian tradition, see Henri Bremond’s treat-
matical reflexive use of nafs as “self,” the term is used to refer
ment in his Histoire littéraire du sentiment religieux en France
to the human soul, whereas ru¯h: normally refers to the spirit
(1915–1932), 2d ed. (Paris, 1967–1968), edited by René
that proceeds from God. In pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, these
Taveneaux, especially vol. 7. Whether any form of reincarna-
two terms do not have a religious or supernatural connota-
tionism is reconcilable to Christian faith is specifically con-
tion. Thus ru¯h: refers to the physical breath or wind, while
sidered in two books of mine: Reincarnation in Christianity
nafs (when not used reflexively) refers to the blood, some-
(Wheaton, Ill., 1978) and Reincarnation as a Christian Hope
times to the living body. This usage is consistent with the
(London, 1982).
secular nature of this poetry, whose themes revolve around
New Sources
the poet’s mundane loves, sorrows, heroic exploits, and con-
Armstrong, A. H. Expectations of Immortality in Late Antiquity.
cept of tribal honor. The poetry is also noted for its vivid de-
Milwaukee, Wis., 1987.
scriptions of nature—desert scenery and animal life, wild and
Brown, Warren S., Nancy Murphy, and H. Newton Maloney,
domestic—that convey a sense of the splendor, power (some-
eds. Whatever Happened to the Soul? Scientific and Theological
times harshness), and vitality of nature, but never anything
Portraits of Human Nature. Minneapolis, 1998.
that can be construed as either teleological or mystical. There
Chirban, John T., ed. Personhood: Orthodox Christianity and the
are also affirmations in this poetry that, with death, every-
Connection between Body, Mind, and Soul. Westport, Conn.,
thing ends, that there is nothing beyond the grave. A seeming
1996.
exception to this consists of references to the ha¯mah, a bird-
Cary, Phillip. Augustine’s Invention of the Inner Self. Oxford and
like apparition resembling a small owl, which, according to
New York, 2000.
pre-Islamic Arab belief, departs from the head of a slaugh-
tered man, perches by his grave, and continues to shriek,
Crabbe, M. James C., ed. From Soul to Self. London and New
“give me to drink,” until the death is avenged. The associa-
York, 1999.
tion of this belief with the tribal law of avenging the death
O’Connell, Robert J. The Origin of the Soul in St. Augustine’s Later
of a kinsman is obvious.
Works. New York, 1987.
RU¯H: AND NAFS IN THE QURDA¯N. As indicated earlier, ru¯h:
Oguejiofor, J. Obi. The Philosophical Experience of Immortality in
(“spirit”) in the QurDa¯n refers normally to God’s spirit. The
Thomas Aquinas. Lanham, Md., 2001.
term appears in different contexts. It is the divine creative
Perrett, Roy W., ed. Death and Immortality. Dordrecht and Bos-
breath: God creates man (Adam) from clay, animating him
ton, 1987.
by blowing into the clay of his spirit (15:29; 32:9; 38:72).
Sherry, Patrick. Spirit, Saints, and Immortality. Albany, 1984.
Again, God blew of his spirit into Mary, causing the concep-
tion of Jesus (21:91; 66:12). Spirit is sent by God as a mes-
GEDDES MACGREGOR (1987)
Revised Bibliography
senger: it is al-ru¯h: al-am¯ın (“the faithful spirit”) that comes
to Muh:ammad’s heart (26:193)—hence the QurDanic com-
mentators’ identification of “the faithful spirit” with the an-
gelic messenger Gabriel. Mary conceives when God sends his
SOUL: ISLAMIC CONCEPTS
spirit to her in the form of a perfect man (19:17). Spirit is
Islamic concepts of the soul vary, ranging from the tradition-
also ru¯h: al-qudu¯s (“the holy spirit”) which God sends to help
al (and most prevalent) to the mystical. They include doc-
Jesus (2:87, 2:253). Jesus himself is referred to as a spirit
trines formulated by individual schools of Islamic dialectical
from God, but it is also made clear that this does not mean
theology (kala¯m) and theories developed within Islamic phi-
that he is the son of God (4:171).
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Spirit relates also to the amr of God (16:2; 17:85; 40:15;
is Kita¯b al-ru¯h: (The Book of the Spirit), by the Damascene
42:52), a term that can mean either “command” or “affair.”
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawz¯ıyah (d. 1350), a celebrated H:anbal¯ı
Muslim scholars have disagreed on the interpretation of this
theologian and jurisconsult.
term as well as on the referent of ru¯h: (“spirit”) in surah
17:85: “They ask thee [Muh:ammad] about the spirit. Say:
The term ru¯h:, Ibn Qayyim maintains, is applicable in
‘The spirit is of my Lord’s amr; of knowledge ye have been
Arabic usage to both the spirit that comes from God and the
given but little.’” Some have understood amr here as “affair,”
human spirit. In the QurDa¯n, however, it is used to refer to
not “command,” and ru¯h: as referring to the human spirit.
the spirit that comes from God. This spirit proceeds from
If this interpretation is correct, then the verse provides an ex-
the amr of God. The term amr in the QurDa¯n, Ibn Qayyim
ception to the normal QurDanic use of the term ru¯h:.
insists, always means “command.” Since the spirit proceeds
from the command of God, it is a created being, although
The term nafs, when not used in the grammatical reflex-
its creation antedates the creation of the human soul. The
ive sense of “self,” refers to the human soul, not God’s spirit.
human body is created before the human soul. The latter,
The human soul, however, relates to the divine spirit, since,
though created, is everlasting. Death means the separation
as indicated earlier, God brings life to man by breathing into
of this soul from the body, to rejoin it permanently when the
him of his spirit. The equivalence of life and soul in the
resurrection takes place. When the QurDa¯n speaks of the soul
QurDa¯n, however, is not explicitly stated. Nor is there any ex-
that incites to evil, the soul that upbraids, and the tranquil
plicit statement as to whether the soul is immaterial or mate-
soul, this does not mean that a human has three souls. These,
rial. The QurDa¯n is primarily concerned with the moral and
Ibn Qayyim argues, are characteristics of one and the same
religious orientation of the human soul, with its conduct,
human soul.
and with the consequences of such conduct in terms of re-
Ibn Qayyim gives a lengthy critique of the philosophical
ward and punishment in the hereafter. This concern with the
doctrine of an immaterial soul, incorporating in his criticism
moral and religious disposition of the soul is reflected in the
the arguments the theologian al-Ghaza¯l¯ı (d. 1111) had used
QurDanic characterization of the soul as either amma¯rah,
in showing that Ibn S¯ına¯ (Avicenna; d. 1037) had failed to
lawwa¯mah, or mut:maDinnah. The amma¯rah (12:53) is the
demonstrate the immateriality of the human soul. Ibn Qayy-
soul that by nature incites or commands what is evil.
im rejects the concept of an immaterial soul. An immaterial
QurDanic commentators have identified this with the carnal
spirit or soul would be totally unrelated to what is spatial.
self. The lawwa¯mah (75:2) is the soul that constantly blames
What is unrelated to the spatial and the bodily cannot be
itself, interpreted by some commentators as upbraiding itself
spoken of as being in a body or outside it, or as traveling
in the quest of goodness. The mut:maDinnah (89:27) is the
away from the body or returning to it. But this is the scrip-
tranquil soul of the virtuous believer that will return to its
tural language expressing the activities of the soul. The
lord.
human soul is hence material but “differs in quiddity
With death, the soul leaves the body, to rejoin it on the
[al-ma¯hiyyah] from the sensible body, being a body that is
Day of Judgment. Thereafter the righteous go to Paradise,
luminous, elevated, light, alive, and in motion. It penetrates
the wicked dwell in Hell. Two questions in particular that
the substance of the body organs, flowing therein in the way
relate to the resurrection were to occupy Islamic religious
water flows in roses, oil in olives, and fire in charcoal” (Kita¯b
thinkers. The first is whether or not it is the remains of the
al-ru¯h:, Hyderabad, 1963, p. 310). The body, in fact, is the
same body that is resurrected. To this the QurDa¯n gives no
mold (qa¯lib) of the soul. Body and soul interact, helping to
detailed answer, only an affirmation that God has the power
shape each other’s individual characteristics. Thus, when
to bring back to life what has been decayed: “Who will revive
death takes place, souls leaving their bodies have their indi-
these bones when they are decayed? Say: ‘He who created
viduality and are hence differentiated one from another.
them the first time will revive them’” (36:78–79). The sec-
During sleep, souls leave their bodies temporarily,
ond is the question of what happens to the soul between the
sometimes communicating with other souls, whether of the
time of death and the day of resurrection. There are QurDanic
living or of the dead. With death, the soul leaves the body
statements (8:49; 9:101; 32:21; 47:27) that suggest that
but can very swiftly return to it. The souls of the virtuous
wicked souls will be punished even before the resurrection
can communicate with each other, the wicked souls being
and that the souls of martyrs will be in paradise: “Do not
too preoccupied in their torments for this. For in the interim
reckon that those killed in battle are dead; they are living
between death and the resurrection, most souls rejoin their
with their Lord, provided for” (3:169). Such statements be-
bodies in the grave to be questioned by the two angels of
come a basis for traditional doctrines regarding the soul’s fate
death, Munkar and Nakir. The wicked, unbelieving souls
in the interim between death and the final day of judgment.
suffer punishment and torment in the grave, while the virtu-
TRADITIONAL CONCEPTS. In Islam, the most prevalent con-
ous believers enjoy a measure of bliss. Ibn Qayyim equates
cepts of the soul can perhaps best be termed “traditional.”
the period of the grave with the barzakh, a QurDanic term
Their immediate inspiration is the QurDa¯n, interpreted liter-
(23:100; 25:53; 55:20) that originally meant “hindrance” or
ally, and the h:ad¯ıth, or “tradition.” A chief source for our
“separation.” The souls of prophets are in paradise, as are
knowledge of the traditional concepts of the soul in Islam
those of martyrs, although there are disagreements among
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SOUL: ISLAMIC CONCEPTS
traditional Muslims as to whether this applies to all martyrs.
It is in terms of this prevalent view that the eschatologi-
These disagreements, Ibn Qayyim maintains, are reconcil-
cal question mentioned earlier must be understood. If life is
able once the legal conditions governing the fate of the soul
a transient accident and the dead body’s atoms separate to
are known. To cite but one of his examples, a martyr who
combine differently forming other physical entities, where is
dies before paying a debt is excluded from entry into paradise
the continuity that would guarantee the identity of the indi-
during this interim but does not suffer torment.
vidual to be resurrected? Without this continuity, what ap-
The prayers of the living over the souls of the dead are
pears to be the resurrected individual is only a similar being,
heard by the latter, who are helped by them. Ibn Qayyim de-
a mithl. To resolve this difficulty, some of the MuEtazilah re-
votes a long section of his book to this topic. The length of
sorted to the doctrine that nonexistence (al Eadam) is “a
this chapter indicates the importance to Muslims of the visit-
thing” (shay D) or “an entity,” “an essence” (dha¯t), to which
ing of graves and the offering of prayers over the dead, for
existence is a state that occurs. Thus a nonexistent entity A
these visits are very much part of traditional Muslim piety
acquires existence for a span of time, loses it during another
and a source of consolation to the bereaved.
span, and regains it eternally at the resurrection, A remaining
THEOLOGICAL (KALA¯M) CONCEPTS. Islam’s dialectical theo-
A throughout all these stages.
logians, the mutakallimu¯n, no less than the more traditional
The doctrine that nonexistence is an entity, a thing, was
Muslims, sought to uphold a QurDanic concept of the soul.
rejected by the AshEar¯ı school of kala¯m. This school was
They sought to uphold it, however, within scripturally root-
founded by al-AshEar¯ı (d. 935), originally a MuEtazil¯ı who
ed perspectives of the world that they formulated and ratio-
rebelled against his school. (AshEarism gradually gained as-
nally defended. Their concepts of the human soul were gov-
cendancy to become the dominant school of kala¯m in Islam.)
erned largely by two questions, one metaphysical, the other
But while the AshEar¯ıyah opposed fundamental MuEtazil¯ı
eschatological. The metaphysical question pertained to the
doctrines, they were also atomists. Their atomism formed
ultimate constituents of the created world: Do these consist
part of their occasionalist metaphysics according to which all
of indivisible atoms or of what is potentially infinitely divisi-
events are the direct creation of God. Accidents are transient
ble? The eschatological question arose out of their doctrine
and do not endure for more than one moment of time and
of bodily resurrection: if, in the ages between the world’s be-
are hence constantly recreated. Life, the AshEar¯ıyah held, is
ginning and its end, dead human bodies decompose to be-
a transient accident created and recreated while the individu-
come parts of other physical entities (organic or inorganic),
al lives. It is hence not difficult to see that the eschatological
how can there be a real resurrection, that is, a return to life
problem regarding the soul that the MuEtazilah tried to solve
of the actual individuals who once lived and died, and not
persisted.
the mere creation anew of replicas of them?
Regarding the metaphysical question, most of the
For an AshEar¯ı answer to this difficulty, I will turn to
mutakallimu¯n were atomists. Their concepts of the soul were
al-Ghaza¯l¯ı. His main arguments for the possibility of bodily
for the most part materialist: they regarded it either as a
resurrection are found in two works. The first is his criticism
body, or identified it with life, which they maintained is a
of the Islamic philosophers, particularly Ibn S¯ına¯, the
transient quality, an accident, that occurs to a body. But
Taha¯fut al-fala¯sifah (The Incoherence of the Philosophers).
there were disagreements among them, particularly among
In this work he argues in great detail to show that Ibn S¯ına¯
members of the “rationalist” MuEtazil¯ı school of kala¯m,
has failed to demonstrate his theory that the human soul is
which attained the height of its power and influence in the
an immaterial, immortal substance. At the same time, he ar-
first part of the ninth century. Thus, one of its leading theo-
gues for the possibility of bodily resurrection in terms of a
logians, al-Naz:z:a¯m (d. 845), rejected atomism. Moreover, he
theory of an immaterial, immortal soul, maintaining that
conceived of the soul (which he identified with life) as a sub-
God at the resurrection creates for such a soul a new body.
tle body that is diffused in all parts of the physical body. His
The second work, Al-iqtis:a¯d f¯ı al-l Etiqa¯d (Moderation in Be-
concept of the soul is substantially the same as that of the
lief), written shortly after the Taha¯fut, gives a different expla-
traditional concept defended by Ibn Qayyim. Another ex-
nation. Significantly, in this work al-Ghaza¯l¯ı repudiates the
ception of a different type was the view of the MuEtazil¯ı
theory he advocated in the Taha¯fut, maintaining that he had
MuEammar (d. 835). He was an atomist and espoused a con-
advanced it only for the sake of argument, to show that bodi-
cept of the soul as an immaterial atom. Other theologians
ly resurrection is possible even if one adopts a doctrine of an
held the soul to be an atom, but not immaterial. But if it is
immaterial soul. The true doctrine, he then continues, is the
a material atom, is life identical with it? If life is not identical
AshEar¯ı, namely that life is a transient accident constantly
with it, then could life be an accident that inheres in the sin-
created and recreated in the living body. Resurrection is the
gle atom? The MuEtazilah disagreed as to whether the acci-
return to life and existence of what was originally a first cre-
dents could inhere in the single atom or only in atoms that
ation by God. God is able to recreate what he had previously
are interrelated, forming a body. They also disagreed as to
created. A copy is simply a copy, never the recreation of what
whether spirit, soul, and life are identical. But the prevalent
was actually a new creation. Al-Ghaza¯l¯ı does not discuss how
MuEtazil¯ı view was that the soul is material and that life,
one can differentiate between the resurrected, recreated origi-
whether or not identical with soul, is a transient accident.
nal being, and the copy, the mithl, but the implication of his
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8569
argument is that this is knowable to God, who is the creator
maeus. Soul is one of the five eternal principles; the others
of all things.
are God, atomic (disorganized) matter, absolute space, and
absolute time. At a moment in time, God imposes order on
Al-Ghaza¯l¯ı follows substantially the line of reasoning of
matter, rendering it receptive of soul. When soul unites with
his predecessor and teacher, the AshEar¯ı al-Juwayn¯ı
matter, it becomes individuated, forming the particular liv-
(d. 1085). Unlike al-Juwayn¯ı, however, al-Ghaza¯l¯ı does not
ing creatures. Man alone among these creatures is endowed
discuss whether spirit or soul is the same as life. Al-Juwayn¯ı
with reason, an emanation from God. There is a lengthy but
is more explicit on this. Spirit is a body that pervades the
finite span of time, in which soul remains conjoined with
physical body, animating it. Life, however, is a transient acci-
matter and individuated. During this period there is transmi-
dent that inheres in spirit. With the exception of this distinc-
gration of souls within animal and human life. The finite pe-
tion between life and spirit, al-Juwayn¯ı’s concept of the soul
riod ends when reason in men prevails. The individual souls
is in harmony with the traditional concept defended by Ibn
then disengage from matter, returning to their original state
Qayyim.
of one soul. The initial state of the four other eternal princi-
PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS. The theories of the soul formu-
ples resumes, continuing into the infinite future.
lated by Islam’s philosophers, the fala¯sifah (sg., faylasu¯f), de-
rive largely from Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus. But there are
With al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı (d. 950) and Ibn S¯ına¯, we encounter
other influences—Greek medicine and Stoic thought, for ex-
two highly developed psychological theories. Both presup-
ample. An influential short Arabic treatise on the difference
posed a Neoplatonic emanative scheme. The celestial world,
between spirit (ru¯h:; Gr., pneuma), and soul (nafs; Gr.,
for al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı, consists of a succession from God of dyads, in-
psuch¯e) by the Christian translator, Qust:a¯ Ibn Lu¯qa¯
telligences, and bodily spheres; for Ibn S¯ına¯, it consists of a
(d. 912), is of interest, not only for its ideas, but also for its
succession of triads, intelligences, souls, and bodily spheres.
listing of the sources of these ideas—Plato (his Phaedo and
For both, the last successive celestial intelligence is the Active
Timaeus), Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Galen. Spirit, ac-
Intellect, after which our terrestrial world comes into exis-
cording to this treatise, is a subtle body. Its less refined form
tence. The entire process of successive emanations from God
spreads in the body, from the heart through the veins, caus-
exists eternally.
ing animation, breathing, and pulsation. The more refined
According to al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı, the human rational soul is at
spirit spreads from the brain through the nervous system to
first a potentiality in the material body. In some individuals,
cause sensation and movement. Spirit, however, is only the
the objects of sensory perception, the material images, are
proximate intermediary cause of these activities; its efficacy
transformed by the illuminary action of the Active Intellect
is caused by the soul, which is an immaterial, immortal sub-
into abstract concepts. These human souls that achieve ab-
stance. With death, spirit ceases, but not soul.
stract conceptual thought attain an immaterial status. (There
It was, however, in its Neoplatonic form that the doc-
are higher levels of conceptual thought, culminating with
trine of the soul’s immateriality and immortality left its
rare individuals, the philosopher-prophets, in the human
greatest impact on Islamic thought. This impact was not
soul’s periodic union with the Active Intellect.) Only those
confined to philosophy proper but is discernible in the reli-
souls that have attained an immaterial status are immortal.
gious thought of various Islamic sectarian groups—the
Good souls, those that have continued to live according to
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah, for example. The other most important source
the dictates of reason, shunning the lower passions, live in
for the fala¯sifah’s concepts of the soul was Aristotle. The ma-
eternal happiness, contemplating the celestial intelligences
jority accepted Aristotle’s definition of the soul as the entele-
and God. Those rational souls that have betrayed their call-
chy of the body, his idea of its division into vegetative, sensi-
ing, surrendering to the lower passions, live in eternal misery,
tive, and rational and of the latter into theoretical and
seeking contemplation of the celestial intelligences but un-
practical, and his description of the states of its various parts
able to achieve it. The souls of the majority of mankind,
as these change from potentiality to actuality. Within the
however, never attain an immaterial status and, with death,
Platonic, Aristotelian, and Neoplatonic frameworks, howev-
cease to exist.
er, there were differences in the fala¯sifah’s conceptions of the
Ibn S¯ına¯, on the other hand, insists on the individual
soul. An idea of these differences can be obtained by consid-
immortality of all souls. The rational soul, an emanation
ering the conceptions offered by some representative philoso-
from the Active Intellect, joins the human body and becomes
phers.
individuated by it. It is an immaterial, individual substance
Al-Kind¯ı (d. c. 870), the first Islamic philosopher, for
that exists with the body but is not imprinted in it. Souls that
example, subscribes to the doctrine of the soul as an immate-
have lived the rational life, controlling the lower passions and
rial, immortal substance and at the same time defends the
remaining untarnished by vice, are rewarded in the hereafter.
QurDanic doctrine of bodily resurrection. His surviving trea-
They live in eternal bliss, contemplating the celestial beings
tises, however, do not include anything that shows the man-
and God. This applies to nonphilosophical virtuous souls
ner in which he synthesized these two doctrines. The physi-
that have lived in accordance with the divine law, for this law
cian-philosopher al-Ra¯z¯ı (d. 926), on the other hand, offers
is an expression of philosophical truth in the language of im-
a theory of the human soul inspired largely by Plato’s Ti-
agery and symbol, which the nonphilosopher can under-
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SOUL: ISLAMIC CONCEPTS
stand. Souls that have not lived the rational, virtuous life or
is material or immaterial. There is less difference (and greater
have not adhered to the commands of the religious law are
emphasis), however, on the subject of its purification and the
punished in the hereafter. They live eternally in torment,
ascetic devotional course it must pursue. (Differences be-
seeking contemplation of the celestial beings and God, but
tween S:uf¯ı orders here are largely a matter of ritual, not sub-
are unable to achieve this. The QurDanic language describing
stance.)
the afterlife in physical terms is symbolic. Ibn S¯ına¯’s theory
It is, however, the relation of the human soul—the self,
of the soul culminates in mysticism. But this is intellectual
the “I”—to God that is at the heart of Sufism, and it was
mysticism. God, for Ibn S¯ına¯, is pure mind. The soul’s jour-
this issue that caused conflict. The mystical experience itself
ney to God includes the inundation of the souls of exception-
is both overwhelming and ineffable. Utterances attempting
al individuals with all of the intelligibles from the Active In-
to convey it are symbolic, sometimes prone to overstatement,
tellect. This experience is intuitive, occurring all at once.
and hence prone to being misunderstood. Central to this
Ibn Rushd (Averroës; d. 1198) was the most Aristotelian
issue is the interpretation of the mystical experience of fana¯ D,
of the fala¯sifah. In those writings addressed to the general Is-
the “passing away” or “annihilation” of the self in the divine
lamic reader, he affirms the doctrine of reward and punish-
essence, the latter representing baqa¯ D, “permanence.”
ment in the hereafter, insisting, however, that the scriptural
S:uf¯ıs like al-Ghaza¯l¯ı interpreted fana¯D as “closeness”
language describing the hereafter should be understood on
(qurb) to God and thus helped to reconcile Sufism with the
different levels, depending on one’s intellectual capacity. His
generally accepted tenets of Islam. The issue, however, re-
more technical psychological writings, notably his commen-
mained a sensitive one, as reflected, for example, in the philo-
taries on Aristotle, leave no room for a doctrine of individual
sophical tale, H:ayy Ibn Yaqz:a¯n, by the Andalusian philoso-
immortality. These writings, however, left a much greater
pher Ibn T:ufayl (d. 1185). H:ayy, the story’s hero, who grows
impact on medieval and Renaissance Europe than they did
up on an uninhabited tropical island, undergoes a process of
on Islam. In the Islamic world, it was Ibn S¯ına¯’s theory of
self-education that culminates in the mystical experience. At
the soul that had the greater influence on subsequent falsafah
first he falls into the error of thinking that his soul becomes
and religious thought.
one with the divine essence; he is delivered from this mistake
S:UF¯I CONCEPTS. In considering this very vast subject, it is
through God’s mercy as he realizes that such concepts as
well to differentiate between three of its aspects: (1) what
unity and plurality and union and disjunction are applicable
S:uf¯ıs conceived the human soul to be, (2) the soul’s purifica-
only to bodies, not to immaterial selves that have experiential
tion and the path of holiness it must follow as it seeks God,
knowledge of God.
(3) the relation of the soul to God, particularly in its intimate
experiencing of the divine. These aspects are related, but the
The relation of the soul to God in S:uf¯ı thought takes
third represents a central issue on which S:uf¯ıs were divided
on a highly metaphysical turn in the complex theosophy of
and which caused controversy in the general history of Islam-
the great mystic Ibn al-EArab¯ı (d. 1240) and his followers,
ic religious thought.
particularly EAbd al-Kar¯ım al-J¯ıl¯ı (d. 1408?). Ibn al-EArab¯ı
is noted for his doctrine of the unity of being (wah:dat
According to some, the S:uf¯ı (and AshEar¯ı theologian)
al-wuju¯d) wherein creation (al-khalq) is a mirroring of the
al-Qushayr¯ı (d. 1074) observes, the term “soul” refers to
Truth (al-h:aqq), the Creator. Perfect souls are reflections of
those of man’s characteristics that are afflicted with illness
the perfection of the divine essence. The prophets are the ar-
and to his blameworthy actions. It is possible, he maintains,
chetypes of these perfect souls: each prophet is a word (kali-
“that the soul is a subtle entity [lat:¯ıfah] placed in this [bodi-
mah) of God. The perfect soul is a microcosm of reality. The
ly] mold [qa¯lib], being the receptacle of ill dispositions, just
idea of man as a microcosm did not originate with Ibn
as spirit [al-ru¯h:] is placed in this mold, being the receptacle
al-EArab¯ı; it was utilized by the fala¯sifah and by al-Ghaza¯l¯ı.
of praiseworthy dispositions” (Al-risa¯lah al-Qushayr¯ıyah,
But with Ibn al-EArab¯ı and those who followed him it ac-
Cairo, 1966, vol. 1, p. 249). The earlier S:uf¯ı al-Tirmidh¯ı (fl.
quires a spiritual and metaphysical dimension all its own,
894) also gives expression to the view that the soul is evil.
representing a high point in the development of the concept
Both, moreover, reflect traditional and kala¯m concepts of the
of soul in the history of Islamic religious thought.
soul as material.
Al-Ghaza¯l¯ı, on the other hand, often uses Avicennian
BIBLIOGRAPHY
language in his discussions of the soul. (This fact need not
For a comprehensive study, see D. B. Macdonald’s “The Develop-
necessarily commit him to Avicennian ontology, since he fre-
ment of the Idea of Spirit in Islam,” Acta Orientalia (1931):
quently suggests that Ibn S¯ına¯’s philosophical language can
307–351, reprinted in The Moslem World 22 (January and
April 1932): 25–42, 153–168. For QurDanic, traditional, and
be interpreted in occasionalist, AshEar¯ı terms.) At the begin-
kala¯m concepts, see Régis Blachère’s “Note sur le substantif
ning of his M¯ıza¯n al- EAmal (The Criterion for Action),
‘nafs’ dans le Coran,” Semitica 1 (1948): 69–77; F. T.
al-Ghaza¯l¯ı also indicates that S:uf¯ıs subscribe to the doctrine
Cooke’s “Ibn al-Quiyim’s Kitab al-Ru¯h:,” The Moslem World
of the soul’s immateriality as they reject the concept of physi-
25 (April 1935): 129–144; and Albert N. Nader’s Le système
cal reward and punishment in the hereafter. Thus, within
philosophique des mu Etazila (Beirut, 1956); see also the work
Sufism there are differences in belief as to whether the soul
by Majid Fakhry cited below. For philosophical concepts, see
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SOUND
8571
Avicenna’s “On the Proof of Prophecies,” translated by me
London, 1979); Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s The Bezels of Wisdom, trans-
in Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook, edited by
lated with an introduction and notes by R. W. J. Austin
Ralph Lerner and Muhsin Mahdi (New York, 1963),
(London, 1980); Reynold A. Nicholson’s Studies in Islamic
pp. 112–121; Majid Fakhry’s A History of Islamic Philosophy,
Mysticism (1921; reprint, Cambridge, 1976); Annemarie
2d ed. (New York, 1983); Lenn E. Goodman’s “Rasi’s Myth
Schimmel’s Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill, N.C.,
of the Fall of the Soul,” in Essays on Islamic Philosophy and
1975); and Fadlou Shehadi’s Ghaza¯l¯ı’s Unique Unknowable
Science, edited by George F. Hourani (Albany, N. Y., 1975),
God (Leiden, 1964).
pp. 25–40; my article “Avicenna and the Problem of the Infi-
nite Number of Souls,” Mediaeval Studies 22 (1960); 232–
MICHAEL E. MARMURA (1987)
239; and Avicenna’s Psychology, edited and translated by Fa-
zlur Rahman (London, 1952). For S:uf¯ı concepts, see A. E.
Affifi’s The Mystical Philosophy of Muh:yid D¯ın Ibnul EArab¯ı
(Cambridge, 1939); A. J. Arberry’s Sufism (1950; reprint,
SOUND SEE MUSIC; PERCUSSION AND NOISE
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N